May 2021 - Minimal + Colourful Bullet Journal Theme
As much as I’ve loved setting up and using my April journal layout, the little flowers weren’t the speediest thing to draw! For May, I’m keeping things sleek and simple - but that doesn’t have to mean sombre. This setup is suitable for minimalists, but with a pop of colour. It doesn’t take long to draw up either!
May Bujo Theme Features
The bold black corners are a theme throughout this May journal layout, giving a sense of dividing the space without fully ruling out boxes. The three colours - pink, yellow and blue - always occur in the same pattern, and since they’re just a solid line with a brush pen, they’re done in seconds.
Pages and Spreads in this Layout:
May 2021 calendar page - rather than a grid layout this time, I’ve gone for a simple and widely spaced calendar with space below to add specific dates and events.
Goals page - I’m testing out dividing my goals into three categories - one for each of my businesses and one for general life stuff! How are your annual goals going? These monthly goal pages are great because you can break your bigger goals down into smaller steps and make progress over the course of the year.
Gratitude log - I learned from my mistakes last month! I still wanted a colourful page, so rather than alternate highlights on the gratitude spaces, I went for a three-stripe vertical highlight for the days of the month instead. It might actually still be a little overboard but it’s an improvement!
Habit tracker - I loved my full-page April habit tracker, so I’ve brought it with me into May. Nine habits was a little too much, so I brought it back down to eight this month! Sometimes I can get a bit carried away.
Sleep tracker - I’m bringing the sleep tracker with me, but my sleeping habits have been all over the place! Sometimes 10pm-8am isn’t enough of a range for my sleeping hours, but I haven’t worked out the best way to upgrade this tool yet so I’m rolling with my existing method for now.
Expense tracker - Instagram is great for inspiration. I saw an expense tracker on IG laid out like this with the floating tables and I fell in love! I’ll write down here. On the last day of each month I tally up the total spent across each category, and transfer it back into my overall 2021 spending tracker at the start of my book.
Weekly spreads - Some months are just busier than others! May is set to be a quieter one for me, so I’ve pared my weeklies back to a single page. On the outside, the daily areas for events are 5 spaces high. On the inside I’ve got a running to-do list. I kept the list on the inside because I hate writing on the outside of the right page with nothing to rest my hand on!
Bujo Supplies and Stationery used:
I’m using a Notebook Therapy Pastel edition Tsuki bullet journal in Mint Matcha for my 2021 journal (at least for the first half of the year)
The bold black lines and heading lettering was done with the not-brush end of the black Tombow dual brush pen*
The three colours are a mix - Faber Castell Pitt Artist brush pens in pink madder lake 129 (*I can only find it as part of a set for the link!) and *cadmium yellow 107, and *Tombow dual brush pen 533 (peacock blue).
I’ve used Bic Intensity fineliners* for all my fineliner needs in this layout! My Sharpie pens ran out!
My notebook cover is from Mimco, but is sadly no longer available.
*starred items are affiliate links
Keen on this layout but don’t know where to start?
You can grab it as a printable on my Etsy store! You can use it in any month in any year, not just May 2021. Just fill out the numbers for the month you need and you’re ready to get planning.