Bullet journal ideas: 40 pages, spreads and trackers

Bullet journal basics in five minutes

You need a notebook (a dotted A5 is the most popular) and a pen. Everything else is optional. The system is built on rapid logging: short notes marked with a symbol.

The four core pages

1. Index. The first two pages. Write the page number and title of each new page so you can find things.
2. Future log. Two pages split into six boxes, one per month, for birthdays and plans further ahead.
3. Monthly log. Dates 1 to 31 down the left with events beside them, and a task list on the facing page.
4. Daily log. Today's date, then your tasks, events and notes as bullets. Start a new one each day.

Bullet journal weekly spread ideas

A weekly spread shows the whole week across two facing pages. Here are layouts you can draw with a ruler.

• 1. Classic eight boxes. Split two pages into eight equal boxes: one per day plus one for notes or the week's to do list.
• 2. Vertical columns. Seven tall columns across both pages, one per day. Good if you plan by time of day.
• 3. Horizontal rows. Monday to Thursday stacked on the left page, Friday to Sunday plus notes on the right.
• 4. Week on one page. Seven thin rows on the left page. The right page is for a tracker, a doodle or a reflection.
• 5. Dutch door. Cut the right page in half lengthwise. The short flap holds the days, and when you lift it, a habit tracker is underneath.
• 6. Top tracker strip. A row of small habit boxes along the top of the spread, days below.
• 7. Minimal list week. Just day names as small headings with bullets under each. Fastest to set up.
• 8. Week plus meals. Day boxes on the left page and a meal plan with a shopping list on the right.

1. Count the dotsCount the dots across and down your two pages and divide by the number of boxes you want.
2. Pencil the gridLightly pencil in the boxes and label each day with the date.
3. Add the extrasAdd a small notes box, a habit strip or a mini calendar in a corner.
4. Ink and decorateGo over the lines with pen, erase the pencil, and add a title for the week.

Bullet journal page ideas for trackers

• 9. Habit tracker. Habits down the left, days 1 to 31 across the top. Fill a square when you do it.
• 10. Mood tracker. Draw a shape with 31 sections, like a flower or a jar of sweets, and color each section with a mood color.
• 11. Sleep tracker. A grid with hours across the top. Shade from bedtime to wake time each night.
• 12. Water tracker. Eight small cups per day in a row. Color one for each glass.
• 13. Year in pixels. A grid of 12 columns (months) and 31 rows (days). Color each square once a day.
• 14. Spending tracker. Date, item, amount and a category letter like F for food. Add up each week.
• 15. Fitness tracker. A row per workout with type, time and a 1 to 5 effort score. See our fitness journal.
• 16. Period and symptom tracker. A small calendar with a dot code for each symptom.
• 17. Screen time tracker. Write your daily phone screen time and color the day green, yellow or red.
• 18. Savings challenge. Draw 52 small boxes, one per week, and color each when you save.

For mood colors and layouts made just for feelings, see our mood journal guide.

Collection page ideas

Collections are pages that hold one kind of list. Add them as you need them and write them in your index.

• 19. Books to read. Draw a stack of book spines and write a title on each.
• 20. Movies to watch. A popcorn box drawing with titles inside.
• 21. Brain dump. A page where any loose thought goes before you sort it.
• 22. Goals for the year. Split into areas like health, money, home, work and fun.
• 23. Birthdays. Twelve small boxes, one per month, with names and dates.
• 24. Packing list. A list you reuse for every trip.
• 25. Gift ideas. One line per person.
• 26. Recipes to try. Name, source and a tick when tried.
• 27. Cleaning schedule. Daily, weekly and monthly jobs in three columns.
• 28. Passwords hint page. Do not write real passwords. Write only which accounts exist, so you remember to update them.
• 29. Gratitude log. One line a day for a month. Our gratitude journal page has more ideas.
• 30. Things that make me happy. Keep adding all year.

Monthly and seasonal bullet journal ideas

• 31. Monthly cover page. The month name in big letters with a theme doodle, like leaves for October.
• 32. Month calendar. A grid of seven columns with the dates, events written in small.
• 33. Memories page. At the end of the month, write the best moments in small boxes or circles.
• 34. Monthly review. What went well, what did not, what to change.
• 35. Seasonal bucket list. Ten things to do this season, like apple picking or a beach day.
• 36. Holiday planner. Gifts, food, cards and dates on one spread.
• 37. Back to school spread. Class times, supplies and goals for the term.
• 38. New year spread. Last year's highlights on the left, this year's hopes on the right.
• 39. Birthday page. A page for your own birthday each year: age, where you are, what you want next.
• 40. Reading challenge. A grid of book prompts, like a book set in another country, to tick off.

A simple bullet journal template to copy

If you want one setup to start with this week, copy this order into a fresh notebook.

1. Pages 1 and 2: Index
2. Page 3: Key (your symbols)
3. Pages 4 and 5: Future log (six months)
4. Pages 6 and 7: This month (calendar and task list)
5. Page 8: Habit tracker for this month
6. Pages 9 and 10: Weekly spread (eight boxes)
7. Pages 11 onward: Daily logs and collections as you need them

Prefer a printed page? Try our printable journal pages or a ready to fill journal template.

Tips for keeping a bullet journal

• Start plain. Add decoration only once the habit sticks. See aesthetic journal ideas when you are ready.
• Set up one week at a time instead of the whole year.
• Migrate on Sunday: move unfinished tasks to the new week or cross them out if they no longer matter.
• Keep trackers to three to five habits. Long trackers get abandoned.
• Leave a few blank pages at the back for collections you think of later.
• Add one line of real journaling each day, not just tasks. Those lines are what you will enjoy reading later.

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