My Bullet Journal: Foreign Teacher Edition

So I decided to try out bullet journaling this year! Just setting it up and creating the first few pages has been super relaxing for me during the busy holiday season. I hope my ideas can inspire others and maybe introduce some of you to the concept of creating your own planner!

Bullet Journaling is a form of planning and organizing your life using an ordinary notebook and listing techniques developed by Ryder Carroll. (You can read up on his methods on his website.) It's an incredibly flexible system, and you can be as creative / simple as you like. The secret is that you make it as you go -- no wasted space, and future pages are wide open. The first step is to choose a notebook.


I went with a graph-lined softcover, around 150 pages. I absolutely love the little squares, which help a non-artist like me pull off some decent designs. I feel I can write, word web, doodle, do anything on this paper! However I would recommend getting a hardcover instead. I enjoyed using a larger sized planner last year, so I decided on a B5 for my bullet journal.



The bullet journal system involves using a key to label tasks. You number all your pages and keep an index at the front of the notebook. (I left 3 pages for my index - hopefully it's enough!) BuJo also gives guidelines on how to set up calendars. Here are mine:




The future log is for planning major events within the next 6 months.


The monthly log looks like this, with the dates and days of the week vertical. 
This leaves plenty of space to write, and it's so simple to start!


I cheated a bit with my daily log... You're supposed to write in each day as it comes, so that you don't waste time / space making calendars that you don't use. I went ahead and made a whole week, though. I used pen and a more simple design for this page, as I don't want to make it a chore to replicate in the future.

You can also see my bookmark in this picture. My cheap notebook didn't come with a ribbon, so I took some spare and tied it to a paperclip. 好的！

Those are the basics of the bullet journal system. I also made several topical pages to organize my projects and interests:


One thing I really love about a different system, the Passion Planner, is the combination of a planner + goal setting. I'm going to try to use my bullet journal to brainstorm, track and celebrate my goals as much as possible! I think I might do a web on this page, branching out from a main goal to specifics of when and how to accomplish it. The blank space beckons!


I have an account with GoodReads to track what books I read, but I never use it! 
Going to try the old-fashioned way in a notebook this year.


And, of course, I had to make pages to record the kdramas I watch and all the places I visit this year!



I don't write out lesson plans much once I get the flow of a course, but I do like to keep lists of ideas for reference. Here are the happy green pages I made for those!


More practical pages here, for easy access to look back and check.

I had soooo much fun playing with fonts (if you can't tell, ha)! I was super inspired by the book "Creative Lettering and Beyond"... and by inspired, I mean, I copied all my fonts out of this book. Why was it so relaxing to do so? I have no idea. And I used brush pens for writing.


And that's my bullet journal so far! I'm so excited to fill it in and create even more pages. Here's to an amazing 2018! 新年快乐！

Comments

  1. Unknown24 January, 2018 04:34

    The journal looks awesome Katie. Good job - and glad you're using the tools!

    ReplyDelete

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