Bullet Journal – The HeartWord Way

Hello, everyone! Sorry this post is a couple of weeks late! Today is going to be a pretty simple and short post, but I figured it was something good to post about.

I Made a Decision

Recently, I made a decision about my bullet journaling.

At the beginning of the school year in August, I decided to start a bullet journal for a school planner. I was so excited, so sure I could be super organized and never miss a project or test. I was a little unsure about whether I’d have enough time to make the new pages each month, but I decided I would have plenty of time.

Well, turns out the junior year of high school is the hardest year. The first semester wasn’t so bad, but this semester has had me working long school days with not much time left for fun things at the end of the day. Not to mention, I was mentally exhausted, so convincing myself to do more work was hard. (This is also why I haven’t been posting, as I explained last week.)

At the same time, I also wasn’t able to get my normal bullet journal pages done. I didn’t even really have the energy to fill out my daily pages at the end of the day.

I knew something had to go. It didn’t make sense to buy a school planner for just the last few months of school, so I decided to take a break on my normal bullet journal for a few months, at least until summer.

I knew I just wasn’t really enjoying making the pages as much as I used to. It was also time for a new journal, and I knew I couldn’t start a project like that. So for now, I’m only doing my school bullet journal. This journal is much simpler than my other one was; just one monthly page and the weekly pages.

Signs That You May Need a Break

Here are some signs that you may need a break from bullet journaling:

You aren’t enjoying bullet journaling as much as you used to. You can’t come up with good ideas for each month. You don’t enjoy making the pages and aren’t feeling very creative.
You aren’t filling out your journal on a daily basis. If you can’t find the energy or incentive to fill out just your daily pages, then it’s definitely a sign to take a break.
You’re getting sloppy. Your spreads aren’t as neat as they usually are, but you aren’t taking the time to fix them up.
It’s taking up your time for other more important things. If bullet journaling is starting to take up your time for things of higher priority, such as time with family, school, and your hobbies, then you should take a break until you can find more time in your schedule.
Doing your monthly pages are causing you stress. If you’re stressed about your journal because you can’t get it done on time, definitely take a break. Bullet journaling is supposed to take away stress, not cause it.

If you are experiencing any of those symptoms, you’ve probably got bullet journal burnout. That just basically means that you aren’t as enthusiastic about journaling as you used to be.

Remedies?

Yes, I’ve got remedies! Below are a list of steps you can take to get rid off bullet journal burnout.

Take a break. Start with a week off from your weekly layout. If that isn’t enough, skip the next month. Skip the next few months if you need to. This break will let your mind take a break form the stress and worry your journal may be causing. You will come back refreshed and full of new ideas!
Use something else as a planner in the meantime. While I’m taking a break from my bullet journal, I’ve been using either a notebook or app on my phone to make task lists. You can also make a list of appointments for the week.
Let your mind take a break. Make sure you’re allowing your mind to take a break. Try not to think or worry about upcoming pages. If you come up with an idea for your next page or spread, make a list on your phone and then stop worrying about it. For your break to be a real break, your mind needs to rest, too.
Plan your starting-back date. Determine how long of a break you need, and decide on either the week of or the day of your return to journaling. *Note: This is the day you will start using your completed pages. You will have already made your spreads by this week/day.
Start planning your journal ahead of time. Give yourself at least two weeks before your start date to start planning and making your journal. Take it slow, being sure to stop for the day if you start to feel overwhelmed.
Look on Pinterest or other sites for ideas. Even though you just had a break, it’s not a guarantee that you’ll be bursting with ideas and inspiration. Be patient with yourself and get ideas from outside sources instead of expecting yourself to automatically come up with ideas.
Start your journal again! Let this day be a day of celebration! Fill out your journal!
Keep at it! Now this is the hard part: making it a habit. Set aside fifteen to twenty minutes a day for journaling. Don’t be upset with yourself if you miss a day; just make up for it the next day.

I could write a ton more, but I am saving that for another post! 🙂

Until Next Time…

That’s if for now! I hope this post helped you!

Let me know down in the comments if you are struggling with bullet journal burnout! Feel free to ask any questions and I will do my best to answer them!

Thanks for reading! Happy writing!

But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. (1 John 4:4)

Hello, everybody! Today I’m going to be posting about my new bullet journal: my school bullet journal! And yes, I do realize that school has been going for two months now, but as I have explained in my previous posts, I have been really busy recently.

Starting Pages

These pages are the ones that I’ll be using all year long. By the way, I’m sorry these pictures aren’t very good. I’m not sure what I was thinking when I used my driveway as my background 🤦‍♀️.

First off, I have my cover page. It’s just a little introductory page that gives a title for my bullet journal. About the girl . . . I’m not a very good artist, ok? I do my best.

Here I have my key. I’ve listed all of my courses and assigned different symbols for each one. I did end up changing it a little later on, so that’s why there’s also color tallies next to each course. I also have symbols for each type of assignment that my school does: lessons, quizzes, projects, and tests. In blue I’ve listed my key for tasks and events. Below that, I’ve written down how many dots and spaces are on each row vertically and horizontally.

This is my calendar for the year. It has all of my school events listed on it. For this page, I actually just cut out and glued on all the parts from a paper I printed off from my school website. I thought it would be easier to do that instead of writing out all of the events. I also color coded each type of event at the bottom on the page.

Cue the change in time! Apparently I took these pictures at a different time than the previous ones were taken 🤦‍♀️. Next, I have my Index page. I also have two other pages after this one dedicated to my index, but I thought it wasn’t really necessary to show since it’s the same thing that’s on this page.

Here, I have my first grade log. I’m hoping it’ll last until I finish the third chapter of each of my courses. At the top, I have my title, dates I’ll use these pages, and my grading scale. The rest of these two pages are dedicated to recording the grades for my lessons. When I first started using this page, I had intended to use the symbols that I had created on the key page to signify which course got which grade. But do you see how small those spaces are? Yeah, that did not work. So, I assigned colors for each course instead. Now I can just do a tally for each course.

These are the third and fourth pages of my grade log. Here I’ll record the grades for the rest of my lessons, and also my quizzes, tests, and projects.

August Pages

For my first August page, I have my calendar. On these pages, I also have spaces for notes, goals, and events that will happen during the month. Also, I’ve written out one of my favorite quotes: “When it rains, look for rainbows. When it’s dark, look for stars.” I don’t know who came up with that quote, but thank you.

And now I start my weekly spreads. Each spread has spaces for each day, a mini-calendar, notes, study plans, events happening during the week and next week, a space to write out my memory verse, and a space for to-dos.

On To September!

I decided to do a title page for September. If you can’t tell, I am DEFINITELY excited for fall. This tree is just starting to drop leaves, and I’m hoping that’s what’s actually going to happen this month. I really love the atmosphere of fall.

This month’s calendar is different from last month’s. I decided to downsize my calendar and leave more space for other things. On this page, I have spaces for projects I have during the month, tests I have, my Spanish plan, goals, and notes.

And now I have my weekly spreads. This is the spread that I have really come to like for my weeks. Other than spaces for each day, I also have spaces for notes, things that are happening during the week, and to-dos.

Wow! That was a LOT! I really should have done this post sooner, but alas. These pages aren’t the best that I’ve created, but I was in a rush to create these before school started. I hope they inspired and/or helped you!

A Few Announcements

Before I sign off, I have a few quick things to mention.

I have been absent from my blog for most of September, as I am sure you have noticed. However, I am working on a few posts that I hope to get out soon. Hang in there!

The month of September was my two year blog anniversary! Yay! I can’t believe I’ve been doing this for two years (probably because I haven’t done that many posts 😉 )!

Be on the lookout for a review of my month of September in the next week or so!

Signing Off . . .

Did you enjoy my spreads? Do you have a school bullet journal? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to chat with you!

Thanks for reading! Happy writing!

But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” (Matthew 4:4 NLT)

Tag: Bullet Journal

Signs and Remedies of Bullet Journal BurnOut