New Year, New Bullet Journal

2021 couldn’t come fast enough. While things like a global pandemic don’t just go away when a new year begins, we still feel a sense of renewal by ringing in the new year. It’s nice to hit that “reset” button at the beginning of a new year, whether you’re setting new goals, creating a vision board, or making new year resolutions. For me, it’s planning out the spread for my bullet journal. I begin bullet journaling last year and it has helped me become more productive, organized, and a place to write and doodle out all the mumbo jumbo in my head.

My first bullet journal was by Leuchtturm 1917. It was perfect for my first bullet journal because it had the index and future log already built-in. It also had a few pages of info on the bullet journal method. What I didn’t like about it was how easily the pen or marker would bleed over to the next page. Since it was my first journal, I experimented with anything from elaborate title pages to simple doodles. On the more elaborate pages, it would always bleed through to the next page.
For 2021, I decided on the “Falling Star” journal from Notebook Therapy. I got it in the A5 size. The paper is 160 GSM so it’s thicker than my Leuchtturm. There was some minimal bleed-through on one of the pages but it’s not too noticeable. The cover is a black linen cover with silver falling star details. I love the stars and constellation theme so this notebook seemed like a no-brainer. There is also silver detail on the page edges. The notebook came with a cute little star/moon-shaped paper clip as well as a storage pocket on the back cover.

I wanted to keep my layouts for 2021 minimal. Not that I don’t love a good title page or quote page like the ones you see on YouTube or Instagram, but my main reason to use a bullet journal is to help keep my life organized. The issue I ran into with my first bujo is that at times I felt pressured to create a really pretty title page or quote page and to me, that’s not the main point of the bullet journal. For my lifestyle, a more minimal approach means less time spent on doing each month’s layout and a cleaner look.

I stayed within the black and silver color scheme like the notebook’s cover, adding little bits of accent colors here and there. It’s unlikely that I’ll change up what my monthly spread will look like, with the exception of a new planning page or tracker page.

Here’s what my layout looks like so far:

I took inspiration from Amanda Rach Lee’s 2021 layout and utilized the dutch door style for my future log. I also liked how she designed her content planning spread as well as her monthly spread so if you’re a fan of Amanda Rach Lee, you’ll notice the similarity.
There are other pages that I didn’t post like habit tracker and movie tracker. The design I have for those pages are pretty basic - title on the top and enough space to fill in the movies I watch this year. For the habit tracker, I have a blank tracker stamp that I use on the page.

So far, I’m really happy with the way I set up my bullet journal for 2021. Its minimal design will keep me focus on what’s important, keeping track of my schedule and my to do lists. As always, there’s no rule to bullet journaling. You can make it as elaborate or as simple as you like because this is made to fit your style. Can you go the minimalist route for one month and super elaborate for the next month? Absolutely!

What method are you using to plan out your 2021? Comment and share below!