2017 Bullet Journal On Reflection | What I Learned.

Yesterday I posted an photo heavy introduction to my 2018 bullet journal but today I wanted to reflect on my old one. I thought it'd be a fun way for me and you to look back on a year of journaling, to see what worked and what didn't and what I took forward into my new shiny bright yellow one.

My 2017 bullet journal was heavily documented on this ol' blog (I'll include some links at the bottom of this post) and had a pretty sweet reception from you all but some things were more successful than others.

Here's what I think about my 2017 bujo on reflection;

What I Liked;

Actually quite a lot. I reworked a lot of my 2017 bullet journals into my 2018, even if not in their original form. I still kept some things exactly the same as in my previous journal, and actually from my 2016 journal too. The initial pages to my journal are full of typography and doodle inspiration, followed by a key and birthdays.

My monthly calendars are exactly the same as they always were because quite frankly, it works for me. They're plain, they're simple but they give me a good way of looking at the month ahead and mapping lots of things at once like birthdays, events and bills - all in one place. My weekly spreads are the same as always too, for the exact same reason. When I initially started journaling in May 2016 I had scoured Pinterest and had grand ideas of changing up my weekly spreads, well, weekly. That happened about 3 times until I found one that I really liked, and now we're nearly 2 years on.

I would say the biggest thing I liked about my 2017 journal was the inclusion of my blog. Before that I'd had a Bando planner that I used for my blog but with time, actually quite quickly into 2017 I realised it just wasn't working for me. I needed my blog content to be in the same journal as my life to see when I had time to blog, when I had time to photograph content etc. This massively changed my productivity and the way in which I journaled, and blogged, and I never looked back.

What I Disliked;

There wasn't a lot I plain hated about my 2017 bullet journal but there was a lot that got on my nerves and I changed. What I did hate about my journal was mistakes, I love my journal to look a certain illustrative way and I hate cocking it up so when I did, I covered it up with my images of inspiration.

Of things I didn't like or what didn't work I'd say a lot of my habit tracking and tracking in general was included in that. I had a lot of things in my monthly habit trackers that I just plain didn't do and became redundant very quickly. Things like drinking 8 glasses of water or taking part in Twitter chats didn't materialise and were a waste of time and space that could have been better used. I also tracked books and didn't read any and exercise I didn't do and it just took up spreads I didn't need. That being said, for 2018 I have reintroduced a lot of these trackers and spreads, but in a way which is much more goal focused and I have removed the ones I know I don't need.

What I Learnt;

I learnt a lot in reflection when looking back at my 2017 journal, and implemented a lot of that knowledge and information into my 2018 journal. The main thing I learnt was that I use my journal wayyyyy too much to just stick to one Leuchtturm a year! When I bought my first one in January 2017 I didn't for a second dream I'd fill it within 6 months but I did and suddenly the spreads I'd mapped out for December seemed pretty useless! Now I know I am going to use two bullet journals a year I was able to work with that - knowledge is power and all that - and I have only created calendars until June.

I also learnt that there really nothing my bullet journal is limited to. Having started including my blog content I have included more and more and more and it really is all my life in one notebook. God forbid I ever lose it I wouldn't be able to remember a single bloody thing. There is nothing I can't write in my bujo, nothing that doesn't fit in with my theme, nothing that I can't find a home for somewhere.

I have mainly learnt how to be productive from my 2017 bullet journal. I have really found a way of planning that works for me and keeps me motivated and organised and whilst I think there'll always be bits that didn't work, ultimately I have pretty much nailed it.

Shop bullet journal supplies here!*

*Some of the links in this blog post are affiliates which means I get a small commission for every purchase you make at no extra cost to you.

So on reflection how did I find another year of bullet journaling? My first complete calendar year? I think I can happily reflect that it's the tool of choice for me when it comes to organising my life, my blog, my work and my thoughts - and it ain't so bad at relaxing me too.

READ MORE ABOUT MY 2017 BULLET JOURNAL HERE: