One of the hardest parts about bullet journaling is the blank page. Whether you are familiar with writer’s block or not, some weeks the blank page just stares back at you with a vengeance. Where do you start? It can seem daunting and overwhelming and is (in my experience) one of the top reasons why people need to take a break from their planner or just can’t keep up! The BEST way to combat “blank page syndrome” is to find some spreads that inspire you! So I am going to spend some time this next week sharing some different monthly, weekly, and daily layout ideas to give you some place to start!
5 Monthly Spread Ideas
This post is late today (sorry guys) because it took me the full day just to put together what I wanted to do with these spreads, create them, I made a video for tomorrow’s post AND take my images/edit them. I decided I would rather wait and show you some truly unique monthly spread ideas rather than just posting ideas that are circulating around the web and you might have seen before. The first one is very simple, I am showing this to you first because it was the fastest to set up, blends lines to save time and is still very functional.
The second monthly option I like is blending the future log but breaking it up into morning, afternoon, and evening. I love the space at the top for a bit of doodling and the large goal section on the right. Breaking up my day is helpful too, I feel like it was a bit more organized than just one line per day.
The third monthly option I have used is an original one I was playing around with where the weeks are vertical rather than horizontal. For example, all the Monday’s are at the top of the page. This was an old spread, but one of my first “originals” and as such, get’s a place in the hall of fame 😉 I build my tracker in to the side and had room for notes on the page as well!
The fourth monthly option is really bright and colourful, kind of more Spring-y than fall, but I was playing with my watercolors and couldn’t help myself. This is again, more of a future log style than calendar, which means less prep work, but it is also very open concept and I prefer a bit more structure. Note to self, don’t use Staedtler pens under watercolor, they bleed 😉
I am saving the best monthly spread for last because it is my favorite (and all good things come to those who wait, right?). This is one that in my head, could be more effective. I love how this blends a tracker with important dates, tasks and goals, plus it separates my two big life directions: personal and blogging. It kind of blends it all together, has a bit of a minimalist style, didn’t take a super long time to set up, AND I got to do some watercolor leaves on the bottom. I’m in love!
Organizing and storing your monthly spread ideas
Here’s the mistake I have made in the past, I find or do these great spreads, but then I forget about them and I don’t end up using them regularly. Have you ever thought of putting together a layout collection? I highly recommend them, it is just a way of you looking at your month, reminding yourself what you have done and the gist of how it was laid out so that you can re-create it. I was even thinking of putting the pages that I had done that spread on, kind of like threading, so that I could see examples. Like a portfolio of monthly spread ideas. This is SUPER SIMPLE to set up you guys, I actually did it free hand because I kind of like the sketchy doodled look of it, and I just need a rough reminder. Here are my 6 monthly spread ideas that I have in my collection page.
Setting up November in my bullet journal
Tomorrow I am going to show you my video I made creating my favorite monthly spread for November. It is super fast (only 2 minutes) and seriously, these videos are addictive, it is like magic showing up on paper! If you haven’t watched a lot of spreads in action, check it out tomorrow!
Did you know this is part of a 31 day series? There will be a post each day this month showcasing how I use bullet journaling, planning, hand lettering, and more! We will talk about the tools you need and I’ll review some of my pen hoard (including my brand new flex fountain pens, eeeeek!). There will be videos, pictures, hand lettering practise pages, doodle challenges, journaling prompts, some amazing giveaways, and hopefully a TON of inspiration to get you writing in your planner, whatever that may look like for you! How can you get on board?
BOOKMARK THE LANDING PAGE (that is where all the posts will be added throughout the month)
FIND ME ON INSTAGRAM (I’ll be posting the daily posts there)
USE THE HASHTAG: #PlanWithRebecca or #planninginspiration4u on Instagram for a chance to be featured on my page!
JOIN THE NEWSLETTER (if you want an short update on the latest post in your inbox)