Starting a NEW Journal Mid-2023

Bullet Journal 2023

19 May

I somehow manage to fit six months to a 160 page journal perfectly, which means it’s time to get started on a fresh journal for the second half of 2023. This journal will fit some migrated overall calendars from my previous journal, as well as the months from July to December. Click the video below to watch it get set up, or scroll on for photos!

My Gorgeous New Journal

This little beauty is from Kuma Stationery and Crafts, it’s their “Hourglass Dreams” Luna bullet journal. I love the regal navy blue linen and the contrast of the gold embossed cover!

It’s a 160 page journal with 160GSM pages, which means it will stand up beautifully to most water-based markers and even some types of paint. You can’t see it here, but the page edges are gold and so pretty!

I reviewed the Luna journal range from Kuma Stationery and Crafts recently - you can find out more about my thoughts on them here.

My last journal has had about all it can take - a few of the page booklets are separating from the spine, but it’s still intact - so I’m excited to see how this new one holds up for the rest of the year!

Grid Spacing Flip-Outs & Cover Spread

If you hate counting grid spaces as you set up, rejoice! There are so many grid spacing solutions out there these days! I tried using a grid spacing ruler in my first journal for this year, and it worked really well for me! This time I’m trying these flip-out tabs instead. I haven’t worked out a great way to add them for the right page, since there’s a pouch at the back of the notebook, but it’s working really well for the left page so far!

This cover spread isn’t my favourite spread I’ve ever made - I wanted it to feel like a continuation of the theme from my first journal without being exactly the same, but I wasn’t loving it as I went along so I just kept adding and adding. It isn’t terrible, but I think the rest of the theme looks a lot better. I learned how to make it work as I went along!

Future Log Spread

We all need space to plan ahead - this future log is here for all my events and reminders for the rest of the year. I use this space to add important things like weddings (I’m a wedding photographer so that’s a big one), birthdays, annual bill reminders and anything else I book in advance! To be fair, I also keep all this information in my Google Calendar, so I don’t always look back at this spread, but I feel like my journal would be incomplete without it.

Future Future Log and Goals Page

I’m calling the left page here my “future future log” because it’s even further in the future than the previous spread! This one covers the first half of 2024, so I can keep track of those things and move them into my next journal when the time comes. Yep, I already have things planned for this far away!

The goals page is pretty self-explanatory - I like to divide things into categories so I don’t forget to think about things like goals for my businesses, financial goals, and things I want to achieve in my personal life too.

Reflection Spread

Reflecting is a HUGE part of bullet journaling - and mid-year is a great time to do it! I usually squeeze this spread in at the back of my first-half journal, but I figured since there are less spreads in my new-journal setup for mid-year than there are in my first journal for the year, I could move it to live in the second book.

Reflecting requires complete honestly with yourself, and I find I need to be in the right headspace to do this. You need to walk the line of being ready to praise yourself, but also be critical while still showing yourself compassion!

Content Planner Spread

While I call this one my “content planner”, I actually just use it to plan out my Youtube videos in advance. I post weekly on Fridays, so for each of the tiny calendars I add what that Friday’s video will be on the line that corresponds with that week. The Youtube video sometimes informs the rest of my content for other platforms too, and sometimes I need to post videos by certain dates because of sponsorship opportunities or upcoming holidays. This helps me stay on top of things! I also think it could work really well as a way to track due dates for assignments if you’re studying, or manage projects for work.

Playlist Spread

I’ve been trying to prioritise listening to music - for a while there I was just listening to podcasts and audiobooks! My musical tastes are pretty eclectic, and I definitely listen to whatever my mood demands in the moment, so I’m always interested to look back at my listening habits - I absolutely love seeing my Spotify Wrapped each year! Similar to that, I’m using Receiptify to track my listening at the end of each month, and I pop the playlist it gives me in the space. I’m technically setting this up in May, so I’m squeezing June in there too! Why not!

Next Journal & Pen Swatch Spreads

Sometimes I see other people’s spreads and pages on Instagram and think “I should try that next time!” but if I don’t make a note of it somewhere, I’ll definitely forget. Hence the “Next Journal” page - a space to plan what I ‘d like to include in my next journal! I’m not totally sure how I’ll use this page yet, so I’ve kept it pretty open and minimal to give myself plenty of flexibility.

I live and die by my pen swatch page. I refer to it constantly when choosing colour schemes for new layouts and themes, and I wouldn’t be without it! I got rid of a lot of my pens recently, so I only need one page for this - I make little squares with each of my pens, and I categorise them by brand.