January 2025 Bullet Journal Setup: Embracing Minimalism (Sort Of)
I’ve been feeling a bit creatively burned out lately, but I wasn’t about to start the new year without my bullet journal set up and ready. To keep things simple this month, I’m embracing a more minimalistic approach - well, minimal for me - and channeling the summer vibes of the Southern Hemisphere.
Watch the setup come together in the video below, or scroll on for photos!
Simple Spreads, Big Decorations
With limited time for planning through the silly season, I thought I’d try for a journal theme that would speed up the decorating process. Enter the Monet’s Garden PET tape from The Washi Tape Shop! Featuring dreamy watercolour vignettes inspired by Monet’s garden in Giverny, France, this PET tape romanticises summer in the most beautiful way - but it also features FAR bigger artwork than I’m used to working with. As someone who passionately dislikes our humid, scorching Aussie summers, I’m trying to lean into the “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” mindset.
Minimalism doesn’t come naturally to me—my usual setups are far more layered and often involve a lot of stickers and tapes and papers from all over. For inspiration this lesson in keeping things simple, I looked to Harmony of @JoyLetters on Instagram whose elegant, minimal designs often feature just a small illustration and the month’s title. It’s quick, impactful, and exactly what I needed to get my plans on paper before the new month hit.
My journal this year is the Song Brocade journal from Tiefossi, and this theme feels perfectly in tune with its fresh, floral cover!
A Quick Setup (For Me)
This entire setup took about an hour and a half - significantly less than my usual four to five hour setup sessions! I kept my January calendar to a single page, with compact boxes for each day (3x3 dot grid spaces, with a little room for the date just above in its own row). While minimal layouts rely heavily on neatness, a white paint marker came to my rescue when I messed up a line.
Adding decoration to the empty spaces on my calendar was so tricky! I originally aimed for balance, but ended up letting a little of my maximalist tendencies creep in. Cutting out the designs on the Monet’s Garden tape by hand added time, but the result felt cohesive.
For the cover page, it seemed appropriate to include a Monet quote since the PET tape I’m using throughout was inspired by his gardens. The quote I chose was this one: “what keeps my heart awake is colorful silence,” lettered with my trusty 08 Pigma Micron fine-liner.
Functional and Flexible Spreads
While I kept the decoration relatively simple, I made sure my spreads were functional; a goals page for setting intentions for the month, hyping myself up and keeping myself moving forward; and a habit tracker page to try to implement some of those new-year self-improvement things
I’ve added my usual content planner spread to help me organise my video schedule - Youtube is especially hectic through November, December and January for the planner community! This spread was a challenge - I struggled to work the larger decorative elements into the limited space, and eventually added the Summer Blossom PET tape for smaller accents. The result isn’t my favourite, but it’s functional, and that’s what matters.
A New Spread for Routine-Building
I’ve been self-employed for so long now, I can’t even remember what having a routine feels like - but I know it’s something I’d like to get back in my life! I added routine pages to my new journal setup at the beginning of the journal, and I’m working on the theory that adding a spread for it within each month will help me refine my routines through the year and work out what works well for me and what doesn’t.
And of course, it wouldn’t be my bullet journal without a weekly. I live in these pages so I always need them ready ahead of time! This one starts on a Wednesday, rather than my usual Monday, because starting the first weekly of the year on the 30th of the previous year didn’t feel right.
The contrast between my minimalist intentions and my maximalist instincts made this setup a learning experience. While not every spread turned out perfectly, the process reminded me that it’s okay to experiment and adapt. As we move into 2025, I’m excited to embrace better routines, focus on self-care, push for my goals and enjoy the creative outlet my journal provides.
Supplies Used
Glue tape *
18cm ruler - I can’t find one online so here’s a 20cm one
Summer Blossom Pre-cut PET tape *
Silver binder clips *
Tombow Mono Graph mechanical pencil *
Tweezers/scraper/glue tape/craft knife set *
White acrylic paint marker (for fixing mistakes) - mine is from this set