Skip to Content

19 Essential Bullet Journal Ideas For Your “Must Have” Pages

Bullet journaling can be a great way to stay organized, plan ahead, and track your progress. Whether you’re a novice or a seasoned pro, there’s always something new to learn. Here, we’ll explore some creative bullet journal page ideas that can help you get the most out of your journal. From creative checklists and calendars to inspiring quotes and doodles, these ideas can help you make the most of your bullet journaling experience.

I became obsessed with bullet journals when my paper planners continued to disappoint me! Many of them didn’t have enough space in the daily pages, they were too bulky, and they didn’t have enough empty pages for the trillions of lists I like to write and keep track of. As a result, I had piles of notebooks, each with a different purpose.  

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more information, see our disclosure.

That all changed when I heard about bullet journals! I scoured the internet looking for creative bullet journal ideas and now I LOVE writing in my notebook! Every time I need to make a new list (shopping list, daily schedule, etc.) I have it all in ONE PLACE! It’s brilliant.

Why Keep A Bullet Journal?

1. Efficiency – Keeping all your lists in one place is incredibly efficient; you don’t have to search for information in multiple notebooks or sources.

2. Organization – With a bullet journal, you can easily organize your tasks and ideas in one location, without the hassle of sorting through multiple documents or books.

3. Versatility – Bullet journals are versatile enough to accommodate any type of list or idea you may have.

4. Creativity – Bullet journals are a great way to get creative and express yourself. You can create different spreads and customize it to your own tastes.

5. Fun – Writing in a bullet journal is a great way to relax and have some fun with writing, without it feeling like a chore.

To have the best bullet journal, you simply need to make it specific to your personal needs. I searched the internet for the best bullet journal spreads. Each one is unique.  

For me, I wanted to do a round up of the pages that I have in mine, and that I use often.  I hope these bullet journal ideas help you create your own awesome bullet journal pages.

Keep in mind that you can alter these page ideas to what fits your needs best. If you have a need for only some of these ideas, then use them and then fill your bullet journal with other things you think you want to track, keep notes on, etc. It’s a fun way to brain dump and get out your to-do list and organize all of your thoughts in one place. 

​Also, organize the sections in the order that will help you be most efficient. If yu need to track the whole month before the weekly spread, then by all means, swap them around. Take a few minutes to play with the order of things and see what works best for you, your brain, and your life.

The 19 bullet journal ideas for pages you must have

#1 – Title Page

Since my roots are in Franklin Covey planners, I love having a place to enter my Roles (wife, mother, business owner, etc), my Values (family, health, education, etc), and my Strengths (helping, problem solving, etc). Having these clearly defined, really helps me set the tone when I’m trying to organize my day, week and month.

With these Roles, Values, and Strengths understood, you can also create a mission statement for your life. As you start each new bullet journal add this mission statement and your Roles, Values, and Strengths to a title page to help you remember who you are and who you want to be as you get organized.

Boho Berry has some great worksheets on how to craft your own personal mission statement, and this beautiful sample mission statement page…

Bullet journal mission statement

#2 – The Daily Spread

I didn’t want to share any of my own pages, because my handwriting isn’t as great as most people who post their pages, but I couldn’t find anyone online that had what I do!  So, here is my daily page:

Bullet journal daily spread

I like to have my schedule, my tasks, and lots of places for notes!   I also color code my tasks, so anything outlined in red must be done first!

I like to have important information in a specific color so I know it’s what I need to focus on first when working on my daily tasks.

Having daily spreads makes it easier to designate which tasks I can do each day so I don’t feel overwhelmed with a mile long list. I know I can divide it up among the different days and have something to do each day without having to feel like it all has to get done on the first day.

#3 – A Weekly Spread

Even though I have most of my information on my daily pages, I like the look of a weekly spread to put dinner ideas, major appointments, exercise goals, and really just to see the week at a glance. Sometimes, I really appreciate seeing the week at a glance so I can have an idea when to fit other things in.

weekly bullet journal view

weekly spread

#4 – Your Goals

So many fun ways you can make your goals pages to fit your style!  This simple one really resonates with me, but you can also set up a tracking page, or more specifics for each goal, such as steps to get there.  Check out this post if you like to really get specific with your goals!

bullet journal goals

The first step is writing out your goals, then develop a plan to reach those goals. Break the plan down into segments with mini goals. Check in on these goals on a regular basis and see how you’re doing. 

You can track daily goals, weekly goals, monthly goals, and even yearly goals.

#5 – A Budget

Whether you are getting out of debt, or want to track expenses, your new bullet journal notebook can keep it all!  Check out this page for a debt elimination snowball as well.

 

A post shared by Laurie (@cardigansandchamomile) on

#6 – Meal Planner

It’s no secret that I love meal planning, but what most people don’t realize, is that I like ALL methods of meal planning!  For now, I follow a paid meal plan, but I still add my meal plan prepping to my weekly spread.

Some ways people use meal planning for their bullet journals though is to use a page for their weekly plan, plus their shopping list, all on one spread like this:

bullet journal meal planning

​Many people like to meal plan ahead of time to save money, time, and effort. Being able to plan out all the meals helps our family know what to expect each day for food and helps us know who needs to help with what for each meal. 

#7 – Books to Read and Other Lists

Oh my goodness, is this fun or what?? You can of course make a simple list, but how fun is this page to look at?

73a49effe7901506056e1aae05d9e755

or this one:

 

bullet journal book ideas

You can do something similar with Movies to Watch, TV shows to binge and more!

#8 – Wish Board

Get crazy with this! No one has to see your vision board. Cut out pictures of your ideal life, and glue them right inside your personal notebook!

Bullet journal dream board

#9 – Habit Tracker

I love the idea of a habit tracker! Once again, my favorite page in all the image searches keeps coming back to this same creative blogger, Christina! You might as well just go follow her for SO much inspiration!  But here’s the habit tracker she shared:

Bullet journal habit tracker

#10 – Quote Page

As a frequent quoter of movies, I LOVE to keep track of my favorite quotes. Looking at this page can give me new inspiration when I’m feeling a lack of motivation, or just make me laugh enough to continue my day!

Bullet journal quote page

#11 – Birthday List

Although Facebook does a pretty good job keeping me in the loop on friends and relative’s birthdays, it is definitely not perfect. If you are the kind of person who loves to send cards, gifts or even just a text for someone’s birthday, having one place to find all of the birthdays you want to track in one spot is a great way to stay on top of it.

I love this one from @bujo.snowberry because it gives you room to add more as neeeded.

 

A post shared by @bujo.snowberry on

#12 – Progress Chart

Visualizing the progress on your goals can be extremely motivating! If you have a goal to lose 15 pounds similar to this one from Boho Berry

Bullet journal weight loss progress chart

You can create something to color in for each pound lost. The same can be done for chapters of a book you want to read, or money you put in a savings account.

#13 – Month Review

I really love this idea of taking stock of your goals and habits at the end of each month. This also really helps make your Bullet Journal a real window into your life.

Many people want to keep a regular journal, but including this monthly review can help you keep a journal of your life, as well as keep you going in the direction you want. Here is a great template from Planning Mindfully.

Bullet journal page spread

I like to use this area in my bullet journal collections to reflect on my monthly goals and see how I did achieving them.

What can I work on? What goals did I meet? How can I improve on these in the coming months?

It helps keep me motivated throughout the entire year and helps me see the progress I have made, which is especially important during those times when I don’t necessarily feel like I am getting anything accomplished.

#14 – Daily Affirmations

To quote Stuart Smalley, “I am good enough, smart enough, and dog gonnit, people like me!” Daily affirmations are extremely motivating for people. I try to do daily affirmations with my kids every night as I’m tucking them in bed.

My friend does it as they leave for school. Honestly, if you tell yourself something enough times, you will really start to believe it!

 

A post shared by Tracy (@selfcarejournalist) on

#15 – Specialty Planning

Are you planning on taking a trip soon? Do you have a big project coming up? Do you need to plan an event? All of these things aren’t necessarily daily, weekly or monthly tasks, they are specific to the event, project, or trip.

Keeping a separate section for these special events or projects can give you a more cohesive idea of how your planning is going for the event. You can transfer various to do items to your daily lists as needed, but you will know if you are completely ready for your event when the time comes if you have it all in one spot!

#16 – Chore Chart

Kids respond great to chore charts! Creating one for yourself can actually be just as motivating. Plus, it’s a great idea to keep track of all of the daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal chores you need to do.

Even if you delegate a lot of the work to your children, you can monitor whether they have finished their tasks in your Bullet Journal so you know for sure that everything in the house is getting taken care of.

 

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

A post shared by Micah (@my_blue_sky_design) on

#17 – What Have You Learned?

You know that old saying? You learn something new every day? Well, it is soooo true. I love to write down the one thing I learned new each day in one specific section of my journal so I can look back and see all of the amazing things I’ve learned!

#18 – Things to Buy

We all have grocery lists, and that is NOT what I’m talking about here. I’m talking about big things that you may want to buy. I like to write them down so when I have a little bit of extra cash I can check out my list and get something on it. Like a new rug, or a new bookshelf, or even something REALLY big like new flooring!

Keeping a list of these items can help you stop thinking about how nice it would be to have a new fridge, since you know it is already on your list. This could also include movies you want to purchase, and other smaller things you also want to keep track of, but not necessarily purchase today.

#19 – One Sentence A Day

Although a bullet journal is a great way to keep a journal of all of the things you are doing and accomplishing, it doesn’t do much for how you are actually feeling each day, or the fun things your kid did that day.

Creating a section where you keep a growing log of just one or two sentences for each day describing how you felt, what was fun, or what your kids were up to, can really turn your bullet journal into a great way to keep an actual journal.

So, those are the pages I’ve used for my own journal. Most people like a monthly spread, but I have one, and I NEVER look at it!  Some other bullet journal ideas that would be AWESOME!!

  • Restaurants to go to
  • Prayer journal
  • Gratitude page- where you can feature a daily or even a weekly gratitude log. Many find that doing daily gratitudes in the morning help them start the day in a good mental space. 
  • Diet rules
  • Things that make you happy! Tracking or discussing happy things is great for your mental health.
  • Period tracker- this can help you track various things in your cycle, you can even add a mood tracker to this and help prepare your future self for possible changes in mood, appetite, and more
  • Sleep tracker- this is great to help you establish a baseline of your sleep health. Are you getting enough sleep? Too much sleep? Do you tend to sleep more during different times of the month or during different events? This can help you plan other things to make sure your body gets the rest that it needs. 
  • Mind mapping- this is a great brin dump page. What you brain dump one day might be completely different from the next. Get whatever is on your mind on paper and see how you can better handle the situations.
  • Future log- this is a great place for you to make a mental note of important events or dates that are coming up. 
  • A vision board or dream board- this is a fun way to display your life goals or dreams all in one place. This is a great thing to help motivate you to reach your dreams and aspirations. Some people like to include a word of the year on this dream board too. 
  • Daily routine checklist- this is the best thing to do when you want a physical checklist of your morning routine or daily activities that you know you need to get done each day
  • Bucket list- here you can share all of the things you’d like to do in your lifetime. You can have a visible collection of the different places, activities, or goals you would like to achieve all in one place. 
  • Skincare routine- if you’re a box checker, you may enjoy being able to check off the different things you do in your skincare routine each day. This can also help you determine which products are helping your skin out and which products aren’t helping you.
  • Dream log- many people like to reflect on their dreams from the night before and look into what they think they mean. This is a great place to track your dreams, share what you think they mean and to look back on over time. 
  • Lesson planner- this is great for teachers of any kind and one of the most useful spreads for homeschool parents. 
  • Distance tracker- this is a fun way to track your steps. You can also track your miles or other personal goals for your healthy lifestyle. 
  • Hydration tracker- for people like me who stink at staying hydrated, this is a great way to remind myself that I need to drink more. 
  • Art page or doodle page- sometimes we just need a few blank pages to doodle on. It’s a great way to stay creative.
  • Vacation list- this can be where you plan out ideas and places you would like to go on vacation to. Then you can incorporate other pages to help you plan out the actual vacation and don’t forget the packing list checklist page. 
  • Personal development- this can be where you track your personal development tasks. Do you have a book on personal development that you are reading? Do you have a course or class you are attending and want to take notes about it? Whatever your needs, this is a great place to keep track of it all.

What other pages would you add?

banner for planner download free

How to Get Started with Bullet Journaling

Ready to get started?  We have you covered.  The single most important thing you will do is pick a notebook!

Here’s one of our favorites that is very economical:

Paperage Dotted Journal Bullet Notebook, Hard Cover, Medium 5.7 x 8 inches, 100 gsm Thick Paper (Blue, Dotted)Get It!

 

The best part?  It comes in any color you could possibly want.

If you want more information on the best bullet journal notebooks around, don’t miss our detailed guide!

blank bullet journalMore Bullet Journal Monthly Spreads

If you’re looking for some bullet journal monthly inspiration, don’t miss the complete collection of monthly bullet journal spreads we’re building month by month!

January Bullet Journal Ideas

February Bullet Journal Spreads

March Bullet Journal Spreads

November Bullet Journal Ideas

December Bullet Journal Ideas

Bullet Journal Tips

I’m not the most artistic person out there, but I love my bullet journals!  There’s many great ways to enhance your bullet journal if you aren’t artistic.

Be sure to check out one of my favorite Etsy shops, Stickerpalooza, for everything you need for your bullet journal, and use ORGANIZEDMOM15 for an exclusive 15% discount! 

Here are some of my favorites:

Stickerpalooza Script Month Name Stickers 

bullet journal script month sticker

Stickerpalooza Month Stickers 

I love these stickers  when I want to get creative with a monthly intro page, it saves me a ton of writing.

bullet journal month sticker

Stickerpalooza Weather 

These are adorable little stickers to track the weather for the month or day.

bullet journal weather sticker

Be sure to use code ORGANIZEDMOM15 for an exclusive 15% discount!

You can also decorate your amazing bullet journal ideas by using washi tape. Washi tape can turn any ordinary page into something exciting alongside the stickers you choose to use. 

When picking a journal to use, I recommend picking one with thicker pages. Thicker pages help prevent the ink from bleeding through the pages. I also like to use journals with blank pages, or ones with dots that I can use to connect and make my own lines and designs with. But you can use any page layout that works best for your needs.

Check out Pinterest for some more fun bullet journal page ideas- it’s a never ending perfect place that’s filled with endless ways to fill your pages. 

Other things to remember when designing your bullet journal: 

  • There is no right way or wrong way to design your bullet journal. 
  • You can start over if you don’t like the layout or page design. 
  • Ditch the pages that you don’t use over time. There’s no point in wasting pages in your journal. 
  • You can change your bullet journal method over time. Nobody is forcing you to track a specific thing any specific way. Try different ways and see what works best for you and your individual needs. 
  • If it feels like you have too much all in one journal, feel free to make multiple ones that are split up into different categories so you can track, log, and organize more efficiently.

Happy bullet journaling!

Share and join us on social media!

7 Printable Meal Plan Charts - The Organized Mom

Wednesday 15th of February 2017

[…] you already use a bullet journal for organizing your week, you’ll love this printable we found on Etsy. This is a fun, […]

sonya

Wednesday 1st of February 2017

hi amy just wondering what type of journal you use and the beautiful purple velvet cover. love your style

Amy

Thursday 2nd of February 2017

It's so pretty, right Sonya? That was a stock photo I found... I can't find it in real life :)

Thursday 8th of September 2016

5

Comments are closed.