Starting a Bullet Journal – Tips and Tricks
I thought it was time to share my experience of starting a bullet journal on the blog.
Don’t let the artistic side hold you back
I was tempted to try starting a bullet journal for a while, but was put off under the belief you need to be an amazing artist. This I am most certainly not. However, after watching YouTube tutorials and reading different blogs, I took the leap and had a go at one myself. What’s more, it has proven to be a great project to fill any free time, as well as a useful way to keep on top of things and get creative.
Despite my lack of drawing skills, the artistic side of bullet journaling hasn’t bothered me as I am minimalist. So far, I have kept my designs quite simple. However, one aspect I have loved about a lot of bullet journals is brush lettering, or modern calligraphy. I have the Tombow Dual Brush pen, which seems to be one of the most popular for brush lettering. After many attempts, I still can’t get it right! This bugs me because it’s a feature I want in my bullet journal but can’t do it!
YouTubers like AmandaRachLee are a lifesaver though. I realised you can mimic the brush lettering style easily. Write normally first, and then make the down strokes of letters thicker. Simple!
Now onto starting the bullet journal!
A popular choice of bullet journal from watching tutorials was the Leuchtturm1917. I decided to give this a whirl and bought it in Emerald. So far, so good. The notebook comes with numbered pages and built-in contents page, which saves a lot of time. Thereโs a pocket at the back and a space to add your name and address in case you misplace your journal. Serious bullet journalers consider the bleed factor of the pens through the paper. Whilst there is some ghosting, thereโs no bleeding, and Iโm impressed, especially as this is my first journal.
To start off my journal, I had an introduction page and key. There is a guide to bullet journal keys with the official symbols used. I decided to create my own though and use what works for me.
It’s common to see bullet journal calendars with about 6 or 12 months, but I’ve decided to take it one month at a time and keep things simple. For my July spread so far, the leaf theme is proving to be good and the fresh green colour is perfect for the summer. I’m practicing drawings in my other notebooks, but for now, I am sticking with something that I can hopefully avoid messing up by getting ahead of myself. On the page next to the calendar, I added my favourite quote to give me some motivation whenever I open my journal.
We then get onto the main organisation/diary section of the journal. At the moment, I have a double page spread for my blog, with goals and a post schedule, although I’m sure the blog pages will grow!
I am currently creating all my weekly plan pages for July, so I can see clearly what I’m doing each day. Again, my designs are very minimalist until I improve my artistic skills!
As of now, the weekly plans are as far as I have progressed with my bullet journal. I am already thinking ahead to August. Given that that is my birthday month, I’m thinking of making balloons the feature throughout as I can draw those!
Megan x
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Beautiful! Am going to pinch some of your ideas for my new project… although, canโt draw leaves so might have to rethink ? ?
Honestly they’re the only thing I can draw! Planning a balloon theme for August and I’m having to practice so much!