Bullet Journal Weekly Spreads Evolution

     Two months ago, when I discovered Bullet Journaling, I figured that because I had a cute little notebook and inspiration all over the internet, that suddenly my new planner/journal/lifesaver would just BE cute. After all, one of the major draws I have to the Bullet Journal system is that it's easy to personalize and easy to make cute at the same time! I wanted my planner and calendar and journal to all be in one place. And of course, I wanted it to just instantly look as adorable as the journals I'd see on Instagram by Boho Berry, Pretty Prints and Paper, and Tiny Ray of Sunshine, among others. I spent HOURS the first day I got it, setting it up, making precise lines, cute handwriting, the works. I was so happy with it!

     And then...I started using my journal for actual daily life functioning and organizing. And my journal went from cute, clean and tidy, to this --->
Messy. Un-cute. Unorganized. Not the kind of thing you want to share. Part of the Bullet Journal system that appeals to me most is the ability to make your weekly layout however you want, but I wasn't taking time to lay out my week because I didn't know how much space I'd need. Which resulted in the chaos you see to the right. After two weeks of unsightly entropy I decided I needed a structured layout and began playing with how much space I'd need.

     One reason I struggled with choosing a daily layout is because I don't use my bullet journal during my weekday. Shocker!! I know. I know. A planner junkie who doesn't look at their planner during the day? What kind of crazy am I??

     Before you close this tab and ignore the rest of my blog posts forever, let me say that I do use a bullet journal during the day, just not my personal one! I have a spiral notebook (the green one, in the above picture, if you must know) that houses my daily work to do lists. It's a series of lists- no formats, no weekly or monthly anything. Just to do lists and information I need to remember. As a special education teacher I work with a lot of confidential documents and I don't want to-do's based on writing and planning those to be in my personal planner. I don't have time to make it pretty- honestly- and I need it to be functional more than anything, which it totally is. I use the bullets for tasks and cross them out when they're completed, I put an arrow on any migrated tasks, I rewrite lists when it gets too chaotic, and keep everything I need in one place. Plus the Maybooks planner there, which houses what would be considered my "future log" for work. Aka calendars.

     But on to the fun stuff...my pretty personal planner (alliteration much?) and how I've made it work for me. Here's the weekly layout I've settled on:

     Each week day gets 5 squares in my Leuchtturm 1917 and then Friday gets a little extra. It's a good space for a weekly recap, a doodle, a quote, etc. Saturday and Sunday each get half a page because I typically have time those mornings to USE my bullet journal and reflect, plan, and make to-do lists. Throughout the week I can list reminders there as well. On weekends, I layout the next week and take the time to make it LOOK cute, the way I want! Here are some ways I've customized the layout to look different each week, while the spacing and format stays the same.

Cute arrows! Colored in!
That appointment got moved...

Cute banners! Blue pen!

I added in a new language for some fun this week. You can see my "to-do" listing for weekdays versus the weekends here
although my Sunday meal planning is missing from this page. 

Added boxes instead of banners or arrows this time, and changed Saturday and Sunday to be a little different. I enjoy
making them different because I get to practice more borders that way! I played with color this week too. You can 
also see how Tuesday and Wednesday I didn't have a whole lot going on- extra space! I had the mindset of "FILL 
ALL THE SPACE!" at first but then everything just looked so cluttered. I think leaving it blank gives the option to 
doodle in it later on, or maybe I need to do more journaling in those spaces! Regardless, cleaner looks better than full. 

     I've been using Pilot G2 pens in a variety of colors, as well as Crayola Super Tips markers. I love, love, LOVE these markers! I even numbered them and then indexed the colors in my bullet journal as a collection, because sometimes the marker cap colors are misleading (dark cap light color, and vice versa). Smartest thing I've ever done, really. I'll post some of my other bullet journal hacks in another post, but for now enjoy the weekly layout! Feel free to try it out in yours, or find another format that works for you and share it in comments below! I love the bullet journal and planner community, and I'm grateful for the inspiration of others.

Gradual and Non Traditional Resolutions

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     2016 will be here soon! As in, 2 days from now I'll start forgetting the date and writing "2015" on the boards, only to be corrected by my students, which will amaze me, because they're SO observant about the date but not about the math we're learning?!? Blows my mind.
     When I sat down to write this post, I didn't really have a direction for the content. You might have heard the saying that being a teacher is like having "a web browser with a million different tabs open in your brain,"  and if you hadn't heard it, well now you have. That is how I felt sitting down to type this post. Some examples of my brain-tabs, because I love lists:

• I'm planning on baking 5 weeks worth of baking challenges this week so I can say I finished my challenge "on time." 
• I'm finally getting over congestion from colds/bronchitis/colds/allergies and ready to work out again, and I'm trying to come up with my schedule to get back into it. 
• I am wondering HOW IN THE WORLD I will be able to wake up at 6am again next week for work.
• "I really should write another blog post."
• Many future plans were discussed with family over break- totally overwhelming at the moment.
• Still planning New Year's Eve events for when my brother and his girlfriend get into town this week. Probably should get that figured out.

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      Brain-tabs like these are often the cause of our failure at new endeavors. For example, let's say your New Year's resolution is to eat healthier. Good for you! So, January 1st you get rid of all your junk food and you only buy the healthiest stuff at the grocery store. Your breakfast, lunch, and dinner over the weekend are super healthy, you're feeling great, and then you wake up late Monday morning. You have your brain-tabs going crazy because you need to get to work on time and when lunch rolls around, you finally remember you didn't pack anything. Maybe you skip it, or maybe you go out because you NEED to eat (understandable). When you get home, you're tired and just want something quick for dinner. Your brain-tabs are trying to load for quick, healthy dinner that fits your New Year's goal...but all it can come up with is "order pizza. The kids are hungry NOW." And within a week, you feel like you've failed your New Year's Resolution already. Planning to exercise more? Your brain-tabs will, no doubt, come up with many other things that you need to do before you exercise, and eventually, instead of exercising. Having worked at a gym in college, and seeing people try to just adopt a healthy lifestyle overnight, I've written reports on gym usage year after year that prove this to be true. Wanting to save more money? Unexpected expenses are just waiting around the corner and, in addition, your brain-tabs will come up with all kinds of things you need, want, or forgot about. It happens-and not just to you!

     I noticed this trend early on in life- people just don't keep New Year's resolutions. I do like the idea of having them, because resolutions are rooted in self-improvement. Establishing a mindset focused on self-improvement is a very healthy trend in which society should invest. So, instead of spurning resolutions, I decided in college to try what I call "gradual" resolutions.  I figured that maybe I could approach a resolution gradually, and surprise, it worked! I kept the resolution all year. I tried it again the next year, and it was a success again! Rather than recounting my successes, I'll leave you with a list of examples of gradual, and non-traditional resolutions. Happy start to 2016 everyone! 

Traditional Resolutions, made gradual: 

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--> If you want to EAT HEALTHIER, try having a healthy breakfast once a week, then twice a week, then three times a week...and so on. Once you're happy with your healthy breakfasts, try adding healthy dinner once a week, twice a week, etc. HELPFUL TIDBIT: Don't approach the meal plan change all at once or you will overload. Repeat recipes- have the same healthy meal once a week for a month. Then, your brain will remember the recipe, so that when you're rushed for time, you have a brain-tab to load that is a healthy option!

--> If you want to EXERCISE MORE, there are several ways to do this. New to exercise entirely? Resolve to try a new form of exercise once a week, to see what you like. Then resolve to do it with increasing frequency. Need to get back in the habit? Resolve to workout with increasing frequency, and then add in resolutions to bring a buddy, find a new place to run, set a goal (time, weight lifted, distance) and resolve to meet it. HELPFUL TIDBIT: Make a plan and post it on your fridge, so others can hold you accountable or find a Facebook or social media group to keep you accountable. Whatever you do, don't ask my husband to text you and say "get off your butt, fatty," because he WILL do it. 

--> If you want to SAVE MONEY, make it gradual by saving a little a week, cutting out part of an expense, or learning a budget software at first. HELPFUL TIDBIT: Give yourself TIME to adjust. We started using a budget software last February, and it took us 3 months to truly feel comfortable using it, and that didn't involve any saving! While it was frustrating, since then, we've been able to save for several specific things, and that has felt great! Saving money takes time and long-term commitment.

--> If you want to make an INTERNAL CHANGE (being more positive, for example), you've got to surround yourself with the mindset before you can adopt it. Find some good books or blogs you feel are positive, are about having a positive outlook, or are even self-help books to guide thinking. Reading is an important part of an internal change. Then, find little ways to implement what you've read. Pay it forward at a restaurant or coffee shop, start a daily positive reflection on Twitter or other social media, or even in the privacy of a journal. Put positive post-it notes on your mirror for daily affirmations. Find YouTube channels devoted to giving daily positive affirmations. There is a lot out there!

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Non-Traditional Resolutions: 

~ Resolve to take better care of your skin; research your skin type and try different face washes to see which ones work best. There is quite a bit of research to read on the subject! Sally beauty Supply has great products, often cheaper, to try out. This includes finding a good sunscreen!

~ Resolve to give whenever you get. Birthday coming up and you've asked for electronics? Donate some of your old ones (research online where to donate different items). Shopping spree and you've bought  a lot of clothes? Clean our your closet and donate to friends or family in need, or to thrift stores. 

~ Resolve to question media and fact check. Find out which sources are reliable and which are not. If you hear something on the radio, don't take it as gospel because you heard it from your favorite morning show host- check it out in other sources to see if it holds up. 

~ Resolve to learn a new skill. Did you know there are websites, YouTube channels, blogs, and all sorts of free resources on the internet to help you learn just about ANY skill? People make a living providing online resources for learning, and you can benefit from them- for free! Want to learn a new instrument? Try your hand at Calculus again? Learn the art of photography (not just Instagram), cooking ridiculous foods, writing poetry, or travel trivia!

~ Resolve to be more thankful. Start by buying a bunch of Thank you notes from Target's dollar spot. Keep them in a place you spend a lot of time (by the couch, in the kitchen, etc.) to help you remember to use them. Make a list of people's addresses and print it out to post somewhere easy to find in your house. USE THEM. Ultimately, some part of a resolution involves YOU doing something YOU want to keep doing!

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CHEESY REFLECTIONS

I'm glad I finally started a blog this year! I had thought about it quite a bit, but wasn't sure I could make the time commitment. The first 3 years of teaching really are a bit of a mess, especially in terms of managing time to give yourself actual personal time. I know the blog title is a bit unorthodox but I truly believe it fits my plans for this little space in the internet. I've realized my writing is CRAP. I used to write so much, both for school and personally, and I've totally lost touch with my writing style. Writing at work is either on an average 5th (or lower) grade level, so ALL students understand, or it's writing legal documents (IEPs), both of which  leave zero room for practicing creative pursuits. I have a few followers and I plan to pick up the pace with posts, projects, and followers in 2016. Cheers!