Bullet Journal, an Update

If there was ever one thing I should blog about regularly it’s Bullet Journalling. I’ve been using Ryder Carroll’s Bullet Journaling system for a year and half now (I blogged about it when I first started) and it is the only system I’ve adopted that fits my needs so perfectly. It’s flexible and adaptable and the community has grown massively since I first started and provides a wealth of inspiration, tweaks and ideas. It’s wonderful! So here’s a current look at my set up.
My lovely husband bought me a Midori Traveler’s Notebook in Aug last year for my birthday and I’ve been using it ever since. I love the flexibility of the inserts, which come in a variety of styles (lined, grid, blank) and the paper is fountain pen friendly. I have 2 sections inside, one for my bullet journal with tasks on monthly/weekly/daily entries and a second for collections and lists. My insert of choice is the grid for my BuJo and lined for collections.

Midori Traveler's Notebook

Midori Traveler's Notebook

As you can see I actually have 3 inserts here. The first is a full BuJo insert and I just haven’t taken it out yet as I still need to migrate my forward planning calendars. I also need to bring the monthly tabs at the top up to date.

The first thing I have inside the cover is a Kraft File insert. I keep a Year Calendar to track certain tasks, and also a Spencerian reference sheet.

Inside Front cover

The first few pages of my BoJo are for forward calendars. One for birthdays and anniversaries, and the second for future events.

Forward Planning

At the beginning of each moth I insert a calendar for the month printed from My Life All in One Place. They are the Month-to-view Diary inserts. I will then input everything relevant to the month from my forward planning calendars I have at the front.

Monthly calendar

 

This is a typical weekly spread I will prepare at the beginning of each week. On the left I would then migrate any tasks from the previous week that were not completed, and add any new tasks as the week progresses. As I complete a task I put it on the relevant day on the right and use the right to log any other notes from the day. I’ve used this style for many months and it’s worked really well for me as I don’t have lots of mandatory tasks to do for each day. I also try to maintain a gratitude journal here and list 5 things each week I am grateful for.

Weekly Spread

 

THEN I DECIDED TO TRY SOMETHING NEW….

Ok so after explaining my monthly calendar and weekly spread above, this month I am trying something new! I have gone back to the traditional BuJo method of the monthly spread with the month on the left and tasks down the right. I have still copied birthdays and events from my forward planners.

 

October Spread

And then I’m trying out ditching my weekly spread and just keeping daily entries. This has come with some pros and cons. Pros: I like having as much space as is required for each day. Some days are just a few lines and some are a whole page. Cons: I miss having a weekly tasks view and I find I’m not flipping back to the monthly spread very often, so I’m finding the tasks out of sight, out of mind. I’ll have to figure a way around this next month.

Another new thing I’m trying is daily logging, inspired by Austin Kleon, and I’m really loving it. Though as a result I find i’m not writing in my diary as often as I used to. I haven’t decided if this is good or bad yet.

Daily log

Onto the Collections insert (badly labelled “notes”).

Collections

The first 2 pages in this insert is reserved for the Index. This lists the collections in the following pages and the relevant page number.

Collections Index

Here’s an example of a collection. This one is really simple and lists the movies I want to watch or have been recommended. This one is pretty simple in it’s layout but others are more creative and intricate depending on what it is for.

Collection Example

So that’s a really quick overview on how I’m using my Midori and the way I layout my inserts. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have about my methods of layout 🙂

Limited Edition Alice in Wonderland Moleskine notebooks

When I read that Moleskine would be releasing a range of limited edition Alice’s Adventured in Wonderland notebook I knew I’d be placing an order for some.

There are 5 notebooks in the range in total:

Large themed canvas hard cover ruled notebook (limited to only 5000 prints)
Large themed white hard cover ruled notebook
Large themed black hard cover plain notebook
Pocket themed pink hard cover ruled notebook
Pocket themed blue hard cover plain notebook

I ordered the 2 available large ruled notebooks just because that is the format that I prefer. The quality is consistent with what we’ve come to expect from Moleskine and therefore they do not disappoint. As always my only gripe with Moleskine is their paper quality because I like to use fountain pens and the paper is too thin (only 70gsm) to be fountain pen friendly, but for everyday writing with a ballpoint or gel pen it is fine.

Each notebook comes with a colour matched ribbon bookmark and elastic closure, as well as themed front and back inside covers.
The first inside front cover features the Alice in Wonderland original Dodo illustration by John Tenniel with the quote: “Everything’s Got a Moral, if Only You Can Find it.”
The second inside page (adjacent to the Dodo) features an original Alice and Cheshire Cat illustration by John Tenniel and a space to enter “In case of loss” details.
Over the page on the flyleaf is a copy of Lewis Carroll’s original handwritten manuscript of his classic Alice in Wonderland.
The inside back cover has the standard expandable pocket with colour themed side and inside is the usual leaflet about Moleskine, the spine sticker for indexing, as well as limited edition playing card suite stickers.

Another feature of these notebooks is that the paper band around the notebooks can be folded and glued to create a themes bookmark.

Other than the covers and colour theme the only other difference I have noticed is that the canvas covered notebook is stamped on the front “in case of loss” page with the issue number out of the 5000 printed. This came as a pleasant surprise as this isn’t mentioned on the Moleskine Online Store.

On to what you are really here for! The photos…

Bullet Journal Kickstarter Notebook

Back in September I backed the Kickstarter for the Bullet Journal Notebook, and this week my Limited Edition Notebook finally arrived. I couldn’t be happier with this item and am so glad I backed this project. Ryder Carroll collaborated with Leuchtturm1917 to create a beautiful notebook specifically designed to use as a bullet journal. I’m currently using my Midori Travellers Notebook for my bullet journal so I haven’t started using this new Notebook yet. I will only do so when I’ve filled my current MTN refill, but I’m definitely looking forward to using it.

 

Here’s some photographs of mine.

Diamine Syrah, Merlot & Damson & Pilot Penmanship Fountain Pen

Don’t you love a stationery delivery? I couldn’t wait to get home yesterday to check if my delivery from cultpens.co.uk had arrived. I was actually expecting it on Thursday but it didn’t arrive (some washi tape did however!). So I got home to find the postman had left the package in our bin cupboard so I didn’t need to pick it up at the depot. Then I had to WAIT while we went to pick up some take away and drinks, then get home and eat. Finally I was able to gleefully tear open the package and look at my goodies!