Monthly Update - September 2020

           This would be the first month I try my new set up for my bullet journal. But first, let us look in on last month. The power sheet calendar had a few of my finished goals and ones that I didn't know I would finish in red.

Also, my tracker sheets in the power sheets and my journal were semi-complete too. I did a lot of work this month especially at the end of the month.

          The next thing I did was look at the goals I had in my power sheets combined with my power sheets calendar last month so that I could do the Month in Review page in my journal.

It was interesting how I was really enjoying answering the questions I put for myself as opposed to the ones in the power sheets, which are standard and for everyone. The purple pen I used for the title actually bled through to the back so I glued this page to the one below it to cover the bleeding.

          Next, I worked on the cover page for September. I decided to finally try using watercolor in my journal which is supposed to be watercolor friendly...It was and it wasn't. The paper did crinkle but once it dried and I put a book on top of it and it flattened out a lot then I glued it to the next page and it was fine. So next time I will probably use this method.

  

Next, I added some stickers and just wrote in September 2020. I like simple things I guess.

          The next page after the cover page was the calendar. It was easy to put together thanks to my doing all the planning and counting previously last month. I like how it turned out.

I added my dates and all my bills and I was set. If I need to add anything else after that I can just add it in.

          Monthly goals came next and I decided to just divide them into three sections which correspond to my three main goals. and add in my mini-goals.

          This page gave birth to my tracker page which was divided into pretty much the same thing plus a few extra tasks that I do daily and want to track. I also put in my weekly and monthly trackers on the same page. And of course some stickers to pretty up the empty spaces.

          Finally, I added my "Blog Ideas and Books Read" page. This page is a staple of my monthly setup and the easiest to deal with...unless I didn't have ideas for my blog...then it is hard.

Thoughts on my journal (Part 1)

          I'm sure you all know by now how much I like the Power-Sheets Journal and how it makes me think, but now that I have tried it for 7 months the verdict is in. While I love the current journal and liked working in it but I've also come to see its limitations for me. Some of the questions posed in the summaries of each month and a few of the questions in the 3 month check in don't work for me. I've been filling them in mainly because I hate leaving them empty. I've come to realize that the "Tending Sheet" is basically a big tracker (Daily, Weekly and Monthly), and I've got a perfectly good one in my journal. I also have come to hate the fact that I have two journals. I prefer just using one. Yep, I know in the beginning of the year I wanted many but now I realized that is not the kind of person I am. So starting next month I'm going to try my own system. I'm going to take what I liked from the Power-Sheets and add my own spin on it in my journal. 

I've counted boxes and this helps me know how to size my two page calendar.

This is what my monthly calendar will look like. I've counted boxes and know exactly where the lines should go. Our week starts on a Sunday so that is how I'm going to start my calendar.

This page is where I will break down my main goals into small mini steps and also prioritize my goals.

This is my "Tending Sheet" AKA Tracker page.

This is my month in review page at the end of the month. I love it in the Power Sheets, but I hate the questions on it so I changed that.

I'm keeping the "Ideas for Blog and Books Read" page, and next I'm going to think about how to structure my 3 month check in pages and the work that needs to be done up front each year... The second part to this might not come next week but it will come :-)

Journal Update.

    If you remember in a previous post I told you about my journey with journalling and keeping a bullet journal. And how I planned on doing things this year. I also talked about my Cultivate What Matters Powersheets and how I planned on using them. Well now I've been using these 4 notebooks for 3 months now and I'm ready to give you a new update on them.

1. The Four Notebook System.

I am no longer using 4 notebooks. That system just was not working for me. I no longer use the notebook reserved for the study programs. It was not something I looked at because due to first getting sick in January and February, then the Corona Virus situation that escalated big time in March, those programs are on hold or canceled and now I just do as I can. The second notebook that I got rid of was the notebook that I was using to add my weekly and monthly tasks too. I kept forgetting to look at it and things started to slip past me. It was a total mess. So now I only use my daily journal which also has my daily tasks in it. And my Powersheets which have the month in view of my tasks and any future tasks get added to it.

2. Daily Journal

    The daily journal which I use both as a bullet journal now for my daily tasks and also as a way to keep record of my day, is still the one I got from Ferris Wheel and which I have reviewed here. I'm still using the one which looks like the Traveller's notebook. Although the notebook itself is of good quality I have to admit I'm not a Traveller's Notebook type of person. I won't be getting that size again.

    The first thing I did this month was figure out the kind of colors I wanted to use so I picked out some stickers and a washi tape that I will be using through out the month of April. You can see both below.

    I also decided that my tracker for last month was perfect so I will be keeping that as well as my Blog idea page, however, I will be adding a section on Books Read on the Blog Idea Page.

March 2020 Blog Idea Page and the Tracker

    This is what my cover page looks like for April. I postcard that I liked on one side and some stickers and washi tape on the other with April 2020 written down. I also added a tab sticker which has a tiny calendar on it but it is not shown in this picture.

April 2020

This is what my Tracker, Blog Idea and Books Read pages look like.

April 1, 2020 Daily Page

Finally this is what my daily pages look like. The date on top, tasks underneath, and then my daily activities that I want to write about.

3. PowerSheets

    One of the main things I love about Powersheets is that every 3 months you get a few pages that make you look at the previous three months and assess where you are at with respect to your goals. This is the time to change your mind or adjust things where they need adjusting.

    This is what I took the time to do during a lull at work at the beginning of April. I looked at my goals, re-evaluated myself and what I can realistically do. My goals stayed the same but they are a little more realistic now.

    These previous pages were all the work I put into re-assessing myself and my goals and I really enjoyed working on them. Next is what needed to be focused on in April and how to work on them.

April Monthly Task list

April's Monthly, Weekly, and Daily Tending list.

For now this is my journalling setup, whether it will be streamlined more in the coming months is yet to be seen. 

Ferris Wheel Notebooks

          So a few months back I backed a Kickstarter Campaign for Ferris Wheel Press that was going to make special notebooks. I decided to get one of each size to try out because I had never tried these sizes before on a journal. They arrived a few weeks ago but I decided that I was going to keep them to start at the new year. However, I decided to give you a quick look at them and talk about them a bit. 

          As I previously said, there are two sizes to choose from and three colors. These are the ones I chose. They also come in Coral Soda and Pebble Grey.

          I'm going to start with the notebook that looks like the Traveler's Notebook. This one is called the Nothing Left Notebook. This notebook is geared towards the task oriented journaler. The one who likes to make lists, to-do lists. The notebook has an ultra-soft, cruelty free vegan leather cover, 176 acid free dot grid pages, fountain pen and brush marker friendly, the paper is 100gsm, and it is sized at 215mm x 105mm. 

It has an elastic closer.

A place to write your name or any details you want.

White paper and a yellow bookmark. It also lays down flat which is something that is essential for most journalers.

Next up is the Always Right Notebook. This one is aimed at the creative journaler. The one that likes to sketch, paint or add photo memories into their journal. 

The notebook is square, which is kind of unique for journals. It has the same vegan leather cover that the Nothing Left notebook has.

The same place to add any details you want about yourself.

The same 176 acid free paper with dot grid. The same weight, at 100gsm, which makes it fountain pen and brushmarker friendly. I've also seen people use watercolors on it but I would advise caution since the paper is only 100gsm and too much water can warp the paper.

There is also this cute little doodle that is different in every page.

And of course the bookmark.

          I love the feel and texture of the paper and the journal that I bought two more of the Always Right one. I will wait to order more of the Nothing Left one until I've tried it as I usually need a lot of space in my journal for my writing and pictures.

          You can get the Always Right Notebook Here for 26 USD and the Nothing Left Notebook Here for 26 USD. They also have accessories for the notebooks and pretty pens and inks so make sure you check out their website Here.