Bullet Journal Layout Ideas

Bullet Journal Layout Ideas - see more on Shutterbean.com!

I recently shared some of my favorite Bullet Journal Supplies. As promised, I’m gonna show you some of my favorite Bullet Journal Layout Ideas!

Tracy from Shutterbean.com shares her favorite Bullet Journal Supplies!

It’s an evolving process, but here’s what I’ve got going on in the notebook  I started last September.

Bullet Journal Layout Ideas - see more on Shutterbean.com!

THE CALENDAR YEAR SPREAD

Yes, I wrote out a two-year calendar spread by hand. It was quite the challenge, but I have somewhat of a sense of pride when I look at it. I just don’t look too close. I highly recommend doing it if you need chillout time. Make sure you start in pencil first then follow up in pen. Using the dotted grid on my journal made it so much easier to figure out spacing.

Bullet Journal Layout Ideas - see more on Shutterbean.com!

The year calendar lives in the front of my journal, right behind my index.

Bullet Journal Layout Ideas - see more on Shutterbean.com!

THE MONTH SPREAD

The month takes up two pages. I mostly use this to keep track of blog posts. All of the other calendar stuff, like appointments and such go in my google calendar online.

Remember how I use tab dividers? That’s how I separate months. In each month, we have our week spreads. With each week spread, we have a weekly to-do list (more on that in a sec!).

Tracy from Shutterbean.com shares her favorite Bullet Journal Supplies!

Bullet Journal Layout Ideas - see more on Shutterbean.com!

THE WEEKLY CALENDAR SPREAD:

This week view calendar spread above was my first attempt at configuring. It crammed my week up and I didn’t like seeing the dates stacked like that, so after weeks of tinkering, I worked out a spread that my brain likes.

This is what I draw every Wednesday or so to forecast the week ahead of time.

Bullet Journal Layout Ideas - see more on Shutterbean.com!

Three days of the week fill each page in columns with the weekend stack on the right edge. I spent several weeks trying to track my meal plan in the columns and just couldn’t get into it.

As for how I fill up the columns, sometimes I put things in the morning time in the morning/afternoon towards the bottom. I still need to settle in on how I fill that out, but I’ve found that coloring certain things or drawing on the pages helps certain things stick out.

Below, I was trying to figure out how to incoporate meal planning into the schedule.

I didn’t do a good job keeping it up.

Bullet Journal Layout Ideas - see more on Shutterbean.com!

So I now create a list of dinner options based on what we have in the fridge.

Bullet Journal Layout Ideas - see more on Shutterbean.com!

These are things I fill in on a Sunday.

Bullet Journal Layout Ideas - see more on Shutterbean.com!

Sometimes I decorate…. Sometimes I forget my own rules.

Sometimes I forget to write things in. Sometimes I forget to look at my calendar. That’s when my life falls apart.

Sometimes I can close my eyes and remember something because I can see a picture of it written down in my brain.

This how my photographic memory works.

Bullet Journal Layout Ideas - see more on Shutterbean.com!

Here above I made all of the posts for Shutterbean (the blog you’re reading!) in ORANGE.

The times I went to yoga were highlighted in pink. That was a good yoga week.

Bullet Journal Layout Ideas - see more on Shutterbean.com!

THE CURRENT WEEKLY TO DO SPREAD:

The two-page spread AFTER the week is what I like to call my brain dump.

I make lists. There’s always an errand list/blog list/research/housework list.

You know how much I love lists. 

Bullet Journal Layout Ideas - see more on Shutterbean.com!

This is where my system deviates a bit from the traditional bullet journal concept. I didn’t like making check marks and creating a list day by day.  But,  I do really like crossing things off…and whatever is left on this spread gets put on the top of my to-do list/brain dump for the next week.

LET’S LOOK AT SOME OTHER LISTS:

Bullet Journal Layout Ideas - see more on Shutterbean.com!

THE MEAL ROTATION SPREAD

Basically what I refer to when I need to come up with dinner. I started writing down my family’s personal favorites so I know what I’m working with.

Bullet Journal Layout Ideas - see more on Shutterbean.com!

WHOLE 30 SNACK IDEAS SPREAD

Remember when I wrote that Whole 30 Snacks post?

This is the list that turned into this—

Thinking of doing the Whole 30? Let these snacks keep you motivated. Check out Whole 30 Snack Ideas on Shutterbean.com!

Snack lists are great to remember when you’re hungry and you need a good/healthy idea.

And then we have this list, also in the back:

Bullet Journal Layout Ideas - see more on Shutterbean.com!

WHOLE 30 MEAL IDEAS LIST

Which turned into this Whole 30 Meal Ideas post.

Feeling bored with your Whole30 routine? Check out these Whole 30 Meal Ideas from Shutterbean.com!

And we finish with one of my most used lists:

Bullet Journal Layout Ideas - see more on Shutterbean.com!

THE PACKING ESSENTIALS SPREAD

So I have something to reference when I’m packing. It helps so much!

That’s the system I’ve been working with for the past six months.

Stay tuned for more soon!

Tracy from Shutterbean.com shares her favorite Bullet Journal Supplies!

Don’t forget to check out my favorite Bullet Journal Supplies! 

  • Rebecca

    Thanks for sharing Tracy! I haven’t delved into bullet journalling yet, mostly because I find it overwhelming where to start and wasn’t sure how to get the best from it. This post has really helped me understand how much it could help me organise my life and my thoughts. Might be time for notebook shopping!

  • S

    I love this! I can’t wait to hear more! I usually make a master packing list on the computer and print it out when we leave on a trip, My bullet journal is going well, I do it a little bit differently, but I am going to try it your way. Thank you!

  • Elizabeth

    Thanks so much for sharing! I love…how different your bullet journal looks from mine. I just started with one in September and it’s evolved so much, but that’s what I love. It makes me so happy to see bujos that meet the needs of the people they serve. 🙂

  • Kelsey

    So glad you shared! I just graduated from my Moleskin to a Leuchtturm 1917 for my bullet journal and I’m so glad I made the switch. I really like your packing essentials list idea. Doing that ASAP, just in time for summer. Keep the bujo posts coming!

  • Lexi

    Thank you so much for posting this! I’ve been shying away from making a bullet journal because all the ones I ever see on Pinterest, BlogLovin, and Instagram are pristine, with calligraphy and beautiful hand-drawn decorations. I’m not an artist, but I’m extremely organized. These are DOABLE bullet journals. 🙂

    • Tracy

      Totally! If it’s too precious, then it’s gonna be sooooooooo annoying when you screw up! Make it work for you!!

  • Cheri

    Excellent post Tracey. Thanks for taking the time to share. This really got the ideas flowing about different subjects for me. Gotta go capture these ideas before they vanish! Thanks again!

  • Deb

    I love these kinds of posts! You always give me such good ideas.

  • Rebeca

    This was so helpful! I finally bought a journal I like last week (boy, did it take me long!) and I was feeling a bit overwhelmed, not knowing where to start and afraid to mess it up. This gave me the direction I needed and I started creating my system yesterday. I’m happy with the way it’s looking so far. Thanks, Tracy!

  • Marisa

    This was a great overview! Do you space out your monthly calendars so that all the weekly spreads and to dos fit in between? That’s the part I’m missing I think….I put all my monthly calendars in the front – too much flipping;)

    • Tracy

      My whole journal is split up into months and in each month there are the weeks with a TO DO in between each week. Hope that helps!

  • Alice

    My journal layout is really similar to your weekly layout, except that it is kept to the top half of the page. At the bottom left, I do an Eisenhower square (urgent/not urgent, important/not important) for things that need to get done. On the right page, I have notes for this week and next week, then at the very bottom, I have a grid for tracking my vitamins, flossing (trying to get better at that habit!) and my running mileage for 5k training.

    And I plotted out 2 years by hand, as well! I left space for notes – remember to do X in these months, the family reunion is this date next year, and so forth.

    I love my journal!

  • Liz

    My bullet journal is a work in progress too – love seeing your ideas!

  • andrea

    I love this post so much.

  • Lori

    Thanks for the ideas!

  • Janine

    your handwriting is enviable!

  • Kelly

    This is sooo helpful!! I am excited to start my own bullet journal! Question: when you put in the monthly tab dividers, did you do it all at once and just designate a certain number of journal pages to each month? Thank you!

    • Tracy

      I did it as I went, but after a few months you can totally figure out how many pages you need each month. I need two pages for a month spread and 4 pages (2 spreads for each week)

  • Sina

    Hi Tracy,
    I just started my new bullet journal for 2018 this monday and wanted to tell you how much this and your bujo-supplies-post have inspired me since last year! I started my first bujo last July and your approach was a huge inspiration and encouragement. It took away the fear to “make mistakes” and “mess up this pretty journal” – I just started and it works wonderfully for me and has improved my daily routine and planning so much.
    The idea of letting the bujo truly work for me was key (not vice versa…).

    So, thank you very much for this!
    Sina

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