Skip to content
  • Blog
  • Categories
    • Health & Fitness
    • Personal Development
    • Finances
  • Archive
  • Shop
  • Blog
  • Categories
    • Health & Fitness
    • Personal Development
    • Finances
  • Living like Leila
  • Archive
  • Shop
Uncategorized

My Beginner Bullet Journal to Increase Productivity [minimalist]

September 27, 2020September 29, 2020 Leila 4 comments

I’ve always thought bullet journaling was beautiful and fascinating, but something that wasn’t for me.

I tried my hand at it, but it seemed to take too long and I could never get it as pretty as I saw online.

That is until recently, when I started looking into minimalist bullet journaling and I realized I can do that too!!

Early September I started watching several minimalist bullet journal YouTube videos and it really inspired me to try again.

I purchased a simple, small bullet journal and started using it by mid-September.

Little did I know that this journal would inspire me in more ways than one.

If you want to see me flip through my journal jut watch my video below:

What You Need

The only thing I bought was the journal.

I purchased a 5″ x 8.25″ navy blue, dotted grid journal from Poluma. I wanted a journal with less pages because I only wanted to use it for 3 months. I also wanted something really affordable and this journal had one of the best prices.

As you can see below, I placed my logo sticker on the front of my journal.

I didn’t buy any new pens, but last year I did buy these felt tip pens which are perfect for bullet journaling and are the main ones I use. Otherwise you can literally use anything you have.

I also use a blue Bic Cristal pen, a mechanical pencil, green and pink Paper Mate pens, colored pencils, and a 6-inch ruler. All of which I already had.

Inside My Bullet Journal

On the front cover page I recorded the total number of dots going down and across each page as well as the total number of squares going down and across.

This is good to have as a reference when you are creating certain blocks throughout your journal.

The first actual pages of my bullet journal I decided to record my goals and my “Level 10 Life” chart. I free-handed just about everything (which is why the circles are bit messy, but I like it like that!).

I was inspired to do the Level 10 spread because of Stuart Carter on YouTube. Basically, you rate the 10 areas of life on a scale of 1-10. Ideally, each area would be closer to 10! I’ll be coming back to this chart at the end of every month.

Next, I added pages for blog and video ideas. I kept it very simple by just creating a solid border around each.

The next page is my favorite and is the area that took the longest.

I decided to fit a few things within these 2 pages including the month of September, my goals, content for September for my blog/YouTube, a habit tracker, and a sleep/mood tracker.

For the calendar, I only need this to see the dates/full month. In the future I will probably use it to fill in my expenses which is something I typically do in my planner.

For my habit tracker I have the days going down the left side. Green means I did it, pink means I didn’t, and the black dash means I didn’t care to complete that habit those days.

I’ve been tracking:

  • no snooze
  • meditation
  • Wim Hoff Breath work
  • Reading
  • Gratitude/Journaling
  • Walking 10,000 steps
  • Drinking 64+oz of water
  • writing 300+ words
  • pomodoros
  • and evening tidy

The sleep/mood tracker was inspired by Elsa Rhae on YouTube. Again, the days are on the left hand side and I rate my sleep and mood on a scale of 1-5 each day. Blue is sleep, pink is mood.

I like this spread because I can see if my habits and sleep correlate with my mood. As you can see, I also added a little piece of washi tape to make accessing this page easier.

Next, was my first week spread. I had it cover two pages.

The following week I decided to compress it to one page.

The weekly spread presents my new productivity tactic.

First, let me say that after each weekly spread comes my ‘Good Morning’ page. This is where I do my morning journaling.

I write down the date, how I am feeling, and a few things I’m grateful for.

Then I go to the corresponding date on the weekly spread and write down the top 3 most important things I should complete for the day. This has made a HUGE difference in my productivity. I only focus on those 3 things first because they will move the needle for me the most.

I was also trying to do some Pomodoros each day, but I found that doesn’t really work for me (that’s what those 3 circles are in the first weekly spread photo).

Following each morning page is my ‘Weekly Meeting.’ I used to have a meeting with myself (or my boyfriend) last year where I go over my goals, my accomplishments for the last week, the things I need to improve, and the important things for the next week. I have a full blog post on my weekly meetings.

What I really like about bullet journaling is how customizable everything is. I appreciate that I can change things up each week/month if it’s not something I really enjoy.

For example, now I think I need a little bit more space for each day of the week. So I’ll probably turn it into a 2-page spread again but include a notes section.

For now I like the monthly spread/habit tracker. But even for October I’ll be changing up the habits I want to work on.

I added a bit more detail for October by just adding some simple leaves and coloring them with fall colors.

Now that I’ve done all this before, it all takes me less time to complete.


Overall, I think bullet journaling is something I’m going to stick to!

I love that I have my journaling and daily to-dos all in one place and I’ve found myself more motivated to get my work done.

Post navigation

January 2020 Debt and Spending Update
Gift Guide: Gift Ideas You’ll Want to Keep for Yourself

4 comments

  1. Mariella A Montoni-Scofield says:
    September 30, 2020 at 5:34 pm

    Hi! This post is great! One of the best ever! Thank you so much for taking the time to create this!

    Reply
    1. Leila says:
      October 3, 2020 at 3:36 pm

      Thank you Mariella!

      Reply
  2. I'keliha W says:
    October 2, 2020 at 12:06 am

    I absolutely used to love bullet journaling when I was in college. This just reminded me of why and inspired me to get back into it

    Reply
    1. Leila says:
      October 3, 2020 at 3:36 pm

      That’s awesome! 😊 I’ve been enjoying it a lot and I’m glad you’re gonna pick it back up!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Hey, There!

Hey, There!

Leila, Owner

Welcome to my blog! I'm passionate about inspiring others to reach their full potential by overcoming their own excuses.

Click here to learn more about my blog!

livinglikeleila

I've been MIA on here and my YouTube channel as I' I've been MIA on here and my YouTube channel as I've been dealing with some health issues.  I actually had surgery yesterday and I'm looking forward to the end of all this. However,  things may get worse before they get better.  In the future I may go into more detail with what has been going on, but this last month I experienced many days of excruciating pain and sooo much crying. This completely consumed my life and I was spending hours researching and just thinking about it.  While what I have is not life threatening (thank goodness), it was the worst pain and thing I've ever been through. During this time my perspective has completely shifted. I just wanted my life back and I realized that nothing else mattered outside of my health. Everything else became so small to me.  I'm sooo eager to get back into everything, but my life will look a little different for awhile.  I've lost 7 pounds within 3 weeks (which is a lot for my tiny frame) and I haven't lifted during that time at all. I can't lift for at least another 2 weeks and squats and deadlifts are out of the picture for a looong time ☹  But, I have faith that surgery went well and that my body will heal. All I want is my life back and that's what I'm focusing on 🙏  Appreciate your health and take care of yourself because without it nothing matters.
Today is World Health Day! Whatever health you ha Today is World Health Day!  Whatever health you have today and any portion of your body that doesn't hurt, STOP taking for granted.  Educate yourself and take care of every square inch of your body and mind to the best of your ability 🌻  #WorldHealthDay #Health
This book took me 2 months to read because it's lo This book took me 2 months to read because it's long and super scientific, but I loved it!! 🧠  I love learning about the brain, neuroplasticity, and how we can best take care of our brain.  I will film a whole review on this, but here are a few topics:  ▪️The Brain can be trained and reorganize itself to recover functions after trauma (like a stroke for example). People didn't even believe the brain could be changed until recently, I bet there are a lot of people out there missing out on their true potential.  ▪️He covered the porn epidemic quite a lot and how much it influences people (especially teens) by shaping their sexual desires, expectations, and relationships. This really is a reflection of all things that produce dopamine, very important in my opinion because it can be highly problematic.  ▪️The best way to keep the brain sharp? Exercise and a healthy diet of course 😊 But also doing things that involve concentration (dancing, learning an instrument or language) and being social!  If you're not into scientific research, there are probably better books out their for you on the brain. But this is definitely an interesting read.  #thebrainthatchangesitself #thebrain #books #read #reading #readbooks #personaldevelopmentbooks #personaldevelopment #bookrecommendations #booklover #bookstagram #bookworm
My skin is clear today for the first time in like My skin is clear today for the first time in like 2 months?! 🙌  There's no filter on the images but the camera definitely hides my scarring so don't be fooled lol  No skincare changes, but I have been using @innbeautyproject 's Face Glaze hence the glow!  However, I've recently become obsessed with skin care and spent hours this month doing research on various brands to create a routine. I placed my orders today and I'll make the switch in April!  I'll share/document the products and results over the next few months.  #skincare #skin #innbeauty #innbeautyproject #glow
A little weekend photo dump: ▪️Sydney Cumming A little weekend photo dump:  ▪️Sydney Cumming's workout
▪️Dinner at my dad's house
▪️Sunday morning walk with Sebas
▪️Tried the new Spring espressos from Starbucks 
▪️BTS of Cafecito  I vlogged it all and my video will be up tomorrow 😊  #weekendinmylife #weekend #photodump #vlog #youtuber #youtube #starbucks #coffee #cafecito #vegan #healthy #workout
I've been vegan for 5 years as of yesterday. It's I've been vegan for 5 years as of yesterday.  It's still the best decision of my life.  I've gained the most strength and look my best as a vegan.  It's also worth mentioning I was vegetarian for 13 years before going vegan, which is why I had to bust out a double bi in photo 3 lol  So yes, I do get enough protein despite not eating animals 😏  As a vegan I've also learned to cook better, eat more types of foods, and have discovered amazing restaurants, recipes, and vegan alternatives all without harming animals.  I never want to push veganism on anyone, but I encourage everyone to explore this lifestyle.  Personally, having an animal suffer for my food, clothes, and products just isn't worth it. Being a perfect vegan isn't necessary, but even small changes can make a large difference.  My sister (@loka1089) made this shirt for me for Christmas by the way!!  #vegan #bekindtoeverykind #veganfortheanimals #veganweightlifting #vegangains #strongvegan #veganwoman #vegananniversary #GoVegan #veganbodybuilding #anythingyoucaneaticaneatvegan #LivinglikeLeila
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Affiliate Disclosure

This blog post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through that link I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Thank you for your support.

For more information please read my full disclosure policy.

  • Disclosure & Privacy Policy
  • Contact Me
© 2021 | Designed by Little Theme Shop