Bullet Journal - planning for 2017

Bullet journalling has helped me a lot this year.

I started my bullet journal in May and I found it much more useful to me than a traditional diary or journal.

Being able to add things in whenever I need or think of them has helped me clarify what is important to me. Being able to drop items that I don't use frees me to focus on other areas. Having the space and option to journal in the midst of planning means everything stays together and I can track what works and how I'm doing in a simpler way.

As I only started the journal in May I still have space in my current notebook so spent some time deciding if I wanted to start a new one or keep going and how I would use my daily spaces.

I've decided to start a fresh book in my new Fantastic Beasts notebook. I've checked through my collections a page options and decided what I want to continue and focus on.

I've setup a year at a glance page to help me check up coming dates and I've also setup a future log to help with forward planning.

A Goals page will help me focus on things I'd like to achieve this year and the Wishlist will help me keep track of things I see or think of that I would like or need.
As my first Goal is weight loss I've setup a weight log to keep track of downs and ups :)

 I'm wanting to keep track of TV shows, movies and books I'd like to watch or read and these tracker pages may help.

Fun things is to help me remember to take time for other fun things in life like visits to friends.

 My monthly page list is for regular monthly shopping lists to help me with menu planning and eating properly.

Project 333 is for my clothing challenge I follow with 33 items of clothing for 3 months.

Next comes my regular monthly pages with a calendar list and tracker, my gratitude pages and then I'd like to continue using the photo challenges and my existing daily log pages. 

I'll see how I go with these pages and the beauty of the Bullet Journal system is if I don't find a page useful I can change it any time and add new pages as I need them.

Start of Summer Update.

So far today we have had torrential rain, brilliant sunshine and more torrential rain - so a typical Scottish Summer day.

As it's a bit dreich to go out I am alternating between, laundry. tidying my spare room/craft room and updating my various web pages and sites.

The laundry is going well 3rd load on the go and tumble dryer going overdrive.

Spare room/Craft room tidying has been going for a couple of months now but now looks more like a bed room than a junk shop.

As a result I found the bed, cleared it off, dusted, turned the mattress and found nice fresh bedding.

I know the pillowcases don't match in the photo but I've found the matching ones now I'm just to lazy to take another photo :D




The Craft room part of tiding is what has taken most of the time but I've tried to use the Kon Marie method by splitting the area up and dealing with one type of craft item at a time.

Therefore we have my home made punch board.

I'm really proud of this especially as is cost me less than a fiver.

 Also my Ribon Storage that cost me nothing.

I'm using an old bookcase for storage of my Stampin' Up! Stampsets and some other unmounted and boxed sets.

The top shelf is holding all my buttons and chipboard letters

 I'm using some office paper storters for my A4 card, paper, patterned paper, vellum, pattern books, Stampin' Up! designer paper pads, magnetic sheets, mirror card, aluminium foil, shrink plastic and acetate.

I've managed to fit all my Sizzix Originals, Bigz and XL dies with my embossing folders into on a corner table with my alcohol inks, Art Glitter, Stampin' Up! reinkers. various unmounted stamps and accessories in drawers and ink pads in the green box.

 Next to that is the cube unit holding all my scraptooking albums, cardstock, paper and embelishments

And finally my craft desk and storage totes. that has card blanks, envelopes, glue, templates, tools, scoring boards, cutting mats, fabric, scrap papers, embelishments, stickers, fibers and books.

I hope you enjoyed a wee look around my work in progress.

as the sun has come out again, I'm going book shopping. 

Let me know in the comments how your craft rooms are doing. 

Baby steps in Bullet Journalling

I like to think I'm organised. I'm not!

Over the past couple of years I have got less and less organised.
I learned a while ago that diaries, calendars and planners are no use unless you write in them and then check them regularly.

I started last year with 2 diaries and 3 calendars it didnt help.

This year I have one diary and haven't written in it all.

I've tried notebooks and writing out monthly calendar spreads but couldnt keep up with any of them. I always end up with notes in more than one note book, post it notes, backs of envelopes or scraps of paper.

Recently when I had a bit of down time to just browse the net. I came across Bullet Journals on pinterest and then blogs and now they're everywhere.

Find the Basic idea here http://bulletjournal.com/get-started/

Then some good explanations and videos here http://bohoberry.wpengine.com/category/bullet-journal/

Then just jump in.  I'm  sharing this for Kat as she wants to stop collecting and get started as well.

I have a ton of crafty stuff and blank notebooks already. Although I always thought my notebooks were too pretty to actually write in, nuts I know! I'm learning.

I decided to use a note book I bought  a year or more ago from my local book shop and the hi tec point pens I bought to zentangle and the colour pencils I have for the grown up colouring books.
The only thing I've bought new is gold and silver sharpies to write on the cover.


I'm also trying to let go of my perfectionism. I was so busy thinking of pretty lettering and fonts I wrote the wrong year. I spent ages thinking of ways to cover it up and redo it but then thought, Sod it. It's my journal and I don't mind so I changed it and wrote oops.

The next page to setup was my name page this is in case I ever lose it I've added contact details but not my address.

I came back and added the key and the why later.

The Index is the main way to keep the journal organised. Instead of writing in specific sections of a preprinted planner you add to the index whenever you start a page and then if that section spans several pages you can extend the entry and even start again pages and pages later.  I'm liking the idea of only starting pages as you need them not months in advance.

 The Future log is the section to put upcoming tasks, events, dates, meetings things you want to start planning for. You can put exact dates or just list things inthe months you think they'll happen. I have two spreads of 4 months each to fill in the rest of the year.

This means I can add things even if I'm not sure exactly when I'll do them.

Then I have a monthly page. Again a little mistake as I had turned over two pages at once when doing my future log and split this page in half. I did debate ripping the pages out so it would look better but again Sod it came to the rescue. 

I've listed the days down once side and the tasks or goals on the opposite page.

Then I get to start on my daily logs. You just start at the top of the page with the date and then bullet your tasks or events or meetings. you can change the dot . to a X when its complete or if you need to move it to another day you can change it to > to show it has migrated or if I need to rethink it and reschedule it I can use <

I've added hours at athe top and weather info taking a hint from Boho Berry's planning but I may not keep it up as most of my days will be the same as working 8.5 hrs a day same hours Monday to Friday.

I've setup a couple of extra pages so far one for a Gratitude journal with two things to be thankful for each day. another oops I didn't count the lines properly so had to add two days side on. My perfectionism is pretty much out the window by now and I'm just letting go and finding something that works. 

The other is a Books list, Books I've read this year and books I want to read. This may be easier to keep up than Goodreads.  If  my kindle could just connect to Goodreads for me and tell it when I finish a book that would be great. Or I may have to start using the tweet function to share when I've finished a book as that would give me a timeline. 

 
So there you go my shot at the Bullet Journal, I'm only three days in so far but I'm liking it and it fits in my handbag so I can carry it with me and just jot things down as I think of them.

It does mean I have to work a bit more on my handwriting and maybe try out some lettering styles I haven't done since buying Becky Higgins Creative Lettering like a lifetime ago but I can handle that.

Let me know what you think, have you tried it? is it working for you? how would you have coped with my oops moments? I think the main thing is have fun and don't sweat the small stuff.

Where did that year go?

I didn't realise it had been as long as a year since my last update.

Spring Harvest went really well...
then it was the church AGM ...
then sorting out pulpit supply ...
then before you knew where you were it was time for the Scripture Union Summer Mission week doing childrens work every morning, team time in afternoon, youth work and family work in the evening during the week and other stuff both weekends ...
then a few days to recover at work ...
then I threw myself into helping with Butefest with storms and mud and music and friends and fun and late nights and early mornings ...
then my mum and her husband came to visit for Highland games ...

then it was late August and I broke,

I broke me.

It's been a long 6 months of coming to realise I can't do all that on top of 40hour weeks at work and stay sane, or in touch with friends or even family and keep my house tidy or clothes repaired or diet healthy.

I've had to learn to say no when I want to say yes, but really can't,
I've had to learn to listen to those that care about me when they say I'm doing too much but I feel I'm not doing enough as I'm not not doing anything properly, or completely finishing each job.
I've had to learn to let go of perfectionism, sometimes basic and done is good enough
I've had to learn somethings I can stop worrying about as I can't fix how other people see things.
I've had to learn I cant make everybody like me by working harder or longer
I've had to learn some people will never be happy with what I've done or am doing and thats their issue not mine.
I've had to learn to recognise when my reactions to situations are over reactions and try and talk myself down off the mental ledge rather than fly off the handle

I'm still learning all of these and more.

But last week I also learned how to quilt!

In amongst my bombsite of a craft room/spare room I found a pack of fabric squares I must have bought 15/20 years ago. still in their packagaing. As I'd unearthed the sewing maching recently and was trying to have some 'me time' I thought I'd give patchwork a go.

I started simple, just after Christmas, nothing fancy, I put some squares together and made a cushion cover. Just sew the squares together and then add a back.



Then I found a beginning quilting series on Diary of a Quilter.com http://www.diaryofaquilter.com/beginning-quilting-series

Amy made it look really simple and not as scary as it felt. So this week I made a quilt.
I'm ridiculously happy about it.
It's not very big and it's not very thick, and the sewing is a bit wonky, but its mine and I made it and that'd good enough.

Hopefully I'll manage to update more this year but I'm not holding myself to any deadlines or framework.

If you've managed to read this far take care of yourself and yours this year and I promise to take better care of me also x