Save Money with a Bullet Journal Budget Tracker

Need help managing your money?  Try using your bullet journal for budgeting! Get a handle on your finances with these awesome bullet journal budget trackers!

Need help managing your money?  Try using your bullet journal for budgeting! Get a handle on your finances with these awesome bullet journal budget trackers!

How to Use a Bullet Journal for Budgeting

Are you looking to create a budget?  Want to save more money? Need to make a plan for paying down your debt? 

You can accomplish all of these financial goals — and more — with the help of your bullet journal. (If you need help setting up your first journal, check out this Bullet Journal Setup Guide: 5 Easy Steps to Get Started.)

In addition to using your bullet journal to organize your schedule and to-do list, you can also use a bullet journal to budget your money.  

To give you a some inspiration on how you can manage your budget with your Bullet Journal, I’ve put together this round up of ideas from a few of the brilliant bullet journalists in our community.  Some of the budget tracker layouts include:

  • Expenses Tracker
  • Spending Log
  • Savings Tracker
  • Budget Planner
  • Bills Tracker
  • Debt Tracker

If you are looking for more Bullet Journal Tracker inspiration, don’t miss 51 Habit Trackers That Every Bullet Journal Needs.

Keep Track of Expenses in a Bullet Journal

One of the first ways to start using your bullet journal for budgeting is create an expense tracker.  To set up an expense tracker layout, draw columns for the Date, Purchase, Place, Category, and Amount.  Record each transaction in a new row.  You can log all outgoing expenses, recurring bills and even subscription service fee.

pin

This spread is great because it combines a budget planner on the left page and an expenses tracker on the right page — so you can see everything at a glance.

pin
 

Save Money with Bullet Journal Budget Spread

Savings trackers are some of the most creative and colorful bullet journal budget spreads.  Savings trackers are a great way to tracker your progress towards larger money goals — and see the progress you’ve made over time.  I find it very motivating to fill in a savings tracker and see how much closer I am to saving up for a big purchase.

pin

With these two examples you can see that you can be as simple or as creative as you want.  You can create a singular savings goals — or track multiple savings goals at once.

pin
 

Keep Track of Bills with a Bullet Journal

Sometimes its helpful to see of your upcoming bills on one page.  Setting up a bill tracker in your bullet journal can help you see upcoming bills at a glance.  To set up this bill tracker layout, create several grids with upcoming monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, and semi-annually bills.

pin

Or, you can create a bill/expenses tracker layout that separates out expenses by category.  This type of bill tracker would be something to recreate monthly.

pin
 

Pay Down Debt with a Bullet Journal

 Just as you can track progress toward a savings goal, you can also track progress toward paying off debt with a budget journal.

pin

Here are two different layouts that show progress towards paying down debt.  The line graph focuses on credit card debt, and the bar chart shows several types of debt: credit cards, student loans, and car payments.

pin
 

Financial Planning in a Bullet Journal

You can even take it a step further to incorporate Dave Ramsey financial planning methods into your bullet journal spreads.  These layouts could include steps from the Total Money Makeover, or Baby Steps like an emergency fund, the debt snowball, and savings.

pin

I particularly like the idea of creating a Debt Snowball layout to track progress in a visual way.  I don’t know about you, but I bet filling each of those boxes is so satisfying!

pin
 

More Bullet Journal Ideas

If you are looking for even more bullet journal inspiration, check out Simple Bullet Journal Key Ideas to Keep You Organized.  And, to make your bullet journal pages even prettier, don’t miss 12 Bullet Journal Fonts That You Can Draw Right Now.

Pin this post!

Don’t forget to save this post to your Bullet Journal board on Pinterest so you can refer to it later!

Habit Tracker Ideas for your Bullet Journal

Bullet journal habit trackers are one of the best ways to build good habits and stay accountable to your goals. In this post, learn what habit trackers are, how they can improve your bullet journal, and 51 ideas for habits to track. 

Do you use habit trackers in your bullet journal?  Whether this is your first time setting up a bullet journal, or you’ve been a #bujoaddict for a while now, I hope you’ll find something useful in this post about 51 clever bullet journal habit tracker ideas.           View this post on Instagram                      

A post shared by The Petite Planner (@the.petite.planner) on Feb 5, 2019 at 11:23am PST

Bullet Journal Habit Trackers

Using a habit tracker in your bullet journal can help you make progress toward all sorts of goals!  You can use a habit tracker to establish good habits and help you break bad habits.  I like to use a simple habit tracker to record my activities throughout the day, week, and month as I keep an eye on progress toward my goals.

You can use a bullet journal habit tracker to record any number of things.

  • You can track simple habits – like drinking 8 glasses of water daily. 
  • Or, you can track household goals – like committing to sweep the kitchen floor every night
  • And, you can track long term health goals like weight loss, or building the habit of daily exercise.

Benefits of Habit Trackers

You may be wondering, why make a habit tracker in the first place?  And I understand that!  When I first started bullet journaling, habit trackers looked like busy work to me.

But, I soon found out that there is a huge benefit in recording whether or not you do something in your daily routine.  The benefit of filling out a habit tracker is learning more about yourself.

Are you doing certain tasks consistently?  Do you think you’re doing something everyday — but in reality only doing it occasionally?  Do you think you are making more/less progress toward a goal then you are?

Recording your habits in a bullet journal tracker makes you accountable to yourself.  If you are using a bullet journal for productivity, organization, or personal development, the information in your habit trackers will be so helpful!  You can use what you learn to establish new patterns that improve your lifestyle.

Habit trackers also allow you to look back over several months and see how you’ve grown over time.  Using a habit tracker helps motivate you to make small changes every day — which can lead to big results over time

So go on! Give a habit tracker a try in your next weekly or monthly spread.  It will remind you to stick to your goals and build good habits.  Then you’ll see how those baby steps can turn into concrete progress.  And as you build those habits, they’ll soon be “second nature”.           View this post on Instagram                      

A post shared by Becky (@painted_illustrated) on Feb 10, 2019 at 8:03am PST

How to set up a Bullet Journal Habit Tracker

The beauty of the habit tracker is it’s flexibility —  you can literally track anything! The rules are up to you.  You can track any number of habits you want.  And you can track them on a weekly, monthly, or even yearly basis.

Some habits you’ll want to track in a daily format — like drinking enough water, or getting enough sleep.  And some habits — like remembering to water the plants — you’ll want to track on a weekly basis.  And finally, some habits — like paying bills — you’ll want to track on a monthly basis.

To set up a super simple daily habit tracker, all you need to do is set up a grid with a column for each day and a row for each habit you want to track.   For example, if you’re staring in January, you’ll have 31 empty columns labeled 1-31.  And you’ll have 1-10+ empty rows underneath, each labeled with the habit you want to track.

To fill out your habit tracker, simply place a check-mark, an “x”, or fill in the box indicating that you completed the habit on each day.  Some people like to use separate colors for each habit — which looks really cool!

51 habits to track in your Bullet Journal

Setting up a habit tracker in your bullet journal is pretty easy, but you might need a little help brainstorming what habits to track.

  1. Drink water — Track to make sure you stay hydrated.
  2. Get enough sleep — Set a goal for how many hours of sleep each night.
  3. In bed before 10 — or 11 🙂
  4. No electronics one hour before bed — Experts say this is helpful for people who have trouble falling asleep.
  5. Get to work/school on time — It is a personal goal of mine to be more punctual!
  6. Take vitamins.
  7. Meet calorie goals — This can be useful if you are trying to live healthier.
  8. Meet macros goals.
  9. No soda.
  10. No junk food — This doesn’t have to be all junk food, you can make it anything you want.
  11. Exercise.
  12. 10,000 steps — This is useful if you track your steps.
  13. Cook at home — Cooking at home can be a great way to eat healthier and save money.
  14. Pack lunch for work/school
  15. Eat healthy breakfast — I have a tendency to skip breakfast, so this could be a good habit for me to track.
  16. No cigarettes — This could help build momentum to help you quit.
  17. No alcohol.
  18. Remember medication.
  19. Floss.  So important!
  20. Period tracker.  
  21. Use bullet journal. So meta.
  22. Morning pages.
  23. Read a book.  — Maybe you want to set goal to read 15 minutes each day.
  24. Gratitude journal. — I like to list 3-5 things each day.
  25. Meditation.
  26. Prayer.
  27. Yoga or stretching
  28. Meet in person with a friend or family member.
  29. Phone call to parents, family member, or friend.
  30. Pay bills.
  31. Inbox zero. 
  32. Check off the to-do list.
  33. Spend less than x amount of time on social media.
  34. Watch less than x amount of TV or Netflix.
  35. Complete chores.
  36. Finish homework.
  37. Take pet for a walk.
  38. Quick tidy of the house.
  39. Sweep the floor.
  40. Run the dishwasher
  41. Fold the laundry
  42. Make the bed
  43. Water the plants
  44. Vacuum.  My personal least favorite 🙂
  45. Practice an instrument.
  46. Work on a hobby.
  47. Practice a new skill.
  48. Make progress on a school/work project.
  49. Post on Instagram, twitter, or other social media
  50. Publish a new blog post.
  51. Reply to blog or social media comments

Habit Tracker Layout Ideas

Habit trackers can come in all shapes and sizes. The most popular design is probably the “spreadsheet-style” monthly tacker.  But more and more I’m seeing really creative circle habit trackers, and cute mini habit trackers. Here’s a few of my favorites and why they work so well.

[mv_create key=”6″ type=”list” title=”Bullet Journal Habit Trackers” thumbnail=”http://sarahmaker.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/bulletjournaltrackerroundup.jpg” layout=”hero”]

More Bullet Journal Articles

If you’d like to learn more about bullet journaling, check out my ultimate Bullet Journal Setup Guide. And don’t miss these awesome Bullet Journal Key Ideas.

Pin this to your Bullet Journal Board on Pinterest!

How to Use a Bullet Journal Key Page

Learn how to create a simple bullet journal key page with all of the symbols and signifiers you see on your favorite #bujo Instagram accounts.

Bullet Journal Key Ideas to Keep You Organized

There are so many symbols, icons, and signifiers that you can use in you bullet journaling system to help keep you organized. There are boxes, dots, circles, triangles, stars, arrows, exclamation marks, lightbulbs… you name it, and someone is using it as a bullet journal signifier.

But what do all of those bullet journal symbols mean? And what is the best way to use symbols to keep your bullet journal organized?

In this post, I’m going to explain all of the different options, what icons will work best for your lifestyle, and how to use the symbols and signifiers to keep your bullet journal organized.

pin

Why use a Bullet Journal Key

When I first started bullet journaling, I used a simple dash mark next to all my list items in my daily rapid logging. For one thing, this was the fastest way for me to “brain dump” all my tasks and events and get them written down and out of my head. And to be honest, I just didn’t know any better.

I quickly realized that without different symbols next to each item in my list, I had such a hard time looking back on my list and finding any specific item.

And that’s why most bullet journalers create a group of symbols — or signifiers — to draw next to different types of items in their Daily Logs. By including signifiers in your Daily Log, you can quickly scan your list of items, and separate your to-dos from your events, and your ideas from your appointments.

Simply put, signifiers help you find specific action items more quickly.

How to Make a Bullet Journal Key

Making a Bullet Journal Key can be very simple. You first need to decide what types of categories you will need, and secondly, you need to decide what symbols you will use for each category.

Here is a very basic Bullet Journal Key with three categories, and three modifiers.

  • A box to signify a task
  • A triangle to signify an event
  • A dash to signify a note
  • A right arrow modifies a task or event to signal a migration to the next day.
  • A star modifies a task, even, or note to signal extra importance
  • And a filled-in box or triangle signifies that the task or event is completed.

For my lifestyle as a mom and blogger, I’ve settled on a short list of categories: tasks, deadlines, events and appointments, research ideas, and notes. I use color coding to help me differentiate my “life stuff” from my “blog stuff”.

  • Life Tasks — this includes daily life tasks, kid stuff, and things like that.
  • Blog Tasks – this includes posts to write, social media tasks, emails to return, and other blogging projects.
  • Deadlines — this is a blog category for the most part, but sometimes includes my kid’s school deadlines.
  • Events — this includes large events like conferences and smaller events like doctor’s appointments.
  • Research Ideas and Notes — this is one of my most used categories. I use it to record all those ideas that occur to me throughout the day, that I don’t have time to delve into at the moment. Then, after the kids to bed, I pull out my bullet journal and go back through these ideas and notes.

If you are a student, you might want to have more signifies to include test dates or presentation dates. You can also think about color coding tasks by subject.

 
pin

Simple Bullet Journal Key Ideas

My advice for beginning bullet journalers? Keep it simple! Sticks to a few categories and signifiers — you can always add more icons and symbols down the road.

When you first start bullet journaling, I recommend keeping your list of signifiers short and sweet. As you find a need, add more signifiers, symbols, and even color coding.

On the other hand, if you start out with a lot of different symbols, you might end of forgetting to use them, getting overwhelmed, or losing the motivation to keep up with bullet journaling.

For a simple bullet journal key system, you’ll want to have signifiers for

  • Tasks
  • Events
  • Notes

Then, you’ll want a key system to show changes these items:

  • Completed
  • Canceled
  • Migrated
  • Important

Other Bullet Journal Symbols Ideas

pin

Color Coding your Bullet Journal

One system I’ve been experimented with lately is color coding my bullet journal. I’m keeping all the actual signifiers/symbols the same, but I’m marking all my “Life” tasks in one color and all of my “Work” tasks with another.

If you are a student, you could experiment with color coding your subjects or classes.

How to Make a Fold-Out Bullet Journal Key

Many people make a bullet journal Key Page at the very beginning of their journal. You always can turn back to the beginning of your journal if you need to refer to the Key Page.

If you have a more complicated Key page or a color coding system, you may want to create a Fold-Out Key page so that you can refer to it all the time.

A Fold-Out key page is simple to make, and very useful. You can attach it to the back inside cover of your journal, and fold it out as needed so that you can see it next to every page.

To make one, write down your Key on a folded piece of paper, and tape or glue it into the inside cover.

Bullet Journal for Beginner’s Series

And that’s it for the Bullet Journal Key page. Remember to come back to this page as it’s updated with the other posts in our Bullet Journal for Beginner’s series.

And if you are just starting out, click over to read the Complete Bullet Journal Setup Guide.

How to Start a Bullet Journal

If you want to learn how to set up a bullet journal, you need to read my comprehensive guide to bullet journal setup. I’ll teach you how to start your first bujo spread in just 5 simple steps.

Bullet journaling is the best way I’ve ever found to organize my to-do list and schedule. It’s very simple in its basic form, but infinitely customizable to suit your own needs and lifestyle. Read on for a step-by-step guide to setting up your first Bullet Journal.

women setting up a new bullet journal

Bullet Journal Setup Guide

If you go to any office supply store, you’ll find aisles of planners and calendars. But no matter what I try, nothing works as well for my life as a Bullet Journal.

Do you want to get organized and try the bullet journal planning method? Here is a step-by-step guide to set up your bullet journal for the first time. Bullet journal setup isn’t complicated, and in this post, I’ll outline the steps you need to get started.

What is a bullet journal?

The bullet journal system, or “bujo” for short, is a planning and productivity method created by Ryder Carrol. Bullet journaling helps you organize your thoughts and tasks and intentionally plan your schedule.

In your bullet journal, you can log tasks, events, and notes in short-form sentences — aka “bullets.”

You can quickly capture thoughts and tasks as they occur to you throughout the day. The point is to get ideas out of your head and onto the paper. That way, you can relax and not worry that you are going to forget things.

How to Setup a Bullet Journal: Step by Step Guide

You can set up a basic bullet journal in 5-10 minutes. First, gather some supplies. All you need to get started is some paper and a pen. Later on, you may want to use markers, highlighters, and stickers too if you like — but all you really need is a notebook and pen. Then, you’ll lay out the first pages: Index Pages, the Future Log, the Monthly Log, and the Daily Log. And that’s all you need for a complete, functional Bullet Journal. Let’s get started!

Step 1: Gather Your Supplies

Like I talked about before, all you need to start a bullet journal is a notebook and a pen. That’s it. You can use an old legal pad, some lined paper in a three-ring binder, or a half-used composition notebook. If you find you love bullet journaling, you may want to upgrade to a dot-grid notebook like a Moleskine or a Leuchtturm. But for now, feel free to keep it simple.

As for writing utensils, choose something you love. A pencil, a pen, whatever is handy. Lots of bullet journalers love these Micron pens because of the fine, consistent line quality. And bullet journalers also swear by these light, pastel highlighters to add some color and extra organization to their journal spreads.

Step 2: Create the Index Pages

The Index page is the backbone of the organization in the Bullet Journal system. It’s the first thing you’ll want to set up in your new Bullet Journal. The Index is a quick and easy way to organize the contents of your journal.

The Index page is just what you’d expect — a list of the names of pages in your journal and their corresponding page numbers. Every time you create a new page, give it a corresponding page number and record it in the Index. Then, use the Index pages to help you find what you’re looking for when you are trying to find an old page in your bullet journal.

To set up the Index pages, open to the first two pages in your journal and label them “Index.” If your journal’s pages aren’t numbered already, you’ll need to number them. You can number the pages all at once, or you can number them as you go along.

When you fill a new page in your journal, add its name and page number to the Index. Then, you’ll be able to find it later quickly.

Monthly spreads and collection pages are especially important to add to the Index. But you don’t need to add Daily logs to the Index. You’ll fill up the Index over time as you use the Bullet Journal.

bullet journal future log idea
Image Credit: leelajournals

Step 3: Set Up the Future Log

The Future Log is a collection of all the events that are coming up in the future. In its most basic form, it’s a simplified, list-style calendar. Use the Future log to record upcoming holidays, birthdays, vacations, and other important dates. It will become a reference guide that you will refer back to when you plan out your Monthly and Daily Logs.

To set up the Future Log, open to a blank two-page spread, write “Future Log” across the top, number the page, and add it to your Index.

Divide the pages into the number of months you need. For instance, you can divide each of the two pages with two equally-spaced horizontal lines, which will give you a total of six sections for six months.

Add any important upcoming events, deadlines, goals, or test dates to the Future Log. Remember, these aren’t tasks or to-dos, but significant events, important deadlines, or other dates to remember.

bullet journal monthly log example
Image Credit: flyingpaperwords

Step 4: Set up the Monthly Log

One of the greatest things about bullet journaling is that you can start in whatever month you’re in. You don’t need to wait until January or “Back to School” — just start where you are.

The Monthly Log is a one or two-page spread that helps you organize your month.

To set up the Monthly Log, open to a blank page, write the month across the top of the page, number the page, and add it to your Index.

There are several ways to layout a Monthly Log, but here is a simple version. Write the dates (ex. 1-30) down the side of the page, one per line. It’s also a good idea to write the first letter of the day of the week next to each number (ex. 1M, 2T, 3W)

Some bullet journalers create a two-page monthly spread that consists of a calendar on the left-hand page and a corresponding task list on the right-hand page. This is a great way to organize tasks vs. appointments. If having a monthly tasks list makes sense for your lifestyle, feel free to add this page right after your Monthly Log.

Write down this month’s appointments, meetings, and events into the Monthly Log. And, if you like, enter this month’s tasks in the Monthly Task List.

bullet journal daily log ideas
Image Credit: supermassiveblackink

Step 5: Set up the Daily Log

Daily Logs are the heart and soul of the Bullet Journal system. You can start a new daily log each day to keep yourself organized and on task.

To set up the Daily Log, open to a blank page, write the date across the top of the page, and number the page. You don’t need to add it to your Index.

Then, add your Tasks, Events, and Notes for the day to your list. You can set aside time in the morning to list out your bullets, or you can add them as they occur to you.

As you go throughout your day, you can mark items as complete. If you don’t complete all of your daily tasks, that’s okay! Review your Daily Log, figure out which incomplete Tasks are worth working on tomorrow, and migrate them to the next day. You can mark incomplete items as “canceled” or “migrated” if you wish.

If your Daily Log doesn’t fill a whole page, that’s okay. You don’t need to start a brand new page; you can add the next Day wherever you left off.

Signifiers, or Keys

Many bullet journalers use different symbols — or signifiers — as bullets to denote different types of entries. Signifiers allow you to glance down the page of your Bullet Journal to find what you are looking for quickly.

There are many options for signifiers, so you’ll need to do some experimentation to see what works best for your lifestyle. Here are some options:

  • A box for tasks and to-do list items. When the task is done, you can fill in the box.
  • A triangle for appointments or meetings. When the appointment is finished, you can fill in the triangle.
  • A dot for things to remember.
  • A star or an asterisk placed next to an item can mark it as urgent or a priority.
  • A right-facing arrow drawn through an item can mark it as “migrated” to the next day.

When you finish a task or appointment, you can fill in the symbol. If you need to move the task or event to the next day, you can add an arrow facing right.

If you have a lot of special signifiers, you may want to create a Key Page or Legend to refer to. For more information about bullet journal keys, check out these Bullet Journal Key Ideas.

Other Bullet Journal Ideas

One of the best things about the Bullet Journal system is that you can adapt it any way you want to fit your lifestyle better. Your empty journal is a blank canvas that you can turn into your ideal planner. You can add spreads and collections that enhance your life. And, you don’t have to waste time or space on spreads that don’t work for you. For example, you may really like the Daily Logs, or you might want to use Weekly Logs instead. It’s all up to you!

bullet journal weekly spread ideas
Image Credit: journalbeanie

Weekly Log

A Weekly Log is an overview of your Tasks and Events for the upcoming week. It allows you to see a visual overview of your weekly schedule — you can think of it as your Week At A Glance.

Students, especially, find value in a Weekly Log.

A Weekly Log consists of sections for each day of the week and an optional section for additional tasks or trackers.

To set up a Weekly Log, open to a blank two-page spread, write the date across the top of the pages, and number the pages. You don’t need to add it to your Index, but you can if you like.

Divide the pages into the number of sections you need. For instance, dividing each of the two pages with three equally-spaced horizontal lines will give you a total of eight sections — one for each day of the week and one extra section for notes or trackers.

If you like using Weekly Spreads, you may not necessarily need to use Daily Logs too. Many bullet journalers use one or the other. And, that’s not to say you can’t switch back and forth between Daily and Weekly spreads, as you wish. Use what works for you!

bullet journal habit tracker spread and ideas
Image Credit: lauras_lettering

Collections or Habit Trackers

Collections are places to catalog ideas, track progress toward your goals, or write down things you want to refer back to later.

They aren’t to-do lists, exactly, but rather useful reference lists of ideas and goals you want to remember.

You can create a collection or habit tracker on just about any subject. Some common Collections include:

  • Books to Read list
  • “Year in Pixels” mood tracker
  • Fitness/weight tracker
  • Savings tracker
  • Cleaning schedule
  • Meal Planning

For more inspiration, check out this list: 51 Habit Trackers That Every Bullet Journal Needs.

Recommended Bullet Journal Supplies

Moleskine Notebook

This is my favorite notebook because it is high quality and relatively inexpensive. I like the dotted version, but you may prefer the lined or gridded versions better.

Leuchtturm Notebook

Many bullet journalers prefer this Leuchtturm notebook, even though is a bit more expensive than other notebooks. I like it a lot because it has an Index already set up, all the pages are already numbered, and it comes with two ribbon bookmarks.

Micron Pens

These precise black ink pens will give your smooth writing with consistent line quality. This is a pack with different widths so that you can have fine lines and bolder ones.

Stabilo Highlighters

I like the more subtle, pastel colors of these Stabilo Boss highlighters.

Washi Tape

Washi Tape is easy to stick and reposition. You can use washi tape to make decorations, flags, tabs, or other organizational dividers. This set of grid washi tape comes in the cutest colors!

Pinterest image for how to start a bullet journal with this easy guide to bullet journal setup for beginners.

If you want to learn how to set up a bullet journal, you need to read my comprehensive guide to bullet journal setup. I’ll teach you how to start your first bujo spread in just 5 simple steps.

Bullet journaling is the best way I’ve ever found to organize my to-do list and schedule. It’s very simple in its basic form, but infinitely customizable to suit your own needs and lifestyle. Read on for a step-by-step guide to setting up your first Bullet Journal.

women setting up a new bullet journal

Bullet Journal Setup Guide

If you go to any office supply store, you’ll find aisles of planners and calendars. But no matter what I try, nothing works as well for my life as a Bullet Journal.

Do you want to get organized and try the bullet journal planning method? Here is a step-by-step guide to set up your bullet journal for the first time. Bullet journal setup isn’t complicated, and in this post, I’ll outline the steps you need to get started.

What is a bullet journal?

The bullet journal system, or “bujo” for short, is a planning and productivity method created by Ryder Carrol. Bullet journaling helps you organize your thoughts and tasks and intentionally plan your schedule.

In your bullet journal, you can log tasks, events, and notes in short-form sentences — aka “bullets.”

You can quickly capture thoughts and tasks as they occur to you throughout the day. The point is to get ideas out of your head and onto the paper. That way, you can relax and not worry that you are going to forget things.

How to Setup a Bullet Journal: Step by Step Guide

You can set up a basic bullet journal in 5-10 minutes. First, gather some supplies. All you need to get started is some paper and a pen. Later on, you may want to use markers, highlighters, and stickers too if you like — but all you really need is a notebook and pen. Then, you’ll lay out the first pages: Index Pages, the Future Log, the Monthly Log, and the Daily Log. And that’s all you need for a complete, functional Bullet Journal. Let’s get started!

Step 1: Gather Your Supplies

Like I talked about before, all you need to start a bullet journal is a notebook and a pen. That’s it. You can use an old legal pad, some lined paper in a three-ring binder, or a half-used composition notebook. If you find you love bullet journaling, you may want to upgrade to a dot-grid notebook like a Moleskine or a Leuchtturm. But for now, feel free to keep it simple.

As for writing utensils, choose something you love. A pencil, a pen, whatever is handy. Lots of bullet journalers love these Micron pens because of the fine, consistent line quality. And bullet journalers also swear by these light, pastel highlighters to add some color and extra organization to their journal spreads.

Step 2: Create the Index Pages

The Index page is the backbone of the organization in the Bullet Journal system. It’s the first thing you’ll want to set up in your new Bullet Journal. The Index is a quick and easy way to organize the contents of your journal.

The Index page is just what you’d expect — a list of the names of pages in your journal and their corresponding page numbers. Every time you create a new page, give it a corresponding page number and record it in the Index. Then, use the Index pages to help you find what you’re looking for when you are trying to find an old page in your bullet journal.

To set up the Index pages, open to the first two pages in your journal and label them “Index.” If your journal’s pages aren’t numbered already, you’ll need to number them. You can number the pages all at once, or you can number them as you go along.

When you fill a new page in your journal, add its name and page number to the Index. Then, you’ll be able to find it later quickly.

Monthly spreads and collection pages are especially important to add to the Index. But you don’t need to add Daily logs to the Index. You’ll fill up the Index over time as you use the Bullet Journal.

bullet journal future log idea
Image Credit: leelajournals

Step 3: Set Up the Future Log

The Future Log is a collection of all the events that are coming up in the future. In its most basic form, it’s a simplified, list-style calendar. Use the Future log to record upcoming holidays, birthdays, vacations, and other important dates. It will become a reference guide that you will refer back to when you plan out your Monthly and Daily Logs.

To set up the Future Log, open to a blank two-page spread, write “Future Log” across the top, number the page, and add it to your Index.

Divide the pages into the number of months you need. For instance, you can divide each of the two pages with two equally-spaced horizontal lines, which will give you a total of six sections for six months.

Add any important upcoming events, deadlines, goals, or test dates to the Future Log. Remember, these aren’t tasks or to-dos, but significant events, important deadlines, or other dates to remember.

bullet journal monthly log example
Image Credit: flyingpaperwords

Step 4: Set up the Monthly Log

One of the greatest things about bullet journaling is that you can start in whatever month you’re in. You don’t need to wait until January or “Back to School” — just start where you are.

The Monthly Log is a one or two-page spread that helps you organize your month.

To set up the Monthly Log, open to a blank page, write the month across the top of the page, number the page, and add it to your Index.

There are several ways to layout a Monthly Log, but here is a simple version. Write the dates (ex. 1-30) down the side of the page, one per line. It’s also a good idea to write the first letter of the day of the week next to each number (ex. 1M, 2T, 3W)

Some bullet journalers create a two-page monthly spread that consists of a calendar on the left-hand page and a corresponding task list on the right-hand page. This is a great way to organize tasks vs. appointments. If having a monthly tasks list makes sense for your lifestyle, feel free to add this page right after your Monthly Log.

Write down this month’s appointments, meetings, and events into the Monthly Log. And, if you like, enter this month’s tasks in the Monthly Task List.

bullet journal daily log ideas
Image Credit: supermassiveblackink

Step 5: Set up the Daily Log

Daily Logs are the heart and soul of the Bullet Journal system. You can start a new daily log each day to keep yourself organized and on task.

To set up the Daily Log, open to a blank page, write the date across the top of the page, and number the page. You don’t need to add it to your Index.

Then, add your Tasks, Events, and Notes for the day to your list. You can set aside time in the morning to list out your bullets, or you can add them as they occur to you.

As you go throughout your day, you can mark items as complete. If you don’t complete all of your daily tasks, that’s okay! Review your Daily Log, figure out which incomplete Tasks are worth working on tomorrow, and migrate them to the next day. You can mark incomplete items as “canceled” or “migrated” if you wish.

If your Daily Log doesn’t fill a whole page, that’s okay. You don’t need to start a brand new page; you can add the next Day wherever you left off.

Signifiers, or Keys

Many bullet journalers use different symbols — or signifiers — as bullets to denote different types of entries. Signifiers allow you to glance down the page of your Bullet Journal to find what you are looking for quickly.

There are many options for signifiers, so you’ll need to do some experimentation to see what works best for your lifestyle. Here are some options:

  • A box for tasks and to-do list items. When the task is done, you can fill in the box.
  • A triangle for appointments or meetings. When the appointment is finished, you can fill in the triangle.
  • A dot for things to remember.
  • A star or an asterisk placed next to an item can mark it as urgent or a priority.
  • A right-facing arrow drawn through an item can mark it as “migrated” to the next day.

When you finish a task or appointment, you can fill in the symbol. If you need to move the task or event to the next day, you can add an arrow facing right.

If you have a lot of special signifiers, you may want to create a Key Page or Legend to refer to. For more information about bullet journal keys, check out these Bullet Journal Key Ideas.

Other Bullet Journal Ideas

One of the best things about the Bullet Journal system is that you can adapt it any way you want to fit your lifestyle better. Your empty journal is a blank canvas that you can turn into your ideal planner. You can add spreads and collections that enhance your life. And, you don’t have to waste time or space on spreads that don’t work for you. For example, you may really like the Daily Logs, or you might want to use Weekly Logs instead. It’s all up to you!

bullet journal weekly spread ideas
Image Credit: journalbeanie

Weekly Log

A Weekly Log is an overview of your Tasks and Events for the upcoming week. It allows you to see a visual overview of your weekly schedule — you can think of it as your Week At A Glance.

Students, especially, find value in a Weekly Log.

A Weekly Log consists of sections for each day of the week and an optional section for additional tasks or trackers.

To set up a Weekly Log, open to a blank two-page spread, write the date across the top of the pages, and number the pages. You don’t need to add it to your Index, but you can if you like.

Divide the pages into the number of sections you need. For instance, dividing each of the two pages with three equally-spaced horizontal lines will give you a total of eight sections — one for each day of the week and one extra section for notes or trackers.

If you like using Weekly Spreads, you may not necessarily need to use Daily Logs too. Many bullet journalers use one or the other. And, that’s not to say you can’t switch back and forth between Daily and Weekly spreads, as you wish. Use what works for you!

bullet journal habit tracker spread and ideas
Image Credit: lauras_lettering

Collections or Habit Trackers

Collections are places to catalog ideas, track progress toward your goals, or write down things you want to refer back to later.

They aren’t to-do lists, exactly, but rather useful reference lists of ideas and goals you want to remember.

You can create a collection or habit tracker on just about any subject. Some common Collections include:

  • Books to Read list
  • “Year in Pixels” mood tracker
  • Fitness/weight tracker
  • Savings tracker
  • Cleaning schedule
  • Meal Planning

For more inspiration, check out this list: 51 Habit Trackers That Every Bullet Journal Needs.

Recommended Bullet Journal Supplies

Moleskine Notebook

This is my favorite notebook because it is high quality and relatively inexpensive. I like the dotted version, but you may prefer the lined or gridded versions better.

Leuchtturm Notebook

Many bullet journalers prefer this Leuchtturm notebook, even though is a bit more expensive than other notebooks. I like it a lot because it has an Index already set up, all the pages are already numbered, and it comes with two ribbon bookmarks.

Micron Pens

These precise black ink pens will give your smooth writing with consistent line quality. This is a pack with different widths so that you can have fine lines and bolder ones.

Stabilo Highlighters

I like the more subtle, pastel colors of these Stabilo Boss highlighters.

Washi Tape

Washi Tape is easy to stick and reposition. You can use washi tape to make decorations, flags, tabs, or other organizational dividers. This set of grid washi tape comes in the cutest colors!