This time last year I started using a planner that I set up myself using a regular bullet journal. I know some people like to do very fancy bullet journals, that in themselves are a work of art. This is not that sort of a journal. It is a very practical one, but I like to draw it out myself because that gives me the flexibility to set it up just the way that I want. I learned this method from Louise Fletcher where she teaches about it inside her membership group, Art Tribe. Last year, I set up my journal pretty much following her layout exactly, but this year I am adapting bits of it to suit myself better. I also picked up some organizing tips from Michelle Lloyd inside her United Art Space group. Michelle runs a group to help artists navigate the business side of art and she encourages you to spend time at the end of each month to review the past month & plan the next, so this year I am including that right inside my bullet journal planner. I am sure that using this planner, and being intentional about setting myself weekly goals, has really helped me to achieve all that I have done this year.

For those who want details, the bullet journal I use is called Essentials Large Black Dot Matrix Notebook & I bought it on Amazon. I like this journal because it has lots of nice thick pages that don't bleed through. The pens I use are highlighter pens for colour & a black Sharpie S-GEL for writing with.

I have sections for Year at a glance, Month at a glance and I use a double page spread for each week to keep organized, with a page for Goals & To Do lists on one side & dates on the other. I have also set up a section for monthly review pages, then there are extra pages at the back where I jot down ideas and make lists etc.