Lastly, don't forget to fill your journal with art! Draw and doodle all over it! If you're stuck for ideas, look on Pinterest! You can find lots of doodling ideas there! Banners, corners, icons ...... but don't limit yourself to the "Standard" journal graphics -- think outside the box. Look around. What's around you? Are you sitting in a chair, looking out a window into your back yard? Draw your bird feeder. A pretty tree. The neighbor's cat. Whatever you see, whatever's around you. And of course, doodle about your hopes, goals and dreams. Your "Why" should be a central focus of your book!
Looking for more ideas? Check out my Planner & Journal board on Pinterest for even more ideas!
Perfect for entrepreneurs, dreamers and other creatives that want to live a more organized, motivated and creative life, planners can organize your dreams, goals, lists, notes, brainstorming and more, all in one place! They can even help you develop your writing, drawing, and other hobbies -- just designate a space for it in your book and work a little towards your goals each day!
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First off you'll need a journal. You can make your own or purchase a ready made one. You have lots of options either way!
If you plan to make your own, and your budget allows, pick up an inexpensive binding machine. It will save you a fortune down the road if you plan to make a bunch of planners, and allow you the opportunity to completely customize your journals! You can find my full tutorial on how to create spiral bound journals here. Or use and decorate a binder that you can easily remove or add pages to, like a ringed notebook or a discbound planner.
Disclaimer: Please note that some of the links in this post are affiliate links. There is no additional cost to you, but The Scrap Room will earn a small commission should you choose to purchase through those links. Thank you for helping support our business!
Are you ready to get into the world of planning? If so, this is a great place to start! Below you'll find tips and tricks for all levels of planners and journalers, so whether you're just beginning your journey or if you've been at it a while, keep reading!
Some of the most helpful accessories you can buy to kick-start your planner are a set of stickers, stencils or stamps that you can use, over and over, to help you quickly create layouts. You don't need anything fancy for this, and your certainly don't need to spend a fortune!
Something that has some banners, journaling boxes/mats, and flourishes is always fun! I like digital stickers you can print out onto adhesive backed paper at home, or stencils. They are both quick, easy, and not messy. You can buy a basic set of journaling stencils for under $20 that will last you for years to come. These would also be perfect if you're putting together a planner gift for someone who's new to the hobby -- A journal, a few nice pens, a colorful marker set, and some stencils...
I have a whole section in my shop dedicated to printable stickers. You can even find a tutorial on my site that will show you how to cut them out like sticker sheets you'd buy at a craft store, using your home printer and compatible electronic cutting machine.
Remember to color code... EVERYTHING. You'll be so glad you did! This attention to detail will help you find things in a flash and allow you to thumb through your pages and quickly key in on specific information. Highlighting, marking, writing, dividing -- you can use colors in so many different ways!
You'll probably want to invest in a set of highlighters. This is my favorite set -- they are by Sharpie and won't smear most ink. This is a quick and easy color coding option, especially when you're in a hurry. They'll allow you to write in one color (like your favorite black pen for example) and still differentiate between sections by highlighting your text in different colors. And like I said above, a set of pens is almost a must! This is my favorite set that I use daily.
Washi tape can be a great way to decorate and organize your book. You can use it for everything! Creating borders and flagging important notes or data. Try folding some over the edge of the paper to mark an important page!
I use my planner every morning and especially find the "daily" layouts useful. They help me gather my thoughts and keep me focused on the most important tasks at hand throughout the day. I spend a little time during my morning routine, planning out my day and then refer back to my journal throughout the day. I usually spend a little time on Friday mornings or Sunday evenings working on my "weekly" layouts, to help prepare myself for the week ahead.
One of the most important things that I like to incorporate into my daily designs is a "quote of the day". Usually I pull these from books and articles I read, or inspiring people that I follow online. If I'm in a rush, Goodreads.com or Brainyquote.com are great sources for inspirational quotes!
Another way to keep your journal organized is to number your pages and note them all down in an index. If you are looking for section, you can flip here to easily find where to look for it.
If you're going to be flipping to a page a lot, add a little Post it tab to the page so you can jump right to it! Post it tabs work great for highlighting all sorts of important bits in your planner -- pages AND sections or notes on pages!
Planner are great for tracking all kinds of things. Are you a movie buff with a huge list of films to see? Write them in your planner! Books to read? Places to travel? Things to do? Keep them all nice an organized in your planner!
Sticky notes are also super helpful when it comes to bullet journaling. They come in so many different sizes so there's always a perfect option, no matter what you need it for. My number one favorite it the Post-It brand tabs, and that tabs that have plenty of lined space for writing notes down. You can stick them in anywhere you have the need for a little extra space, and they are so easy to flip to! I also keep plenty of the standard 3" square pads around. Lined, and unlined.
You'll find some free printables throughout my site to add to your handmade journal. I also offer many sets in my shop- they'll get you journaling (and more organized!) in no time. You can download them instantly and start using them right away!
My most popular series is my Beginner's Doodle Planner. It's an instant download printable planner series filled with spaces for you to organize and track things in your life, with doodles you can color in. The main volumes contain "every day" doodles, but I also offer several Special Edition sets that can all be mix-and-matched together! You can read more about it here!
For something with a little more freedom, try a graph paper or dot grid design. They'll help you draw boxes and lines quickly and more accurately. I offer a 10 design instant download printable set in my shop here.
I'm so obsessed with planners, that I put together a whole page just about choosing the right planner, and getting it all set up for YOU, check it out here.
Getting started is easy! I like to make a list (either mental or on paper is fine!) of all the categories I want to incorporate in my planner.
Monthly Planners, Weekly Planners, Daily Schedules, Trackers, Goal Setting Pages, Bucketlist, Birthdays in the month of ____, financial planning pages -- these are just some of the topics that I use regularly. Then just add in some dividers to separate the sections!
I personally prefer to use a ringged notebook or disc bound planner, so I can adjust and add pages easily. I use my Cannon Pixma Printer that I got on Amazon, to print out digital layouts, and I draw the rest by hand.
You can track and organize whatever you want in your journal, but here are a few things that I always like to include in mine.
