I can’t quite believe this is my first post. My first post of 2022, my first post on my new blog, and my first post of a new chapter. It’s all very exciting!
Today I thought I would start with a post to do with the Bullet Journal System. If you followed my previous blog, you will know I always did blog posts all to do with my Bullet Journal. It’s such a valuable organisation system for me and I love introducing it to new people. This post is going to talk about some spreads you can include at the beginning of the year.
Of course, there are many spreads out there that are perfect for the beginning of the year. The following spreads I’m about to share are from my own Bullet Journal. I’ve definitely cut down from previous years. Without further ado, let’s get to it.
Cover Page (and goodbye page)
The very first spread I include in my Bullet Journal is a cover page to showcase the beginning of the year. I always think of it as a way to introduce a new year, particularly if I’m carrying on using the same notebook from the previous year. This can also be included in a brand new notebook though as it makes things clear as to what the year is.
As I am carrying on with using my notebook from the previous year, I also included a goodbye 2021 spread. I’ve seen people do this before and with 2021 being one of those years, I think it’s nice to have that spread that brings the year to a close.
Future Log
One of the most useful spreads to have at the beginning of the year in a Bullet Journal is a future log. Not only does it give an overview of the year ahead, but it also allows you to schedule events, deadlines, tasks, etc into a month where your monthly spread has not been set up.
The Future Log serves as your time machine, allowing you to glimpse the outlines of the future you’re actively working towards.
bulletjournal.com
I think the future log is best explained with an example. Let’s say you are a university student and you’re in February. Your lecturer then sets an essay deadline for some time in April. The way in which the Bullet Journal system works means you won’t have set up April yet as you’re still in February. Having a future log means you can put that essay deadline in the April section and when it comes to setting up the monthly spread for April, you can migrate or move that deadline into April’s setup. I hope that makes sense! It’s basically a way of making sure you’ve written important information down somewhere in your Bullet Journal.
2021 Review and 2022 Goals
I always like to use the beginning of the year to reflect on the past year. I’ve split this up into four sections, but you can pick and choose which ones to include. I’ve got a section for summary and thoughts, a goals review, what I learned, and highlights. I’m really looking forward to filling this out.
I also have included a 2022 section where I can set goals for the year. The picture currently shows four sections: university, myself, health, and thoughts (the latter being a section about my thoughts for the year ahead rather than to do with goals) but these have now changed to university, health and blog. All of these goals are for me in retrospect so it doesn’t make sense to have that section. I also have a few goals and aspirations for this blog!
Year in Pixels
One of my favourite spreads to include at the beginning of the year is a year in pixels spread. It is an absolute pain to design but filling it out is very satisfying. Essentially, a colour represents a different type of day. I sometimes divide a square in half because I definitely have days where I feel unwell and also have a bad mental health day!
I really hope you enjoyed this post. I am so happy to be back blogging!
Beth
Beth Olivia 