Setting Up My 2019 Bullet Journal To Reach Goals and Create Habits

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I will be tracking habits and goals in 2019 using my BULLET JOURNAL. Plan with me as I set up my monthly spreads and trackers.

2019 is going to be a big year.

I have lots of goals that I want to reach and habits that I want to establish.

2018 was a wonderful year.  It may have not been as productive as I would have liked but, as a result, I ended up doing a lot of meditation and self-reflection.  I have ended 2018 with a better idea of who I am as a woman, a wife, a mother, an entrepreneur…

As we move forward into a new year, I am feeling more prepared than ever to tackle what lies ahead of me.

My 2019 Bullet Journal

If you are new around here, you may not know that I have a fonded (bordering on obsession) with stationary and notebooks.  I may be a zero waste minimalist at heart but I could never get rid of using a pen and paper to plan my life.

There is a connection that is made in the brain when you actually write something down.  People who write down their goals, and write them down vividly and in detail, are more likely to reach their goals.  From my own experience, I am way more likely to complete my to-do list for the day if I actually write it down.  I am also more likely to stick to a schedule, whether it be for work, play, or cleaning, if I write it down.  I use notebooks, scrap paper, my whiteboard… anything I can to jot down notes throughout the day.

Check out this article from Forbes for more details: Neuroscience Explains Why You Need To Write Down Your Goals If You Actually Want To Achieve Them.

This year, I fell down the YouTube rabbit hole.

I was looking for new inspiration to track my finances in a journal.  I had heard of bullet journalling, or bujo, but I never wanted to commit to a journal – especially since some bullet journals are quite pricey.  But the more I watched, the more I fell in love.

I looked on Amazon and found a journal that I thought was reasonably priced and had good reviews.  The only downside to this journal was that I couldn’t choose any colour other than black.  I have nothing wrong with black, but I do like my journals to have some pizzazz.  In the future, I plan on recovering this journal so that it will be as unique on the outside as it is on the inside.

Click here to see the Amazon listing.

Bullet journals can be used in so many different ways and that is what drew my attention.

I have never found a planner that has worked for me.  Creating my own printables to put into binders and allowed me to create a planner that worked for me.  I love the organicness of a bullet journal.  Each month and spread can change and reflect what you need it to reflect.

For this bullet journal, I am dedicating it purely to habit tracking and goal setting.

If I like the process of using my bujo and actually complete it, I may add in more pages or start another dedicated to other topics like Home, Health or Meal Planning but, for now, I am dedicating this purely to reaching my goals in 2019.

 

My 2019 Set Up For January

I have set up a few pages so that I am ready to begin using this journal come the 1st of January.

These pages are combinations of pages I found on Pinterest as well as videos I watched on YouTube.  I wanted to make it my own because, after years of attempting to journal, I have realized what doesn’t work for me.

The great thing about a bullet journal is that if a spread doesn’t work for one month, you can change and adjust it for the next month until you refine it and find something that works for you.

 

Year At A Glance

My first spread is a simple calendar.

Many people will add in future logs but, since I am not using this to track daily activities, I just wanted a very simple overview of the year.  My year at a glance set up is simple and clean.  I have circled important days that I need to remember and that’s it.

Clean and simple.

Goals For 2019

My next spread is a goals page.

I wanted a place to dream big and create large goals that I wanted to reach.  Some of these goals I would like to accomplish this year and others may take longer than that.  I wanted to make sure to include all my goals so that I could remember them and be continually working towards them.

I included the quote “The Future Is Yours, Dream Big” because I wanted to remind myself that you can only reach as high as you try.  If you do not try and reach the stars, you never will.  Some of my goals I may never reach, but I might.  If I do not try, I know for sure that I will not reach them.

I divided my goals into different categories, many overlap but I wanted to see it broken down like this because it makes it a little less overwhelming and my brain understands it better than just a list of goals.  It also allows me to be more detailed in my vision.

Just Like The Moon, I Go Through Phases…

The next spread that I included in a period tracker, moon tracker, and mood tracker.

Confused about how this relates to my goals?

Productivity can vary throughout the month depending on how you are feeling.  Hormonal cycles can cause these changes but I also feel myself being affected by the moon phases.  I laid out this spread in such a way that I would easily be able to see patterns.  If the moon phases or my menstrual cycle created a noticeable pattern with my mood, it should be visible.

In the future, I plan on going into more detail about this spread.  It is hard to show how effective it will be until I am able to fill it in for you.  Don’t forget to join our mailing list if you would like to stay in touch to see this post in the future!

 

January Calendar

I debated whether or not I wanted a monthly calendar in my bullet journal.  I have a large household wall calendar which I track appointments and special activities.  Replicating that was unnecessary, but I was afraid I would miss not having it if I omitted it.

The monthly calendar spread also serves as an easy way to flip through the different months.  Because the calendar does not cover two complete pages, I was able to create a dutch door.  The folded section shows a quote on one side and then exposes the monthly to-do list when folded.  This fold also creates a very noticeable difference in the side of the journal, making it easy to find this page.

If you want to see how this dutch door works, check out my set up video from my YouTube channel.

https://youtu.be/W77wnl34P7Q

On this page, I included the quote “Live Your Truth” because that is my phrase for the year.

I spent the latter half of 2018 really focusing on me and what I wanted to do moving forward.  Realizing I was creating content I thought people wanted, but not what I wanted was eye-opening.  It was not what I wanted – I was not hurt by doing this.  Instead, I realized that I was missing my true potential by not living my truth.

 

Monthly Goals

In my monthly goals spread, I am able to narrow done some of my big tasks to SMART goals.

I can pick my top 3 goals to focus on for the month – one personal, one for YouTube, and one for my home.  There is a space for a to-do list to help keep track of steps that I need to take to reach these goals and a note section for anything I want to jot down throughout the month.

I also used this space for some I Am affirmations.  I practice daily gratitude in a separate journal, but I still wanted a space for encouraging words.  This will allow me to pick a few “I Am” manifestations to focus on that are specific to my goals for the month.

 

Habit Trackers

The next few pages are dedicated to my habit tracker.

After reading habit stacking, I wanted to have a spread that held me accountable to my new habits I have been trying to create.  This spread words differently than the stacks described in that book, but it works for me.

I know that it takes consistency to create habits, and I am starting small.

Many of the habits I am currently tracking are ones I have been working on for a few days to a few weeks.  As I feel I have mastered working that habit into my routine, I will switch them out for new habits I want to bring in.

If this journal is mainly focused on work related goal setting, than why do I have mind, body, and home habits on this tracker?

It is because I cannot allow my mind to focus on work if other areas of my life are out of sorts.  My office is in my open concept living room/dining room/kitchen so I cannot focus on writing if a pile of dishes is staring me in the face.  By creating habits for my home and personal life to flow more smoothly, I am able to focus more of my attention on my work.

 

Monthly Review

My next spread is one that I have not seen before.  If you use or have seen a similar spread, please share them with me in the comments below or tag me on Instagram @NourishingParenting.

I wanted a place to reflect upon the past month.  Somewhere to document if I reached my goals or the process that I made on them for the month.  I also wanted a place for self-reflection on how I can improve.

If we give up on our goals, we will fail.  But if we continue to push through and learn from our past we will continue to grow.

Never stop growing.

 

Bullet Journal Brain Dump

My last spread for January is a brain dump.

I have seen so many bullet journal brain dump styles and this is the one I went with for this month.  After inking this design into my journal, I did discover one that I want to try for next month.

On this spread, I can write down any blog or video ideas, goal ideas, or anything I want to remember.  These ideas may be used throughout the month or things that I need to migrate to other spreads in the coming months.  I am always looking for somewhere to write down random ideas, so I am really looking forward to this spread.

So that is my 2019 bullet journal set up for goal setting and habit tracking in January.  I cannot wait to start filling out all the different pages.

If you like to bullet journal, please share some of your favourite spreads with me in the comments.  I am always looking for inspiration as to what I might need for the next month!