It’s been quite a while since I’ve shared about my bullet journal on this blog, and this will also be the first time I’ve shared this bullet journal here since I started using it! Today I’ll be going over my set up for April. I’m really pleased with how it turned out, and the theme is so perfect for spring. Read on for more details and pictures!

If you are curious to know how I’ve set up the front pages of this bullet journal, you can watch my New Bullet Journal Set Up video here. I’ve actually been using this bullet journal for 5 months, since November 2019. Since then, I’ve been using a traditional box calendar across two pages every month, which had been working just fine. I first used it as a regular calendar, and then I started using it as a way to keep a record of my days by drawing doodles or writing in memorable moments. It can be fun for sure, but for someone like me who is actually not very artistically inclined, trying to draw and hand-letter something every day started to become a chore rather than a delight. I’d also been using bright and vibrant colors every month as a way to add visual interest to my bullet journal. While it has been fun to experiment with different color combinations and patterns, I felt like I needed a break from that. So this month, I have not only simplified and streamlined my layouts, but I have also simplified and streamlined my color palette and design. If you check out my March Set Up video here, you’ll see just how different the two months actually are.

Monthly Layout

As you can see, I am not using the large block calendar style for April. I decided to go back to the traditional method of bullet journaling and wrote out the dates as a list. One thing I like to do with this list-style calendar is to split it into two columns, so I can keep work and personal events separately. Another thing I’ve done differently this month is to add some places to write down a small number of goals and to-dos, so I can’t overwhelm myself. I’ve also added a very simple growth tracker for my various social media accounts. This is something I used to track when my Youtube channel first started growing. I took a lot of breaks during 2019, but one of my goals for 2020 is to restart that growth, so I am doing my best to create more content, both for my channel and for this blog.

I’ve also added a mini calendar at the top of the page to give me a better visual of what the month of April actually looks like. The list style calendar is very efficient, but I have a hard time visualizing the weeks and days when that is my only reference. Next to that, I added a small section to write down things I’m “looking forward to.” These days, with the world in a state of chaos, I find it very uplifting to turn my focus towards positive, happy things that will undoubtedly happen soon, like warmer weather and flowers blossoming. It gives me a sense of hope and lightness.

Habit Tracker

I love creating a habits spread every month, even though I’m not the most disciplined when it comes to actually sticking to the habits. It’s something I’m working on. Every month, I like to evaluate the habits from the previous month and see what I should eliminate, what I should add, and what I can reword or even combine. I also like to play around with the order and find the most logical/chronological way to list them out. I like to break them up into categories that represent different routines for different times of day, and I rewrite the dates for each category. I do it this way for 3 reasons: 1) it’s less visually overwhelming, 2) it’s easier to line up my check marks with the correct date, 3) seeing habits in order on the page actually helps me to practice and ingrain my daily routines.

Beside the habit tracker, you’ll see a space titled “accomplished.” I used to use this space to write down even more tasks and to-do’s related to my goals, but that become overwhelming and discouraging when I had so many tasks piled up, many of them left undone. So instead, to keep things light and positive, I will use this space to write about my wins and accomplishments for the month of April.

Daily Pages

As you can see, I’m keeping my daily pages extremely simple! After months of experimenting with various weekly spreads, I decided it was easiest to just revert to the traditional bullet journal method of rapid logging each day. It takes zero time to set up, which I love! I tend to write out only tasks but I’m going to try to be more mindful this month and start writing down thoughts, ideas, questions and whatever else I need to remember.

Supplies

I used so many products from Daiso! The purple and teal titles were written with Daiso mild highlighters. All the washi tapes and washi sticker are also from Daiso. I used thin washi to highlight the dates for my habit tracker – it’s a great time saver.

I used a Staedtler marsgraphic 3000 duo brush pen for all of the pale gray shading and box outlines. The cursive titles were done with a Dong-A Hexa Slimliner. And of course, I always write everything with my trusty Uniball Jetstream and Sarasa Dry black pens.

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I hope this peek into my thought-process for my April set up has given you ideas or inspiration for your own bullet journal set ups. Thanks so much for reading! Be sure to check out my April bullet journal video as well for a more detailed view.

~Veronica