By Kiley Garrett
A piece of advice I heard before coming to college was “get a planner” and I tried, but I struggled to find one that worked for me. I went through countless planners trying to find the perfect one to no avail.
I have always been fascinated by the world of bullet journaling, but I never thought I’d be capable of creating something similar to what I saw online. I didn’t feel like I was a good enough artist to be able to draw or design aesthetically pleasing spreads. After buying a $30 planner and not using it once last year, I decided that I would give it a go — my artistic abilities be damned.
Regardless of whether or not I have been successful at bullet journaling, I still find watching the videos of people designing their spreads to be oddly satisfying and seeing different spreads on Instagram and Pinterest is inspiring.
This first spread was posted on Pinterest by a woman named Reese Regan. A semester overview is something that is perfect when you have a lot of in-person classes and activities. Had I been bullet journaling when I had more to keep track of, I would have included one in my bullet journal and would have had more color coordination.
This next spread is a very simple and useful way to begin a month. Done by Instagram user bluenittany, also known as Ashlyn, there are no fancy drawings or tiny details, just the basics with good use of space.
This weekly spread was featured in a compilation blog by Tara at simplysorted.com and it’s a bit fancier but not impossible. There’s color in this weekly spread and it showcases a really simple way to fit a week onto one page.
This day by day spread focuses more on a cute donut theme than the efficiency of space, but for the more artistic people looking to bullet journal, this is a good option.
This weekly spread by Nikola Sterman is minimalistic but isn’t boring or overdone like many minimalist bullet journals. The sun sketch is simple and doesn’t distract you from the layout of the week, and it seems easy to follow along with.
This spread is the classic artsy bullet journal style, which isn’t a bad thing. Reddit user u/lunipertree posted this picture of her simple seasonal monthly introduction on r/bulletjournal and received several compliments.
This simple, clean, and cute spread was posted by Masha over at mashaplans.com, and is a great layout for anyone struggling to find a good, simple, and uncluttered weekly spread.
For the more tracker-based bullet journal-ers out there, this spread includes not only a weekly overview but also an upcoming chart, habit and weather trackers, with a few other things that could be customized.
Bullet journaling is like planning. Not everyone will like both a bullet journal and a planner, there’s usually a preference between one or the other. If you find yourself struggling to keep up with your planner, a bullet journal might be something to look in to.
