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Before we get started, I just want to let you all know that I'm hosting another challenge! I loved the one I hosted a few weeks ago, and this time, I'm thinking bigger. During first week of January, we are making a game-plan for 2018. My emails will be leading you through my kick-ass challenge, and they'll be in your inbox bright and early January 1-5th! Get in here!
pssst! This would be a great reason to ask for that bullet journal for Christmas! This is the one I have and I love it.
I think a good Bullet Journal spread should be like a great kitchen. Clean, with the things you use or need regularly at your fingertips and the rest in the cupboard. As beautiful as some BuJo spreads are, the intricacies of all of the trackers and other features can be visually overwhelming, and I take out my bullet journal when I need a sense of instant peace. Looking at a bunch of things that I'm just not filling in makes me feel like a failure, and I bullet journal to stay confident and on top of my shit.
In my opinion, this spread is the Pinterest kitchen of spreads. The things I use most often in a monthly spread (which is usually a page I fill out once and reference through the month, instead of staying active in it daily or weekly) are the focal point, with minimal features and lots of white space. Since a month-at-a-glance can have lots of information, I like to keep it as minimal and underwhelming as possible.
As you can see, I've kept the calendar small and simple. Only four squares in each box. The only purpose of my calendar is simply to be able to reference days in the future. Like "Hey Andrea, can you work Dec 14th?" "Let me check. *opens calendar* No, that's a Friday, and I'm already working." I don't put any information in the boxes, because even on bigger calendars I don't find that there's enough room. I keep the boxes very small so I can have the dates running vertically underneath the calendar, where I put corresponding events and holidays. I keep it to birthdays, anniversaries, travelling and holidays, and in my weekly spread I get more detailed.
I also track my social media numbers and email list subscribers. I put the number I have on the first of the month on the left side and I put my new number on the right side. I used to track them weekly, but I started thinking obsessively about it, and while it's nice to track my progress, I find month-to-month helps me track it closely without deriving my sense of worth from things like my Facebook fan count.
I really hope you try out this layout. I wish I could point you to the exact place I found this design, but I ended up on this specific design after lots of modification, trial and error, and trying first in pencil, but I do have to add how incredibly inspired I am from the BuJo community on Pinterest and Instagram. They all have nicer handwriting then me and they all seem to be infinitely better at bullet journaling than me. If, by some miracle, I'm your first foray into Bullet Journaling, be sure to check them out! Its really something to make your own!
