Bullet journaling is a trend that has taken the world by storm and has allowed easy improvement and tracking to people’s everyday lives. After the ever-changing work climate of 2020, many people are looking at 2021 to become the year that they make up for all their lost resolutions and bring back some semblance of normalcy and order to their lives.
One way to improve the quality of your life is by bullet journaling. Bullet journaling has been so helpful to the millions of people who have tried it. Not only is it aesthetically pleasing and allows the creator to blow off some artistic steam, but journaling also allows one to keep track of his or her daily habits, create motivation, and even track feelings.
So how do you make the best out of a blank sheet of paper? There are a multitude of ways to journal, but here are some methods that I’ve used. And in case you want ready-made templates, we’ll have some recommendations in each section as well!
Mood Tracker
Mood tracking might be the best method for mindfulness that I have encountered when bullet journaling. There are hundreds of different ways to track moods, whether by coloring different blocks to indicate where on the happiness scale you fall, or maybe simply by writing a small sentence every day that encompasses your general thoughts and feelings about the day. The element that mood tracking adds to your journaling allows for reflection and lets you create the best bullet journal for your needs.
Habit Tracker
Habit tracking, just like mood tracking, will require you to reflect in your journal daily, but the payoff will be worth it. Write down a few habits you would like to form in the new year, new month, or even a new week. Add those habits to your journal in some way — I usually put a box at the end of every week to see if I checked off my daily habits, and then a box at the beginning of every month so I can see how my habits have been sustained throughout a longer period of time. Habit tracking allows you to create your best bullet journal because eventually, just by looking at the journal, you will think of your habit and go ahead and do it.
Resolution Tracking
This is very similar to habit tracking, but something you can be more lenient with. If your resolution is to go to the gym 5 times a week, then put that in your ‘habit tracking’ section. But if your resolution is to read a certain amount of books, you can track that in a way that is not so time-sensitive. At the beginning of the journal, draw a chart that outlines where you are, where you want to be, and where you can grow from there. Every time you read a book, add to that chart. Not only will that give you a visual of what your resolution will look like long-term, but it will also give you a little motivation to fill out the chart if you’re anything like me and a little bit competitive.
Finance Building
While a bullet journal may not be the most reliable stand-in for an accountant, tracking your spending each month in relation to your earnings will help you get a visual of what your finances look like and can even help encourage you to save. I create 3 different sections in my journal when I’m tracking my finances: Gas, Groceries, and Personal. I like to see how much I’m spending where and what I can do to decrease unnecessary spending.
Gratitude and Affirmations
This is something that I started doing a few years ago, and it remains the best thing I have ever done. At night, I like to reflect on a number of things I am grateful for. It doesn’t have to be a set number, but as every day is different, I usually look at about 20 things that made my day special and that I want to hold on to looking back. In the mornings, I write down five things I love about myself that are non-performative and not physical. These are the basic elements that make me up and cause me to be me.
There are a million ways to create a bullet journal and infuse elements into it that you want. I lean toward the personal growth side that bullet journaling can sometimes create, but that might not work for everyone.
Experiment with what you like to do and see what will help you most in the long run. This is your journal and no one else will read it, so make it all about you!
Have you tried bullet journaling? If so, what do you put in it? If not, what are you going to try now? Leave a comment down below and share it with us!
For More Journaling Article, Check These Out:
An Artist’s Guide To Art Journaling
Start Your New Year Off Write With These 5 Great Journaling Tips
