Welcome to my bullet journal set up for 2019. I’ll show you how I plan setup my bullet journal for this year. I hope you find some inspiration and ideas from this post.

MY BULLET JOURNAL SETUP 2019

Besides loving calligraphy, I’m a planner nerd. I used to be big into decorating my planner and enjoyed spending time on it. It was my hobby. It made me feel organized and productive. Since getting immersed in calligraphy and getting married, planning took a back seat. I forgot even more about it when I became a mom. I honestly didn’t have the same time I had before. The one thing I love is that I can apply my calligraphy skills into my bullet journal. Another reason to learn calligraphy.

If you want to get started with calligraphy, check this blog post. It has a full tutorial and free resources. Or you can also fill out the form at the end of this blog post to get access to my FREE CALLIGRAPHY WORKSHEETS. 

WHY I DECIDED TO GET INTO BULLET JOURNALING…

I used to be a big fan of Erin Condren planners, (and I still love those planners) but my needs have changed. I needed something different. Then, I found the Living Well planner, which I also love. It’s a planner that will help you with your goal setting and will give you the tools to help you achieve those goals. I still felt like something was missing for me. I wanted a functional planner. One that’d allow me to be practical, organized, productive. At the same time, I wanted something that would let me show my creative side and that I could customize as my needs change.

That’s when I found bullet journaling!

I tried it last year, but sadly, I didn’t follow through with it. I now realize that I was making it more complicated than it needed to be. That’s why this year, I’ve made it a point to be more consistent and intentional with my planning because I want to use it as a tool to become more productive and creative at the same time. So I’m giving bullet journaling a try again. I finished with my bullet journal set up for 2019, and I loved it. So I decided to share it with you in case it helps you. I hope it gives you some inspiration to start.

WHAT IS BULLET JOURNALING?

If you have no idea what bullet journaling is, here is a short paragraph I took from the Bullet Journal website that helps explain it:

“Bullet Journal® (or BuJo® for short) was created by Ryder Carroll. Bullet Journal method is truly about: the art of intentional living”. It’s best described as a mindfulness practice disguised as a productivity system. It’s designed to help you organize your what while you remain aware of your why. The goal of the Bullet Journal is to help its practitioners (bullet journalists) live intentional lives, ones that are productive and meaningful”

The art of intentional living! I want to be more intentional in my life. And that is the reason I’m getting back into bullet journaling this year.

Now I’ve shared all of that; I want to show you my setup for the beginning of the year.

Note: This is how I choose to set up my bullet journal. After looking at several YouTube videos, Instagram, and Pinterest for inspiration, this is what I decided to do. When choosing to set up your bullet journal, make sure you pick pages that will work for you based on your activities and goals. The beautiful thing about the bullet journal method is that you can customize it to suit your needs. You can keep it as simple as you want or you can add as much art and designs as your heart desires.   

SUPPLIES I USED FOR MY BULLET JOURNAL SETUP

First, I’d like to share with you what I used to set up my bullet journal. Again, everything here is optional. Bullet journal could be as easy as just picking up a pen and regular notebook and start writing down the things you want to do/accomplish.

• Notebook: I used a squared grid Journal by Scribbles That Matter. Next time, I will be going back to the dotted journal. I didn’t like the squared grid as much as I hoped.
• Pens: Tombow Fudenosuke Black, Gray, and Pink from their Fudenosuke Colors set. Tombow MONO drawing pen 03 & 05, Tombow MONO Pencil 2B, Tombow Dual Brush Pen 761 Carnation Pink
• Erasers: I used Tombow MONO Zero Elastomer Eraser to erase small details and the Tombow MONO eraser for everything else.
• Cute Recollections washi tape I got from Michaels. I don’t know if it’s still available, but here is a similar I found from Amazon
• Watercolor: Finetec Metallic Watercolor palet
• Brush: Winsor & Newton Cotman Short Handle Brush (Round 2)

MY BULLET JOURNAL SETUP 2019

THE COVER PAGE

The first two pages in my 2019 bullet journal setup are for the cover page. I decided to go with the year, and I decorated it with florals. I love drawing florals, and this was the perfect excuse for it.

Based on the Bullet Journal Method, the next pages are called Collections.

Each module, or Collection, serves to organize related information. You can mix and match, customize, or even create Collections to best suit your needs. – by Ryder Carroll. (from the Bullet Journal website)

WORD OF THE YEAR:

For the pages after my cover page, I decided to dedicate them to my word of the year, which is consistency. In here, I will write down how I plan to implement my word of the year in these areas of my life; my family, my blog, social media, and learning.

VISION BOARD AND AFFIRMATIONS:

Next, in my bullet journal setup is my 2019 Vision Board and affirmation pages. After listening to Hal Elrod podcast for a while and reading his book “The Miracle Morning” (which I can’t recommend enough), I knew I needed to have this kind of page on my planner setup. Even if you don’t read the book, you can go to his website www.themiraclemorning.com and get access to the free bonuses. The bonuses alone are amazing and will help you understand the importance of a vision board and affirmations, along with other extraordinary things to help you achieve your goals.

If you want to get started with calligraphy, check this blog post. It has a full tutorial and free resources. Or you can also fill out the form at the end of this blog post to get access to my FREE CALLIGRAPHY WORKSHEETS. 

2019 GOALS:

The following pages are dedicated to by 2019 goals. I divided my goals into different categories:

• Personal
• Finances
• Fitness
• Blog
• YouTube
• Social Media

I did a two page set up because I wanted to have a place where I can write everything I plan to accomplish this year. This setup is also helpful for me because I want to look at it frequently and know what I’ve done and what I need to keep doing to make my goals a reality.

IDEAL HABITS:

• Next is my Ideal Habits page, followed by a quote page. My Ideal Habits page is where I will be writing the habits I’d like to install in my mornings, evenings, weekly, and monthly. At the bottom I have a quote: “small daily improvements lead to amazing results.” I heard something like this from Robin Sharma. He is an exceptional, inspirational speaker. This quote has made me realize, that our daily habits and actions matter, so I want to keep it on this page as a reminder.

QUOTE PAGE:

• For the quote page, I choose to add a piece I made last year. The quote is “Believe in yourself.” In the design, you can also read: “Be You.” I love this quote because it reminds me to keep believing in myself (which honestly, I often forget and need a reminder) and also to BE MYSELF. Authenticity is essential for me, and I love to have this as a reminder.

MY YEAR IN POLAROIDS:

My year in polaroids is where I will pick one picture each month and add it to the designated square. I got this inspiration from Amanda Rach Lee. I don’t have the best memory, so having pictures from every month to remind me of the highlight of the month is special for me. I’m super excited for these pages and can’t wait to fill them with memories. To print these pictures, I will use my Polaroid Zip Wireless Mobile Photo Mini Printer.

TWENTY BEFORE 2020

My twenty before 2020 is where I will be writing 20 things I hope to accomplish before the end of the year. These pages are also related to my goals for the year, but also to more random things, like traveling and small goals. I got this inspiration from my #calligrafriend Erin @erinflotodesigns.

FEBRUARY COVER PAGE

Last, but not least on my bullet journal set up for 2019, is my February cover page. I know we are in the middle of February and I’m just setting up this page, but better late than never. I also wrote the days of the month and will be writing down the special events for the month.

The next pages on my bullet journal are to write down the weekly and daily tasks for the remainder of the month. I will keep these pages simple for now until I find a setup that I can find useful for me.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The bullet journal set up might seem to take a lot of work and time. I’m not going to lie; I spent a couple of hours on it (without counting the time spent on previous research).

I decided to do it this way, for a couple of reasons. First, I wanted to get into a system that fit my needs and bullet journaling is doing that at the moment. Second, I decided to get a little creative and add watercolor, florals, and calligraphy to some of the pages. I’m pleased with how they turned out. I took extra time on those pages because I also wanted to give my creative side an outlet. I haven’t created much in a while, so doing this pushed me to get past my creative rut. Setting up my bujo was relaxing, and it got me pumped to keep going with this planning system. I hope you find some inspiration on these pages.

If you decide to give bullet journal a try, I’d love to see your work. Use the hashtag #vd_tutorials or #vialdesigns_blog and don’t forget to tag me on @VialDesigns on Instagram or @VialDesignsStudio on Facebook.

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I hope you enjoyed today’s blog post!

Xo,

 

 

 

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