How I've been using my bullet journal and June set up

Although I started a bullet journal back in August of last year, I've been using this notebook for 2018 (you may remember my post where I talked about how I had set it up for this year) and thought this would be a good time to let you know how I've been getting on with it, what I find works for me, and to show you my set up for June.

Dots are definitely better than lines. When I originally started using a bullet journal my notebook was lined (I hadn't bought it with the intention of using it as a bullet journal but then I found myself swept up in bullet journal videos and wanted a go myself) but for 2018 I went for the Leuchtturm1917 and I've found the dots to be less restrictive and it's simple enough to draw a (near enough) straight line along the dots.

I've found the future log section really beneficial as I can write down any appointments or things I need to remember in a certain month ahead of that month, that I can refer back to when it comes around to setting out that months spread.

For the monthly spreads I start with a title page so that it is clearly defined and I give each month a theme. For June I went for lavender - sometimes I'll do some drawings on the title page but I think printing out images and sticking them in with masking tape looks just as good and doesn't take up loads of time.

After my title page comes my calendar layout for the month over a double page spread. I've tried out a few ways of setting out the calendar but I've found this works best for me as I can clearly see what's coming up, and the squares aren't so small that I can't write anything in them. 

 After this it usually changes dependent on my needs/what I've got on, but for June I've set out a double page for shopping lists (food shopping that is), and then I've drawn out a weekly spread. I'll be honest with you, I haven't used a weekly spread throughout the year, but I thought I'd give it a go this month and see how I get on.

After my weekly spread I've then designated a page for blogpost ideas - I really like using a bullet journal because I can decide on what order I want things to be in, and I can try out different things and see if they work for me (FYI any kind of 'trackers' that other people seem to use do not work for me). In a normal diary you would just have the set days, but in my bullet journal I can have a shopping list on one page and then a Eurovision sweepstakes on another (Tom won this year). I like that I can use it for random things but also for keeping track of appointments and having these all together in one place is so useful. I know that I'll continue to adapt how I use my bullet journal over the year and will report back to you once we hit 2019 (how scary is that?).  I'd love to see any of your bullet journal posts - be sure to link the below!

Jess x