Bullet Journal Set Up: How To Set Up Your Bullet Journal

Your bullet journal set up can make or break your planning.

Making sure you have a good base to start with can make sure your bullet journal is a success.

There are lots of ways to set up your bullet journal. If you want a detailed guide, kind of like a bullet journal cheat sheet, then check out the How To Start A Bullet Journal Guide.

Related: The BEST Bullet Journal Supplies For Beginners in 2019

That’s where I go over how to start your first journal in detail.

This post was for the most part to showcase some of my bullet journal spreads as examples and ideas to inspire you in your own bullet journal creation.

A basic bullet journal set up includes:

An Index

A future Log

A Monthly Calendar 

Daily Log

A Collections Page

You don’t need to stick to these pages in this order. Sometimes you might want to switch it up a bit and start a brand new journal in a new way. It’s really all up to you, as long as your journal is helpful and getting you organized and not a nuisance.

There’s definitely something about writing down all your goals and tasks that helps you unjumble your mind and get things in order.

While a bullet journal won’t order your life to a T, it is definitely a helpful addition to your life and definitely worth keeping one. ?

What bullet journal am I using?

The type of bullet journal I’m using here is this B5 spiral version I found on Amazon. I like that its spiral so its easy to handle and the pages stay flat. The b5 version is 7.1″x10″ which is a size I like. It’s not too big or too small and you can fit plenty on each page when you create your spreads without feeling like you’re running out of space.

Don’t Know Where To Start? 

Want to start a beautiful bullet journal but don’t want to go through the hassle of putting it together?

The Bullet Journal Starter Kit is basically a pre-made bullet journal.

Perfect if you think you aren’t that artistic or don’t want to spend a lot of time drawing monthly or weekly layouts.

It’s a steal of 80 BEAUTIFUL pages to help keep your life on track.

GET IT HERE!

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While this journal works for me, it might not work for you. It just depends on what you’re looking for and what you prefer. You don’t see a lot of spiral bullet journal examples out there but I sure like them!

Bullet journal monthly spread

This is my monthly spread cover for January. There’s lots of inspiration you can get from simply scrolling through Pinterest. I loved adding the stars as details for the cover page. I used the tombow markers to color it in. I’d say for the most part I like the tombow pens, but you definitely don’t NEED them to create some pretty beautiful spreads.

Sometimes even regular Crayola markers will do.

Next time I’ll remember to shade in shapes before I go in with the black marker to outline everything. I really don’t like when it bleeds into the other colors. My bullet journal right now is pretty small and the color is yellowish, which I’m kind of really liking. ?

Bullet journal meal planner

This is probably my favorite spread so far. I created a meal planner section that I can use over and over again because I use sticky notes instead of writing directly in each section.

You can get different color sticky notes to color coordinate if you want to take it that far. Either way, I’m in LOVE with this spread!

Bullet journal weekly spread

For the most part I decide to keep my weekly spreads simple. That way they’re easy to read and I can clearly see what I need to get done for the next day. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE to doodle, but I don’t like to go overboard sometimes when I’m creating a serious weekly spread, because then I do more drawing and less planning.

Here’s another way to create your weekly spread. I’m still practicing how to write with my brush pens. It is A LOT harder than I first thought. But as they say, practice makes perfect and I’m sure I’ll have this calligraphy thing down in no time. #determined 🙂

This is a full view of the weekly spread. I really like writing in cursive, and I don’t like to write perfectly because then I get too obsessive about it.

Habit tracker

Ah! I LOVE habit tracking. This habit tracker was more me practicing creating my own tracker and seeing how I could use it best. There are TONS of ways to set up a tracker. You just have to figure out what works for you!

Bullet journal quick notes

It’s always good to set aside a bullet journal page for quick notes. I created this quick page in a matter of minutes by freehanding some pretty flowers and outlining them with a fine point sharpie pen. Notice I didn’t try to make it too perfect. Sometimes aiming for perfection kills my creativity.

My morning routine

And finally we have the morning routine. I wanted a place to outline how I wanted to create my days since starting to work from home completely since a few months back. Organizing your day and having a set schedule is super important because you can easily grow distracted working from home.

Check out my other bullet journal posts!

Dot Grid Paper: Free Printable Paper For Bullet Journals And Notes

FREE Printable Habit Tracker PDF- Bullet Journal Template

Bullet Journal Key— Here’s How To Keep Your BUJO Perfectly Organized

89 Bullet Journal Page Ideas To Inspire Your Next Entry— Bullet Journal Weekly Spread

How To Start A Bullet Journal: 21 Gorgeous BUJO Ideas + Tools To Get Organized