The Productive Pixie | Systems for Productivity and Growth

Do you ever feel completely swamped in college? I have too! New semesters bring a new schedule, new classes, and new opportunities, but if you don't have systems in place, it can be very easy to fall behind. Today, I'll share how to prepare for a new semester before you even get back to campus!

How to Prepare for a New Semester: 9 Things to Do Before Heading Back to Campus

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There are always so many things to do at the start of a new semester!

If you don't have a plan in place, it can be easy to let things like eating healthy or having a clean room fall to the wayside. Making time for things like studying can be easier to procrastinate!

I love college and learning new things, so I always get really excited about going back to school. However, if you aren't as excited, I've created this easy checklist to help you prepare for the semester ahead!

I start preparing and planning for the next school year before the current school year even ends by creating a to-do list of things to do before I head back to campus for next semester. I don't want to forget anything!

These are all things you can do to prepare for the new semester before you travel back to campus. Let's get right into how to prepare for a new semester!

How to Prepare for a New Semester: 9 Things to Do Before Heading Back to Campus

1. Organize Your Laptop

I'm studying marketing, which means I do homework on my computer a lot! In fact, besides taking notes and reading textbooks, everything is done online.

If my laptop is a mess, doing my homework is way harder than it needs to be!

This reminds me of the time I turned in a blank Excel spreadsheet because I didn't realize I hadn't turned on autosave, or I turned in the wrong saved file. I'm still not sure what happened, but I learned my lesson!

I was really lucky because my professor let me turn in the assignment again, even though the due date was past.

Here are some great things to do to organize your laptop (and phone!) before the school year starts:

Delete old photos in your gallery
Delete unnecessary files
Organize files that you didn't organize from last year
Create folders for your upcoming classes organized by semester

When your laptop and phone have a lot of available storage and your files are organized, the semester goes smoother. It's harder for files to get lost.

Doing homework might take less time too, which is a plus!

2. Organize Your Email Inbox

Having an organized inbox is so important to me for productivity! If my inbox is cluttered, I feel irritated while doing other things because I almost feel like my inbox is another to-do list.

Organizing my inbox only takes a few minutes a day, but when I know my inbox is nearly empty, it's a lot easier for me to concentrate on the task at hand. Having a nearly empty inbox feels like there is less clutter in my brain.

Here are a few quick tips for organizing your inbox:

Delete as many emails as possible
Unsubscribe from all of the newsletters that no longer fit your life
Make folders for your emails and put all of the emails that you are saving for various reasons into those folders

Your inbox is for emails you need to take action on, not for everything people have sent you. This mindset shift helps me delete and move more emails into folders.

3. Prepare Your Planner/Organizational System

How are you going to finish all of your homework along with a million other things you have to do?

I use a bullet journal (and love it!) to keep track of all my homework and everything else. I also plan on a regular basis to make sure I have a plan to get everything done.

The same planning system doesn't work for everyone, so whatever system you use, make sure you tweak it along the way.

I like to look through all of my bullet journal collection layouts and make sure everything is updated, as well as make new layouts for the upcoming semester.

When I get back to school, I already have my system in place!

4. Set Goals + Intentions for the Semester

Even though I set goals every year, I like to review and revise those goals at the beginning of every new semester.

Some years, I set smaller goals. Other years, I just decide what I want to get out of the upcoming school year, but I don't set specific goals. Do I want to socialize more? Do I need to spend more time studying or working?

When doing this, I like to think about my habits from the previous semester and whether I was good about waking up early or if I spent too much time looking at my laptop.

This is also a great time to make a bucket list of all of the new things you want to try during the semester!

5. Figure Out Your Daily/Weekly Routines

Even though I enjoy variety, I also love my daily routines!

You may not know exactly what your college schedule will look like, but you can still decide what your morning routine and night routine will look like.

Additionally, this is an ideal time to start thinking about when you'll go grocery shopping and do laundry.

Here are some things to include in your college routine:

Cooking
Grocery shopping
Exercising
Budgeting
Laundry

My routines always switch up a little bit depending on various things, but these are the tasks I always have to include in my routine somewhere!

6. Map Out Your Budget

When I started college, I was pretty clueless about money and budgeting, but over the past few years, I've learned to track everything I earn and spend to make sure I have enough for everything while continuing to save money.

I like to do some rough estimates at the start of the semester to see how much money I'm going to be spending. This helps me decide whether I'm going to stick to a strict budget or not.

As an aside, when I'm sticking to a stricter budget, I buy the cheapest brown rice and when I'm not sticking to a strict budget, I buy rice that tastes better! 🤣

7. Plan Your Meals

If I didn't plan my meals in advance in college, I would struggle to eat because I hate cooking when I'm hungry. Anyone else?

Before my freshman year started, I made a list with meal ideas for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks so I wouldn't go hungry. I suggest you do the same!

When it comes to food, a little bit of planning can go a long way. Before the semester starts, I like to make sure my online recipe folder is in order (a folder in my phone gallery).

I also decide on some new recipes to try, and I like to stock up on bulk food items before the semester starts!

Whether you like to plan out your meals or prefer to be more spontaneous, having some ideas of what to eat and when can go a long way towards eating healthier and not skipping meals when you are super busy.

8. Go in for Routine Checkups

This is my least favorite thing to do on this list, but it gets them out of the way, so you can enjoy your semester!

I go in for my routine checkups before I go back to school, so I don't have to worry about fitting them in some other time.

You don't want to have to worry about having to fit in a dentist or doctor's appointment if it's not necessary.

9. Make a College Packing List + Double Check It

The first time I flew to college, I forgot to bring my phone charging cord.

I was able to buy a new one pretty quickly, but now I double check that I have all of my charging cords.

A few days before I go back to school, I like to start gathering everything in one place to make sure I don't forget anything.

Additionally, now I start keeping my charging cord attached to my laptop unless it's in the backpack I'm bringing to school with me a few days before as well.

I also start gathering all of the clothes I want to bring back to campus with me in a suitcase.

When I first went to college, I made a list of all of the items I was bringing with me, so I knew what I had packed. This can be super helpful when you are traveling home from college too!

Final Notes on How to Prepare for a New Semester: 9 Things to Do Before Heading Back to Campus

Having systems in place for the everyday tasks I need to do during college helps me stay organized as the semester progresses.

The first week of school is always busy, so doing all of these things before I go back to school helps me have more time to enjoy those first weeks of school.

Here's a quick recap on how to prepare for a new semester.

Organize your laptop
Organize your email inbox
Prepare your planner/organizational system
Set goals and intentions for the semester
Figure out your daily/weekly routines
Map out your budget
Plan your meals
Go in for routine checkups
Make a college packing list and double check it

If you enjoyed this post on how to prepare for a new semester, these posts might be helpful too!

I hope you got some tips on how to prepare for a new semester! Good luck with school!

Don't forget to save this post on how to prepare for a new semester so you can look at it again before your semester starts!

August 01, 2026 No comments

I'm sure you've seen beautifully drawn habit tracker bullet journal layouts on social media. Habit tracking in a bullet journal is one of the easiest ways to improve your life alongside your daily to-do list. Habit trackers help you stay accountable and make it easier to see your progress over time. I've been bullet journaling for 8 years, and in this post, I'm going to share techniques and tips for habit tracking in a bullet journal.

Habit Tracking in a Bullet Journal: Everything You Need to Know

Are you wondering how you can get started with habit tracking?

This is a great place to start!

I've been using the bullet journal system to track my to-do list and improve my life for around 8 years, and it's still the best planning system I've found that can adapt as my lifestyle has changed from high school to college and soon to my career.

Over the years, I've used it to track habits and to build habits in many different ways. I'm going to share what I've found to be effective and not as effective for tracking and building habits in a bullet journal.

Whether you are trying to exercise more, start journaling, or go to sleep earlier, this is how to get started with habit tracking in a bullet journal!

First, I'll cover a few tips for habit tracking in a bullet journal, and then I'll share the different styles of habit trackers you can try out!

Habit Tracking in a Bullet Journal: Everything You Need to Know

1. Track 1-3 Habits to Start

First of all, you need to decide what positive improvement you want to make in your life.

In the beginning, it can be super easy to want to track everything, but if you want to stick to habit tracking and the habit you want to create, it's best to start with tracking 1-3 habits and then building from there.

When I started my first bullet journal, I wanted to track everything and try out all of the different layouts I saw on Pinterest.

It wasn't sustainable, and I ended up quitting bullet journaling and all the habits I was trying to create because it was so much work. Your systems should work for you, not the other way around. Luckily, I tried bullet journaling again a few months later!

I've learned that with trying any new system, the smaller and simpler it is, the easier it will be to stick with it.

2. Don't Track Habits You've Already Created

This may sound like a given, but don't track habits that you already have because it's just creating more work for you.

I've found only two caveats to this: When you need a reminder to track a habit or you are tracking more in-depth information about the habit, such as the type of workouts you are doing.

Once you feel like tracking the habit is more work than doing the actual habit, that's probably a good sign that you don't need to track that habit anymore, especially if it's a daily habit.

For weekly habits, it's a different matter because even if you do that habit over a long period of time, it will still be less ingrained. Reminders are nice!

There are a few weekly habits I still write down on my weekly bullet journal layouts such as checking my finances and doing my laundry.

These tasks take up a good amount of my weekend and having them on my schedule reminds me of everything in my weekend routine, even if I complete it in a different order.

A good rule of thumb is that if it's really a habit, you won't need to track it anymore.

3. Make Your Habit Tracking as Simple as Possible

To color-code or not to color-code your habit tracker?

I'm sure you've seen those cute habit trackers all over Pinterest with fun colors and even little drawings for each day.

If you love making your bullet journal pretty and use it as a creative outlet, then by all means go ahead!

But if you use your bullet journal primarily as a productivity tool, try to make your habit trackers as simple as possible.

All you need for a bullet journal habit tracker is a couple of checkboxes in black and white.

As tempting as it might be, try to make your habit tracker as simple and boring as possible in the beginning. You can always make your habit tracking system more ornate later.

If you want to build a running habit, start with tracking whether you go running or not. After that's a habit, you can start tracking different types of runs (tempo, easy run, intervals) with color-coding or different symbols if you want to.

And if you make your system too complicated, there's always the option of simplifying it!

4. Decide When You are Going to Fill in Your Habit Trackers

There are two different ways you can go about filling in your habit trackers.

You can either fill out your habit tracker right after you do the habit or you can fill out all of your habit trackers at once when you sit down to review your bullet journal.

I usually like doing it all at once, so I'm not always having to come back to my bullet journal, especially if it's a habit that's almost ingrained.

If you don't already have a habit of bullet journaling, that's a good place to start.

Creating a bullet journaling routine is as simple as figuring out when you are going to sit down and look at your bullet journal regularly. With creating habits, it's obviously easiest if you do this daily so you don't get behind on filling in your trackers or forget if you did a habit that day or not.

5. If You Miss Bullet Journaling for a Few Days, Leave Those Spaces Blank

If for some reason, you miss using your bullet journal for a few days, don't feel compelled to go back to fill in your trackers if you can't remember what days you actually did the habit.

Whether you do the habit or not is more important than filling out a habit tracker.

If you miss a few days, that's no problem! Your habit tracker is designed to help you measure your progress. It's normal to miss days.

Your habit tracker shouldn't be a rigid system that you are tied to. It's a tool to help you recognize the progress you are making, not the days you've missed.

Be flexible and experience life!

6. Habit Tracking Doesn't Have to be About Building a Streak

Keep in mind that there are two different ways to approach using habit trackers.

To build a streak
To track when you do a specific task

Maybe you want to track how often you go for a walk or practice a hobby. Just because you are using a habit tracker doesn't mean you need to work towards building a streak.

Instead, habit trackers can be used to simply track how often you engage in an activity.

Having data about how often you practice hobbies can be very beneficial to making progress towards your goals!

Different Styles of Bullet Journal Habit Trackers

There are quite a few different ways to track habits using your bullet journal. Here is a quick breakdown of the main ways.

Whether you prefer minimalist habit tracker layouts or more colorful bullet journal habit trackers, these tips can be adapted to any bullet journal style.

Just remember that the best bullet journal habit trackers aren't the prettiest ones, so start simple and only add decorations if it helps you stay motivated.

1. Weekly Layout Habit Tracker

Best for: flexibility, testing new habits, beginners

When you're first building a new habit, I recommend starting here so you can test out the habit for a week or two to see if you even like doing it, and if it's going to be feasible long-term.

If you create weekly layouts in your bullet journal, you can easily draw seven boxes at the bottom of your layout for each habit.

This is the primary way that I'm currently tracking habits because I use the Alastair Method, so I can intersperse my habits in with my other tasks.

2. Monthly Layout Habit Tracker

Best for: monthly challenges, if you prefer monthly calendar layouts

On a monthly calendar, you can draw a mini calendar somewhere on your layout for each habit you want to track. This takes a little bit more set up, but it does look aesthetic.

You can also draw a larger calendar and then add a color-coded dot for each habit on each day you complete that habit.

Additionally, you can just do a long vertical or horizontal column. These are super easy to set up!

3. Designated Habit Tracker Layout

Best for: many habits

If there are a lot of habits you want to track on a monthly basis, you may consider having a designated monthly page for your habits with either rows of mini calendars or columns of 28-31 days.

I've tried doing these habit tracker pages multiple times, but I've never been able to stick to them for long (usually less than a month). I think it's because when I've tried using a designated habit tracker bullet journal layout, I try to fit in as many habits as possible to fill up the page.

If you decide to do a designated habit tracker layout, I'd focus on tracking when you do the habits over tracking streaks. This point ties back to tip #6.

4. Collections Page for One Habit

Best for: one long-term habit

If you want to track a habit long-term, you may decide to create a layout with 12 mini calendars so your layout will last for an entire year.

Generally, I reserve these types of collection pages for goals and habits that I really want to create or track.

I wouldn't recommend having too many of these pages because you might change your mind on what habits and things you want to track. Start small!

If you want to try out this layout, I'd recommend tracking a max of two habits to start.

Last year, I tried to use this type of habit tracker layout to track writing 500-1000 words daily, and practicing tap six times per week, but I only stuck to them for around three months before I realized both goals weren't doable during the school year.

Keep your lifestyle in mind when deciding on new habits to create!

Final Notes on Habit Tracking in a Bullet Journal: Everything You Need to Know

Tracking new habits in your bullet journal is an effective way to create positive change in your life. Remember that a habit tracker is a tool for building habits, and it's designed to help you stay accountable, notice patterns, and celebrate progress. Consistency is what actually builds the habit.

I've used habit tracking to exercise more consistently and to improve my study habits.

Start with creating a tracker for one small habit and let your system grow from there!

If you found this post about habit tracking in a bullet journal useful, you may also enjoy reading these ones too!

I hope this post helped you take the leap to start incorporating habit tracking in your bullet journal!

Don't forget to pin and share this post about habit tracking in a bullet journal! Thanks! :)

July 25, 2026 No comments

Do you ever feel like you can't keep track of what you've read or what to read next? Do you love one book and hate the next? Have you ever gotten stuck on a book and not read for months? Over the past few years, I went from reading 6-7 books a year to reading 30-60. Plus, I learned to love reading again! In this post, I'm going to share my reading system for personal growth and lifelong learning!

My Reading System for Personal Growth + Lifelong Learning

Creating a reading system will help you learn more from the books you read, find new books to read, and read more consistently because you won't get bogged down by books you don't enjoy!

I mainly read nonfiction books about business, investigative journalism, personal growth, memoirs, and biographies. On the side, I enjoy reading the occasional mystery, but I mainly read books to learn new things and figure out ways I can improve my life.

If you are looking for ideas on building your own nonfiction reading system, this is a good place to start.

I used to quit books after picking them up and reading a few pages, but I realized that not finishing books is part of the reading process. Because I like to build systems for my life, I created this system to help streamline my reading process.

I've been following this reading system for around two years, and it works because it's easy to follow and flexible.

This is my reading system for personal growth and lifelong learning!

My Reading System for Personal Growth + Lifelong Learning

How I Choose What to Read

My Goodreads "Books to Read" list currently has over 800 titles in it. This is my starting place for finding new books to read. I know I probably won't read a good majority of these books all the way through, so it's important to me to always have a large list.

Previously, I kept this list in my bullet journal but having it in Goodreads is way easier because my list expands rapidly.

Currently, I have my list ordered by books with the most ratings, so I see the most popular books first and I pick out the ones that have a 4+ star rating to read first.

Before going to the library, I scroll through this list and pick out whatever books look the most interesting to me and are available at the library.

Even though the books on my list range from memoirs to mysteries, I choose what to read based on what I'm currently in the mood for. Right now, I've been reading a lot of books about investigative journalism and business biographies!

If I find a genre I really enjoy, I'll look up lists on the internet for more books to read that are similar to the one I just read and add those to my TBR list.

I also put books on hold through the library and Libby. I read these books as soon as they come in because I know I'll only have them for a limited time.

The key is to have a long list of books in multiple genres, so there are always new books you are excited to read!

My Reading Routine

As of right now, I'm trying to read almost all of my books in the paperback format versus reading them online. I'm only reading books on Libby if that's the quickest way for me to access a book I'm really excited about.

Reading books in print helps me spend less time on my phone!

I always read multiple books at once.

If I'm currently reading five books, then I'll pick up the book that I'm enjoying the most. When I finish that one, I'll start reading a new one. The next time I read, I'll pick up the book that's the most interesting out of the five I'm currently reading.

When it's time to return books to the library, I'll mark the books I didn't finish as DNF on Goodreads, unless I really want to give a book a second chance.

How I Decide When to Stop Reading a Book

I always read multiple books at once because I don't finish reading a lot of books. Forcing yourself to read books that you aren't interested in is one of the easiest ways to waste your time and read less.

I try to read 50 pages before deciding to put it in my DNF pile, but I can usually tell after a chapter if I enjoy the writing style or not.

I use reading as a way to improve my writing style, so I try to take note of what I don't like about a book if I stop reading it.

Generally, I only finish reading books that I'm enjoying and would rate at least 2.5 stars. My only exception is when I'm almost done with a book. Life is too short to read books that you aren't enjoying!

When I Read

There are a couple of key points throughout the day when I read. As of right now, I'm reading daily because I have the time. During busy semesters at college, homework has to come first, so sometimes I don't read as much.

I love reading during breakfast, and sometimes during lunch and dinner if I'm not too busy with other things like homework or eating with friends/family.

A new habit I started building last semester is reading a few chapters right before bed if I get ready early enough. It's a great way to wind down and relax before I go to sleep!

Right now, I've been reading while riding a stationary recumbent bike. It's a great way to combine exercise and learning!

Taking Notes on What I Read

Taking notes on what you are reading is an ideal way to remember what you are learning and will help you figure out ways to actually apply what you are learning to your life.

The downside to taking notes is that it takes longer to read books. It's also not as convenient because you may have to carry around an extra notebook too.

Previously, I experimented with taking notes as I read personal growth books, and I want to get back into the habit of notetaking. It makes it so much easier to remember the key points from the book!

My reading notebook is very simple. On each page, I write the title of the book and the author. Then I create a bullet point summary of the book as I'm reading.

If I own a book, I'll use color-coding to highlight the main ideas of the book and quotes I like right in the book along with underlining and notes in the margin. I only own a few books, but this is my favorite way to easily remember what I'm reading!

One thing I try to do when reading books for personal growth is to choose one small idea from the book and immediately apply it to my life. If not, I'll quickly forget what I learned from the book.

How I Track My Reading

Lastly, I track my reading because it motivates me to read and helps me keep track of which books I've already read.

Whenever I finish a book, I go to Goodreads and leave a rating along with a review. My reviews are mainly for myself. I just write a few main points of what I liked or want to remember from the book.

My rating system:

1-2 stars: I rarely leave ratings this low because I mark these books as DNF instead
3 stars: This was an okay book
4 stars: This was a good book
5 stars: This book is one of my favorites and I'd consider reading it again

After leaving a review on Goodreads, I write down the title of the book and the rating I gave it in my bullet journal. Keeping a list of the books I've read in my bullet journal helps me see which books I've read each year and how many I've finished.

It's also easy for me to look back and see which books I've enjoyed the most! I also like the idea of having a bullet journal collection page for my all-time favorite books, so that's another idea you might try!

When Goodreads sends me an email with similar books to the one I just read, I add the recommendations to my reading list if I liked the book.

Final Notes on My Reading System for Personal Growth + Lifelong Learning

This is the reading system I'm currently using to read almost daily and constantly learn new things! The most important part of my reading system is making sure that I'm not letting books I'm not enjoying keep me from reading.

The goal with creating a reading system isn't to read as many books as possible. Instead, it's to make reading part of your lifestyle, so you are constantly learning and growing.

Here's a quick recap of my reading system:

Choose a new book to read from these options:

Goodreads' TBR list
Recommendations
Library holds that have just come in

Read multiple books at once
Read at least 50 pages of every book
When I finish a book, I start a new one so I'm always reading multiple books
Mark books as DNF when it's time to return them/I've read 50 pages and don't want to continue
Consistently track my reading

Take notes on key ideas (I need to start doing this again!)
Rate finished books on Goodreads and write them in my bullet journal
Add Goodreads' book recommendations to my TBR list if I enjoyed the finished book

If you liked this post about my reading system, you may enjoy reading these posts as well!

I hope this post gives you some ideas for creating your own reading system!

If you liked learning about my reading system, don't forget to save this post! :)

July 18, 2026 No comments

Have you ever tried a "that girl morning routine," but only stuck to it for three days? Have you ever wondered why the routines, healthy habits, and motivational things you see other people doing to improve their lives don't work for you? It's because you are trying to fit their lifestyle into yours, instead of building routines and systems that work for you. In this guide, I'll show you how to build personal systems that actually fit your lifestyle!

The Ultimate Guide to Building Personal Systems for Your Life

What personal systems should you use to organize every area of your life?

The Miracle Morning routine could change your life if you had the lifestyle and time to actually do it!

What about the popular 5 AM routine?

Should you use the Getting Things Done system or the Eisenhower matrix?

What about the Pomodoro method or time-blocking?

It's simple.

You should use none of these systems. Yes, none!

Instead, build your own systems. It'll probably combine ideas from multiple productivity methods. Every productivity and self-help guru swears by a different daily routine or a different system. That's just their own personal system!

It's time to build your own personal systems!

What is a Personal System?

Personal systems (or life systems as I like to call them) are the building blocks of your life. They're the main topic I like to talk about on this blog because I find life systems fascinating.

It's what you do right after getting up in the morning, and what you do before going to bed
It's how you organize your closet, your finances, and your grocery shopping list
It's how you choose what book you are going to read next and decide what to eat for dinner
It's the to-do list you spend fifteen minutes writing every morning (or the to-do list you don't even have)

Personal systems are the things that you do on a regular basis. Creating systems around these things helps automate mundane decision making, so you can spend more time creating a life you love!

Even if you don't think of yourself as an organized person, you still have systems and you still have routines. They may just not be the ones you want to have.

Creating personal systems that work for you will reduce your stress and keep your life running smoothly!

Personal Systems to Build

Because everyone's lives are different, the personal systems that will be the most beneficial to you will change based on where you are in life.

Below are some ideas for personal systems you can build to get you started thinking about how you should organize your life!

Morning routine
Evening routine
Weekend routine
Calendar and scheduling system
To-do list system
Email organization system
House cleaning system
Workout routine
Reading system
Self-improvement system
Planning routine
Goal setting system
Finance and budgeting system
Meal planning and cooking system
Time management methods

If all of these ideas feel like too much and too many systems, that's okay! It's about finding what works for you!

Start with whatever area of your life is stressing you the most and build a small routine or simple system that's easy to keep up with.

Plenty of people manage their lives without to-do lists! It kind of blows my mind because I'm a very type-A person and love my to-do lists, but nevertheless, that's what works for them!

The Ultimate Guide to Building Personal Systems for Your Life

1. Audit Your Life

The first step to building personal systems that actually work is to assess where you are in life.

What is making you feel stressed?
When in the day do you feel most rushed or unhappy?
What do you wish you could change about your life?
What areas of your life feel the most disorganized?

If you want, you can write out your current daily routine, weekly routine, and the other systems you currently use. What's working and not working?

Whatever you feel like isn't working in your life points to your missing systems.

If you feel stressed and disorganized, you probably need a to-do list/planner system. If you are always running late, look at your morning and night routines. If you never know what to cook or eat, you probably don't have a meal planning system.

It's important to note here that some things you just can't change. These things may be permanent, or just the stage of life you are in right now.

Last year, I had work at 7 AM every day during the week and that's just how it was. I was tired.

But even though there are some things you aren't in control of, there are plenty of things you are in control of, and you can build systems and routines that help you feel better about the life you have!

I love doing a Level 10 Life assessment to audit my life, so try it out if you are interested! If not, you can just decide on areas of your life that you want to improve through building personal systems!

2. Research Different Systems

The best systems aren't the "aesthetic" ones. I only make a few pretty bullet journal pages a year. The rest of them are just my to-do lists!

This also isn't about copying and pasting what works for other people. Learning about other people's systems is an ideal place to start, but only take the pieces of their systems that you actually want. No need to try meditating if you don't want to!

As I mentioned above, there are tons of systems out there that people use to organize every area of their lives. Here are a few to learn more about if you don't know where to get started:

The Bullet Journal System
The Getting Things Done System
The Eisenhower Matrix
The Pomodoro Technique
The Alastair Method
The Miracle Morning Routine
Time-Blocking
Eat That Frog Method
Inbox Zero
SMART Goal Setting
Kanban System
Personal Knowledge System

Research a few systems and get a feel for a few changes you'd like to try in your life.

You don't need to overhaul your entire life all at once. That won't be sustainable.

Once you feel like you have enough inspiration for building your own personal system, it's time to build a test plan.

3. Build a Test Plan

You might be reading about a successful person's daily routine and instantly spot some things that wouldn't fit your lifestyle. Those are things you can instantly cut from your test plan.

I was reading Tools of Titans by Timothy Ferris, and it kept mentioning things like sitting in a sauna or doing an ice bath for 15 minutes every morning. That's just not feasible for me. 😂

I'm a college student. Currently, I do go running every morning, and that fits my current lifestyle.

Whatever you decide to do, just make sure it's small enough that in a couple of days you won't dread doing it.

Make sure there is a purpose behind everything you are trying out as well. Are you trying to journal because you are interested in the benefits it offers or because you feel like it's essential to having "perfect morning routine?"

Just because someone else does it, doesn't mean you should.

4. Experiment

Now it's time for the fun part! Making positive changes in your life is always exciting!

Because there are so many systems, this will be very different based on what you are testing out, but I think a week is a good amount of time for seeing if you like a specific routine or system.

To keep the experiment small, if it's a new routine, you could try out one step and then add the next one after you decide to keep or delete the previous step.

If it's a new system like a bullet journal, you can start in an old notebook and only test out a few pages at a time. My first bullet journal was in a composition notebook!

Avoid the urge to try to figure out the perfect system or to try to make things perfect. There's no such thing as a perfect system.

After the week is up, it's time to make revisions!

5. Make Revisions + Switch Things Up

Decide what's working about your new routine or system and what isn't.

I've been using a bullet journal for the past seven or so years, and I don't use the symbols in the original bullet journal system. I also don't make monthly or weekly pages. I make bi-weekly pages because that's what is currently working for my lifestyle.

If it's a new routine, and you liked what you did, then it's time to add the next step in your routine! If it's a system that you tried, you can try expanding it.

If you didn't like what you tried, there's no reason to try to stick with it. Move on to the next piece of inspirational advice that you want to try!

6. Take Breaks

Routines get boring!

I love my bullet journal, but I still take breaks from it, and I don't force myself to use it if I don't feel like it.

Make sure that you aren't forcing yourself to always be on. Take time away from your personal systems and routines.

When I'm not in college, I don't follow my routines as closely. I sleep in on the weekends even when I'm at college if I have time. I watch TV sometimes, and I'm not always productive.

Adding variety to your life is one of the best ways to keep life interesting!

Routines are never set in stone. As your life changes, your routines should too.

Start Building Your Own Personal Systems

In a nutshell, these are my tips for trying out a new routine, system, or technique.

Pick one new routine, system, or technique to try

Routine: Start with one step in the routine (For a morning routine, you could try drinking one cup of water right after you wake up)
System: Start with the most basic version of the system that you can (For a bullet journal, this could look like starting with just a weekly layout on a piece of paper)
Technique: Only test the technique in one area of your life (For time tracking, you could track just your exercise)

Break the system down to its bare bones
Try it for seven days daily
If you like it, keep going. If you don't, try something else or tweak it to better fit your lifestyle

Building habits takes time, so it's okay to make your personal systems tiny at first and build from there!

Documenting Your Personal Systems

You don't have to write down your personal systems, but if you do, here are some questions to answer as you create your own personal systems. I especially like writing down my routines.

When does it happen and how often?
What exactly do you do?
What tools do you use?

For example, for time tracking, I use this technique on a near daily basis throughout the day for tracking homework and work (only these two areas of my life).

When I sit down to work on a task, I turn on a timer on an app, and when I finish, I turn off the timer. I review my data on a regular basis using the app Boosted.

For my weekend routine, I'd write down that it happens Friday evening through Sunday evening. Then, I'd list all of the things I do over the weekend such as meal prep and looking over my finances. Then, I'd list the tools I use, which is mainly my bullet journal.

For building routines and systems, you can answer these same questions!

Final Notes on the Ultimate Guide to Building Personal Systems for Your Life

Building personal systems will help you have smoother, more stress-free days. Whatever systems you choose to use, just remember to make it your own.

You don't need to wake up at 5 AM if you don't want to, and you don't need to use a planner, if it doesn't work for you.

Instead of following the latest trendy advice that actually doesn't fit your life, build systems that actually work for your life!

Here are the steps for building personal systems that actually work:

Audit your life
Research different systems
Build a test plan
Experiment
Make revisions and switch things up
Take breaks

If you enjoyed this post about building personal systems, you may enjoy reading about some of my personal systems in the posts below!

I hope this guide helps you build your own personal systems!

If you enjoyed reading this post, would you please share it? Thank you so much! :)

July 11, 2026 No comments

Do you struggle to set goals every year or feel like your goals never actually improve your life? Before doing a Level 10 Life assessment, I would sometimes struggle to think of meaningful goals to set, and I didn't know if I was improving my life year over year. I had no tangible way to track if I was improving. Then, I learned about the Level 10 Life assessment, and I've been using it for the past five or six years to assess where I am in life!

Level 10 Life Assessment: My Favorite Annual Life Audit

I complete a Level 10 Life assessment every year before I sit down to set goals, and I compare it with my life audit from the year before to see how my life has changed.

It's become my favorite way to track how I'm improving my life because it's quantifiable, helps me reflect on my year, and gives me a good starting point for thinking of goals to set for the upcoming year.

If you never know where to start with goal setting or feel lost in life, this is a great place to start!

Today, I'm going to share my process for doing a Level 10 Life assessment, and how you can do your own life audit!

What is a Level 10 Life Assessment?

Before we get into the process of how to do a Level 10 Life assessment, here's a little background on what it is, how it was started, and why you should do one!

The Level 10 Life assessment was originally created by Hal Elrod in his book The Miracle Morning.

Basically, a Level 10 Life assessment is when you score yourself on a scale of 1-10 in different areas of your life. The goal is to achieve a 10 in every area of your life!

These are the original categories:

Health and fitness
Marriage or relationship
Career or education
Finances
Family and friends
Mental health
Spirituality
Personal development
Giving and contributions
Fun and recreation

Spoiler alert: I haven't been able to achieve a 10 in every area of my life, but the Level 10 Life assessment does help me assess how I'm doing in every area of my life.

Next, I'll show you how you can conduct your own life audit!

How to do a Level 10 Life Assessment

I always do my Level 10 Life assessments in my bullet journal, and if you've been perusing my blog for any set amount of time, you'll know that I'm a huge fan of bullet journaling! This life audit can easily be done with a blank sheet of paper or any notebook.

1. Decide on Your Categories

I've tweaked the categories to fit my current life as a college student. It's a good idea to start with the original categories and then customize them based on your lifestyle.

These are the categories I'm currently using to rate my life:

Faith and religion
Adulting (how well I feel I'm doing at being an adult)
Education
Business (this blog and other jobs I have)
Personal development (reading, goal setting, trying new things)
Family and friends
Finances
Fitness
Nutrition
Contributing (service and how I'm giving back)
Environment (how organized I am, and how good I've been at cleaning)
Mental health

I feel that these categories currently represent each major area of my life. For example, fitness and nutrition are separate because I want each area to be a large part of my life.

As you can see in my bullet journal photos, I like to write down my categories and then draw a line chart next to them.

2. Rate Each Category on a Scale of 1-10

Now for the hard part of rating each area of your life!

I like to make a list of milestones and challenges from the past year and then base my decision on that.

Once you've done one Level 10 Life assessment, I feel it's a lot easier to do them because then you can move your ratings up or down based on what has happened from your last assessment.

Sometimes these numbers can feel a little subjective, and that's okay! For me, it's more about whether the numbers will shift up or down over the next year.

This is roughly my criteria for rating myself:

2/10: I'm rarely doing anything to improve this aspect of my life. This area was significantly worse than the year before. I have a lot of changes I want to make.
4/10: I'm doing okay in this area. There are quite a few changes I want to make, but I'm not doing terribly.
6/10: I'm doing fairly well, but there are still some improvements I could make to be happier with this area of my life.
8/10: I'm pretty happy with this area of my life! There are one or two changes I could make, but overall, the work I'm doing in this area of my life is solid.
10/10: There's still room to grow, but I'm really happy with this area of my life! I did a lot of work in this area of my life over the past year, and I feel good about my progress.

I also compare the categories with one another.

My fitness might be rated an 8 because I'm exercising almost daily, and I feel like I'm improving. If I feel like my nutrition is slightly worse because I ate fairly healthy but didn't eat as much fruit as I would've liked or didn't stick to my eating habits, then I'll give myself a 7 or a 6.

For education last year, I rated myself a 10 because I got into the business program that I wanted to get into, and I loved it! I also really enjoyed my classes and did well in them.

For business, I rated myself a 7 because I didn't work on this blog as much as I wanted to, but I did quite well at my other jobs.

For contributing, I gave myself a 1 because I don't think I did really any service last year, and I didn't feel like I contributed that much to making the world a better place.

As you can see, across the board, my ratings are very different, and it gives me a good place to start when deciding where to focus my efforts for next year!

While doing a Level 10 Life assessment, it can also be helpful to do a more in-depth year-end review.

3. Set Goals

While I like to come up with goal ideas for each of the twelve Level 10 Life assessment areas, I personally only set goals in four areas because the twelve areas do overlap, and I don't want to have too many goals.

Setting too many goals has been a deterrent from reaching my goals in the past.

Currently, I like setting three goals in each of the following areas for a total of twelve goals:

Spiritual (religion)
Physical (exercise and nutrition)
Educational (school and career development)
Social (relationships)

I look over my list of goal ideas, and then I pick my three top ideas for each area of my life.

From doing the Level 10 Life assessment, I can see that I should work on serving this year, so I've been doing service regularly by knitting hats for refugees through a program at my university!

4. Review Your Level 10 Life Assessment

It's up to you how often you do your life audits.

I like doing mine on an annual basis so I'm not dwelling too much on smaller negative things in my life. Plus, it helps me focus more on the overall big picture of how my life is going.

You may choose to do a Level 10 Life assessment twice a year, quarterly, or even monthly.

When I review my old Level 10 Life assessments, and create my new one for the year, I like to draw a plus or a minus next to each area, so I can see how much it has improved or detracted since the previous year.

Final Notes on Level 10 Life Assessment: My Favorite Annual Life Audit

I love doing these life audits because I'm such a type-A person and a Level 10 Life assessment helps me quantify how my life is going and identify ways to improve.

Before setting goals this year, try doing a life audit to identify your biggest opportunities for improvement. Starting with a life audit will help you set goals that are more meaningful!

If you enjoyed reading this post, you may also enjoy these ones!

I hope you enjoyed reading this post about how to do a Level 10 Life assessment!

Don't forget to share this post with your friends! Thank you! :)

July 04, 2026 No comments

Have you ever wished that you had more control over your inbox? That it didn't seem like you always had 100 things to catch up on and respond to? Today, I'm going to share how I keep my inbox organized in just a few minutes a day, and how to organize your inbox for increased productivity!

How I Keep My Inbox Organized in Just a Few Minutes a Day

Work and school often center around your email inbox. It's a hub for communication.

Email is a crucial part of daily life. Sometimes, you can spend hours just going through emails, figuring out what you need to respond to, and what is okay to delete.

This leads to the important question of how to organize your inbox, so it doesn't feel like it sucks hours of your time away when you open it.

I've spent many hours in my inbox, and I finally figured out a system that allows me to use email as a tool instead of a time waster.

Currently, I have 18 emails in my personal inbox using this method.

Here is how to organize your inbox in only a few minutes a day! You may even be able to get to inbox zero!

How I Keep My Inbox Organized in Just a Few Minutes a Day

I have multiple email accounts, but I mainly use this method for my personal email because I know I won't have access to my school email after I graduate from college, and because my personal email account is my main one.

You might be starting out with thousands of emails in your inbox. It will take time to get your email inbox organized, but you will get there!

This system has two parts. You can either set it up all at once or you can dive right into doing the daily routine to cut back on the number of emails in your inbox. The initial setup will take some time, but your inbox will be organized a lot quicker!

How to Organize Your Inbox: Initial Setup

1. Set Up Email Folders

Looking at the thousands of emails you have in your inbox can be overwhelming!

Start by identifying which emails are important. These are the emails you'll actually need to save so you have documentation or are from friends/family.

After you decide which emails are the most important, what common themes do you see?

Create folders in your email account for each of these common themes. You don't want to make them too broad or too narrow, and you can always add subfolders too! In Gmail, these folders are "Labels."

These are some of the folders and subfolders I use.

Account Info
College

Subfolders for each year

Family/Important
High School
Work

Subfolders for each job

Next, all you have to do is decide what to do with all of your emails!

2. Decide Where Emails Should Go

It's time to delete and organize as many emails as possible, which you can do all at once, or you can do a little bit at a time by deleting a few more emails than you get every day.

I like to only have emails that I'm currently waiting for updates on or that I need to take action on in my inbox.

For example, if I need to reply to an email. it stays in my inbox. If I'm waiting for a package to ship, I keep all of the emails about the shipment in my inbox.

I always try to have as few emails in my inbox as possible.

If you have any email subscriptions that you don't want, now is a good time to search for all of those emails and delete them after you unsubscribe. It's a quick win for your email inbox!

How to Organize Your Inbox: Daily Routine

When I had loads of emails in my inbox, I'd delete and organize a few more emails than I got each day.

Now when I open my inbox in the morning, I just go through all of my new emails and do one of the following options for each email.

Emails that I need to revisit soon, I mark as unread as soon as I open them, so I go back to them the next time I open my inbox.

Throughout the day, I repeat this process whenever I open my email.

1. Delete

I try to delete as many emails as possible. I wear a Garmin smartwatch, so throughout the day if I get an email that I don't want, I delete it immediately from my notifications.

It's like it wasn't even there!

2. Unsubscribe

Likewise, you should unsubscribe from as many emails as possible, especially if you feel swamped by email.

I don't subscribe to any newsletters on my personal email account, and you may want to avoid doing so as well, unless you open and actually read almost every email you get from that blog/website.

I know this advice may make you unsubscribe from my blog and that's ok! 😂

3. Respond

The third option for an email is to respond to it. Now you may not have time to respond to it right away, and that's perfectly fine! I don't always respond to emails right away!

When I know I'm going to respond later, I flag it.

After I respond, it's out of my inbox again!

4. Move to a Folder

The last resort for an email is to move it to one of your long-term folders.

Whenever I put emails in a folder, it means that whatever the email contained is completed or past, and I'm simply keeping it for reference.

I know I'll need to go through these emails and delete some of them eventually, but when they aren't in my inbox, it feels a lot more organized, and I don't have that many emails in my folders anyway.

I'll take 10 emails in my inbox over 500 any day because it makes it a lot harder for an email to get lost in the chaos.

Final Notes on How I Keep My Inbox Organized in Just a Few Minutes a Day

The main point to remember with this system is to always delete more emails than you get until your inbox is down to only the important emails that you need in your inbox.

Because email is a hub for work and school communication, getting in control of your inbox will help you be more productive in your daily life!

To sum everything up, to organize your emails you should:

Delete all of the emails you can
Unsubscribe from unnecessary newsletters
Put all of the emails you don't need to take any more action on (but still may need for reference) into folders

If you enjoyed this post about how to organize your inbox, you can read these ones too!

I hope you enjoyed this post about how to organize your inbox! How do you keep your inbox organized?

Remember to share this post if you enjoyed it! Thank you! :)

June 27, 2026 No comments

When I first started bullet journaling, I'd create these elaborate weekly bullet journal layouts with fancy quotes, water trackers, and outfit planning. I wouldn't stick with them though. I'd dread having to open my bullet journal because it became just another task on my already long to-do list. I realized that it's best to only track what is actually necessary. I've been using a simple weekly bullet journal layout for the past few years, so I wanted to share my weekly planning routine for college with you!

My Weekly Planning Routine for Staying Organized in College

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I don't actually make a new weekly bullet journal layout every week.

I put two weeks on every layout, so I don't have to set up a new page every week. If you are interested in trying out the same layout I use, you can easily make it one week or two weeks, depending on what you prefer.

I'm still using a version of the Alastair method to plan my week. Of course, it's in my bullet journal!

In a nutshell, the Alastair method is to-do list. Instead of just one column of checkmarks next to the list, there is a column for each day of the week.

With this weekly planning routine, I think I've only missed one assignment deadline!

Story time!

The evening of that day, I spent around six hours doing a coding project. As soon as I completed the project (near midnight, which is late for me on a school night!), I turned it in and jumped into bed.

The next morning, I realized that I had forgotten to do the two-minute feedback assignment for the coding project. I learned my lesson to double-check assignments to make sure they are completed!

But back to the topic, this planning routine is how I keep my entire schedule planned for the week. Let's get right into my weekly planning routine for college!

When I do My Weekly Planning Routine for College

I always do my planning on Sundays. Sometimes, I plan my week in the morning, and sometimes I plan in the afternoon depending on my schedule for the day.

I've always been a "Monday start" type of person, so planning on Sundays makes sense to me.

I haven't timed a planning session during college, but I think it usually takes me around thirty to forty-five minutes.

Now let's get into what I do during my weekly planning routine for college!

My Weekly Planning Routine for Staying Organized in College

1. Review Bullet Journal Collection Layouts

The first step in my weekly planning routine for college is to make sure my bullet journal collection pages are up to date.

My collection pages are spread throughout my bullet journal, so this consists of me flipping through my bullet journal as quickly as possible.

I usually update or at least glance at these pages when I flip through my bullet journal.

This part of my weekly planning routine for college keeps my bullet journal updated, without me having to check all of these pages on a daily or almost daily basis.

2. Create a New Bi-Weekly Bullet Journal Layout

Now that I've updated my bullet journal collection pages, it's time to start my actual planning for the week.

I like making minimalist bullet journal pages and rarely add decorations to weekly layouts. Pink is my favorite color, so I often just use a shade of pink, and draw a few lines, as you can see in the layouts in the photos.

Other than that, I write using an easy cursive or minimalist font.

Some of my pages turn out better than others, but I only have to look at the page for two weeks if it turns out poorly anyway!

3. Check My Phone Calendar

I keep my entire schedule on my phone calendar because it is easy to edit and add events.

Plus, I receive reminders from my phone calendar on my Garmin smartwatch usually 30 minutes before the event. This helps me be on time!

I usually check my phone calendar at the same time as I make my bi-weekly bullet journal layout because I have to check my calendar to know what days to put on my layout.

I also check my phone calendar to see if there are any events or appointments that are different from my ordinary schedule so I can plan for them.

I don't write any of these events down on my bullet journal layout, unless there are specific tasks I need to do related to those events. My bi-weekly bullet journal layout is just for tasks.

4. Check My College Schedule for Each Class

Now, it's time to start making my to-do list for the next two weeks!

I open up my university's system and Canvas. I look at the schedule and assignment list for each class, so I know what will be coming up in the next two weeks.

Next, I write down all of these homework assignments in my bullet journal labeled with the class name (MKTG 425 - take quiz #1, BUSM 322 - write essay response #3). I draw a checkbox under the day for which each assignment is due.

Additionally, I'll write down any studying I want to do for a class (ACC 200 - study for exam #1), and I write a checkbox under each day I plan to study.

I always try to complete my homework the day before it is due, so I look at the next day's tasks when I'm doing homework.

If anything unexpected comes up or the homework is harder than I thought it would be, I have some extra time to complete it.

5. Rewrite Tasks from the Previous Bi-Weekly Bullet Journal Layout

Next, I take a quick glance at my last bi-weekly bullet journal layout to see if there are any tasks that I haven't completed from the previous weeks.

These are generally tasks that I'm trying to complete well in advance of their due dates, or don't really have due dates. I just try to get them done when I can.

Usually, I only have a few of these tasks, if any.

6. Rewrite Recurring Tasks

The last step in my weekly planning routine for college is to rewrite the tasks that I do on a weekly basis.

This includes tasks like:

Doing laundry
Checking finances
Grocery shopping
Meal prep

These tasks are pretty embedded into my weekly routine. I still write them down to make sure that I don't forget though.

Plus, then I get the satisfaction of crossing these tasks off after I complete them!

Final Notes on My Weekly Planning Routine for Staying Organized in College

That is my weekly planning routine for college! On the weeks I don't have to create a new bullet journal layout, my weekly planning routine is much quicker. I simply review everything to make sure it is correct.

With this weekly planning routine, I've been able to complete my homework before deadlines, and get all of my weekly tasks done, without forgetting the other things I need to do! I'm rarely surprised by any upcoming assignments because of my bi-weekly bullet journal layouts.

Through trial and error, I've figured out that the best weekly bullet journal layouts are the ones that are the most effective. It's ok if they look boring, aren't "aesthetic," or don't track everything.

Here's a quick recap of my weekly planning routine for college!

Review bullet journal collection layouts
Create a new bi-weekly layout
Check my phone calendar
Check my schedule for each class
Rewrite tasks from the previous bi-weekly layout
Rewrite recurring tasks

If you enjoyed this post about my weekly planning routine for college, you can read these posts too!

I hope this post gives you some ideas for your own weekly planning routine for college to help you keep track of all of your college assignments!

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June 20, 2026 No comments

creating real-life systems

for productivity and growth

WRITER, PRODUCTIVITY ENTHUSIAST, TAP DANCER

real-life systems

productivity

personal growth