Hi, I’m Olivia – known as @flyingpaperwords on Instagram – and I’m really excited about sharing my Bullet Journal with you. So thank you for this great opportunity! I discovered Bullet Journaling in January 2017 when I was watching videos on youtube. I don’t know how I got there but I caught myself watching dozens of “plan with me”-videos from really talented people showing their own Bullet Journal to others. Of course I also watched the video of Ryder Carroll explaining his system. I got so excited about these individual calendars so I ordered my first Leuchtturm1917 notebook right away. Together with a few fineliners in different sizes. I swear, these days while I was waiting for my supplies to arrive where so hard!

I’m already on to my third notebook and my journaling style has improved a lot! When I look at the pages of my very first Bullet Journal, I cant believe how much “better” I got through the months.

Index

Key

Yearly log (first half)

I think these four pages are some of the most important ones for me. It’s easy to get an overview of the upcoming months without checking every single Monthly Log.

The upper area is mainly for appointments – exams in school, family dates, doctors appointments…

The second area is for dates I want or need to remember – birthdays, holidays, … – but are still free for making other plans.

Birthday Calendar

These pages are some of my favorites so far. I just like the layout and I love giving gifts to friends and family.

Monthly pages

The first pages of every month show my regular monthly log. The layout is the same for every month, because I like it simple and the design works great for me. There is enough space to add more than one appointment every day and I can always see where I still have some free time.
On the right side I add tasks I need to complete this month but only those without a specific deadline.

The next pages I’m using every month are my school and habit trackers.

On the left side I plan when I need to study for which subject in school to always be well prepared for exams and presentations.

On the right side I’m tracking my daily habits – at the moment I’m tracking…

  • Using my Bullet Journal
  • Going to school
  • Studying
  • Watching Netflix
  • Instagram-Posts
  • Workouts
  • Days without expenses
  • Meeting friends
  • Going out
  • Reading
  • Taking my daily meds

After that there are my sleep and positivity trackers. On the right page I write down one positive thing every day. An unique event, a positive thought or simply one little thing that made me smile. It’s such a great feeling to go back to previous positivity pages to see how many beautiful things happened through the last weeks or month – especially when you’re feeling down.

The most important pages in my Bullet Journal are all the different weekly spreads where I plan my days. I’m the type of a person who writes down every little to-do because I love the feeling of marking completed tasks. I’ll show you a few examples of weekly spreads I used over the last months.

At the end of every month I create a review where I list positive and negative aspects of the month. I also add the series and films I watched and my monthly playlist on spotify. For March I tried something new and added an area for some numbers where I included my Instagram stats.

Through the months I added a lot of different Collections to my Bullet Journal. One of the most helpful ones is my Expense Tracker which should keep myself from spending too much money on stationery and other things.

Another example of a collection I open really often is my Watchlist. There are so many series and films I want to watch and this page helps me to keep them in my mind.

A few weeks earlier I added a Season Calendar for vegetables and fruits. It should help me to buy more regional products.

If you want to see more of my Bullet Journal – feel free to follow me on Instagram: @flyingpaperwords

Bullet Journaling is not only a hobby of mine, it also helped me through rough times. I’ve struggled for a couple of years and there were times when I couldn’t get myself to do anything. I had no proper daily routine and was kinda lost in my own life. I won’t go into detail, but I just want to express how important Bullet Journaling is for me.

With my Bullet Journal, a new age began. I had discovered something I really enjoyed doing. And furthermore, it helped me in getting my life back. Thats why you can find so many motivating quotes in my journal.

So If you are reading this – starting a Bullet Journal is really worth a try!
It don’t have to be perfect. Be creative. And just start.

My equipment:
Notebook: Leuchtturm 1917, A5 dotted
Pen for writing: Tombow Mono Drawing Pen 03
Other pens I use: Staedtler pigment liners 01-1,2 & Pigma Micron 05, 08

About the Author:

My name is Olivia and I live in Southern Germany with my family and my dog. I’m 19 years old and at the moment I’m still going to school. But my biggest dream is to become a paramedic and study medicine. I love books, summer, fruits and Greys Anatomy.