How to Bullet Journal for Beginners!
WHAT IS A BULLET JOURNAL?
Today you are going to discover what a bullet journal is, and every tool you need to start your bullet journal TODAY. We will go over bullet journal tips, bullet journal setup methods, bullet journal supplies, types of bullet journals and learn why the bullet journaling system is a good fit for you. Below are MANY example pictures. By the end of this bullet journal blog post you are going to know all the bullet journal basics. Start your bullet journal today with no artistic capabilities needed! Want free planner printables and free printable stickers to easily start your bullet journal? Continue reading to sign up!
A bullet journal is a system that was created by Ryder Carroll. He stated “the bullet journal is meant to help you track the past, organize the present, and plan for the future.” So….a planner? Well yes, and no. Think of it as a journal, planner, and coloring book combined. Although you do not need to add doodles and color if you do not care about bullet journal aesthetic.
You can be a minimalist or a maximalist. Most people start with a blank bullet journal with a dot grid. Bullet journals are know for having bullet points printed on all the pages, the dots are normally 5mm apart which I recommend. The bullet points are there to help you draw straight lines and help you space out your designs. (Side note my printable planners have 5mm bullet points!).
Hmmm okay but that is still pretty vague, “what about all the cool bullet journal pictures I see on Instagram”? Before we dive in I want to point out if you do not want to make your bullet journal “pretty” do not feel pressured to! The bullet journaling system is very basic. You do not need spend hours on a bullet journal to make it pretty unless you want to. A great read from the original creator is here The Bullet Journal Method. Most bullet journals are above and beyond what is mentioned in the book. That is the beauty of bullet journaling, you literally turn it into what works for you.
This post may contain affiliate links. I would never recommend a product that I do not truly love. The price does not increase for you. Thanks for your support. See my disclosure for more info.
In short, a bullet journal is…
In short, a bullet journal is similar to a planner but more customized. Want a “Books to Read” page to track all the books you want to read? A habit tracker to track your daily habits? A “Last Time I” page to keep track of the last time you changed your home air filter or got an oil change? It’s a collection of pages that work for you, you don’t even have to have a calendar if you don’t want to! They are also known for having a dot grid to make drawing and writing easy. If you want a bullet journal with only collection pages and no weekly or monthly setups you can do that!
Bullet Journal Basics
Before I go on I want to go over some basic lingo so you are not confused.
What is a Bujo?
A bujo is short for bullet journal. Pronounced boo-joe. Funny story, when I first started I was reading bujo everywhere but not hearing how it sounded and for some silly reason I thought it was a Boujee, haha.
What is a Bullet Journal Spread?
A bullet journal spread is describing the pages in your bullet journal. It can be a single page or 2 pages that are side by side. Some may argue that a bullet journal page refers to a single page and a spread is considered side by side pages but most people say spread even if it is one page.
What is a Bullet Journal Collection?
A bullet journal collection is basically similar things grouped together. Such as a places visited list, future log, master to do list, favorite meals, self care ideas, etc. Almost any type of page can be considered a collection. A calendar page would not be considered a collection.
What is a Bullet Journal Monthly Log or Month at a Glance?
Some may say “Monthly Log” or “Month at a Glace” you may hear “I only like using monthlies”. It is a page or spread where you would write down the things that you want to do over the course of the month. Think of a calendar with a tasks section for the entire month. Maybe there’s a section to write your goals for the month too.
Types of Bullet Journals
There are many types of bullet journals to choose from. The most popular are:
Hardbound bullet journals, with a dot grid 5mm grids are usually preferred with white paper. There are even dot grids that have brown craft paper, black paper and even rainbow colored paper! My favorite and most popular dot grid hardbound journals are from Archer and Olive. Use my discount code SUNFLOWERCHILD10 for 10% off! I do not make commission from this code.
Binder bullet journals, you can easily use planner printables and rearrange pages or reprint. A great option if you don’t want to mess up the hardbound. I sell many printable planners, printable planner stickers, and bullet journal printables in my SHOP.
Digital bullet journals, I personally have tried some but nothing beats the power of a pen. I will not be going over digital bullet journals.
Sizes of Bullet Journals
In these days there is pretty much any size you can think of. The most common are
A5, MOST POPULAR
US Ltr
A4
B5, POPULAR
B6
Travelers
8x8
My first journal was US letter, then I went to B5 and now I am using A5. A5 seemed so small to start out with I was not used to it but over time I realized that A5 is the perfect size. You do have to write a little smaller but the overall look is so much prettier and it is easier to travel with. For reference an A5 is almost the size of a piece of US letter paper folded in half. It is 5.75 x 8.25. If you want to use a binder journal your best bet is A5, US Letter or A4 as it is the easiest to find printables in that size although you can always make other page sizes work in your printer’s settings by clicking “fit to page”.
Types of Bullet Journal Pages
Let’s think of the bullet journal as having a beginning, middle and end. It can seem overwhelming but don’t worry I got your back! You don’t have to have all of these pages, I recommend starting with a minimal amount of pages if you are creating the pages from scratch with a blank dotted journal. If you try to do too much you may get discouraged and quit.
Example Beginning Bullet Journal Spread Ideas:
The beginning pages are known to be as a bullet journal setup. The pages you start with to setup your bullet journal.
Pictures Below
Bullet Journal Cover Page
Hello 2022 (drawn large, a cover page)
Word of the year (pick a word to live by, don’t worry you can change it if you’d like I put mine in an envelope!)
Key Page (a list of the bullet point designs you will be using, example, a filled in circle for complete) I do not use a key page
Index page (I personally don’t need or use one)
Future log (a mini calendar of each month with important dates for the year, holidays, event, birthdays ,etc.)
Birthday list (Some people like to keep a separate B day list from the future log “hand raised” I like to organize mine by zodiac sign! That is the beauty of bullet journaling, ANYTHING goes.)
Goals (i like to separate mine by category, self care, crafts, career, family, finance, home repair, relationships, etc.)
Significant moon dates (not super common but I love this one)
Bullet Journal Spread Ideas - Monthly Setups
Whew on to the middle spreads. Most people pick a different theme for each month. So if I picked Easter for April, every one of the following pages would match that theme in some way. of course this is totally optional you don’t have to have themes or use any of the following spreads.
Monthly Cover page - write April in large letters, maybe some easter eggs and flowers all over the page.
Calendar (with a section for notes and goals or whatever you desire)
Mood tracker
Habit trackers
Brain dump (add in your thoughts for the month)
Weekly spreads (1 for each week so 4-5 weekly spreads)
Recap (list your highlights for the month, goals you reached, etc.)
Bullet Journal Spread Ideas - End of Journal Spreads
Wow that’s a lot of spreads! now for the end spreads.
The best of 2021 (write down all the best things that happened it could be as simple as “walking my dogs in the park”)
Bullet Journal Notes (write down what did and didn’t work in your bullet journal, maybe mood trackers aren’t for you or you don’t like to keep up with habit tracker, maybe you want to add specific spreads for next year)
Goodbye 2021 (in large font)
Bullet Journal Spread Ideas - Extra Spreads
BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE?!?! Here are some bonus spreads that are common to add throughout the year.
winter, spring, summer and fall bucket list (write a list if goals you want to do for that season for fall it could be “pumpkin patch”)
x amount of things I learned in x amount of years (replace x with your birthday)
Happy Birthday to me (write it in your favorite lettering)
thank you 10k (a thank you to the number of followers you have and post it to that account)
advent calendar (I made mine with flaps on top so when you look underneath it says something like “decorate the tree”).
There are so many more pages that you can come up with to fit your desires. The possibilities are endless! That is why the bullet journal is so widely used. You create spreads that work for you! If I bought a regular planner from the craft store I wouldn’t have monthly themes, a moon calendar, a fall bucket list, etc. All you need is a pen and a blank journal to start!
Start your Bullet Journal Today in 5 simple steps!
If you do not want to commit to buying anything right now. Grab some supplies you already have lying around the house. You can start a bullet journal using any pencil, pen, or markers that you already have. Grab a binder and some paper or a composition book. keep reading to see my top 7 supplies to buy.
Pick a few spreads mentioned above. I think a great one to start with is “The Last Time I” since it is so helpful.
Look at some inspiration pictures on Pinterest. It is really hard to just think of a design. Look at a design and turn it in to your own! You can also just buy some printables to get you started.
Don’t be scared to mess it up, I hear so many people saying “I don’t want to mess it up”. I actually love looking back at my old bullet journals and seeing how much progress I have made. You will make mistakes, no biggie!
Join the bullet journal community. Share your work on social media and follow people who do too. There are so many accounts and everyone is so supportive of each other. I don’t recall anyone EVER saying “this looks terrible” or anything like that on anyone’s posts or mine. On Instagram look up the tag #bulletjournal and make sure to follow the tag. That is the most used hashtag for bullet journal accounts.
When to Start a Bullet Journal?
NOW!! Most people think to start when the new year begins. Start at any point in the year. Starting now will allow you to discover what works and doesn’t work. You will be that much better once the new year begins. If you are starting towards the very end of the year you could start working on setting up your bullet journal for the new year. It can take awhile!
Top 7 Bullet Journal Supplies to Buy
It is safe to say that every bullet journaler I know has and LOVES these bullet journal supplies listed below. They are all must haves for me.
Micron Fine Liners - These are what I use everyday. They are pigmented so they are very black and great quality and do not bleed or smudge. There are really small nibs in this pack which you will need for small details and if you need to write small. This 10 pack has all the sizes!
Crayola Super Tips - Even the most experienced bullet journalers (if that is a word) use these! I pick these up daily. You can even use them to make faux calligraphy. These markers are inexpensive. I recommend the 50 pack as there are more colors than the 20 pack.
Tombow Brush Pens - These are more expensive but think about quality over quantity. There are so many color options. I love to use the light greys and light tans. If you are new to brush lettering I still think you should practice with these as the nibs are great quality and your writing will look better. The nibs are pretty large. Since I use an A5 I do not use this to draw headers but I love to color over headers with these. You can start small and buy single pens from your local craft store. Mine is Michaels.
Tombow Fued - This is a small brush pen. My favorite brush pen and most bullet journal enthusiasts will agree. It is great to write headers for smaller paper such as A5. I would use this to write the title “The Last Time I”.
A clear ruler - I love being able to see through this ruler. I used to constantly keep moving the ruler over to make sure I was in the right spot, this ruler solves my problems.
Printables - To get you started.
Hard bound Journal If you want a hardbound journal these are my favorite. You can still use printables in these if you’d like. My printables come with a cut to A5 size so you can paste it into your journal! Stickers are great for hardbound journals. Use code SUNFLOWERCHILD10 for 10% off, I do not receive any commission.
Bullet Journal Tips for Beginners
Have Fun and do not Compare Yourself to Others
Bullet journaling is about having fun! Don’t force yourself to try to have the prettiest journal ever to exist. Enjoy the process. Everyone is on their own journey.
Create a Habit
It is easy to fall out of keeping up with your journal. It happens to the best of us! I only update my bullet journal about once a week. Busy mom here! I like to “schedule” my bujo time for every Sunday morning when I know my husband can watch the baby. That is my me time. Set a reminder if you need to. Sometimes I do not feel like it but once I make myself I get into it and have so much fun. Add bullet journaling to your habit tracker!
Supplement with an Online Calendar
Lets be real, your are not going to always have your bullet journal and your bullet journal cannot remind you of things like google calendar can! I just set all my appointments in my google calendar and set about 3 notification reminder so I do not forget! I still sometimes forget haha!
Use your Phone Notes for Bullet Journal Thoughts
This is really important for me. I’ll think of something that I want to add to my journal and I of course will not have my journal on me so I quickly jot it down in my notes. Example: “Kinsley says up!” then later on I would add to my Kinsley page that she now can say up! She is growing so fast.
Follow Tutorials or Buy a Book on Lettering and Doodling REFERENCES INCLUDED
If you are on a budget try to learn how to doodle or write in brush calligraphy (if you desire to) by watching YouTube tutorials and finding freebies. A few books that I have enjoyed on lettering are Hand Lettering 101 and Hand Lettering 201 I still revisit these books sometimes! A few books that I have used for drawing florals are Modern Florals and Florals by Hand. I am always on the hunt to find a new book. There are SO MANY!! A great resource for learning calligraphy is The Lettering Daily they have free worksheets! I highly recommend Show me Your Drills to learn modern calligraphy, the beginning course is free and you get a Facebook group of support. I have bought ALL of her workbooks. She goes into so much detail and breaks it down step by step way more than any book I have ever read!!
Experiment and Be Creative
Try new things. I used to think mood trackers were pointless. One day I tried one and I loved coloring it in. I still don’t really care to track my mood but I still use them sometimes. Stop using what doesn’t work for you. My favorite spreads are the ones I have never seen before. I invented the wine tracker, although I am sure someone else has done this!
Buy Some Good Quality Supplies
Buy some of the supplies I mentioned above. It is thrilling to get new supplies and to try them out. They make journaling fun. I think the most important thing to buy is a pretty binder or hardbound journal. That is that backbone of bullet journaling.
Join the Bullet Journal Community
The best place to share in my opinion is Instagram. Make a separate bullet journal account and share your work. Follow the hashtag #bulletjournal. Follow accounts and interact with other fellow bullet journalers. There’s Facebook groups and ofcourse…TikTok.
Encourage Others
Make sure to always be kind! Like and comment other people’s posts and ask their advice. I have found some pretty cool supplies by simply asking “What what pen is that? That is beautiful!”
Don’t Stress
I could go on and on the possibilities are ENDLESS!! Do you see how it could be overwhelming? I suggest to not worry about the decorative aspect and focus on using it in a way that is useful and brings you joy, it is supposed to be fun not stressful.
I Stressed
It takes a lot of time to create a bullet journal. I started to feel over whelmed so I created many printable planners and printable stickers, etc. The designs range from minimalist to maximalist.
Archive Bullet Journal Blog
Archive Free Printables
Your small gesture makes a HUGE difference, pin one!
