How To Start A Bullet Journal For Beginners
Sunday, November 01, 2020
I love bullet journaling, and it has been a great way to spend my time recently! It can be hard to know where to start with a bullet journal, so I thought it would be a fun idea to teach you! I will go through everything you need, page ideas and even give you a few freebies along the way! I am not the most artistic person in the world, so all of these ideas are suitable for beginners.
What is a bullet journal?
A bullet journal is a little book where you can write your feeling and organise your life. It is a method of organisation that has become very popular lately! It's a great way to be creative, schedule your life and keep important things all in one place. It's also can reduce stress and anxiety!
What Are The benefits of bullet journaling?
Bullet journaling has a lot of benefits. Not only is it beneficial for your mental health, but it can help you organise your life. Here are some other reasons you should start a bullet journal:
- It keeps you organised with information all in one place
- It's completely customisable to your own preferences
- You can enhance your creativity
- It inspires productivity
- It helps to reduce stress and anxiety
- It allows you to clear your head & thoughts
- It can help you to identify issues and problems (both financial and mental)
- It can help you improve your outlook on life
What Do I Need To Start?
Bullet journaling is really easy to do! You really only need a book and a pen to start! Over time, you may want to extend your stationery range. I use a combination of biro, colouring pencils, watercolour paints, stickers and more. A bullet journal is personal, so you can use whatever you like to start! Here are a few affordable things that I use daily! These are the things I started off with, and some things I like to use now!
- Black Dotted Bullet Journal (This is the best, most affordable one I have found! I am really impressed with the quality)
- Rose Gold Biros
- A Ruler
- Pastel Highlighters
- Planner Stickers
- Washi Tape
I find that I am more inclined to use my bullet journal when it looks nice. When I have pretty pens, I put more time and effort into each page. It looks better in the end, but don't feel pressured to spend a lot of stationery. Remember, you only need the basic pen, notebook and pencil to start!
Beginner Spread Ideas
Monthly Overview Calendar
Everyone needs to know an overview of their month. From content that you need to schedule to meetings you have to attend, calendars keep you organised. It's important to create this page, especially if you lose track of time.
Weekly Planner
Monthly planners are great, but weekly planners give you more detail into your life. Your monthly overview might say "meeting at 10am", but your weekly planner will tell you where, with who and what you need to prepare. It's important to know the finer details of life, especially when it comes to deadlines and appointments.
Habit Tracker
Habits are hard to get a hold on, especially the bad ones. Habit trackers are great ways to make sure you're doing the right things. For drinking water to taking your pill, make sure you have a track to keep you motivated and on schedule. You can also use a habit tracker to check you're studying or working on blog posts enough.
Birthday Reminders
Never forget a birthday again with a birthday reminder page. You can put the name and dates on balloons, candles or presents to make the page themed! Birthday reminders are cute to create, and it's one of my favourite, most useful bullet journal pages.
Bucket List
Bucket lists are fun ways of looking forward to life. Whether your bucket list showcases your must-see holiday destinations or things you want to do before you die, this bullet journal page is a must. It's easy to do, and you can have blocks leading up to an end goal.
Page Of Quotes
If you're looking for inspiration, having a page of quotes is a great way to motivate you! You can have a page for each quote, or create boxes to contain your quotes. Quote pages are easy to make, and there's a lot of decorative freedom too.
Related: Bullet Journal Spreads For Beginners
Tips For Beginners
Decide What You Want Your Bullet Journal To Be - Do you want it to be a pretty version of a notepad or a daily planner that keeps your life together? Whether you're making your lists look nice, or prepping yourself for everything, you need to decide what your bullet journal is going to be used for. It'll help you to understand how much work you'll need to put into it.
Don't Worry About Perfection - When you start out, you will make mistakes. Your pages also won't look like the pages you see on Pinterest. It's okay to make mistakes and to have "bad pages". This is your personal journal, so don't worry about it not looking the best to start with!
Use Pencil First - If you're worried about mistakes, use a pencil, to begin with. It's a lot easier to fix design issues if you use a pencil, to begin with. It also allows you to see the finished product before you permanently mark a page!
It's All About Trial & Error - Just because you like a Pinterest image, doesn't mean it suits your style. Try different page spreads, colours and techniques. Just because one page doesn't work for you, doesn't mean there isn't a spread that does!
Do Your Research - If you're unsure of where to start, Pinterest is full of inspiration. Whether you're looking for the best pens to use or what theme you should try this month, research your options! Read reviews, see what's popular and look at Pinterest before you start!
Make Journaling A Habit - If you want to bullet journal, try to turn it into a habit. Don't spend time working on pretty pages without using their organisational benefits. Journals are amazing tools for productivity, motivation and organisation! Try to use it every day, especially if you've included trackers
Keep Things Simple - If you look at Pinterest, a lot of the journals you see are artistic creations that should almost be framed. Don't feel pressured to recreate things! When you're starting out, keep things simple and within your comfort zone. It's better to make a pretty page with simple doodles than mess up an abstract piece of art which might knock your confidence.
Bullet journaling has grown on my since I started. I love creating new pages that keep my life on track. You don't have to be an artist to bullet journal, you just need the passion to keep going. It's a great way to stay organised and show your creative abilities. When you're starting out, don't be afraid of messing up. Even the simplest of designs can be beautiful! Do you have a bullet journal? I'd love for you to share your designs and spread ideas!
Hi there! I'm Emily, and welcome to my little corner of the internet. You can find me preaching sustainability, hustling hard or working on my endless to do list! Together, we can make a productive, happy lifestyle!
3 comments
Thanks for sharing, I have thought about bullet journalling in the past, but I have not much time so I will stick to Filofax diary :)
ReplyDeleteNic | Nic's Adventures & Bakes
I've never had one but I guess it would make my life easier. 🥰
ReplyDeleteI just started journaling this last week, not bullet journaling but I’ve been interested. Thanks for sharing this information. I’m going to see if there are bullet journal apps for iPad!
ReplyDelete