I’ve been using a bullet journal for the past few years. A bullet journal helps my mental health as it allows me to be more organised, which combats my anxiety. But it also provides me with a creative outlet. (I don’t think of myself as very creative but my bullet journal lets that small side of me out).

I thought I would share with you my monthly spread for March 2019. Although this is the way I set my bullet journal up for March these pages are the same in my journal every month.

My Monthly Bullet Journal Spread Set-up

Front Pages

 

The first two pages of my monthly spreads are always my creative outlets. The first is the title page of the month (see the first image of this post). The second page always contains a quotation and some inspiration for the month ahead. I then move onto business. This first proper spread includes a calendar of the month, a list of birthdays, a reminder to buy birthday cards and presents and my to-do list for the month.

Monthly Future Log

In the traditional bullet journal, as created by Ryder Carroll, the future log is laid out as a list of dates and notes. But my brain doesn’t work that way. Instead, I need to see my month mapped out in a calendar format.

The future log is simply a place to record events that are occurring during the month. But it is also somewhere to record important things to remember or things that I need to do in the future. So a calendar format works well for this.

Monthly Habit And Mood Tracker

My habit tracker and my mood tracker are the most important pages of my monthly bullet journal set-up. They are the pages that I turn to every day and they are the pages that really help my mental health. They are also the pages that I most enjoy to fill in as I love to fill them with all the colours of the rainbow.

Bullet Journal Monthly Habit Tracker

My habit tracker is where I record all the daily habits that are important to me or any information that I need to refer back to in the future. For example, it is useful for me to know when I have my period, a migraine and a low energy day. I also record if I have done the following:

• exercise
• yoga
• cleaned the house (these are noted down as TOMM Level 1 and TOMM Level 2, as I follow The Organised Mum’s method of cleaning)
• taken my medication
• my diet (my weaknesses are Coca-Cola, chocolate, cake and biscuits. So the relevant date box gets coloured in if I have gone through a whole day without consuming one of those things.)
• published a blog post that day
• done any Instagram Stories
• a photo has gone up on my Instagram grid
• I’ve been present in my Facebook group for women who struggle with their mental health (Mrs H and Friends).
• read fiction
• written in my bullet journal

As I complete a habit, I fill the square for that date in with colour. I like to use a different colour from the rainbow each day. So by the end of the month, not only have I recorded lots of useful information, but I have a page that is filled with all the beautiful colours of the rainbow.

Of course, this is my bullet journal habit tracker. I’ve added habits that are important to me but you can add those habits or routines that are meaningful to your life. For instance, you may want to focus more on self-care.

Bullet Journal Mood Tracker

I suffer from chronic severe depression and anxiety so it is vital that I record my mood. And I can use my mood tracker with my habit tracker to see if there are any patterns. For example, I may notice that my depression is worse just before my period. Or that I have a low mood and low energy on a day when I have consumed a lot of sugar.

I mark my mood using various colours. Each colour represents a different mood. As you can see from the photo above the brighter and lighter colours represent happier moods. And the darker colours indicate depression. I prefer it when my mood tracker is filled with pinks, oranges and yellows.

Gratitude List And Blog Goals

Gratitude Log – Finding Happiness and Chasing Rainbows

My gratitude log is another important page in my monthly bullet journal spread and one that I love to complete. It is called Finding Happiness and Chasing Rainbows because it also becomes a monthly blog post. It is where I simply record moments, memories or things that have brought me enjoyment throughout the month. Times that have put a smile on my face.

Blog Goals

At the beginning of the year, I wrote 90-day blog goals. This is where I break them down into more manageable chunks for the month. It is so important to write them down and have goals to aim for.

Blog Planner

My blog planner is where I record the blog posts that I have planned for the up and coming month. It is in a table format because that is how my brain works. I first saw this on a post by Hayley from Home and have used it ever since.

I try but (if you read this blog regularly, you will know) fail to post three times a week. And so I have three little boxes per week to write my blog posts in. Either I write the fully formatted titles or a few notes and ideas of the post I want to write.

And that is it! That is how I lay out my month in my bullet journal. It may be more ornate than some bullet journals but it is definitely more simplistic than others. But that is the beauty of a bullet journal. It can be anything you want or need it to be.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this tour around my bullet journal. Do let me know if you would like to see more posts about using a bullet journal. Do you use a bullet journal? I would love to know in the comments.

Hugs

Lucy

xxxx