Welcome back. Last time we talked about how I came to Bullet Journaling and how I managed to overcome my nerves and cautiously explore this world. Today I’m going to tell you about the first spreads I made, why I chose them, and how they progressed my BuJo (Bullet Journal) practice.

First off I read EVERYTHING I could about the Bullet Journal Method. I think I read the entire archives of Ryder Carrol’s blog (the inventor of the system). I watched countless youtube vidoes. I poured over pinterest and Instagram feeds seeking inspiration. I also owe a big debt to Masha Plans for her incredibly helpful collection of articles on using a Bullet Journal.

I tend to get carried away when I start something new so I made sure to write out my WHYs right at the front so they were on my mind whenever I worked in my book. This page features several sentiments taken directly from Ryder Carrol, as well as my therapist and Chidi Adagoyne (because I have never seen another fictional character so accurately capture my particular brand of crazy). This page, combined with my game plan, provided me with direction over the next few months and kept me on task.

The next spread, my Compass Goals, built on that and is based on this article by Ryder. The way he spoke about setting goals that were directions, not specific destinations, really resonated with me, and so I asked myself what I wanted to achieve and then wrote it out. For decoration I added an illustration of my daughter’s favourite lighthouse here in Victoria BC.

I have a confession. I am obsessed with self-improvement and productivity. Not rackets like the latest fad diet or Change Your Life with this one $50 app click bait nonsense. Just, genuine discussions around how to be the best version of yourself you can be. So a lot of the work I do in my journal revolves around that. I don’t know if you’ve seen this TED talk or not but I absolutely adore it. It really just spoke to me so deeply. I have often referred to the “Harry Potter Moment” when describing just KNOWING you can do a thing. Like when Harry first goes to fly and for some reason it’s weirdly easy? That feeling. There is something that all of us can do, that we love, that’s rewarding, and makes the world a better place. That is your Ikigai.

So after watching this for the whateverth time I dug into karate and how that works and the order of the belts (which is not universal) and the tiers of learning and what was expected at each level. Eventually I finally felt comfortable I was doing it accurately enough for my metaphor, and I wrote it all out. I found this doodle of a bound karate belt incredibly difficult, but also loved it. It was inspired by several of the karate trackers I came across while hunting for inspiration. However, those were about tracking when you moved through the levels, and I wanted to clarify what each level was, so I was on my own coming up with something like this.

Finally, based off the content of these previous pages, I drew up my Self-Care spread. I focused on different areas of myself I wanted to nurture and protect, and who I could turn to for support in that growth. I drew it all in bath bubbles because I love baths and bubble baths seem to always be a metaphor for self-care.

And finally I set up my Future Log. I had just taken this skillshare class on drawing hanging flowers and thought it was the perfect chance to try out the new techniques! By the way, if you don’t know about Skillshare, it’s awesome. It’s like curated nerd YouTube where you can watch videos teaching you all about design, art, homemaking, IT, you name it. All without ads. Feel free to use this link to check out my courses on there. I’m really happy with how the florals turned out and it added the perfect visual interest to balance the blocks of dates and writing underneath.

Next up my first month’s spread and learning to jump on with both feet.