How to Set Up your Bullet Journal: 2020 Edition
This bullet journal holds a special place in my heart. It’s saying goodbye to a decade and hello to a new year. Some people finish their entire bullet journals, I know it’s wasteful, but I prefer to start a new one every year. It gives me the chance to reflect on the old, learn lessons, and release what isn’t serving me while setting future-me up for success.
ps. I’m not here to pretend that my bullet journal is the prettiest or most effective, if you want to see some of those check out my favorite inspiration. I share mine because it has helped me so much and I want to show you all that we’re all a work in progress! We don’t have to be flawless to share with the world. We don’t have to be flawless to be worthy of occupying space. We can show up, do our best and then lay it to rest.
Without further ado, here’s what I did for 2020:
Supplies:
2020 Setup
Last year I was a little more rigid in my set up and I felt like it didn’t set me up for success. This year I loosened the reigns a little bit. I wanted to be able to adapt and have some flexibility, to ebb and flow as I need.
Saying Hello to 2020
Like I said, last year’s was a little much, so this year I wanted to keep it simple and more aligned with my life currently. I’m busy and I want my bullet journal to work within my life. I still want to take time for art and creative play time but it will be a little more intentional and a little less forced. A reminder, I write everything out in pencil first and then draw over it with pen. It helps me work out all the kinks in what I’m creating. I have never once gotten the spacing right the first (or second) time.
2020 Goals
I love having things that I’m working towards. I broke them out into 3 categories: Happiness, Health & Wealth. Then I wrote down what the goal was and what I’m doing to achieve it. I actually added to it since taking this photo to include an unassisted pull up in 2020, and that means I have to do pull ups at the gym 3 times a week. Having goals is great, having practices that will get you there is even better!
In 2020, I Crush My Blogging Goals
I love to create content. I love sharing things that helped me and hopefully help others too. But life can get hectic. To that end I wanted to be more serious about my blogging both here and for The Freelancing Couple! But honestly, I want to do more than just blog. I have bigger dreams, so I put together little charts to track our growth. I also have a digital google sheet that tracks all of the content I want to create with dates on it.
2020 “I am” Statements
This was important to me. While listening to Girl, Stop Apologizing earlier this year Rachel Hollis talks about the importance of stating the things you want for your future as things that are already true. So it was important to me to write these all out as things that are already in existence. So to start, I pulled my Mystic Mondays Tarot Cards with the following intentions:
What messages do I need to receive & take with me into the new year?
What advice do my guides have for me in 2020?
What is needed now?
I then wrote everything I pulled and took notes on what I was thinking at the time. I then sat with this and crafted my “I am” statements from that! I really enjoyed doing it this way, as it gave me inspiration and then time to reflect.
Memories
This was a new one for me. Last year, my bullet journal was very forward looking, very focused on what I wanted to achieve. Honestly though, I didn’t provide a lot of space for slowing down and reflecting (shocker, I know). So this year, I wanted to create time to reflect on my year, to think about my goals and life and be grateful for how far I’ve come (remember that was one of my goals above). To that end, I created a memories page. To fill with photos, drawings, writing of my favorite moments of each month and then of the year overall!
Get Shit Done
Big goals can feel overwhelming. This past year I learned, one of the best ways to combat this problem, where I have a lofty goal and then don’t accomplish, it is to set myself up for success by breaking down my big ass goals into more manageable, bite-sized portions. That’s where this section comes in!
Clean That House
Living in a clean house is a goal I really want to achieve, but am not great at getting it done in practice. I will panic clean and then leave it for a week. I let laundry get out of control. With all the life to live, this one frequently falls to the wayside. Last year I made a cleaning list and did actually do some of it but, honestly, my goals were really lofty and just didn’t fit into my schedule as well as I would have liked. So this year I tried something new. I broke it out a little less rigidly and I also put places for me to check in with it to track how well I’m doing. I tend to do better when I have a tracker holding me accountable.
Daily:
Make Bed
Dish-Free Sink
Wipe Counters
Weekly
Vacuum
Clean Bathroom
Clean Kitchen
Laundry (as needed)
Bi-Weekly
Clean Sheets
Clean Shower
Dust Window Sills
Monthly
Clean Out Fridge
Dust Bookshelf & Shelves
Organize & Clean Desks
Bi-Annually
Jan/July: Purge Clothes
Feb/Aug: Wipe Baseboards
March/Sept: Wipe Ceiling Fans
April/Oct: Wash Windows
May/Nov: Clean Out Car
June/Dec: Organize Cabinets
Read Those Books
My 2019 goal was to read/listen to 25 books. I’m not sure if I’m going to make it or not, which is actually really hard for me, I’m a recovering perfectionist. I’m at 23 right now and don’t have that much time left, but that’s ok. I also know I listened to lots of podcasts this year and did a million other things that made my life full. That being said, I do want to make reading more of a priority. So this year, I’ve upped my goal! 35 books! I know it’s a lot, but I want to try and build more time into my life for reading and less for Netflix. If you want to follow along on my reading adventures let’s be friends on GoodReads.
Save That Money
Hello, my name is Alexandra and I am a spender. I love to follow my heart and do shit that makes me happy ALL. THE. DAMN. TIME. Saving money does not come easily to me. That being said, I am making it a priority this year. I have financial goals this year.
I want to buy a house.
I want to build up my retirement savings.
I want to pay down my student loans.
I want to have a healthy savings account to fall back on.
So, I’m doing something scary and sharing that shit here, and am tracking it to hold myself accountable. Finances are hard but if we don’t talk about them, set goals and work towards them, we’re never going to get where we want to go.
Excited for 2020
I have learned so much the last year and a half, I’ve used my bullet journal to keep me organized. I’m proud of my growth and am excited to be taking what I have learned into 2020 to help set myself up for success. I can’t wait to see what new lessons 2020 brings me! If you use any of my tips I would LOVE to see them. Feel free to tag me on Instagram!
ps. If you want some help setting yours up I’m officially available for coaching calls!