Moment:
Monday, January 13th, 2020 at 9:37 AM
(first class of the first day of school)
“Classrooms could cure insomnia, because they are perfectly set up to fall asleep.”
I started my final semester of college this week, which is really exciting, but also slightly unfortunate, because I feel like I’m only now finally figuring out how to do this whole college thing. A huge part of what keeps me on track and organized amidst the crazy schedules and onslaught of assignments is my bullet journal, and since many of you have asked me about the products I use or how I set up my pages, I just thought I’d put all of the answers in one handy-dandy blog post.
So to start off, I use this blank dot grid journal for my bullet journal (linked). It’s larger than the conventional size that most bullet journalists on YouTube or Pinterest use, but it’s the perfect size for me because it’s big enough to accommodate my ever-growing to-do lists (read: brain dump lol) while being compact enough to throw in my backpack or purse (I have mine covered in clear contact paper because I really DO throw it around a lot). In the front, I have an index, promise verse, song of the year, and resolutions for 2020. I’ve written about these in previous posts so I won’t go into too much detail, but they’re linked here and here.
After that, I have my monthly spreads, so I can use them to write down events and major assignments. I am a super visual person, so having it all in one spot really helps me keep track of everything and not have pieces of information floating around in my brain that run away just out of reach when I try to remember them (no, just me? Okay then.)
Another catch-all page I have is my assignment list, which is filled with all of the dates of my exams, quizzes, lab reports, online modules, and essays. I’ve strategically photographed this page only halfway so it looks more aesthetically pleasing and you are not nearly as overwhelmed as I am every time I look at this page. But it’s also nice to (once again) have everything in one place so I don’t have to shuffle through five syllabi every time I want to know if I have something due. FYI, I use these Pilot pens (linked) and these Mildliners (linked) after two of my friends introduced me to them, and now I’m kind of a stationary snob.
Now we get to the nitty gritty: the weekly spread. This is where I write down anything from to-do lists and hour-by-hour scheduling, to quotes and little journaling moments of things that happened that week. Don’t be fooled by how pristine it looks in my journal at first, because over the course of the week these pages really carry the weight of my world on their shoulders. I’ve included a little side-by-side for comparison.
And finally, being a student doesn’t just mean studying!! It’s super important to take time for yourself and just enjoy doing things that don’t pertain to classes, so I have this spread of things I want to read, watch, listen to, and places I want to go locally.
If you have any recommendations for any of these sections, be sure to leave it in the comments for me, and if you found this post helpful, please share it with someone else who might appreciate it as well!
P. S. Here’s a lil bonus spread I made for my study abroad director, Sumana, with some study tips :) also that first picture is in front of the gorgeous view from her living room
