This month I’d like to give you an in-depth look at my monthly spreads. How they look and what their functions are in my day-to-day life. Enjoy the second part to my bullet journal series.

Why are there monthly spreads in a bullet journal?

I set up a couple of spreads every single month. These are the pages I’ll use throughout the month to help me organize my daily life. Different spreads you can think about are pages with goals, tasks and habit trackers. They are put at the beginning of the month so it’s easy to flip back to them and fill them out.

These spreads differ from month to month for me. As I mentioned in my first post about having a bullet journal, is that the journal develops alongside with you. If you miss out on a specific spread the month before, you can add it in this month. Or leave one out if that’s the case for you. That’s the thing I most enjoy about this system, all these blank pages and it’s up to you what you’ll do with them!

I set up my monthly spread in the last week of the current month. So it’s currently January 26th and I’ve just set up my next month of February. Doing it before the new month starts helps me transition into the new month without an issue. And I can already put down appointments and to-do lists so I can go into the month well prepared.

Bullet Journal Spread 1. Calendar

I use my journal to keep track of my personal schedule but also my blogging schedule. So this month I added two calendar spreads, one for my personal life and one for my blogging.

I use a double-spread for my calendar. Since I like a simple layout, I just numbered the days in the middle of the two pages. On the left, you can see the days of the month and then the date. On the left page, I have my personal schedule and on the right, you can see a tiny glimpse of my blogging schedule. I like having this overview on one page to see what I’m up to this month and what I need to do.

I added a little 02. in the corners of the page to signify the month and a little floral doodle at the bottom. Simple but functional, just what I need it for.

Bullet Journal Spread 2. monthly to do & spending tracker

Another double spread! I do like those, very space-efficient and easy to overview. Since I’ve been using the bujo system for quite a while now I usually know how much space I’ll need throughout the month. But this is definitely a process of trial and error.

• On the left, my monthly to-do list – Although I have weekly to-d0 lists and even daily ones, I always make sure to have a page where I can put general things I need to do throughout the month. This is also the place where I put down anything that was not done in the previous month. Having a general to-do list also helps me schedule in the items later but still keeps everything together.
• On the right, a spending tracker – A new spread for me this month, how exciting! I am currently saving up for a master’s degree. And while I’ve tried many apps to keep track of my spending, writing stuff down and seeing it on paper will always work best for me. So here’s a new spread for me to try out. I looked for some examples online and ended up going with a simple one. The simplicity always works best for me. From left to right the columns are as following; the date, the item bought, the store and the costs. I wonder how this tracker will work for me and help me achieve my spending habits. I’ll keep you updated. 😉

Again, I added a little two in both top corners since that seems to be a bit of a theme for this month. And a little floral doodle to decorate the page. I think especially the spending tracker will be very satisfying to look at, after filling it in.

Bullet Journal Spread 3. Grateful + habit tracker

Last but not least; my page for grateful notes and my trusty habit tracker.

• The grateful page – This page on the left is quite simple, every day in the month I try to take a moment to write down a simple sentence of a good thing that happened that day. It could be something small or something big, whatever made me feel joy throughout the day. Whenever I feel a bit down, this is a great page to flip back to.
• The habit-tracker –  A key-spread for me. Maintaining a bullet journal is to keep track of the past and present but also to learn new habits to incorporate in your daily routine. And that’s exactly what this spread does.As you can see in the vertical column, I have a couple of keywords lined up. Such as H20, which signifies my water intake. These are tasks I’d like to incorporate into my daily routine but don’t do without a little reminder. By tracking them and paying some more attention to these tasks I hope that my mind will shift to doing them automatically. So these are interchanging tasks. Whenever a task is taken up in my routine without a reminder, I’ll take it off the habit tracker and add something new. For other tasks, I just like the quick overview. It’s good to keep track of when I last watered my plants, but that’s not something I aim to know on top of my head.At the end of the day I take a moment to fill out this habit tracker, I color in the corresponding spot of the current day if I accomplished that task. And of course, leave it blank when I didn’t. At the end of the month, I have a perfect overview of how my month worked out. And more so, an overview of what I need to improve on. 

‘Til next time!

I hope you enjoyed this next installment in my bullet journal series. If you like this post and maybe learned anything new, please tap the little heart. It lets me know to continue these posts.

Previously: Bullet Journal series – 1 introduction. 

Sources and inspiration.

www.bulletjournal.com

www.leuchtturm1917.us (the notebook I use)

www.winsornewtown.com (markers I use)

Pigma MICRON fineliners in 02, 04 & 06. (pens I use)

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