my 2019 bullet journal spreads (& january set up)

new year means new bullet journal (!!)

i’m super excited to get a fresh start on my bullet journal because i was getting quite tired of the themes that i was doing in 2018 so i had a whole bunch of ideas on some changed i wanted to make in 2019. so, i wanted to share my 2019 spreads and the first few january 2019 spreads with you all.

also, before we get started i just want to remind everyone that bullet journalling really is a versatile and unique system to everyone. your bullet journal really doesn’t have to look like the ones in studyblrs and youtube channels, whatever works for you is what works. it takes a lot of trail and error to figure out what you like and don’t like so don’t be afraid to experiment!

the journal that i have this year, as shown in the gif, is a lemome journal i got off amazon. i’ve heard really good things about lemome and i found one for a really good price sooooo i copped! the paper quality is great and so much better than my previous journal. the only things that sUCKS about this journal is the perforations are stupid (ink bleeds through them) and they stress me out.

last year’s bullet journal was cute (i did a different city for each month) but i ended up sacrificing the function of my journal for the looks of it and it was just soooo tiring to be doing so much each week so i really wanted a more minimalistic look for this year’s bullet journal. i was actually scrolling through instagram one day and saw ads for this journal and i reeeeeally liked it and it’s look…..so i took screenshots of it and used it as inspo for this year’s spreads. & here are my spreads for this year!

the font i used for my headings is the montserrat font.

FUNNY STORY. i had a VISION for what the 2019 cover page was going to look like. A VZN. howEVER, i open my new journal and lo and behold, the perforation of the page is whack. you can see in the gif, the small page “2019” is on is stuck to the inside cover flap thingy. it’s not a normal page. so i was like, well, i’m stuck with a whack first page i could rip out, but then for the whole year i would be staring at the ghost of the first page, so i took my scissors and cut the page in half. i’ve always wanted to do a spread on a flap/half-page but i never found myself in the situation until now. plus, a key does not need a whoLE PAGE (considering how small mine is) so it kind of worked out in the end. (i still would have liked to do a full page with “2019” but it’s okaaayyy i guess.)

bUT YES, this is the first page of my bullet journal. i don’t really stick to a key (i didn’t even have one in my last bullet journal because i’m so used to my system) but some things needed to be changed in my system so i redid the key so i could redo some things in my system. and then we have my goals page which i did not fill out in this visual because those are a secret aheh.

i dislike these spreads. they have forever to make and in the end, i use my google calendar or my wall calendar. BUT, i might as well make one to put birthdays and appointments (even though they could easily go on my google calendar). i don’t know, i feel like i can never do 2019 spreads without including a yearly calendar.

i don’t know who came up with this, but i saw amandarachlee do this and i really liked the idea, especially since i SUCK at recapping my months, i would give this a try. it’s such a cute idea and easy and i really look forward to looking back at my year with the polaroids that i take for this spread.

i had a spread in last year’s bullet journal, where i basically planned out each month’s spread and that really helped me last year because it saved me time in thinking of themes to do for the city i was doing during that month. however, since i have kind of strayed away from doing a certain theme each month, this space is probably going to become more of a brainstorming place for me in which colors i want to use each month and so on. i like to kind of plan what i am going to be doing theme wise for each month so having this spread really helps me.

okay so i saw the spacing cheat sheet on amandarachlee’s 2019 spread and honestly…TO BE HONEST, it is probably the bEST thing ever and something i wish i had a lot earlier. so much time is spent counting spaces and i could go a whole year counting each page’s spacing and i could never remember how many squares my pages had horizontally and vertically. the spacing cheat sheet really helps because it easy to just look at the numbered boxes there or half-page guides and saves so much time. my cheat sheet consists of how many squares and dots a page has horizontally and vertically, as well as where the half of each page is and a numbered column and row.

one of my 2019 goals is to read one book a month (GOOD LUCK TO ME HAHAAH) so hopefully the reading list will kind of keep me accountable for that goal but we shall see how it goes. (also, “2019” is supposed to be written in that black box over “reading list” but my white gel pen has not come in yet soooooo)

SECOND SEMESTER OF JUNIOR YEAR. what a time to be alive!!! there are so many dates coming up in the next semester that yes, i do need this calendar in three different places. this overview is really just gonna have tons of dates on them: ap tests, sats, acts, SPRING BREAK, ect ect. i do have a calendar like this already on my wall but i thought having another one in my bullet journal would be nice to have.

the left side of this spread is just a calendar of the 6 months of the semester. i’m probably going to find a way to mark off dates that i end up writing on the right side of this spread with all the lines. i have yet to transfer the dates onto this calendar but once i do i will be drawing in a key for the color coding and probably filling in the space on the bottom with a quote

i decided that i would be splitting my bullet journal up my seasons, so by the end of the year my bullet journal will be winter (january – march), spring (april & may), summer (june – september), fall (october & november), winter (december). this is just easier for my expenses, highlights, and wishlists spread when they are used for several months rather than one. i always forget about these spreads so having them apply to three months rather than one will hopefully help me keep up with them easier.

two of my struggles: spending too much money & not remembering events two months after they happen. i used to do monthly expense tracking and monthly highlights but i honestly just got really lazy so i thought i would just have the spreads apply to the whole entire season of winter. i really am forgetful about the events that happen throughout the year so i hope that by making a space for highlights, i will keep up with it and be rewarded with reminders of beautiful memories in the end of the year.

OKAY SO, this spread really isn’t a *wishlist* it’s a place to write down the things i need to buy for whatever reason so more like a “stuff you need to blow more cash on 😭” list but that’s kind of a handful to write and won’t look that cute on the page so i just used the word “wishlist,” short and simple. but yea this is basically a spread where i can write down any things that i may need to buy for school or life or for my friends. i had this spread once in my 2018 bullet journal and thought it was pretty useful, despite the fact that i used it once and then didn’t use it again, so i thought i would make it apart of my seasonal spreads.

this month i’m going with blue shades (because winter!!), which u can see in the cover and calendar. the cover is kind of plain, i know, so i am still thinking about whether i want to add stuff to the cover, and if i did what i would add, or whether to keep the simple minimalistic look. we shall see i may hate it soon and make changes, who knows! i have yet to fill in my calendar but it has sooo much more space than my 2018 calendars which is great because i always felt bad for not using the monthly calendars that i used my energy to draw. these two spreads are cute and simple and i am super excited to start using them.

this is my first weekly spread in this journal! i basically just titled the spread with the dates the spread is covering, sticking to my blue january theme, and writing the number and day with the tombow dual brush pens. minimalistic, cute, and lot’s of space to write in.

aaaaand that’s my 2019 and january spread! i hope you guys enjoyed this post and maybe got some bullet journal inspo?? good luck in your bullet journalling endeavors!

kaitlin