This idea popped in my head about a month ago and I finally got around to setting up a content planner in a bullet journal. I have Notion and some great templates that I am using, but I was missing the tactical feel of a pen and notebook. So, my plan is to use this content planner together with my notion templates. I have my video setup for you to follow and down below, I am sharing more of my reasoning for including the layouts that I did.
Content Planner Supplies
- Archer and Olive Square notebook (NML10 for 10% off – affiliate link)
- Archer and Oliver Acrylographs in Maroon, Mustard, Dusty Rose, Cocoa, and Gold (NML10 for 10% off – Affiliate link)
- Sakura White Gelly Roll in size 10
- The Pigeon Letters Studio Mono Pens in size 07 and 09
- Scrapbook.com Subway Lowercase alphabet stamp set
- Studio Calico Tucker Alpha set
- Alpha Bet stamp set
- Archer and Olive Journaling Ruler (sold out)
- Archer and Olive Fall 2022 washi set (sold out)
- Marvy corner punch
- Archer and Olive gold handed stationery scissors (NML10 for 10% off – Affiliate link)
Bullet Journal Content Planner Setup
This is my first time using a square notebook and I am so excited. I would love to do a reading journal, but I do not have the capacity for that right now. There are some other priorities in my life right now so maybe one day. But in the meantime, I am setting up this content planner in a bullet journal.
Sticking to my functional but creative bullet journaling, I chose a washi design and based my tab colours on the washi colours. I used the Acrylographs again because I love white gel pen on top of the opaque colour. I also chose to do stamping again. Stamping is great but from a video editing perspective, it’s a bit tedious. But I love it so I do it!
Let’s get into the layouts!
Future Log
I have been starting my bullet journals with a future log since I started doing bullet journal setups. It’s almost become a sort of security blanket – it’s an easy setup that has a basic formula, so it helps with the blank page anxiousness.
Not sure how long this journal will last but I added a full year of calendars. I am starting in September, as I am currently using this journal, and then it will end in August. You can check out previous setups for how I would set up a mid-year future log vs a new year bullet journal.
Goals
Goals are a paralyzing thought for me. As a stay-at-home mom/contractor, I don’t really have any solid indication of how well I am doing. And the only person I am accountable to is myself, really. So, I have been really struggling with setting goals.
I used to use Cultivate What Matters which worked well and I enjoyed, but then they sold to a “questionable” company. Then I tried Makselife and it wasn’t really for me. So, we are giving this a try.
I am allowing myself 5 main goals. The brain dump portion is for working on what I want to accomplish, and then determine my goals from there. I gave each goal its own page and set it up like my project trackers in my bullet journal setups but added a why – why that goal matters. Each goal is then broken into action steps. This is my first time setting this up so I went with my gut and what I want to try, but I may change this up next time I set up a content planner in a bullet journal.
Content Planner Mini Goals
I created this mini goals page. I am not 100% sure if this is going to work for me but the initial idea was to take an action step from one of my main goals and break it down into a mini goal with its own action steps. So, I want to start selling my art. A couple action steps could be setting up a shop, signing up for print on demand, etc. So, in this case, a mini goal would be setting up a shop. Those action steps could be researching Etsy, Shopify, etc., then to build the store front, create product lists, upload images, create descriptions, etc.
In a nutshell, that is my idea for mini goals. Honestly, I’m probably going to need more pages than I made, but I will make more when I need to.
Socials
I wanted to include a socials tracker, but I have mixed feelings about trackers. I’m not great at keeping up with trackers, and then I want the data I’m tracking to be meaningful and lead somewhere.
I am tracking email subscribers, YouTube views, Instagram followers, and Pinterest views. Again, I have mixed emotions about tracker Instagram followers, but I will change the metric when I figure out something better.
I created a circle for subscriber/follow metrics, and squares for views. I will add the milestones above/below the shape, and then colour it in when I reach it
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Content Ideas
The last page is super straightforward – content idea brain dump space. No bullet journal content planner would be complete without one. But, instead of writing down ideas, I will be using sticky notes or post-it notes to capture my ideas. You will see why in my next blog post.
Content Planner in a Bullet Journal – Final Thoughts
I was super anxious to get this setup in time to start in September. Then, when I sat down to fill it in, I was hit with paralysis again. It became super over whelming and my brain just shut down. This is fairly normal for me and goal setting, unfortunately. I ended up scribbling on a piece of paper and then writing my “final” ideas in their right spaces/pages.
Maybe it was a little bit that I didn’t want to mess up the layouts, but also, I put way too much importance on these kinds of things. Then imposter syndrome/self-doubt kicks in and my creativity shuts down. Self-doubt is the biggest hurdle for me, so this kind of process definitely takes a lot of mental and emotional effort.
Let me know if you struggle with goal setting too. I try to set goals every year to get better at it. I am happy to keep you posted if this is something you are working on too!
I hope you enjoyed this setup. If you recreate these layouts, I’d love to see how you are using them. You can tag me on Instagram @natashamillercreates or, if you’re an email subscriber, you can just hit reply on the email, and I will be there.
See you in the next one!
