My interest in bullet journaling was sparked by one main thing – I really enjoy coloring, and I wanted an excuse to color between assignments and responsibilities. My goal for my bullet journal isn’t to boost my productivity, I went into 2020 thinking it would make me happy, and so far, it has. If you, too, enjoy coloring, or are interested in starting a bullet journal, skim through – this article is for you.
Let’s talk supplies. Bullet journal YouTubers have comparative videos where they test a stockpile of notebooks (here’s amandarachlee’s video, and here’s her 2020 journal). I am the equivalent of Smaug sitting on his hoard when it comes to unused Barnes and Noble gift cards, so I got a dotted Leuchtturm1917 in a vaguely Perry-The-Platypus color. Dotted journals make it easier to gauge the proportions of the page without distracting from the art. I also like a high page count, and this book seemed pretty good on that. However, it has pretty thin pages and there is a lot of ghosting with pretty much any medium. This ghosting was not a welcome feature until my girlfriend told me that ghosting pages are reminders that everything you write is interconnected and all part of your process as a growing person. Still, if you’d like to paint, maybe get something with thicker pages. Overall, just get whatever notebook speaks to you. (This one’s real talkative, has thicker pages than the Leuchtturm, and it’s under ten dollars.) That being said – don’t be intimidated by your book. Make friends with it. There are no mistakes because even if you screw something up, you’ll be happier to look back and see a well-loved messy and colorful notebook than you will be to see a few flawless spreads and a ton of blanks.
Washi tapes are great for making your spreads look extra without trying. They’ve got a dual use if you’re collaging in your journal, and you can have fun swatching them! Incorporate the tape into a larger scene. You can make a little washi tape art museum, little planets, or even layers of the earth if you’re going for a geology theme.
Time for spreads and practices! On my day-to-day spreads, I like to draw a little something that reminds me of the day. The other day I drew a whale because we’d stayed up until 3 AM watching “Our Planet” on Netflix. Most of January I drew out some attempts at cooking. It would also be cute to draw out some of your favorite things of the month for a spread, and I know a lot of bullet journalers like to recreate cover art from their favorite songs or albums.
THEMES! I like to choose my themes based on a) something I’d be excited to color a lot of and b) something I’d like to learn more about. There’s no need to make a heartsy February theme if you aren’t hyped to draw some hearts. My Tarot theme (based on Lisa Sterle’s Modern Witch deck) has helped me familiarize myself with my deck, and it’s been helpful for a novice people-drawer like myself. As for my 1920s January theme, I wasn’t really all about the art-deco hype I saw all over bullet journal youtube, but I took the opportunity of re-entering the 20s to do some research for my spreads and include little weekly challenges. (Example: one week I tried to read 1 piece of Harlem Renaissance lit per day.) You can do a monthly theme about your target language, for example, and include little historical and cultural tidbits and as of course, practice in the new language. I’d love to brush up on my earth science, so I’m definitely going to end up doing an earth science theme at some point, and the earth is so rich with things to draw, I’m smiling just at the thought.
Habit. Trackers. When I first came across habit tracker spreads and saw things like “working out” and “drinking water” I was immediately turned off. During a boring train ride, however, I came to the conclusion that I could, in fact, track things that did not make my soul shrivel up. Using my journal to track how often I take my medication has been the single reason I remember to take it. Alarms don’t do it for me, they’re annoying and ignorable. Getting to color in a cute little circle though? Adorable. Wonderful. Would recommend. And there’s plenty of room to get more creative with habit trackers, I’ve drawn a pentacle over every day on my tracker this month.
Dream trackers !! Writing out the plot highlights of my dreams has been incredibly interesting to look back on, and provides a great alternative to spamming my friends’ Whatsapp accounts with the details. Do you ever remember a general vibe of a dream instead of the plotlines? Doodle it. If Wednesday’s dream’s plot is a mystery but it just kind of felt yellow, color it in.
Play games! I’ve done the drawing Pokemon from memory challenge. I enjoy accidentally flipping to that page and seeing my terrible half-invented Sinnoh creatures.
Learning Objectives? I love having learning-based spreads or pages. I have a page that I expect to fill up with French to practice, and it’s working out great so far. Even if you skip days or even weeks, it doesn’t matter. pick up where you left off. There’s no failing at this sort of activity. This goes for your whole journal – there’s no failing.
Another thing worth saying is not to be afraid of your spreads. By that, I mean don’t be afraid to write on what you’ve set up, don’t be afraid to start a new one. I don’t pressure myself to write in a perfect font or to make cute little boxes for fear of ruining the aesthetic of whatever spread. Don’t be afraid to run out of room in your spreads – you can always make another page. I’ve been having really weird dreams lately, so I’ll probably have to make another dreams spread later on. On this colorful journey is that there are no stakes and there are no rules. This journal is for you, your thoughts, and your colorful creations. If you don’t think you’ll ever use a future log or one of the other standard practices that pop up everywhere, just don’t put it in. Even a monthly brain dump page seemed like an unnecessary rule to place on myself, so I don’t have one. I prefer to view the whole book as my space to dump my brain. Don’t be afraid to make just open your journal and write chaotically like it’s any other notebook.
If you’re getting into it for the artistic aspect, your pages do not have to be masterpieces, the important thing is that you made something. Lilith of pyperbleu made a few really sweet videos on just taking time to be with yourself and your colors (here‘s one). AmandaRachLee, reigning Bullet Journal Queen, inspired me with the artistry, color, and creativity she brought into her spreads. She has been churning out calligraphic spectacles on the regular, which is lovely. Yet for us, the laymen who simply like to color, there are absolutely no stakes. None. Even Amanda is taking a recuperative break to take the pressure off. You don’t have to journal every day, and even if you miss a week or a month, you can always pick it up again. Nobody will punish you. Get some pens, markers, and a happy drink. Do according to what feels good for that day or moment.
Images are courtesy of the HC Media Library