I have hit a point in my day-to-day routine where I realize that my routine is not working for me anymore. In the last 14 months or so (while still living in a world battling COVID-19) I have gotten used to a new day-to-day routine from staying home more. Now that we are in the re-opening stages of “getting back to normal” after COVID rattled our lives for so long, I thought it would be useful to turn to my bullet journal to re-establish a morning routine that helps plan days with thoughtful reflection.
Following the chapter of July in my bullet journal, I have intentionally set it up as a morning routine. I am hoping it will help me to have more reflection time in the morning and allow better day planning that is consistent with my lifestyle values. It is also to encourage the act of slowing down and taking time in the morning to reflect on whatever is going on in my mind. I am a strong believer in that if we write down our intentions/goals, we are more likely to follow through with them. The way that I have set this one up may not work for everyone, but I hope you may find inspiration if you are looking for a way to set up your days with what you want to be doing.
If you are new to bullet journaling, I have a post all about the origins of the Bullet Journal method you can check out: The Bullet Journal Method to Increase Productivity, Mindfulness, and Intention.
My setup
Month at a Glance & Habit Tracker
I started the month off with doing a full calendar of July as I find it helpful to have a glimpse of the whole month. Next, I added the Habit Tracker for habits that I want to do such as tracking how many cups of water I drink in a day, if I exercised, read, got outside etc. I put the Habit Tracker near the beginning to have it as a reminder of the things that I want to make sure I fit in during the day; it’s helpful to have the habits I want to do in mind when I plan my daily routine, which I’ll describe in a moment.
Self-Care/Self-Soothe
Next to the Habit Tracker page, I added a Self-Care/Self/Soothe page, which I have used in other months as well. I like having a page dedicated to self-care as it is a way for me to track whether I am doing something each day that is either part of taking care of myself in fundamental ways (Self-care), or just taking time for myself with things I enjoy (Self-soothe). I leave a line for each day to then write one self-care or self-soothe activity I did. Again, I purposefully made this page before my day spreads so I have self-care in mind to incorporate into my daily routine plan.
Gratitude & Keeping Track of Thoughts/Ideas
I have added a Gratitude and a Random Thoughts page as I find these are useful themes for reflecting on what you are grateful for in the morning – or anytime of day, that can help set the tone of your day or your mood. And it’s just a really good practice to do on a regular basis.
The Random Thoughts page is similar to what other bullet journalists may call a “Brain Dump page” where it’s dedicated to jotting anything down that is on your mind. For me, I thought it would also be a good page to jot down certain dreams I’ve had since I’ve been having some interesting dreams lately that would be fun to look back on or track any patterns.
Daily Spreads for Reflection & Planning
My Daily Spreads for the month of July I decided to split the page up for each day so that the top half is a section to reflect in the morning – titled: Morning Reflection. This could easily be used as an evening practice if you tend to leave more room in the evening for reflecting. On the bottom half of the page, I create my Plan for the Day. My intention around setting up the page in this format is so that I give myself time to reflect on the day before or how I am feeling in that moment, and then plan for how I want today to look. We are the only one’s that can decide how we want to approach our days and if the day before was awful, or did not feel purposeful, with the practice of reflection and intentional planning we can prepare for what we do want to do or at least try and do what we would like to do. Remember, everyday is always different than the last.
Make the Bullet Journal Work For You
I have said this in my previous bullet journal blog post that one of the benefits of using a bullet journal is that you can make it any way you want for your needs. This morning routine layout is a set-up that I hope allows me to take more time in the morning to reflect and plan, and to process any emotions that are present or were left over from the day or night before. When we can slow down, be mindful, and set our own intentions for the day, that is living life in line with your values and setting up the lifestyle you want to have.
Below is a link to my YouTube video that demonstrates how I set up my morning routine pages.
