Bullet Journal Life

Bullet Journal Spread: April 2018

April 1, 2018

Happy April and happy April Fool’s Day! I hope you all are going to be fooled minimally today or vice versa if you’re actually the more trickster type. April is one of my favorite months! One, because my it’s my birthday month (it’s tomorrow!), two, it means spring is just around the corner and the weather is going to warm up soon and lastly, it’s the anniversary month for Alex and I! For today, I wanted to show you inside my bullet journal for this month. So many of you have been loving these types of posts and it actually motivates me to create better spreads. One thing for sure this month is that I changed almost every aspect up from last month.

Monthly Spread

I usually combine my monthly spread with my expenses tracker, but for this month I thought I should dedicate both pages to the whole month. This way it’s easier to see all the events I have going on and it’s easier to add upcoming events when they pop up. I chose orange for this month because it reminds me of the flowers that are going to be popping up soon. I tried to incorporate as much of it as I can without going too overboard. Something I love doing is creating shadows on words or objects because it creates a 3D effect that I love. I’m also still going with the rough sketch theme where I don’t use a ruler so it looks more hand-drawn.

Trackers

I have five different types of trackers this month, spanning over three pages.  An entire page of the journal is for expenses because I realized I was always limited on space for the past three months. I usually like to record my spending item by item instead of one large amount throughout the day so I can categorize my spending, so this month it should be easier.

On the next page I have my blog and work trackers. I like to know if I am doing everything for the days I want to post (usually Wednesdays and Sundays) from changing the link in my Instagram bio to writing the actual post. I needed a work tracker to keep track of how many hours I work since I am still paid by the hour at my internship. It’s just easier to keep all of it in one place so I can look back to it if needed.

Next, I combined my mood and habit tracker into one page as always, but I changed up the format. It’s shown in a more vertical design rather than a horizontal one, which I’m hoping makes it more user-friendly. Through this method I’m also able to be more specific with my tracking. For instance, I changed the mood tracker to just 3 different levels and I added more details to my wake-up and bedtimes in the next two columns. Habits I’m trying to track are: wake-up/bed times, working out, brushing my teeth, flossing, taking my vitamins, checking my email, calling my parents, homework and working on my blog.

Paper Plans & Brain Dump

The next page is dedicated for my upcoming papers that I need to complete before the end of this semester. Since the first week of May is filled with  final exams, I thought it would be beneficial to finish all of my papers and final projects before the end of this month. I had more space after planning out my work assignments, so I added a brain dump area. This area is for any lil’ thoughts or ideas I may have. Last month I had a brain dump area specifically for blog post ideas and I really enjoyed jotting down lil’ notes on what I wanted to write about in the future.

Weekly Spreads

I’m still experimenting which style of weekly spread works best for me. I’ve learned that I mostly use the individual day spreads for homework assignments and events specific for that day. Last month I also added an area at the bottom of each weekly spread for my on-going to-do lists. It was easier to get things done one after another when you are on a mission to continue crossing tasks out. So for this month, I dedicated an entire page of the weekly spread to it. This way I can add more things I need to do per week and can also assign them to the day if I needed to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope you enjoyed this month’s spread! I would love to know if you have your own bullet journal. If you do,  what your theme or color is for April? I’ve seen such amazing ones where they make me dream of being more artistic and creative. Like I said from my first bullet journal post, bullet journaling is a never ending journey of learning and improving. Have an amazing start of April!

A million and one thanks for reading — until’ my next lil’ thought then!

xx Jen

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42 Comments

  • Reply Audrey April 1, 2018 at 9:37 pm

    I have a bullet journal, but it’s much more utilitarian than decorative! In fact, I haven’t called it a bullet journal until recently because it seemed so different from what I saw on Instagram and everywhere else in the blogosphere. Nevertheless, I still love to see how people make their bullet journals all nice and pretty ^-^ I actually had my friend write a guest post on my blog about bullet journaling (here if you want to check it out!)! Her journal is next level. Wishing you a great month ahead! -Audrey | Brunch at Audrey’s

    • Reply lilthoughtswithjen April 1, 2018 at 10:51 pm

      I can’t wait to check it out girl! I use mine more also as an agenda than anything but it’s been so fun to add my little touch into it. I’m trying to make it more of a creative outlet in the meantime until I learn how to step up my game haha. Thanks for reading babes!
      xx jen

  • Reply Patricia & Miguel April 2, 2018 at 8:44 am

    We love to be organised and spread our tasks on monthly planner, is so much easier to keep track on everything! Now the budget expenses would be good for us, traveling on a budget is not easy so we are always counting every penny we spent haha 😀 Great post, thanks for sharing,
    xx

    Patricia & Miguel
    http://www.freeoversea.com

    • Reply lilthoughtswithjen April 2, 2018 at 10:14 am

      I bet you both would create an amazing journal. I used to be really careless with my spending and the expenses tracker definitely helped curbed that! Thanks so much for reading!
      xx jen

  • Reply Andreea Bîrsan April 2, 2018 at 9:46 am

    It looks so cute! Would love one. Have a lovely week. xx

    Andreea,
    http://couturezilla.com/

    • Reply lilthoughtswithjen April 2, 2018 at 10:15 am

      I bet you would create an amazing one! Thanks for reading!
      xx jen

  • Reply didieryhc April 2, 2018 at 10:01 am

    The journal you created is so cute!! I wish I could keep one as well but I have always been horrible when it came down to notebooks and journals. I’ve always found that keeping a digital journal was simply better suited for my needs (it’s never as cute though)

    -Didier
    http://www.didieryhc.com

    • Reply lilthoughtswithjen April 2, 2018 at 10:17 am

      Aw thanks so much Didier! I used to not be good with journals either until this one–I made myself use it haha. I love writing stuff down and it’s the only way to remember everything for me! Thanks so much for stopping by!
      xx jen

  • Reply Missy May April 2, 2018 at 10:12 am

    I don’t do journals, but its something I’ve been thinking about. This is very insightful and nice. Thanks for sharing. 🙂

    https://www.missymayification.co.uk

    • Reply lilthoughtswithjen April 2, 2018 at 10:18 am

      Thanks babe–I think you would create an amazing one! Thanks for hopping by!
      xx jen

  • Reply Miki (@mikialamode) April 2, 2018 at 10:27 am

    I love this personalized journal! How creative and smart!

    Xo,
    Miki
    http://mikialamode.com

    • Reply lilthoughtswithjen April 2, 2018 at 10:39 am

      Thank you so much Miki! It’s been so fun to make it my own–thanks for reading!
      xx jen

  • Reply hellohilloryrenkema April 2, 2018 at 11:10 am

    Love how you organized / created your bullet journal for the month of April!! So pretty.

    xo,

    H

    http://firsttimethings.com/

    • Reply lilthoughtswithjen April 2, 2018 at 1:33 pm

      Thanks gorgeous!
      xx jen

  • Reply Chelsya Ernina April 4, 2018 at 11:53 am

    This such a pretty spread! I love it 🙂 xx

    • Reply lilthoughtswithjen April 4, 2018 at 5:51 pm

      Thank you Chelsya!
      xx Jen

  • Reply Christin April 4, 2018 at 1:48 pm

    I have just recently discovered bullet journaling and the layouts you shared here are what I’ve been searching for. I really love the idea of how organized these journals are (something I struggle with) and it sure beats my current method of recording all my todo’s and accomplishments.

    • Reply lilthoughtswithjen April 4, 2018 at 5:52 pm

      I’ve written a couple of bullet journal posts sharing my layouts and the general usage of them. I find them so helpful to stay organized and to only use it for things I need. I’m sure yours is going to look amazing!
      xx Jen

  • Reply JLyn April 4, 2018 at 2:09 pm

    I started my bullet journal 3 weeks ago and so far I love it! Yours looks great!

    • Reply lilthoughtswithjen April 4, 2018 at 5:52 pm

      Thank you so much girl! I bet yours looks soo amazing!
      xx Jen

  • Reply Kristy Wyatt April 4, 2018 at 2:32 pm

    These are so great! I’m going to have to try creating a bullet journal!

    • Reply lilthoughtswithjen April 4, 2018 at 5:53 pm

      Thank you! I highly recommend that you try it out–it’s so amazing and fits every lifestyle or need!
      xx Jen

  • Reply tea April 4, 2018 at 5:03 pm

    Love the shade of orange! I’m too chaotic to keep one (though that should be the main reason I should start one) but during my commute I occasionally check #bulletjournal on Instagram or Tumblr as I love seeing what people do with it.

    • Reply lilthoughtswithjen April 4, 2018 at 5:58 pm

      Thank you! I love to look at other people’s designs as well and definitely want to try out more layouts. I think you could totally start one of your own–maybe it will help with organizing haha–remember that it’s however much work you want to put into it! Thanks for reading!
      xx Jen

  • Reply Ann April 4, 2018 at 7:08 pm

    This looks amazing. I really want to start a bullet journal!

    • Reply lilthoughtswithjen April 4, 2018 at 9:34 pm

      Thanks Ann! I think you definitely should start one!
      xx Jen

  • Reply cafecarrie April 5, 2018 at 12:54 pm

    So beautiful and organized!
    I love bullet journasl but don’t think I can stick to it.
    Maybe I’ll try it sometime.

    Carrie
    https://www.cafecarrie.com

    • Reply lilthoughtswithjen April 5, 2018 at 6:44 pm

      Thank you Carrie! I definitely think you should try it–no need to be too hard on yourself to continue with it all the time!
      xx Jen

  • Reply Yasmin April 5, 2018 at 1:48 pm

    Wow you are so creative. This is a gorgeously done bullet journal. I love the mood tracker too. That’s a great way to keep on top of your mental health.

    xx Yasmin
    http://banglesandbungalows.com

    • Reply lilthoughtswithjen April 5, 2018 at 6:47 pm

      Thank you Yasmin! I find that it’s been so amazing to track my moods exactly for mental health reasons! Thanks for reading!
      xx Jen

  • Reply Tickle Me Thirty April 6, 2018 at 2:05 pm

    So creative! I’m a visual person too, I neeeeed my stuff labeled and organized in front of me, or it ends up scrambled up in my head! Thanks for sharing!

    • Reply lilthoughtswithjen April 6, 2018 at 2:37 pm

      I can’t get anything done without writing it down so I totally know what you mean. Thanks for reading!
      xx Jen

  • Reply laura @ Mommy Dearest April 6, 2018 at 4:36 pm

    Your bullet journal is absolutely stunning. I have yet to get one as I’m such a perfectionist sometimes that I feel like I would become overly upset if it didn’t look a certain way. But I do love keeping track of things so I do have a daily journal and a planner that I keep track of blog posts etc in.

    • Reply lilthoughtswithjen April 7, 2018 at 3:05 pm

      Thank you so much! I know exactly what you mean though–it was definitely hard in the beginning to let go of some of my perfectionist tendencies and realize that the journal is going to be unique no matter what. I bet your journal would look amazing! Thanks for reading!
      xx Jen

  • Reply Rebecca April 6, 2018 at 4:54 pm

    Okay wow! This is so impressive and inspiring! I literally just got myself a personal life planner last night, and now I’m super excited to get creative with it to make it my own! xoxo honestlyrebecca.galeskas.com

    • Reply lilthoughtswithjen April 7, 2018 at 3:07 pm

      Thank you so much Rebecca! I think it’s so special when we add something of ourselves to everything we do! Thanks for reading!
      xx Jen

  • Reply Kate April 6, 2018 at 6:12 pm

    wow that’s amazing. I love it – wish you could make me one! ☹️☹️☹️

    • Reply lilthoughtswithjen April 7, 2018 at 3:08 pm

      Hahha thanks girl and I bet if you started one it would look even better!
      xx Jen

  • Reply Kaari April 7, 2018 at 3:06 am

    A beautiful thing:)

    • Reply lilthoughtswithjen April 7, 2018 at 3:58 pm

      thank you!
      xx Jen

  • Reply Erin Pastore April 8, 2018 at 1:38 am

    Okay, this has made me what to start bullet journaling, but I don’t know if I am artistic enough! I love your journal SO much! 🤓

    • Reply lilthoughtswithjen April 8, 2018 at 11:25 am

      Aw thank you so much Erin! I totally believe you can start one of your own and make it look fabulous! I had the same worries starting and along the way I realized that it’s all about making it YOU and your interpretation of what creativity is! Thanks for reading!
      xx Jen

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