Bullet Journal Monthly Layouts - February 2017

Hey guys and welcome back! Hopefully everyone made it through the post-holiday January slump alright. I'm especially excited to share my February Bullet Journal monthly layouts with you guys because it's the first time I get to show off my new minimal monthly spreads.

As you know from my last post, I'm making an effort to be more minimalistic this year in my Bullet Journal. So far my first month of Bullet Journal minimalism been really great! I tweaked a few layouts in January, adjusted some coloring choices here and there, and now I feel really good about my current setup. It's simple, it's easy and it makes me feel all happy inside :)

Let's dive in!

February Bullet Journal Monthly Layouts

First up, the monthly overview. I switched to a calendar grid view back in October and I haven't looked back. It's certainly a lot different looking now, but I love the simplicity.

New this month is my modified level 10 life reflection and some micro-goals for the month. I created some annual goals in January and this will be a great way to keep making progress with them!

Next up are my two trackers. I've been using a landscape tracker up until now so we'll see how the vertical tracker goes.

My budgeting worksheet comes next. It's a lot of grey right now, but when I fill them out the black ink will really stand out and let me see what's actually important: the numbers!

Nothing much has changed here with my gratitude log. Tried and true!

And now for two new spreads! Awhile back I started devising a meal planning layout, but I didn't end up with a lot of room to write. Switching to a grid calendar will hopefully help with that. And while I was at it, I created a workout planner too.

That's all for my February Bullet Journal monthly layouts! I hope you've enjoyed my beautifully bare new look! See you next time.

My Bullet Journal Tools

* This post contains affiliate links. This means that I may receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you purchase something through these links. I promise I'll only ever post something that I know and love! You can see my full disclosure and policy here. Thank you for supporting Beckasaurus!


Leuchtturm1917 Dotted A5 Hardcover Notebook


Staedtler Triplus Fineliner Black 0.3mm


Staedtler Triplus Fineliner Silver Grey 0.3mm


Tombow Dual Brush Pen, N89


Westcott Stainless Steel Ruler with Non Slip Cork Base, 6-Inch

2017: New Year, New Bullet Journal

2016 was a rough one. There have been a lot of challenging things going on in the world, making it hard to stay positive. Despite all the bad, I still found some good in 2016 because it was the year I discovered Bullet Journaling! With a new year stretching out ahead of us, all fresh and new, it's only appropriate that I also move into a brand new 2017 Bullet Journal gifted to me by my very best friend.

So new and pretty!

While I've only been Bullet Journaling for seven months, I do feel that I've gone through quite a journey. From super basic layouts, to highly structured spreads all covered in washi tape, I've made a lot of stylistic changes. I loved how cute my previous spreads were, but I kept finding it harder and harder to just get something onto paper. (You can read a bit more about that here.) I kept delaying creating a collection if I couldn't figure out a good layout or how I'd want to decorate it. The nagging urge to buy more and more washi tape was incessant. Bullet Journaling was rapidly becoming about aesthetics rather than it's usefulness. A change was in order.

So, with my 2017 Bullet Journal comes the latest evolution in my personal Bullet Journaling style: minimalism.

The Plan

I did quite a lot of planning before I put pen to paper in my new Bullet Journal. I can't even begin to guess how many different ideas I gathered from Pinterest and Instagram! In the end I decided to use the same basic "layout" (if you can even call it that) for every collection I add. The name of the collection goes in the top left if it's on the left page, or the top right if it's the right page. Each letter in the collection name is two boxes high, one box wide. That's it. Every collection design for the year; done.

I've been trialling this approach for a few weeks before showing it to you and I already have this amazing sense of freedom. When I come home at night I don't feel like I should be working on my Bullet Journal just for the sake of working on it. I don't stress about my layouts for the next month or for new collections. My toolkit has been reduced down to four items. And best of all, whenever I open my Bullet Journal I feel this great sense of calm. That serenity is exactly what I began this Bullet Journalling experience in pursuit of.

Now let's buckle up for my 2017 Bullet Journal walk-through!

2017 Bullet Journal Walk-Through

Future Log

First up, my super sleek future log.

Retrospection and Goal Setting

A big part of the new year for me is reflection and goal-setting. My next two pages help me do just that. I use a slightly modified Level 10 setup (from Hal Elrod's Miracle Morning) with only 5 categories. I can rate my current progress on each category and on the page opposite, set goals so I can improve.

The two pages after are also part of my yearly goals, but they get a little more specific. I have a reading log page to help me get to my goal of 20 books this year and a finances page to help me pay down my mortgage quicker and save for travel.

Cleaning and KonMari

Next up are a couple essential collections for me. My cleaning schedule and my Kon Mari progress checklist. My Kon Mari checklist has always been pretty simple, but this cleaning schedule is a pretty big departure from my previous layout.

Fitness and Health

Just like probably 99% of the world does in January, I am renewing my focus on health and fitness. I have worked out around five days a week for the last few years, but lately my progress has plateaued. These two spreads will help me track my progress and log any health related information (i.e. prescriptions, check up dates, etc.)

Planning and Lists

The next spreads are basically themed wish-lists. I have a page of places I want to travel to someday, a list of purchases I need to plan and budget for as well as an ongoing list of house projects.

New (Unfinished) Spreads!

Finally, I have two new collections. To continue my trend of minimalism, I want to focus more on minimizing my physical stuff. I have A TON of makeup that I need to pare down, and my wardrobe could definitely stand a little culling as well. These spreads are going to be where I log what I end up with. I hope they'll help me make more conscious decisions about purchases in the future, or even prevent some purchases altogether!

And that's it! Like I said, I kept everything incredibly simple this year. So far I'm the happiest I think I've ever been with my Bullet Journal. Be sure to check back soon to see my new January monthly layouts!

My Bullet Journal Tools

* This post contains affiliate links. This means that I may receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you purchase something through these links. I promise I'll only ever post something that I know and love! You can see my full disclosure and policy here. Thank you for supporting Beckasaurus!


Leuchtturm1917 Dotted A5 Hardcover Notebook


Staedtler Triplus Fineliner Black 0.3mm


Staedtler Triplus Fineliner Silver Grey 0.3mm


Tombow Dual Brush Pen, N89


Westcott Stainless Steel Ruler with Non Slip Cork Base, 6-Inch

My Bullet Journal Cleaning Routine

The holiday season is creeping up, and if your household is anything like mine, that means lots of guests coming and going. With people dropping by so frequently I try to keep my house fairly presentable at any given moment. I'd rather be making drinks before guests arrive than rushing to tidy up before the doorbell rings! Keeping up with chores can be tough though, even on a regular week. Once you throw in holiday preparations and activities, it gets even tougher. To stay on top of the dust and grime even when I'm at my busiest, I created my Bullet Journal cleaning routine.

Starting A Cleaning Habit

First things first, I made daily, short cleaning sessions a habit. One of the biggest assets of a habit is that it removes the in-the-moment decision making. You don't have to choose when and if you'll do something, you just do it. There's no mustering up the self-disciple to conquer a big daunting task. Instead, you can bite off a little piece of the task each day, almost mindlessly.

In order to fall easily into a cleaning habit, I made my cleaning sessions as painless as possible. The best way I could do this was to keep them scheduled, short and focused. I decided when my cleaning session would fit in to my daily routine, and then tried to be as consistent as possible with it.

Knowing when I wanted to clean was only half the battle, though. I wanted to make sure I didn't spend half of the time I was supposed to be cleaning gearing myself up and trying to decide what to clean. I knew I'd quickly grow to hate it if I left which chores I'd tackle up to chance. I found that the best way to protect myself from all wasted time and resentment was to create a cleaning routine!

Making a Routine

To create my cleaning routine, I made a list of all my chores. I organized the chores into four categories: chores done daily, chores done once a week, chores done once a month and chores done once a year. Once I listed out all my chores, I put them all together into a workable routine.

I started by grouping my once-a-year chores into 12 groups, one group for each month. For my once-a-month chores, I only created 3 groups. With the once-a-week chores, I made 6 groups.

Six days a week I do one of the once-a-week chore groups. On the seventh day of the week, if it's one of the first three weeks of the month, I do a once-a-month chore group. If it's the fourth week of the month, I do a once-a-year chore group. It sounds a little complicated, but once you see it all written down it'll make total sense! Here's a look at my final cleaning schedule in my Bullet Journal:

Tracking Your Cleaning

With everything all nicely scheduled out, I can easily fall into my routine. When I start on a new habit, I know that I won't always be perfect. To help myself with this, I also created a chore tracker. It's not anything fancy, just something I can come back to throughout the month. I like to put squares around the days I'm supposed to do each chore to help me easily remember which day is which chore group. Take a look:

Here's my chore tracker from October, if you couldn't tell from my glitter pumpkin washi tape!

Once I got into my cleaning routine, it was incredibly simple to keep my house looking amazing, no matter how busy life got. Now I can take my time when the doorbell rings, knowing that everything looks great! I hope this helps you fall into your own cleaning routine!