r/BasicBulletJournals Dec 11 '25

mod post "How do I start?" and other FAQs.

95 Upvotes
  • How do I start?
  • What supplies do I need?
  • Where can I find more info?
  • How do I handle my perfectionism?

It's the end of another year, which means frequently asked questions are starting to pour in. So here's my yearly reminder that this sub has a wiki page with some answers (and a little tough love).

Click here for the wiki page

Let me know if there's any other questions/info you think should be added.


r/BasicBulletJournals 1d ago

monthly Basic Monthly for September

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112 Upvotes

I’ve learned that very simple works just fine for me


r/BasicBulletJournals 1d ago

monthly September monthly spread

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30 Upvotes

Blocked out some private stuff but otherwise got a pretty busy month!

Do you prefer boxes or list versions of monthly spreads?


r/BasicBulletJournals 5d ago

question/request Thinking about starting to bullet journal but need advice for organizing and layout

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96 Upvotes

So I'm currently using a muji journal and ive been enjoying and like how consistent I've actually been using it. As I've been using it, it seems I've been writing more and more and enjoying journaling my days, especially when I go on trips. To the point where I'm considering adding instax photos and just bought some new stamps! I'm thinking I like my weekly planning/notes. This planner also has a monthly I can quickly jot down important events. It'd be nice actually to have a cleaning log as well. Since there's so much I want to add i'm thinking bullet journal is a good way to go. I'm wondering if anyone might have ideas on how to organize in a way I can have all these things! (Monthly and weekly planning, cleaning log, and intense journaling!) It seems most people don't have their journals "pre-drawn" for the month and kind go through the weeks? Added some photos for reference of what I currently have! (As you can tell, my journaling started spilling over weeks 🤭)


r/BasicBulletJournals 7d ago

tracking My setup.

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62 Upvotes

Greetings, everyone. First off, I’m not American, so please overlook any errors in the text. I’m not sure if this counts as "basic"—given that I tried my hand at lettering for "August" and used drawings for the mood tracker—but this is my current layout in a simple notebook. Please ignore how unproductive I was this month; I’m a natural-born procrastinator trying not to be one.


r/BasicBulletJournals 7d ago

question/request Advice suggestions tip and ticks for an ADHDer for BUJO

50 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

I’m 29, not sure if I’m too late or what to BUJO. I have tried it before as I go inspired by Simie’s YouTube videos. And now I’m making a planner myself.

However, I’m struggling with Mood tracking and Weekly or Monthly reflections?

Any suggestions or ideas.

Also, I would like to know how BUJO has impacted you personally and when was the time when you started noticing so progress?


r/BasicBulletJournals 7d ago

supplies recommendation Does anyone use tabs?

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260 Upvotes

I’m about 20 pages from finishing my first journal and I’m preparing my next one now.

I realized partway through the first journal, that I really needed to use color-coded tabs, so I purchased the Avery ultra tabs that are reusable. I love them because they are so sturdy and I can differentiate colors by different topics, etc.

Now I’m at the end and I’m wondering if I should reuse the same tabs in the new journal or should I just retire the old ones and redo them from scratch? Nearly all of the labels will be the same in the new book.

Has anyone has this issue? What would you do?


r/BasicBulletJournals 11d ago

tracking here is how you can make habit tracker in journal

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71 Upvotes

r/BasicBulletJournals 12d ago

daily/weekly Old photo from weeks ago, but I reverted to Hardcover Journal Notebooks

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78 Upvotes

Right Hand side is Inge's Weekly Log (or Weekly *something*, I forgot).

Her IG is bujo.with.inge (you'll know it when you see it)

Sadly people's setups aren't really applicable to my own. But I like just having the means and tools to try them out myself. I weave my own approaches and the application side of my personal time management concepts, so I do a lot of tables besides the core Daily Log, Weekly, Monthly Log practice (not pictured here; might sometime soon)


r/BasicBulletJournals 23d ago

supplies recommendation Legal Pads

0 Upvotes

Does anyone got any tips on formatting a bullet journal to fit within legal pads? I need to keep work separate from my personal bullet journal due to the nature of my work and legal pads are easy to come by from my work’s supply room. I find it hard to format the future and monthly logs since I basically have single page spreads. Any thoughts?


r/BasicBulletJournals 25d ago

multiple spreads My August Setup

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113 Upvotes

r/BasicBulletJournals 26d ago

supplies recommendation Bujo with planners

8 Upvotes

Looking at getting a wonderland222 planner this year with the intentions of using it for both bullet journaling though the day and maybe a long form in the back, has anyone used one?

Or one of the other planners with similar layouts like
Hemlock and oak, midori ect?


r/BasicBulletJournals 28d ago

daily/weekly here's my everyday setup.

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597 Upvotes

as someone with autism, adhd, and c-ptsd, i need some form of structure that's easy to be consistent with, or else i'll never get anything done. hence, the weekly template.

events are marked on the left half of the left page. i write time-sensitive tasks first for the week on the right half of the page, and then add tasks as they come up throughout the week. the weekly structure makes it really easy to migrate tasks to the next week by showing undone tasks at a glance from the previous week's spread.

on the right page, i usually log what i did or how i felt that day in shorthand. it takes literally 5-10 minutes to fill a day's space. sometimes i miss a day and forgot what i did back then, so i just freely journal a thought that's been stewing in my head that week. either that, or i just leave the space mostly blank save for a single "i forgor lol"

i keep a traveler's notebook as my bujo so that my monthly logs and notes are in separate booklets, so i have the option to just carry my weekly insert when i go out since that's what i use every day. i'm currently using a dated planner insert for this, but i easily replicated this layout in a gridded notebook i'll be using in 2027.


r/BasicBulletJournals 28d ago

question/request Anyone keep more than one notebook? Why or why not?

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51 Upvotes

I do two calendars. One for work and one for personal. this is the barest it’ll be as I add more stuff throughout the month.

I carry this one and an a6 one in my pocket. I need something quick and small to jot stuff down and I need the bigger one to be able to “spread out” and see what needs to be done.


r/BasicBulletJournals 29d ago

multiple spreads Is this considered basic bujo?

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179 Upvotes

I have a very basic small pocket size lined notebook and i try my best to fit everything any tips what should i add


r/BasicBulletJournals 29d ago

question/request Intentions page?

13 Upvotes

So I've been bullet journaling for a few years now but have never done a classic "intentions" page at the start of a new book. I'm starting a new journal right now and I'd like to do an intentions page but I'm still a little confused. Is it a list of things you'd like to use your journal for? Intentions for your life? A letter to yourself? I know that journaling can be whatever works best for each person, but I fear im overthinking this one and would love to know what others do.


r/BasicBulletJournals Aug 02 '26

question/request As a student, what can I add to my basic bujo?

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28 Upvotes

Currently I just use a daily list format (Sample of yesterday’s entry attached). I don’t always need a weekly or monthly spread. I have a desk calender that has my test dates written. (If I do need a weekly spread sometimes, I just write down the days on a new page in the bujo and quickly jot down the to-dos as needed.)

Lately, I have felt the need to add something that can make me more… accountable in a way? Cuz I am preparing for a college entrance exam, and maintaining consistency and discipline is really important for me.

One idea I have is tracking study hours. Another is tracking my scores in the practice tests, as seeing improvement there would encourage me more.

Any other thing I can do? Even a spread which is not necessarily an ‘accountability’ one would be appreciated.

[P.S. FYI to mods: I wanted to use the relevant question tag, but the option wasn’t being shown to me for some reason :( ]


r/BasicBulletJournals Aug 01 '26

monthly My 20 minute monthly layout

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148 Upvotes

Inspired by this sub, I’ve been whittling down my monthly layout until it only takes me about 20 minutes to set up! I work full time while going to grad school, so finding a quick and efficient way to set up my month and my monthly tracker was key to actually using my journal. And if I don’t use my journal things go sideways fast haha

The tracker is also inspired by a post on this sub, but I can’t find it now. Throwing everything in on one page is so much faster for me than setting up a separate sleep tracker and habit tracker and health tracker, and it’s helped me see more global patterns. I have a health condition that can sneak up on me, but being able to see everything at once helped me identify a specific sleep pattern that occurs right before a flare up. I like the flexibility to add anything at any time, too. For example, I’m really bad at remembering to water my plants, so I added it to the tracker this month.

Please ignore the messy handwriting and garbage spelling! I’d blame it on writing too fast, but unfortunately it doesn’t get much better if I slow down. Penmanship isn’t my strong suit, obviously.


r/BasicBulletJournals Aug 01 '26

question/request Looking for Weekly single-page for a5 journals

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58 Upvotes

Hey all, i'm looking for inspo for weekly spreads with enough room for work shifts, freetime and notes. i'm actually using this one by alot of time and its becoming boring and consequentially hard to read/enjoy, just wanna try something different to make my eye rest :P
Any suggestion?

It has Main Goal of the week, a tracker, a next week section, 3 main tasks, notes, a generic to do, and of course enough space for my job shifts, birthdays and appointments


r/BasicBulletJournals Jul 27 '26

list/collection My Catch-All nightstand Notebook

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52 Upvotes

Just a sample of my bilingual Catch-All nightstand Notebook.


r/BasicBulletJournals Jul 23 '26

list/collection Using a security logbook for Bullet Journal (New Member)

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119 Upvotes

Started 2024 December because my main management system broke (laptop).

Took me about a year to have some good confidence built. I tried as many notebooks and pens: from composition ones with thin pages (bleed through prone), with different sizes. Different pens (cheap ones like BICs to VTec Pilos)

This is my current setup: Record Books (things a security guard would use) and 0.7 Gel Pens (mix of oil and water, more oil) for longer pen users like me


r/BasicBulletJournals Jul 20 '26

question/request How do you handle unfinished tasks these days?

59 Upvotes

Hi!

I've been using a pretty minimal, original Ryder -style Bullet Journal. No decoratios, no elaborate spreads, just rapid logging and the basics.

One thing I'm still trying to figure out is the best way to handle unfinished tasks.

Do you migrate them from one daily log to the next until they're done? Do you just flip back through previous daily logs to find open items? Or do you move them to a future log, monthly log, or even a weekly page?

I hae already read some of the older discussions on this (for example, the classic "migration vs scheduling" thread), but most of them are several years old. I was wondering if the community has more or less settled on a preferred approach since then, or if everyone still does their own thing.

I'm also interested in practical workflows that have worked well over the long term, especially from people who keep their journals fairly minimal.

Curious to hear what works for you!


r/BasicBulletJournals Jul 14 '26

rapid logging Turning 21 v 22

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167 Upvotes

The first photo captures June 22 to July 5, 2025. The second photos captures June 14 to 27, 2026.


r/BasicBulletJournals Jul 10 '26

tip Dividir as tarefas deixa tudo mais leve

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67 Upvotes

Pra quem tem ansiedade, dividir as tarefas é perfeito, você realiza o que se propõe a fazer e não passa o restante do dia pensando nisso.


r/BasicBulletJournals Jul 10 '26

question/request Monthly/yearly/reference supplements to pocket bujo?

20 Upvotes

I’ve been the most consistent with a pocket bullet journal in the A6/pocket Leuchtturm1917 notebooks. I’m absolutely in love with the size, especially with how portable it is.

However, I don’t set up more than the monthly for the current month, plus a couple of trackers, in the notebook in advance. This means that I’m still reliant on my phone for future planning, keeping events, birthdays, etc. and I really want to get more analog.

I’ve tried passport TRC inserts and even a SterlingInk monthly booklet in the passport size, but they’re not sticking.

Any recommendations on how to make these yearly supplemental books to go along with my “seasonal” pocket bujos?