Plan With Me February Bullet Journal Layout
Woohoo! My first plan with me of the new year! I know I didn't make a monthly bullet journal layout in January, and I am going to explain that in a minute. For this month though I am using my new bullet journal and I am trying out a totally new set up, which I am really liking! :)
By the way, I got the inspiration for this layout from #12 on this post. If you are new to my blog and have never read one of my posts before, then I recommend scrolling to the next heading, which says, "February Monthly Bullet Journal Layout" because you will have no idea what I am talking about in the next few paragraphs.
Well, things didn't go exactly as I had planned. For a while now, I have been feeling like I haven't been using my ring-bound planner as much as I wanted to. Back when I bought it in 2018, I was using a more traditional planner set up, with the exception that I made the pages myself. Then in around June 2019, I started wanting to use a bullet journal again. I love the creative side of bullet journaling!
I was also getting bored with the rigidness of my calendar set up, and I didn't have enough time to redesign a new one every month. So I started making bullet journal layouts in my planner (See a sample here. I am pretty sure this is the first one I did). I enjoyed it so much that I started making monthly bullet journal layouts and weekly ones too!
But then it started feeling like a chore, having to make a new layout every week. First I had to print it out, and then I had to cut and hole punch it. It got to be too much work. The holes didn't line up sometimes and the rings got in the way when I wrote on the left side of the page.
The perks of using a ring-bound binder to bullet journal just didn't outweigh the cons for me. Using a ring-bound planner for bullet journaling is supposed to make the system more flexible because you can add and remove pages and include sections. You can also use the planner for a long time because it never fills up.
I realized that realistically I couldn't remove pages whenever I wanted unless my two-page layouts were front and back. If they weren't, I would have to remove two pages to remove a two-page layout, and then it would remove two layouts that were on the back of those pages.
I also wanted to start carrying my bullet journal around, but I felt like my ring-bound planner was too bulky and I thought things might fall out or it might get scratched.
I decided for 2020 I wanted this to be the year that I really complete my goals! I did okay last year, but definitely not super well so this year I decided I wanted a new start and the best way to do that (for me at least) was to get a new journal and start fresh.
When I received my Minimalism Art Journal I loved it! I started adding collections to it. The smooth paper with perfect colored dots (Not too dark or too light) and the sleek design makes it easy to carry and I need to mention the larger pages, which are a nice plus. My idea was that I would use my new journal for collections and my planner for planning layouts. Then I realized how much I liked my new journal and I have decided to use it full time.
Unfortunately, I am going to stop using my rose gold planner for now even though I love it because it is not working for me. I always think it is important to use a system that works for you at the moment. Hopefully, I will find something else to use it for and who knows, later I may go back to it. The reason why I didn't make a January bullet journal layout, is because I had not decided what journal I wanted to put it in.
That took a lot longer than I thought it would to say, so now let's get right into my new bullet journal monthly layout.
For 2020, I have decided to take things slowly and start with a more minimalist approach. I am not going to make any weekly layouts for this month so I don't have to feel pressured to create a new layout every week. I also felt like I was wasting space (and pen ink!) on my weekly layouts because I would write down almost the same tasks every day.
My monthly layout for this month is also simpler than my other ones because I have it only on two pages instead of four.
I am not tracking any habits this month or using a gratitude tracker because I don't want to feel pressured to have to write something every day, and then forget once and then feel like I didn't reach my goal.
I set 21 goals for this year, which is less than last year because I want to achieve every one or almost all of them. This is also why I am not concentrating on habits right now.
At the top of my first page, I have my February header with a super cute little heart! Under that, I have a mini monthly calendar. Down the side, I have a list where I can write down places I have to go to and holidays, etc.
Below that, I have a goal column, where I write five mini-goals. These will help me get closer to reaching my 21 yearly goals. Below that, I have my monthly blogging schedule. Don't look, unless you want to know the posts for the rest of the month! And you might have noticed I got Zebra Mildliners, which I am planning on doing a review on soon! :)
On the other side of this layout, I have a running to-do list at the top. At the bottom, I have a "next month" spot and a "highlights" square. I want to make sure I fill in my "Best of 2020" layout this year.
Overall, I am really excited to start fresh with this new notebook and new layouts, so I can better work towards my goals. :)
Read these posts too!
By the way, I got the inspiration for this layout from #12 on this post. If you are new to my blog and have never read one of my posts before, then I recommend scrolling to the next heading, which says, "February Monthly Bullet Journal Layout" because you will have no idea what I am talking about in the next few paragraphs.
Why the New Bullet Journal?
Okay. I had better start from the beginning, if you read my blog often, then you may remember that I said in this post I was going to use my rose-gold ring-bound planner for my monthly layouts and I was going to use this new traditional style bullet journal notebook for my collections.Well, things didn't go exactly as I had planned. For a while now, I have been feeling like I haven't been using my ring-bound planner as much as I wanted to. Back when I bought it in 2018, I was using a more traditional planner set up, with the exception that I made the pages myself. Then in around June 2019, I started wanting to use a bullet journal again. I love the creative side of bullet journaling!
I was also getting bored with the rigidness of my calendar set up, and I didn't have enough time to redesign a new one every month. So I started making bullet journal layouts in my planner (See a sample here. I am pretty sure this is the first one I did). I enjoyed it so much that I started making monthly bullet journal layouts and weekly ones too!
But then it started feeling like a chore, having to make a new layout every week. First I had to print it out, and then I had to cut and hole punch it. It got to be too much work. The holes didn't line up sometimes and the rings got in the way when I wrote on the left side of the page.
The perks of using a ring-bound binder to bullet journal just didn't outweigh the cons for me. Using a ring-bound planner for bullet journaling is supposed to make the system more flexible because you can add and remove pages and include sections. You can also use the planner for a long time because it never fills up.
I realized that realistically I couldn't remove pages whenever I wanted unless my two-page layouts were front and back. If they weren't, I would have to remove two pages to remove a two-page layout, and then it would remove two layouts that were on the back of those pages.
I also wanted to start carrying my bullet journal around, but I felt like my ring-bound planner was too bulky and I thought things might fall out or it might get scratched.
I decided for 2020 I wanted this to be the year that I really complete my goals! I did okay last year, but definitely not super well so this year I decided I wanted a new start and the best way to do that (for me at least) was to get a new journal and start fresh.
When I received my Minimalism Art Journal I loved it! I started adding collections to it. The smooth paper with perfect colored dots (Not too dark or too light) and the sleek design makes it easy to carry and I need to mention the larger pages, which are a nice plus. My idea was that I would use my new journal for collections and my planner for planning layouts. Then I realized how much I liked my new journal and I have decided to use it full time.
Unfortunately, I am going to stop using my rose gold planner for now even though I love it because it is not working for me. I always think it is important to use a system that works for you at the moment. Hopefully, I will find something else to use it for and who knows, later I may go back to it. The reason why I didn't make a January bullet journal layout, is because I had not decided what journal I wanted to put it in.
That took a lot longer than I thought it would to say, so now let's get right into my new bullet journal monthly layout.
February Monthly Bullet Journal Layout
My monthly layout for this month is also simpler than my other ones because I have it only on two pages instead of four.
I am not tracking any habits this month or using a gratitude tracker because I don't want to feel pressured to have to write something every day, and then forget once and then feel like I didn't reach my goal.
I set 21 goals for this year, which is less than last year because I want to achieve every one or almost all of them. This is also why I am not concentrating on habits right now.
At the top of my first page, I have my February header with a super cute little heart! Under that, I have a mini monthly calendar. Down the side, I have a list where I can write down places I have to go to and holidays, etc.
Below that, I have a goal column, where I write five mini-goals. These will help me get closer to reaching my 21 yearly goals. Below that, I have my monthly blogging schedule. Don't look, unless you want to know the posts for the rest of the month! And you might have noticed I got Zebra Mildliners, which I am planning on doing a review on soon! :)
On the other side of this layout, I have a running to-do list at the top. At the bottom, I have a "next month" spot and a "highlights" square. I want to make sure I fill in my "Best of 2020" layout this year.
Overall, I am really excited to start fresh with this new notebook and new layouts, so I can better work towards my goals. :)
Read these posts too!
- A Pretty Bullet Journal for Under $10
- How I am Goal Setting for 2020 in my Bullet Journal
- How to Bullet Journal Even When You are Super Busy
- Layouts to Add to Your Bullet Journal for the New Year
I hope you liked this post! Have you ever had problems with your bullet journal and started over with something new?
If you liked this post, a share always helps me. :)
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