Google bullet journal setup and you come across many different ways to set up your first bullet journal.

And they seem to come with doodles for the most part too.

Not going to deny that seeing those beautiful journal setups can make some of us feel overwhelmed when the design stuff is not our forte.

Well, here’s the good news for you. All those doodles that you see on other people’s bullet journals aren’t a part of the setup.

You can make it as plain as it can be as long as it fits your purpose.

Beautifying your bullet journal is optional.

So, don’t fret so much about not having a knack for design stuff when the only thing you’re capable of is drawing stick figures.

While it’s true that you can make your bullet journal in any way that you see fit, adding this one collection to your existing setup can have a profound impact on the way you organize your day.

It’s thanks to this collection that I begin to believe I have the time for all the things I want to do, not just work-related stuff.

The basic bullet journal setup

Here’s the amazing part about the result that I got after adding this collection into the mix – I didn’t make changes to any of the setups that I already have.

Yes, I’m still using the same setup that you can find in The Bullet Journal Method book.

If you’re new to bullet journaling, I highly recommend you get the book if you want to learn more about the system in-depth.

But if you need something that you can run with it, here are the things you need to have in your setup.

Calendar page

Think of it as the monthly planner in the conventional planner.

But unlike the conventional planner where the calendar spread makes up two pages, you can achieve the same thing by having one calendar page.

Yes, bullet journaling is all about simplifying things.

And that includes your calendar page.

With this kind of calendar page, you’ll get to see everything all in one place on the same page.

Future log

What if you want to add events and deadlines that take place outside of your calendar month?

It’s not that hard to do in the conventional planner. But it seems nearly impossible to do in the bullet journal since you’re using a blank notebook.

This is where the future log comes in handy.

With future logs, you can add events that take place outside of the calendar month. You can even add the tasks that you plan to do in the future here too.

Once the month comes, you can shift the same tasks to your monthly log.

If you need an overview of the events and deadlines that take place over the next couple of months, this is where you should have a look.

Monthly log

Think of a monthly log like your monthly to-do list. But it works more like giving you a snapshot of the tasks you need to do during that month.

If you want to go into detail on how you plan to tackle the task, it’s best that you create a dedicated section in your journal just for the task.

Daily log

If there’s one place where you can go to town with your journal entry, it will be this one.

You can write all sorts of things in your daily log such as your to-do list for the day, add notes to the tasks, add reminders, and jot down whatever inspiration that you come across.

Do gratitude journaling?

You can do that in your daily log as well.

That’s where I do my gratitude journaling since I don’t have a dedicated section to do gratitude journaling in my journal.

The collection that makes such a huge difference in the way I organize my day

Believe it or not, adding a weekly log to my current setup changes the way I organize my day.

Not only that I get to tick off all the things I plan to do that week. But I also no longer have the belief that I don’t have the time to do fun stuff and other things that I always wanted to do for so long.

What makes having a weekly log such a game-changer is that you get to see a snapshot of all the tasks you want to do in one place.

You have an easier time planning your day now that you know all the things you have to do during that week.

And yes, that includes all the mundane, everyday stuff such as doing laundry.

Just to let you know The Bullet Journal Method book also mentions having a weekly log.

But the reason why it doesn’t make it to the basic setup is that it may not be helpful to most people unless you have so many things planned for the week.

You can do the same using monthly and daily logs!

Well, you’re right. You don’t need to have a weekly log when having a monthly and daily log will suffice.

But the thing is I didn’t get most of the stuff done when I only had monthly and daily logs alone.

For whatever reason, I didn’t find my week to be a productive one despite ticking off every single thing that I set out to do on that day.

It was only when I began adding the weekly log into the mix that I managed to do almost everything on the list.

If you experience the same issue as me even after having a monthly and daily log in place, then having a weekly log may have been the answer you’re looking for.

How to make the weekly log work for you

The way the weekly log works is the same as how you would do in a monthly log.

Just list down all the things you want to do that week and schedule the day when you want to get those tasks done.

Have tasks that require you to do every single week?

List them in your weekly log.

Once the week is over, reflect on all the tasks that you have already completed and didn’t complete.

You don’t have to use a separate symbol when you do reflection in your weekly log. Using the same symbols as you would in any other entry will suffice.

Use ‘x’ to mark the completed tasks and the symbol’ >’ to move the tasks to the next week’s weekly log.

If you’re planning to include a weekly log in your journal, don’t forget to leave a blank page so that you have space to reflect on all tasks on your weekly log.

Can it really be a game-changer for you?

To be honest, I can’t say for sure if it will be a game-changer for you.

The only way to find out is to give it a shot and see how things will turn out for you.

And if it doesn’t turn out as you hope for, omit it from your setup and move on. Find something else that works for you.

If there’s one thing I can guarantee, it will be that.