November 2018 Bullet Journal Setup

Hello friends!  I’m here today to share my first attempt at a monthly bullet journal!

I want to be clear: I’ve bullet journaled for a few years now, but I’ve never really set it up in a monthly format; I mostly just make pretty lists and dailies once in a while.

This month, I used the Tombow dual brush pen in 993, a Pilot .38 gel pen, and some washi tapes from Target.  The stickers are from various Etsy shops and Target!

The first spread I made was the ‘traditional’ bullet journal monthly spread.  The days of the month are listed along the side and the space next to it is where you put whatever is happening that day.  I don’t think I’ll do this spread again; even though I really enjoy the way it looks, I don’t have enough going on in the month to make it worth a page.

I also made a grid monthly spread, which I definitely prefer!  Apparently I don’t know how to count, though, because I made way too many squares for the month!  I might try to fill it with random statistics from the month, but we’ll see.  I’m using this spread as more of an editorial calendar, so all of my blog posts and Instagram posts are laid out for me to use as an at-a-glance.

I will probably use the same layout next month, but with larger boxes so I can fit monthly activities as well.  I’m also going to try to change the sidebar, since I don’t think I’ll use it.  I might try to track numbers or use it as a brain dump section!

What’s a monthly bullet journal without a habit tracker??  I LOVE tracking my daily to-do’s, and I can’t wait to see it fill up.  I put my daily habits on the bottom and things I want to track on the top, even if I don’t do them every day.  It’s more a reminder to make sure I’m paying attention to them.

On the other side of the page, I’ve put my goals for the month of November.   Setting goals is a great way to make sure you’re working towards your best self in my opinion, so I like to set a lot of them!  They’re all pretty simple, but incredibly beneficial to me and what I want to see in my life.

A log I wanted to try this month was the “month in books”.  I’m going to use it to track the books I’ve read, the rating I gave it, and any extra notes I want to remember about it.  I don’t think I’ll fill the entire page, so I might have to do some doodles.  I’m planning on making a year-sized spread for 2019 in a similar set up.

On the other side is my spending log, where I’m going to make it a point to track my shopping for the month!  That way I can see where my money is going when I’m out and about.  So far, I see a pretty clear trend, not that I’m super surprised by it.

I also made a productivity log, so I can write down at least one productive thing I’ve done every day, and this is formatted just like the monthly list.

Well, that’s my monthly setup for November!  I really like some of it, and I’d definitely change some of it.  That’s the beauty of bullet journals!  You can change it to fit whatever you’re looking for in a planner.

Have you heard of bullet journaling? How do you keep yourself organized?