journa — Blog — Gwennan Rees

The demise of my 2018 bullet journal & where I am taking my 2019 version

Yes that’s right my friends, we are nearly 2 months into 2019 and I finally have new bullet journal content. It’s been a long time coming but it took me a good month to get my journal up and running let alone in a fit state to snap some photos of. And then came the bad weather and the grey days and I encountered the perils of working until it was dark every day.

But now, now we have had some sunshine, I have left work when it is still light and it feels like spring it on it’s way - and with that, a glossy pure white brand new bullet journal. But before we can crack on with that, I guess we better talk about the demise of my 2018 journal first.

Job Hunting In Your Bullet Journal

I was job hunting for four slow months until I secured the interview that landed me this job and 84 applications later here we are. I tracked all of it in my bullet journal under the instruction of Mel and it definitely helped keep me sane when applications became monotonous.

Here’s what I tracked and why I tracked it and how it helped me job hunt…..

Migrating Bullet Journals

For some people, migrating between journals is second nature and maybe your journal isn’t year on year, maybe you chop and change whenever the need takes you but for me, it’s a new year new bujo. For 2018 I had a sunny yellow little number between January and June and now I am working from a berry one which I switched to in July and will see me through to the end of the year.

Why I Need Two Bullet Journals Per Year & How To Migrate Over.

I am using my bullet journal as much as ever these days and I am loving it as much as I always have. I really feel like I have got into my groove with journaling and found a system that works really well for me and honestly I'd be lost without it.

I have a shiny new berry coloured journal waiting in the wings to become my second journal of 2018 so let's get into it shall we? Why exactly do I use two Leuchtturms per year?

FREE Spring Printable For Your Bullet Journal.

Now that the snow has nearly melted and the clocks change in a fortnight I think we can safely get excited for a new season. There are daffodils springing up left right and centre and the fields round my house are full of hopping and skipping lambs and I've already caved and bought (and eaten) my first easter egg.

With a new season comes of course, a new set of printables for your bullet journal, diary or planner and it'll probably be the last one of these I do now I've completed a full season. Who knows what the next one will bring!

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;

How To Future Plan With Your Bullet Journal.

The bullet journal can be used for a multitude of sins, from to do lists to calendars to shopping to future planning - and it's the latter I'm focusing on today.

In my 2016 bullet journal I used future planning as one of the biggest elements of my system, but actually I found it wasn't really working for me. I was future planning my month's ahead of time, drawing out my calendar and my 4 weekly spreads and it came to the point where it was unorganised and wasn't helping me plan at all. I found that it left no room for change, no room for master to do lists and it meant things like packing lists or shopping lists were weeks after the event and I never knew where I was.

In my 2017 journal I decided against pre planning, against future planning in that way and it's worked much better for me. But now we're coming toward the tail end of the year and I'm already thinking about what to do for 2018 so I thought I'd share my top tips (and fav spreads) for future planning with your bullet journal.

How To Draw Easy Banners For Your Bullet Journal (& Free Worksheet)

In my 'ways I make my bullet journal pretty' blog post I mentioned that I get a lot of messages from people asking how I draw my layouts, how I make my pages Instagrammable and how I make it so cute.

I'm a trained illustrator and drawing comes second nature for me - in fact when I was designing these worksheets Hannah asked me how on earth I could possibly do it freehand on the computer. For those of you who don't have a particularly artistic hand, I've created a FREE step by step guide on how to draw simple banners for your bullet journal that can be used for decorations or headers for your pages.

Introducing My 2017 Bullet Journal Take 2

If you're no stranger to this blog you'll know this year I am more bullet journal obsessed than ever, these days using it for absolutely anything and everything. But with lots of spreads and lists comes, well, very little space and by the time June rolled around my trusty black bujo was full.

For my July - December journal I recommitted to a Leuchtturm 1917 but this time in oh so Instagrammable turquoise and the love affair continues.

A lot of my second journal of the year is very similar or exactly the same as my first (have a nosey at that one here) but some has changed, some has gone and some of it is new. So without further ado - come and meet my 2017 Bullet Journal (part 2).

My June 2017 Bullet Journal Layout.

So ideally this would've gone up earlier than the 10th of the next month but I just haven't got round to taking the photos so here we are.

June saw the end of my first bullet journal of this year and I am slowly settling down into my second bujo for July onto December. I was so sure I'd actually fill this journal and I did, basically. I think I have 3 double page spreads left plain at the end of the journal and rather than rip them out (did you know the Leuchtturm has tear out pages at the end?) I think I'm going to scrapbook some memories from the first half of this year.

But for now, on to my June set up;

Why My Bullet Journal Has Done Wonders For My Productivity.

My bullet journal obsession is no secret but the fact that in the latter part of last year it became more pretty doodles less functional was no secret either and I kinda fell out of love with it. Don't get me wrong I still doodled, I still designed my weekly spreads and I still used it but it just wasn't working for me anymore and I was itching for a new journal to get stuck back into it.

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