Replay team here! I’ve always been drawn to journals, but am not a journal person because I never know what to put in them. To satisfy that itch, I’ve bought tons of pretty notebooks over the years. Then, UA-cam introduced me to the idea of a reading journal! So I started watching oodles of videos, bought all the pretty things I wanted but never had a reason to use and dived in. I made lists and set up all of the broader/yearly spreads with each one being different in style, supplies, colors, etc. Just as I don’t create a monthly TBR, I don’t intend to pre-plan my monthly spreads in regard to the supplies I’ll use. I decorate heavily because I love making my record keeping visually appealing (to me), but like my reading is totally mood based, so is my decorating-some spreads are very junk journal and some are more minimalist with just a header and one sticker in a corner. As this is my first attempt at a reading journal, I’ll still be doing my rambling notebook logs, but the journal will be a more illustrative picture of what I read.
I've been journaling probably for at least 10 years now and it took me foreveeeeer to figure out what really works for me. That's also because I was already a person who wasn't very good at doing what works for me in general 😅 But as I became better at it, I finally started to care less about "the way that it should be done" and I just started doing the things that work for me no matter how or what it was. Now I've been using a small a6 journal for my personal thoughts and for gratitude (whenever I feel like it). I like how it's pages aren't so overwhelming but rather comforting, and I like how it fills up quicker. I also like keeping my very personal thoughts seperate from planning. And I got an a5 journal to use as my planner and tracker and such, but for now I keep it extremely minimal. I still get the itch to make it all pretty sometimes though. When you're watching journaling videos it's so easy to get excited about making it prettier. But I'll figure that part out for myself eventually.
This was a fun exercise to go along with! My journaling is, - Consistent. I'm happy to keep the same layout/style for months. Only really changing things when my needs do. - Mono-chrome. I set up using 1 (colored) pen. Then fill in with my current random ballpoint pen. (Currently it's a theme park souvenir one) - Messy. I don't fix mistakes, but that'll make the mistakes worse I found out. So I learned to just roll with it. - Supply-light. I basically just use one pen. I don't own a lot and I often don't have the energy to use a lot. Last Christmas I got my first stickers, so been trying that out. - Full, but with white-space. I'd say my style leans more towards white-space, but with a B6 journal, the layouts easily end up looking full 😅 - Minimal decoration. Aside from not having much deco/energy, I don't have much space. And I only want deco in space that I don't use. So I often add it at the end when I know what stays empty. - Visually light. Most of it is just text. I use boxes in my overviews, but my dailies don't. And my dailies aren't divided into columns. - Both macro & micro organized. On the one hand I have a page with my intentions for the cycle, but also a habit tracker box and a weekly chores box and a cycle chores box. On the other page of the spread I have a box for highlights and a box for reflection (not otherwise divided). My dailies are not organized at all.
Replay watcher here!! I have been Journaling for a long time, but my style is very much dynamic. I am currently "struggling" with if I want to have one journal for everything or the eight different journals for specific areas of my life.
My style has become basically "stream lined for maximum writing room, tinged with decorative elements and colours" for ease of creation. Sometimes I forget to add stickers/tapes or stamps to put some life into the pages, and I don't like them as much as the ones where even 1 non-essential item exist. I want to get back into having fun creating again, but for now I'm resigned to "pretty and productive". 😊
Hi replay team! I'm going to need to rewatch this one and take time to go through my journals and assess my style. Love the point about supply amount for setup vs check-in use.
You explained it so well. I wish things at school were taught more like this. People are so different, not everything works the same for everyone and that's okay!
Replay team this time - was having a movie evening with my partner 😊 I'm definitely still playing around with my style, taking inspiration from others to try layout/styles/decorative ideas out for myself still. Last year I was chaotic with my colors each day/week - but I love the cohesive look so I'm trying that this year with color palettes for the month - but decorations/tape/stickers/pens within those colors.
I’ve been using a Filofax for my bullet journal for a few years now and honestly the type of journal system should be something more people experiment with. It was a cost factor thing for me in the start but I realised very fast that it eliminates all my anxiety regarding the journal and its aesthetic. If I stop loving the yearly pages after a few months no problem just set aside an afternoon and re-do them in a different style as a creative activity. I do still miss the bound notebook since Dutch doors don’t translate well to a ring binder, but tabs and fold out bits do so just requires more creativity in application
@@N99329 It's true that a lot of people who use binders use a lot of printables, but i just print my own dot grid paper and treat it the same as a bullet journal
Total same! I came here from ring bound, been doing that for years, but it was feeling bleh, and not at all like I wanted, and turns out that what I want is a mix of the two. I don't want to have to draw out every week, or meal plan or habit tracker, but I love the cherished vibe of well worked bujo "collection" pages. Best of both worlds!
@@N99329I don't know what you're referring to; mostly year in pixels, but using a ringbound/filofax/kikki k/etc planner is really common. Maybe you don't have the right term?
I sometimes get stuck on good sentences, and "- if I don't get things done I feel like a puddle person, I don't want to feel like a puddle person, I've got better things to do than feel like a puddle." Is for sure one.
I have been binging your videos lately and I am obsessed. I have had many times where I’ve started a bullet journal and have stopped after a couple of months. Watching your videos has made me catch the bullet journaling bug again. I start student teaching next month for a chemistry class and was wondering which layouts you recommend for a first time teacher. I have seen some of your older videos and am wondering which worked best for you, or if there are any changes you’d make knowing what you know now?
Watching the replay. I honestly prefer a pre-done day planner for my day-to-day and work at this point in my life. I am just too busy to find time to create the boxes and do much decoration. With something pre planned, I can add a few washi and stickers to dress it up and spend way less time. But I am keeping a “hobbies” journal for reading, gardening, knitting, movies, events, cooking, etc. I set aside certain time for that journal. I find that for my faves I am including pictures and sketches and art… but for the things that don’t turn out as well I just have notes about what didn’t work. I think that some of my style might be that I am only motivated to spend time on things I love. 😂
Been watching your vids since last year. Wasn’t getting into the Hobonichi Cousin and it would be wasted: except I use the unused pages for lettering ideas and sketches. Watched a few of your vids as I LOVE journals but never really kept them as day to day journals. Had a few dot grid journals and tried out bullet journaling a few years back but wasted journals as it wasn’t for me. After watching your vids decided I’d get those sporadically used journals back out. Discovered “my style” after doing a couple of monthly spreads. My style is ripped up washie tape as borders. Using my fancy lettering in monthly spreads or daily if I’m of the mood. But those monthly spreads I write in what is happening on days and a line from the day to the white space in how me day was. I’ll try out pens and write notes in other white space. I’ll tape lettering collect or learn on pages. Use after eight mint wrappers as little envelopes to put notes in or to do lists. I sweated trying a Dutch door and found I ABSOLUTELY loved it. I love the pixel thing and have one for a letter a day and I USE IT. 😅. For three whole months I’ve journaled since I found my weird and whacky style. I am going to go for the Archer and Olive pack soon as I’ve a thing for new stuff I can mess up. My journal is nearly full and I’m only three months in. I add pages with washie tape. I embrace my mistakes. Thank you so much. You are a LEGEND.
Oh my days I was expecting a can for drink break and was not expecting that! Well done Jess for focusing on your vitality! 💧 (Hope you enjoy a can later!) x
Replay team! I've been bullet journaling since 2018 but my style has definitely changed over time. These days I've been using stickers and washi more than I used to and actually having a monthly theme. I would say I lean towards the minimalism side (although I'm sure a "true" minimalist would disagree) and I use only one or two washi tapes and a single sticker pack each theme, with one or two tombows for headers. My layouts rarely change unless my needs change!
Same. I'm phasing out the washi these days, though, and keeping to a simpler color palette each month is really helping me avoid overwhelm. That's minimal for me, compared to the chaos of analysis paralysis before, each month 😂
I have been using the same size journal (A6) for the past 4 journals, and the same layouts for the past 2. I also use three pens, but have added a 6 markers for color coding/habit tracking recently. The simplicity is bringing me joy! And I don't have to use brain power on my journal so I can use it in other parts of my life.
The daily doodles with icons for things I've done to de-stress and icons in red for why I didn't do the thing. I ended up photocopying some template layouts on to sticker paper, like tracking, save the energy.
Everytime I use bright colors in my planner or bullet journal I get a type of paralysis. Creative paralysis. It’s like I cannot move on. It’s weird, I know. It’s also frustrating
As some partial dot grid books show, I had tried before in around 2018 or so, but it was 2022 when I decided to give it a go again and it stuck. One of the main reasons to do it was my reading and tracking the numerous books I have on the go at one time (my Ongoing Concerns). I used a Kenji bujo. I would learn later that year that the pages were a bit thin and that 160 gsm is best, but at the start of that year, it was pretty basic. Coloured fineliners for a bit of colour, me dodling my own motifs and the only stencil I could find was a ruler with some small basic shapes. I would do borders round some of my sections on a page - I think this was influenced by the fact that I’m an 80s kid and I used to read the pop magazine Smash Hits in my teens! 😂 Then, in March 2022, thanks to Facebook, I discovered Oops a Daisy and their stencils and my journalling really took off from there! Stuff I learned… 160 gsm paper is the best. A lot of people have monthly themes (I was so up for this!) There are no rules, what you include and what you don’t is your choice You don’t have to cram a whole year into one book - it’s perfectly normal to need more than one journal per year! Water-based inks are what you need, avoid alcohol-based inks
Replay team here! I’ve always been drawn to journals, but am not a journal person because I never know what to put in them. To satisfy that itch, I’ve bought tons of pretty notebooks over the years. Then, UA-cam introduced me to the idea of a reading journal! So I started watching oodles of videos, bought all the pretty things I wanted but never had a reason to use and dived in. I made lists and set up all of the broader/yearly spreads with each one being different in style, supplies, colors, etc. Just as I don’t create a monthly TBR, I don’t intend to pre-plan my monthly spreads in regard to the supplies I’ll use. I decorate heavily because I love making my record keeping visually appealing (to me), but like my reading is totally mood based, so is my decorating-some spreads are very junk journal and some are more minimalist with just a header and one sticker in a corner. As this is my first attempt at a reading journal, I’ll still be doing my rambling notebook logs, but the journal will be a more illustrative picture of what I read.
I've been journaling probably for at least 10 years now and it took me foreveeeeer to figure out what really works for me. That's also because I was already a person who wasn't very good at doing what works for me in general 😅 But as I became better at it, I finally started to care less about "the way that it should be done" and I just started doing the things that work for me no matter how or what it was. Now I've been using a small a6 journal for my personal thoughts and for gratitude (whenever I feel like it). I like how it's pages aren't so overwhelming but rather comforting, and I like how it fills up quicker. I also like keeping my very personal thoughts seperate from planning. And I got an a5 journal to use as my planner and tracker and such, but for now I keep it extremely minimal. I still get the itch to make it all pretty sometimes though. When you're watching journaling videos it's so easy to get excited about making it prettier. But I'll figure that part out for myself eventually.
This was a fun exercise to go along with! My journaling is,
- Consistent. I'm happy to keep the same layout/style for months. Only really changing things when my needs do.
- Mono-chrome. I set up using 1 (colored) pen. Then fill in with my current random ballpoint pen. (Currently it's a theme park souvenir one)
- Messy. I don't fix mistakes, but that'll make the mistakes worse I found out. So I learned to just roll with it.
- Supply-light. I basically just use one pen. I don't own a lot and I often don't have the energy to use a lot. Last Christmas I got my first stickers, so been trying that out.
- Full, but with white-space. I'd say my style leans more towards white-space, but with a B6 journal, the layouts easily end up looking full 😅
- Minimal decoration. Aside from not having much deco/energy, I don't have much space. And I only want deco in space that I don't use. So I often add it at the end when I know what stays empty.
- Visually light. Most of it is just text. I use boxes in my overviews, but my dailies don't. And my dailies aren't divided into columns.
- Both macro & micro organized. On the one hand I have a page with my intentions for the cycle, but also a habit tracker box and a weekly chores box and a cycle chores box. On the other page of the spread I have a box for highlights and a box for reflection (not otherwise divided). My dailies are not organized at all.
Replay team here! You’re my favorite morning channel! I love starting my day imagining, thinking, planning creatively with you for over a year now!
I guess I'm replay team! 🎉 First video I've watch of yours, love your style and voice, what I'm trying to say is that I'm a subscriber now!
Replaying myself. Loved it. Very helpful especially right now. Thank you Jess!
Replay watcher here!! I have been Journaling for a long time, but my style is very much dynamic. I am currently "struggling" with if I want to have one journal for everything or the eight different journals for specific areas of my life.
My style has become basically "stream lined for maximum writing room, tinged with decorative elements and colours" for ease of creation. Sometimes I forget to add stickers/tapes or stamps to put some life into the pages, and I don't like them as much as the ones where even 1 non-essential item exist. I want to get back into having fun creating again, but for now I'm resigned to "pretty and productive". 😊
Hi replay team! I'm going to need to rewatch this one and take time to go through my journals and assess my style. Love the point about supply amount for setup vs check-in use.
You explained it so well. I wish things at school were taught more like this. People are so different, not everything works the same for everyone and that's okay!
I just created a quiz called "what type of journaler are you?" for traditional long form journaling so this was so fun to watch!
“Thanks for closed captioning my pain on that one.” 😂😂😂❤
Haha 😂 yeah I’ve been saying that a lot recently
Replay team this time - was having a movie evening with my partner 😊 I'm definitely still playing around with my style, taking inspiration from others to try layout/styles/decorative ideas out for myself still. Last year I was chaotic with my colors each day/week - but I love the cohesive look so I'm trying that this year with color palettes for the month - but decorations/tape/stickers/pens within those colors.
I’ve been using a Filofax for my bullet journal for a few years now and honestly the type of journal system should be something more people experiment with. It was a cost factor thing for me in the start but I realised very fast that it eliminates all my anxiety regarding the journal and its aesthetic. If I stop loving the yearly pages after a few months no problem just set aside an afternoon and re-do them in a different style as a creative activity. I do still miss the bound notebook since Dutch doors don’t translate well to a ring binder, but tabs and fold out bits do so just requires more creativity in application
I searched it and most of them are year in pixals, is that true ?
@@N99329 It's true that a lot of people who use binders use a lot of printables, but i just print my own dot grid paper and treat it the same as a bullet journal
Total same! I came here from ring bound, been doing that for years, but it was feeling bleh, and not at all like I wanted, and turns out that what I want is a mix of the two. I don't want to have to draw out every week, or meal plan or habit tracker, but I love the cherished vibe of well worked bujo "collection" pages. Best of both worlds!
@@N99329I don't know what you're referring to; mostly year in pixels, but using a ringbound/filofax/kikki k/etc planner is really common. Maybe you don't have the right term?
I sometimes get stuck on good sentences, and "- if I don't get things done I feel like a puddle person, I don't want to feel like a puddle person, I've got better things to do than feel like a puddle." Is for sure one.
I have been binging your videos lately and I am obsessed. I have had many times where I’ve started a bullet journal and have stopped after a couple of months. Watching your videos has made me catch the bullet journaling bug again.
I start student teaching next month for a chemistry class and was wondering which layouts you recommend for a first time teacher. I have seen some of your older videos and am wondering which worked best for you, or if there are any changes you’d make knowing what you know now?
Watching the replay. I honestly prefer a pre-done day planner for my day-to-day and work at this point in my life. I am just too busy to find time to create the boxes and do much decoration. With something pre planned, I can add a few washi and stickers to dress it up and spend way less time. But I am keeping a “hobbies” journal for reading, gardening, knitting, movies, events, cooking, etc. I set aside certain time for that journal. I find that for my faves I am including pictures and sketches and art… but for the things that don’t turn out as well I just have notes about what didn’t work. I think that some of my style might be that I am only motivated to spend time on things I love. 😂
Been watching your vids since last year. Wasn’t getting into the Hobonichi Cousin and it would be wasted: except I use the unused pages for lettering ideas and sketches.
Watched a few of your vids as I LOVE journals but never really kept them as day to day journals. Had a few dot grid journals and tried out bullet journaling a few years back but wasted journals as it wasn’t for me. After watching your vids decided I’d get those sporadically used journals back out. Discovered “my style” after doing a couple of monthly spreads. My style is ripped up washie tape as borders. Using my fancy lettering in monthly spreads or daily if I’m of the mood. But those monthly spreads I write in what is happening on days and a line from the day to the white space in how me day was. I’ll try out pens and write notes in other white space. I’ll tape lettering collect or learn on pages. Use after eight mint wrappers as little envelopes to put notes in or to do lists.
I sweated trying a Dutch door and found I ABSOLUTELY loved it. I love the pixel thing and have one for a letter a day and I USE IT. 😅. For three whole months I’ve journaled since I found my weird and whacky style. I am going to go for the Archer and Olive pack soon as I’ve a thing for new stuff I can mess up. My journal is nearly full and I’m only three months in. I add pages with washie tape. I embrace my mistakes. Thank you so much. You are a LEGEND.
Oh my days I was expecting a can for drink break and was not expecting that! Well done Jess for focusing on your vitality! 💧 (Hope you enjoy a can later!) x
Haha thanks! 💜 The cans are still present, I'm just aiming for a water-first approach 😝tink!
Replay team! I've been bullet journaling since 2018 but my style has definitely changed over time. These days I've been using stickers and washi more than I used to and actually having a monthly theme. I would say I lean towards the minimalism side (although I'm sure a "true" minimalist would disagree) and I use only one or two washi tapes and a single sticker pack each theme, with one or two tombows for headers. My layouts rarely change unless my needs change!
Same. I'm phasing out the washi these days, though, and keeping to a simpler color palette each month is really helping me avoid overwhelm. That's minimal for me, compared to the chaos of analysis paralysis before, each month 😂
I have been using the same size journal (A6) for the past 4 journals, and the same layouts for the past 2. I also use three pens, but have added a 6 markers for color coding/habit tracking recently. The simplicity is bringing me joy! And I don't have to use brain power on my journal so I can use it in other parts of my life.
The daily doodles with icons for things I've done to de-stress and icons in red for why I didn't do the thing.
I ended up photocopying some template layouts on to sticker paper, like tracking, save the energy.
Sticker paper and tempates (are) my go-tos when I can't find the time or energy for more
Everytime I use bright colors in my planner or bullet journal I get a type of paralysis. Creative paralysis. It’s like I cannot move on. It’s weird, I know. It’s also frustrating
As some partial dot grid books show, I had tried before in around 2018 or so, but it was 2022 when I decided to give it a go again and it stuck. One of the main reasons to do it was my reading and tracking the numerous books I have on the go at one time (my Ongoing Concerns). I used a Kenji bujo. I would learn later that year that the pages were a bit thin and that 160 gsm is best, but at the start of that year, it was pretty basic. Coloured fineliners for a bit of colour, me dodling my own motifs and the only stencil I could find was a ruler with some small basic shapes. I would do borders round some of my sections on a page - I think this was influenced by the fact that I’m an 80s kid and I used to read the pop magazine Smash Hits in my teens! 😂
Then, in March 2022, thanks to Facebook, I discovered Oops a Daisy and their stencils and my journalling really took off from there!
Stuff I learned…
160 gsm paper is the best.
A lot of people have monthly themes (I was so up for this!)
There are no rules, what you include and what you don’t is your choice
You don’t have to cram a whole year into one book - it’s perfectly normal to need more than one journal per year!
Water-based inks are what you need, avoid alcohol-based inks
Simple and beautiful 😍
My journal spread is like a mind map.
Replay team here!
Replay team here