i love how this is turning out!
left: TN insert by sarica studio
right: sterling ink common planner for TN

I am looking at my current journal and I’m going to run out of pages with about 2 weeks left in the year. I start a new journal at the beginning of the new year. I’d hate to only have 2 weeks worth of entries in the final book at the end of the year.

Any suggestions?

I really need a weekly calendar and use a two-page layout, but I have to draw it myself because I’ve never found a planner that devide the spaces how I like it, and it is a bit of a pain.

In particular, I need about half a page to list things for the week that don’t have an allocated day to be seen together with things that have a set date (e.g. I have a meeting monday and then have to prepare a report about it anyday until friday). I also don’t do well with more than two columns in a page.

So I recently saw this layout an I havent tried it because I already drew the weekly calendars for oct-dec lol. But it seems like it may work for me, but I’d love to hear from people who have used it.

How did you like it? Was it easy to manage?

My main concern is if it will make it hard to quickly identify what I have to do in a particular day. How was that aspect for you?

I have settled on these 2 ways to bujo. Ik there's not much difference, but I can't decide which method I should finally go for.

Earlier I was doing a simple Date + to-do list. Nothing else. But that made me more susceptible to procrastinating on tasks. Hence I decided I should add a timeline thing. (Fyi I've found when there's too much friction between me and doing the task, it makes me want to put it off).

Help me decide pls? Also, if there's any other way that you think would fulfill my needs, do share :)

I've been using this weekly spread for over a year now, with some minor variations and tweaks, and I'm so happy with it I thought I'd share!

1. Level Tracking - each week I update:
   • Level - XP/100
   • XP - running total of # of things I check off each week
   • Health % - # of times I succeeded in my calorie and step goals, divided by 14
   • Mana % - # of times I succeeded in my Quarterly Quest actions, divided by 21
2. Week # - Self-explanatory. Thinking about the year in terms of weeks has been game changing for me in really feeling the connections between days to weeks to months to years.
3. Big events and reflections
   • Events are the major things that are happening that day that I need to be present/show up for. I travel a lot for work, so this is also where I know WHERE I'm actually supposed to be.
   • Gratitudes - what I'm grateful for that day
   • Story - if I had to tell someone what happened that day, what would I focus on? What was memorable about the day?
   • Feeling - how did I feel that day?
4. Quote - Inspiring quote for the week. I have a collection of these at the back of my notebook, and I pick one that feels appropriate each week.
5. Meal Plan - I pick 3 meals + 1 snack to prep weekly. Once I've prepped them, I check them off here. For each actual day I put my plan in my Pseudo-schedule, since sometimes I'm eating out, on the road, or just feel like something different. If I stick to that, I check it off there.
6. Calories & Steps tracking - self explanatory. My completion percentage for these is what I use for my Health score for the next week.
7. Pseudo-schedule & Big 3 Blocks
   • I call it a pseudo-schedule because whenever I try time-blocking, I find I miss a hard start time and my whole day feels off course. In this version, I have target times (7AM morning routine, 8AM Block 1 etc.) but they're a bit wibbly-wobby. If I miss one, I just continue in order down the page and don't stress about the actual time, just the rough order of things. I might shrink the amount of time I spend on something or skip a row for the day, but the point is I keep going.
   • It is set up so that starting at the top and working down gets me back on track when I get distracted and points me on the next most important thing.
   • Block 1, 2, and 3 are the 3 chunks of time I have to play with outside of morning & evening routines, meals, and exercise. They're roughly 8:00-12:00, 13:00-17:00, and 20:00-22:30, but again, they can be wibbly-wobbly.
   • On work days, Block 1 & 2 are taken up by my day job, and I really just have Block 3 to work with. On non-work days, I have all 3 blocks. This forces me to pick 1-3 main priorities a day (instead of thinking I can somehow do 20 million things). That said, I usually use 1-2 blocks on weekends explicitly for relaxing.
   • I can and do also hop around between day columns sometimes, sort of like a bingo card. I might do tomorrow's ritual or yesterday's sidequest today because I feel like it. That then frees that "slot" up for other activities. The point is more getting things done than when exactly they happen. The non-checked off rows and columns show me where I need to focus next.
8. 12 Week Year Goals (aka My Quarterly Quests)
   • I really like the 12 week year framework - this is where I list my 3 quarterly goals (or quarterly quests, since RPG-theme), and daily actions I can do to move them forward. When I'm filling in Blocks, I start here, or when I finish my Blocks, this is the next thing I start on.
   • Totalling up the # of columns I've completed gives me my completion rate for the week, and the overall % complete is my Mana score for the week.
9. Rituals and Side Quests
   • Rituals are those weekly/monthly/seasonal things I need to do, like mowing the lawn, scheduling birthday texts, or doing a monthly review. Side Quests are those random things that come up that I need or want to do but aren't contributing to my Quarterly Quests.
     
   • I list 1 each per day in my pseudo-schedule, and then have a full running list on the right side. If something is super-important, it goes in a Block.
10. Reading, Creating, Duolingo practice - these are 3 habits I want to continue that usually don't take up a ton of time.
11. PM routine - end of day routine to reset
12. Experiences - I pick 1 hike, 1 adventure, 1 documentary, and 1 restaurant a week. They go into either ritual or block 1-3 depending on their priority.

Each week I fill in any events, quarterly quest actions, or time sensitive blocks I know about. Each day I fill in the remaining slots. If I really want to highlight something, I'll put an asterisk beside it instead of a bullet point.

This work well for me because it forces me to choose from a limited number of things each day. If I want to procrastinate, I can choose OTHER things on the page that I've already decided were important and I still get the "gamification" dopamine hit of accumulating XP.

I can also see easily what I'm avoiding by looking at what rows aren't getting checked off for the week. It's quite motivating to realize my Health is at 20%, or my Mana is at zero...

I never finish everything each week, but it has gotten me doing waaaaaay more of the things that I like or want to do, versus mindless scrolling, or floundering because I haven't hit an arbitrary time.

I am a Program Manager in operations and I have been using Planner and OneNote at work for quite some time but I miss my notebook. I also miss having a place to brainstorm and catch ideas that is quick and easy. OneNote is great, but not quite the same and the formatting and forced text boxes bug me. I am working at combining the three and so far I love it. Here is the basic work flow:

• I start my day with a 5 minute review of Planner, OneNote and my Teams calendar to review tasks and meetings. IAfter that I open my notebook and write today's date underneath wherever I stopped writing the day before. I jot down notes, thoughts, meetings, etc. From that point on I "work" from my notebook. As tasks come up that need to be managed I add them to the notebook using the dot to indicate tasks, question mark for things I need to ask or have answered, etc.
• At the end of the day I review my notes from the daily log-if it is a task, I add it to Planner, meeting notes, etc. go into OneNote in the appropriate sections.

For instance, let's say during a meeting, it was decided that we need to develop a policy. I would have that in my meeting notes with a dot to indicate a task. I type up the meeting notes after the meeting in OneNote and send them out (I add the meeting to a OneNote page and add the notes at the bottom, then copy/paste the notes into an email). MS Loop keeps the notes in the meeting details in OneNote).

At the end of the day, while reviewing my notes, I see Develop Policy. I would put a sideways arrow symbol in front of the dot to indicate it was moved to a Planner card. The arrow symbol lets me know that I do not need to monitor that task in the notebook as it has migrated to Planner. I would add Develop Policy to a planner card with a due date and subtasks like brainstorm, rough draft, revisions, final approval. I would brainstorm and rough the outline of the policy in the notebook, then work up the document and submit it for approval. Once approved, the planner card is marked complete and I add the policy to the appropriate section in OneNote and the appropriate document storage on our Sharepoint.

I do not always wait to add tasks to the Planner cards at the end of the day. I am not hard core about the division but in general I try to use the journal to capture "big picture" plans, brain dumps, etc. I use Planner for task management and use OneNote for knowledge capture, reference material, and also for project journaling and storing contact information, client notes, etc.

I have found it so much easier and faster to take meeting notes, and plan long term goals in my notebook, I can capture everything-the goal, the possible roadblocks, the questions. I can scratch things out, add questions, etc. I do still have a monthly spread and collections and I do use the index. Having the task management in Planner works really well-Develop Policy is a one line entry in the journal, then when I open a Planner card, I add the steps. If I needed to, I could have also added more notes surrounding that task in my notebook so I would not forget a step but if it is a straightforward task that I have done in the past, I generally do not need to add those notes in the journal.

This got waaaaay longer than I thought it would be, hope this stirs some comments, I would love to hear if others are using journals like this at work.

just want to scream from the rooftops about this,

the disc bound planner with easily removable pages

i couldnt handle the notebook, same disorganized flipping around. now i have my stuff in sections with dividers, a nice leather cover, place to hold a pen and loose papers, YES

I buy the premade yearly calendar on amazon, blank pages for everything else

I’ve been following this simple habit tracker format for over 2 years with observable results. Though I like making incremental changes to my journaling style over time, when it comes to trackers, I go with “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

In undergrad I really leaned on my bullet journal to keep track of test dates and assignments as well as research projects and work I was doing with social groups. But then when I graduated I didn't need the bullet journal because everything was organized through work and I didn't have so many different things to balance that didn't come with some kind of built in digital calendar. When I started medical school a couple of months ago I thought I would go back to the way I used the bullet journal in college, with the classic monthly spread and daily checklists interspersed with drawn out weekly visualizations of my time commitments.

What I found was that my lecture schedule was already digitized in a way that made using my Google Calendar way more convenient and up to date. I no longer needed the weekly or daily view, and I am using my Google Calendar to track asynchronous lecture videos, which I drag to different times to keep track of which ones I plan to watch when.

So the monthly and weekly spreads were a waste of time to draw out when I have so little spare time to begin with. What I was missing was a to-do list and a way to remind myself to upkeep my relationships with family and to eat something other than Cheez-its for dinner. I've been trying the Alastair method for the last few days and I am really liking it. At this point in my life I need my task management to be as frictionless and low-effort as possible and this seems like a good tool.

I'll probably adjust it with time to try to separate out the discrete tasks from the repetitive tasks and add lists of things for further out in the future. But I think this is filling in the gaps that I had from my more digital organization systems.

October has begun. This month, the school library is hosting an "Outstanding User" contest and a quiz competition, and the second-semester midterms are also scheduled. The preliminary round of the reading quiz took place this morning, and surprisingly, more questions came from the appendix than from the main text. In my poetry writing class recently, I had an assignment to write my thoughts and an interpretation regarding the Ninth Elegy from Rilke's *Duino Elegies*. Since I couldn't write notes directly in the borrowed poetry collection, I copied the poem out by hand into my bullet journal. I think the assignment went reasonably well.

In my new notebook I decided to put the future planning section in the back of the book - it makes more sense to my brain than having it in the front. I thought, why not try something similar with dailies for my work-life balance?

On workdays I usually open my journal right when I first sit down at my desk, and dump in all my tasks and appointments starting at the top of the page. But for the last few days, I've started putting my non-work tasks from the bottom up. Seems to be helping with the overwhelm.

I'm also trying to do some little doodles in leftover space, to increase my comfort working directly with a fountain pen instead of sketching with a pencil first. (We inherited an antique china cabinet that is becoming a book/keepsake shelf, and my cat has some kind of bump on her little ear)

Book: Leuchtturm1917 A5 in Copper

Pen pictured on 1st page: vintage Platinum pocket pen, B nib that writes a little stubby, J. Herbin Perle Noire ink

Used on 2nd page: Hongdian M2 F, Birmingham Burlywood

I’ve posted this before, but I thought I’d post it again just in case anybody would like to see it again or hasn’t seen it before.

It’s just a very basic monthly spread

It doesn’t take me hardly any time at all to do it in a dot journal.

What are your thoughts on using rough pages and notebooks for the daily log? I have been thinking of using rough pages and stuff for my daily log. The other spreads can be in my bujo but for the daily log i am thinking of the above pages? I want to focus on getting stuff done and not overthinking. Any thoughts?

Edit:Thank you all so much for the replies and tips

Ik ben gestart met een boek journaal, ik wil graag bijhouden wat ik leer uit een boek of wat ik belangrijk vind.
En ik ben benieuwd hoe lang ik er per boek over gedaan.

Hebben jullie een boek journal?? En wat vind je daar leuk of fijn aan?

Hello, I'm searching for inspo/tip for the project page layout~!

this is for my personal stuffs where i manage my hobbies, personal commitements, and side quests that i randomly take upon. (i love bujo for its adaptability!)

so, when i am dealing with a project, i make a note of the following info:

1. list of tasks
2. major milestones (this is a variable. this is mostly my experience from dealing with the tasks. i want to make a note of the tasks that i completed after so much mental gymnastics! i feel so damn proud of myself)
3. dates and the week i started (to monitor the progress because i have a habit of dumping things in-between!)
4. a reason of why i am doing this coz the reason boosts my motivation to complete!

i learned about alastair method. i drew the layout on A5 single page. it was a visual clutter, and i did not feel like going to the page. i like my layouts to feel breezy and spacious. as of now, i am using ruled a5 note book from peter pauper press: https://www.peterpauper.com/products/bullfinch-and-cherry-tree-journal

also, i have big handwriting. i write cursive with ascenders and descenders flowy, long. i tried using dot-grid, and i had a hard time writing because i had to shrink my handwriting so much that it felt like a burden.

i need tips on how i can arrange the info on the paper in a way that i don't feel visually over stimulated. help a fellow bujoer!

For example on September 22, a Tuesday, you got up around 3pm and went to sleep 7am of September 23. How would you date your journal entry for that day?

Or do you just do 12am to 11:59pm of September 22 and then a separate entry for 12am to 11:59pm of September 23?

I've been going back and forth on these two and both don't seem to sit well with me 🫠

Hey everyone! I am curious to get your thoughts on the different symbols that you use. I follow fairly closely to the four symbols in the bullet journal 2.0 method.

- Thought/idea
= Mood/feeling
• Action
° Event

However, as I am rapid logging my day, I often struggle to decide which symbol to use for certain things. For example, if I ran into someone in the office and had a brief conversation about something. This isn’t really an event in the same way a meeting is, but it’s not any of the others. Or maybe if I spend a particular time block working on a task. I haven’t crossed the task off but I want to log my work on it. It’s not an idea or event necessarily but more a “worked on on this part of report for 30 minutes”

It’s quite possible I am over complicating it, but I rely heavily on the symbols as I’m scanning my daily logs each day and during weekly reviews. Being strict about designating my events and tasks helps to keep me on track. Does anybody have a fifth symbol that they use to record these kinds of happenings? Or just in general, I’m curious about what unique symbols you all have created.

I can't really call myself new to bullet journaling but now is kinda the first time that I'm actually trying to make it a consistant practice. For now I don't have any crazy collections, I only use the main bullet journal pages which are future log, mothly log and daily log.

I'm thinking of using a pocket notebook along side my main bullet journal, but I feel like if I use it it would replace my daily logs so I was wondering how other people use it and how helpful it is.doesn't it interfere with your main journal?

I know that the original bujo method defies perfectionism and while my monthly log is fine I find myself falling short when it comes to the daily log? Like sometimes the perfectionism creeps in and sometimes I make too many tasks a priority and get noting done or not interact with my bujo

...... plus I am getting an urge to buy a new bujo as the hard cover journals are becoming really tempting

Mijn dagelijkse gewoonte tracker

Hi! I tried using Monthlies as outlined by Ryder, however, I barely use them as intended. I only write down some events but tasks are handled in my Weeklies.

I want to adjust the Monthly to track mood and habits. For mood I want to include tracking general mood as well as symptoms / emotions like anxiety, etc. I am in therapy and would like to be able to discover patterns and maybe take the info to my therapist.

I was looking for existing examples in this subreddit but they were either too complex or I did not understand how they worked. Therefore I would like to ask here for examples, ideas, or guidelines on how to track mood.

I assume habit tracking is more straightforward but if anyone wants to share their ideas or experiences, I will appreciate it.

I am a mature student who returned to undergraduate studies at the age of 36, and I use a bullet journal to keep up with my coursework. Since the people around me are much younger, I found myself constantly relying on AI because there was no one else to listen to my concerns. So, I created a tracker to help me cut back on that reliance.

I used to carry my bujo around everywhere in uni, but since I graduated and started working, I don't really feel a need to use it as much, or at all. I think it's mainly because I have no long term projects to keep track of, no homework due, and no exams to prepare for! I kinda feel nostalgic of my bujo era. What made you pick it back up?

Edit : thanks everyone for your input! It's fun to see how a bujo helps everyone differently. My issue with using it for work is... I dont really need it. I work in news / social media, so pretty much everything is planned in shared documents cause the whole team needs it, so transcribing it to paper feels like a waste of time. My daily checklists usually fit in that, or i just write it down on a loose paper at work / in google docs.

I'm already tracking books on a google sheet to pull fun stats out of it lol

Think I'm gonna look into meal planning and possibly brain dump for future trips I'd like to do or something... Still mulling it over and reading your ideas!