Hello readers,
Today marks an interesting milestone for me: on an August bank holiday back in 2016 I read a post about bullet journals and found a doorway into a new creative hobby!
If you had told me 7 years ago that I would still be creating and using a bullet journal everyday, I wouldn't have believed you! Who would have thought I'd now be writing my own bullet journal blog, creating daily content for my Instagram and still finding new ways to use a bullet journal all of these years later!
So for this blog, we are going back in time to 20/21 year old Sophie's first ever bullet journal! I still use the Leuchtturm 1917 A5 notebooks, which in my opinion are one of the best. Now times have changed so they have designed their own specific notebooks just for us bullet journal creators!
Click the link to find out more: https://www.leuchtturm1917.co.uk/bullet-journal-edition-2.html
Bullet Journal #1 2016
I used a Leuchtturm 1917 squared A5 notebook for this journal and it only covered one year. This was mainly because I had no clue what I was doing or what I even wanted my journal to be used for. It was what I call my exploration bullet journal, to find out the layouts I liked, which trackers I enjoyed creating and what logs I wanted to use.
Bullet Journal Key Page
I used a key to keep tabs on my tasks and whether I completed them or not. 20 year old Sophie adored a to do list, to be fair I still do but not to the same extent!
Daily Log from August 2016
I used daily logs rather than a two page monthly spread that I use now. I enjoyed doing daily doodles and quotes. I tracked the weather and the temperature, 20 year old Sophie was on a mission to track every bit of her day!
30 Day Affirmation Challenge
I have no idea how I found this challenge but someone called Brian Tracy created the idea, and I jumped on the bandwagon. I created symbols to represent each affirmation. I found celtic and chinese symbols for particular words like Harmony, Acceptance and Release or I created my own.
Colour Index
In the first two of my bullet journals I used a colour index to spot particular sections within my journal. It covered University work/school work (Ex teacher fun times), events or appointments, travel, goals, quotes and doodles. Again I don't do this anymore as I have specific logs for each of these, my journalling has evolved a lot over 7 years.
Future Logs from September to December 2016
I created a double page Future Log, essentially a 4 monthly calendar to track important dates and events occurring over this time. I included a quote for each month, focusing on the future and again I included a highlighter key. 20 year old Sophie loved a highlighter, and I still do but definitely a lot less than in this journal!
Goal log
I was very into setting goals back in 2016, whereas now I focus very much on the present moment and what I can achieve in the day rather than long term monthly goals.
Italy Travel Log 11th June to 25th June 2017
I created a travel log focusing on a train trip my mother and I took across Italy in June 2017. This was just before I turned 21, and we used to live in Italy when I was 18 months to 3 so it has a special place in our hearts. Therefore I had to document this trip in my journal, just like I have done recently with Mallorca.
Quote Board
I can't remember where these quotes came from, but I reckon it may have been from Shout magazine which I enjoyed reading a lot back in 2017. However, my love of inspirational quotes continues all these years later and that won't change it seems!
Negativity List to Overcome
Clearly 21 year old Sophie decided she wanted to overcome some personal struggles and to be fair, this list is actually pretty inspiring!
Mood Tracker August 2017
One of the last trackers in my first ever bullet journal was a mood tracker that I designed myself, using a mandala for inspiration but drawing it myself. I was very into tracking my moods because at this time I didn't have a cyclothymia diagnosis, so keeping tabs on my mood helped me to become more self-aware and notice when I was beginning to feel more manic.
Reflections on Bullet Journal #1
I finished my first ever bullet journal on the 31st August 2017 and I am very proud of that first journal. It covered a whole range of different things, because I was exploring how I could use the journal and what it involved. I have a vivid memory of spending hours drawing out my daily layouts for the following week on a Sunday. Whereas now, I create my logs for the entire year and adapt them each month which is much less time consuming. Not that I don't like spending time on my journal, but 21 year old Sophie was still at University and 27 year old Sophie now has a job and a dog to look after!
I hope you have enjoyed this little look back to my first ever bullet journal! I really find it fun to see how the journal differs to my current one, the fourth bullet journal I have created. I will never get rid of these journals because they are snapshots into really interesting and tough periods of my life. I give you one of my favourite quotes from the Incredibles ICON Edna Mode: I don't look back darling, it distracts from the now. However, saying that I do like to know that I have these little journal time capsules that I can open and read if I want to.
The flexibility of a bullet journal is the main reason I am still creating them 7 years on, but I understand that also terrifies some people and you may prefer pre-designed ones. A bullet journal or any type of journal is a personal choice for what you want to use it for, what you put in it and when you use it but they are a great little creative self-care tool. I have found this hobby has been a constant throughout the ups and downs of life, but also sometimes I haven't done my journal and there are parts of years I haven't documented. This is okay too, at the end of the day your journal is for no one but you! I just happen to enjoy talking about my hobby, in the hope of inspiring someone else to give it a go.
And it is all thanks to this post I found 7 years ago: https://www.oprahdaily.com/life/work-money/a32155559/how-to-start-a-bullet-journal/
See you next week for my September Set Up!
Thank you for reading,
Sophie x
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