We all have them: days, weeks or months that don’t seem to go as planned. Our Bullet Journal has been ignored, our health is no longer a priority and our work is suffering.
While sometimes professional help is needed, other times we can pull ourselves out of it with a bit of effort, or keep ourselves positive as we ride through our feelings.
Nothing is going change without a bit of effort, but these Bullet Journal layouts should help keep you focused as you try and pick yourself up.
Here are some things to try in your Bullet Journal when you’re feeling crappy.
[ux_image id="849"]
A Reset Button For Spring Cleaning
If you’ve been feeling crappy for a week or more, it’s likely your home is not looking its best.
Don’t beat yourself up about it – it happens to the best of us. But, it could also make you feel better and more accomplished if your environment is clean and tidy. Think of it as a spring clean for your brain.
And there is nothing better than ticking off a to-do list – once you get the ball rolling it’s so much easier to continue.
Download our circular habit matrix to keep on top of chores once you've reset!
View this post on Instagram
Where to start…
Look around you and work room-by-room. Write your to-do lists in small chunks.
For example, you might have your bedroom as your first room. Then your tasks might include:
- Sort clothes
- Put clean clothes away
- Make bed
- Clear rubbish
- Tidy desk
- Tidy bedside
- Put shoes away
- Put bags away
- Dust surfaces
- Vacuum floor
Put on your favourite music and get started – The physical movement will help release some endorphins, too. It’s a win-win!
READ MORE: The Ultimate Guide to Dutch Door Bullet Journal Layouts
[ux_image id="850"]
A Bullet Journal spread for your (re-evaluated) goals
One of the first things people like to do in their Bullet Journal is a goals page. Maybe it’s just a list, or it could be a really intricate time-line.
But when you’re feeling crappy, it’s likely you haven’t followed through with those goals – it might be time to re-evaluate and start fresh.
View this post on Instagram
Where to start…
What is your overall goal? Make sure it’s specific and measurable.
Why do you want to achieve these goals? Really take some time to think about this one.
Most importantly, what are the habits you’ll make to achieve these goals?
For example, maybe you want to lose 10 lbs. Your first steps might be:
- drink 2 bottles of water a day
- go for a walk 5 days a week
- eat vegetables at every meal
Either way, writing these down, along with why you want to achieve them, makes this spread a great base to keep coming back to.
[ux_products cat="137"]
[ux_image id="853"]
Wellness tracker for your Bullet Journal
Habit trackers are great when you want to tick off those goal steps you’ve planned above, but have you thought about taking it one step further and using it to help diagnose how you feel?
If set up correctly, you can use wellness trackers as more useful habit trackers. For example, you might start seeing a trend where your energy levels increased the day after you started eating vegetables, and became worse again when you stopped.
This can be the best way to really achieve your goals and know for a fact what makes you feel better. Knowledge is power, after all.
View this post on Instagram
Where to start…
There are a few different ways you can do this. The first is to pick one variable or habit, say eating vegetables, and track your mood against that.
Or, you can get really intricate and track several variables against several wellness measurements.
READ MORE: The Ultimate Guide To Habit Trackers in your Bullet Journal
My favourite method is tracking habits I think affect my wellness in a simple habit tracker. I also make a graph which measures the amount of things I ticked off and compare that with my mood and energy levels.
It’s amazing what you can discover about yourself.
View this post on Instagram
Your Bullet Journal wish list
Goals and progress are a great thing to work towards by themselves, but when you’re not feeling flash, sometimes you need an extra boost to keep you on track.
However, when you are feeling crappy, it can be hard to think of anything you want.
Therefore, having a wish list you can reference for when you want a reward can be a great resource, especially when you’re likely to forget about something cool you’ve seen or thought of because it’s not a necessity.
View this post on Instagram
Where to start…
This is a simple list – spend time making it pretty if you’re that way inclined.
You can make one master list, but I recommend breaking them up into how much they will cost. That way, it’s easy to see how big of a reward they are – you can think about your budget and quickly look down the corresponding list.
For example, a day all to yourself might be a free reward for a good week, but concert tickets might be one of your big rewards for a longer-term goal.
Think outside the square – it doesn’t all have to be fireworks and trips to Disneyland.
Think about what you can tap into your friends and family for. Do you know a photographer or tattoo artist? Ask if they might give you a mini photoshoot or new ink at cost price if you achieve a major milestone. If they’re your friends, they will try and find a way to support you.
[ux_products cat="498"]
[ux_image id="854"]
Get started on project planning in your Bullet Journal
“The difference between a dream and a goal is a deadline.”
You might have been sitting on an idea you’ve been wanting to do for months, maybe years. But it’s only ever going to be an idea unless you do something about it. So take those first steps…
View this post on Instagram
Where to start…
Create a project spread – this might be very similar to your goals spread, or it could be an intricate spider diagram of your business plan.
Make sure you have your to-do lists (again, break them down into bitesized tasks), and think about deadlines or habits you can attach to them.
Have some way of tracking your progress – it might be filling up a sales bar or colouring in a donations bar.
That way, next time you have some time to work on your project, you can flick to your project spread and see the next thing that needs to be done.
[ux_products cat="198"]
[ux_image id="857"]
Mandala / colouring in page / creative Bullet Journal spread
The internet is all about mindfulness nowadays. And while the jury is still out about whether colouring in can be therapeutic, experts agree that performing some kind of creative task is always going to be beneficial for the mind.
This is one of the reasons people love the Bullet Journal. It’s a creative outlet that gives you something useful – no more craft projects gathering dust on your shelf.
View this post on Instagram
Where to start…
You have a few options here, depending on what you want to do.
You can keep it simple and print out a picture you want to colour in and stick it in your Bullet Journal. (Justcolor.net has a great library of free downloadable colouring in pictures for adults.)
Or, you can draw your own mandala or repetitive pattern to colour in. This guide can get you started with mandalas, but you need some of your kid’s maths stationery, such as a compass or protractor.
View this post on Instagram
Alternatively, you can just use your dots or squares as markers and just start colouring in shapes or blocks, or spend time prettying up your normal daily/weekly/monthly spreads.
If you’re not much of an artist, is a scrapbook page can be a great spread to work on. Get some of your favourite photos printed and dedicate a Bullet Journal page to happy memories.
The idea here is just to get creative.
View this post on Instagram
Gratitude list
This is probably self explanatory, but when we’re feeling down, focusing on what we like about our lives can be a positive experience.
It’s worth writing a gratitude list (or make a more creative spread, if that’s your jam).
View this post on Instagram
Where to start…
Another simple list, which can look however you want it to look.
Not only will it help you right in the moment, but you can also reference back to it next time you’re feeling rough. And try to continue adding to it, or writing down something you’re grateful for everyday.
“While it can be hard to avoid self-pity entirely, mentally strong people choose to exchange self-pity for gratitude.”
If you think being consciously grateful is a little airy-fairy and requires too many cheesy feelings, here are 31 benefits of gratitude that might convince you to try it out anyway.
[ux_image id="856"]
Already achieved list
When you’re feeling useless, looking at your goals can be a daunting task. This is when it helps to remember what you’ve already achieved.
“Remember how far you’ve come, not just how far you have to go. You are not where you want to be, but you are also not where you used to be.”
Where to start…
Again, you could do a simple list, but I recommend breaking it up into 5-years, one-year and the last few months.
It can be as small as you made an extra $10 in tips this week, or as big as you quit smoking 3 years ago.
View this post on Instagram
Knowing what you have already achieved can be a great way to make you feel better about your apparent uselessness (it’s not true, by the way. Hopefully when you’ve done this spread, you’ll realise you have already proved you are powerful).
Use it to remind yourself that you are strong and have achieved harder/greater/bigger things already.
You have survived this far, you will pull through this, too.
Sometimes how we feel is out of our control. If you or someone you know is struggling, please seek professional help.
Still not sure if a Bullet Journal is for you? Read about the man who uses a Bullet Journal.
[title text="Follow us for daily Inspiration" link_text="Instagram" link="https://www.instagram.com/journal_junkies/"]
[ux_instagram_feed username="journal_junkies" caption="0"]
[gap]
[title text="Read more:" link_text="Subscribe" link="https://journaljunkies.co.nz/club/"]
[blog_posts style="normal" columns="3" columns__md="1" ids="927,3751,4981" image_height="56.25%"]
[title text="Pin it for later" link_text="Pinterest" link="https://www.pinterest.com/journaljunkienz/"]
[ux_image id="5396"]
