Documenting my Bullet Journal Habits

How are my habits evolving? | 17.02.tue

I like to document my bullet journal habit, so here it goes. I’m going to take photos from my bullet journal and share them here.

I think my bullet journal way of thinking started when I came to the UK. Before that, I used notebooks, but I didn’t really know how to use them well. I came to the UK in November 2021. Today is 26 February 2026. Approximately 4 years and 3 months have passed. I want to capture that, write it down, and notice it.

Even now, I’m still exploring. And I’m okay with that.

I keep reminding myself:

it’s fine if my bullet journal isn’t perfect. It doesn’t have to be a “perfect diary” that neatly holds my thoughts, habits, ideas, to-dos, and even my irritations. It just needs to help me.

I’m learning to accept that it won’t come together in one go. This is a process. It’s a journey. I’m also documenting this so I can look back and say, “Oh, this is how I did it back then,” and see how it slowly changed over time.

My journal is evolving because I’m learning from different places — YouTube videos, Instagram, and different techniques I read about. But I’m also learning something important:

not every method will work for me.

And that’s okay. What works for me usually comes from trial and error. I try things, I keep what helps, and I drop what doesn’t.

There’s no final finish line here. My goal is simple:

my bullet journal should help me function.

Building a Habit Tracker

Fig. 1: How to track activities on BuJo?

In June 2024, I saw a habit tracker template online. I liked it, so I tried to copy it into my bullet journal. I thought I would follow it properly. But it didn’t happen. I still have the page (and the photo, Fig. 1), but the habits didn’t get tracked as I'd imagined. When I ask myself why, I honestly don’t fully know.

One thing I do understand about myself is this: I don’t like going back to previous pages. I don’t like flipping back and checking old trackers again and again.

And when I see that a habit isn’t happening, I get frustrated quickly.

I want to skip the page. I don’t want to look at it. It feels like proof that I “failed”, even though that’s not really true.

I’m still learning how to overcome that feeling.

But I did take one useful step: I keep coming back. Even if I don’t use the tracker perfectly, I return to the journal. I try again.

And I tell myself: okay, maybe this template is not working — so I can explore something else.

Sometimes I worry that I’ll fall into a rabbit hole of trying new templates and techniques. But I’m starting to see it differently. Maybe it’s not a rabbit hole.

Maybe it’s a cycle. Or even a spiral.

Photo by Mitchell Luo on Unsplash

I experiment. I learn something. I adjust. I try again.

And over time, my body and mind tell me what actually works for me. That part is interesting. That is what I’m learning.

What these pages show (January–February 2026)

Fig. 2: Vision 2026 + Habit Tracker (January)

I started following my bullet journal more properly when I stopped trying to copy every template and technique. Before, I would see a layout online and think, “Yes, this is the one.” Then I would try to apply it to my life straight away. But it didn’t always work.

Now I try to choose one simple thing and keep it only if it feels right for me. I think I choose layouts using my visual sense. If a page looks calm and clear, I feel like I can use it. I like:

• straight lines
• dotted paper
• not many colours
• everything in one place (not spread across lots of pages)

So here is what I’m doing now.

Every month, I write the dates in a straight line, add the day (just one letter), and then I track habits in one section. I also write small notes about what happened. It feels simple. It feels doable.

I do have a monthly review system. My weekly review system still needs work, but these pages show what I’m trying.

Also, every month I like to decorate. For February, I decorated the cover page like a Valentine’s Day card, with hearts. I need creativity. I need to sketch.

So I’m thinking: maybe my weekly review can include art too.

My idea is to decorate my week while I review it. Maybe half a page. I can draw what I thought the week would look like, and then draw again based on how it actually felt.

I’m starting to tell myself this: my body is giving me signals. If I listen properly, it tells me what I need — rest, structure, colour, simplicity, or space.

Maybe that is what being mindful means for me:

listening to my body and noticing what works.

Fig.2: “Vision 2026 + Habit Tracker (January)”

This spread has two parts:

• On the left, there is a January habit tracker with dates and small marks. There’s also a line graph showing a habit changing over the month.
• On the right, the big title says “VISION 2026”. Under it, there are two boxes:
• “Want to strengthen” (a list of things you want to build)
• “4 non-negotiables” (the things you want to do no matter what) At the bottom left, there is a quote: “We are not our thoughts & feelings.”

Fig. 3: February 2026: one page for tracking + one page for memories | Fig. 4: February cover page (Valentine theme) | Fig. 5: February timeline + action plan

Fig. 3: “February 2026: one page for tracking + one page for memories”

On the left page, set up February 2026 with a simple monthly layout:

• a column for dates
• small habit marks
• and a sleep tracker section (with dots/lines to show sleep patterns)

On the right page, “Keep building” and “Memorable moments”. It’s a list-style page where you write the month's key highlights.

Fig. 4: “February cover page (Valentine theme)”

This is a decorated title page: “February”, with gold and pink hearts around it. It feels warm, simple, and celebratory.

Fig. 5: “February timeline + action plan”

On the left page, “February timeline”. It’s a clean list of dates with short notes — like a quick “what happened when” overview.

On the right page, “Action plan”, with an intention for the month at the top.

A future log: planning without pressure

Fig.6: future log/yearly plan

I’m also trying to make a yearly plan, and this is my attempt. This page is my “future log”. I realised something: when I write the days myself, it feels better. It feels more real. It feels like my plan, not someone else’s template.

But I can also see the gap: I’m writing the days, but I’m not really writing what I want to do with those days in the future. Still, this is a start. It’s me reflecting on the year and planning ahead.

It’s coming to me slowly.

I keep asking myself why this isn’t a normal habit for me — why I don’t often look ahead and think about the coming months. I think the honest answer is:

I’m often overwhelmed and stuck in my head. I tell myself there is no time to plan. I avoid it.

But writing on Medium and reflecting on my bullet journal habits are ways to come back to it. It slows me down. It helps me notice patterns.

Another thing that has stopped me is that I carry too many diaries. It becomes messy. I don’t know where to write things. Then I avoid all of them.

So I’m learning something practical too: it would be better to keep one, or two, or three at most. I’m still figuring out what that setup should be for me.

Fig.6: a “future log” / yearly plan:

• Left page: small monthly calendars for January, February, and March. Next to January, there’s a short list under a heading like “Write down most imp dates only” (a few key dates/notes). February also has a small note (looks like one short item). March is set up but mostly empty.
• Right page: space for later months. May and June written with the days of the week (M T W T F S S).

Let’s share our bullet journal photos with each other. A photo can say a lot, and this is what I’m doing right now. I’ll post more soon.