Sharing a new bullet journal setup 2023! One of my favourite, and most daunting, things to do is setting up a new bullet journal. I am using a B5 bullet journal from Archer and Olive again. For the first half of the year, I will be in the dark green Book Stack journal from their fall release. This journal was gifted to me and I am so excited to be using it. I have chosen a fun colour palette, which I was a little nervous about but LOVE how it all came together. I am also sticking to only a handful of layouts this year, where in the past, I maybe bit off more than I could chew, and then didn’t use them at all.
So, with that in mind (and knowing I’ll be in a new journal later in 2023), I went “minimal” on my layout choices. As always, I have a video that you can follow too, but here I have all the pretty pictures! So, let’s get into it!
Bullet Journal Setup 2023 Supplies
- Archer and Olive B5 Dot Grid Notebook (NML10 for 10% off- affiliate link)
- Archer and Olive Acrylograph Paint Pens in ((NML10 for 10% off – affiliate links)
- Daffodil (from the Bewitched set) – no longer available
- Lime Green (from the Tropical set)
- English Rose (from the Vernal set)
- Shroom (from the Spellbind set)- no longer available
- Pine Green (from the Cool Fall set)
- Art Philosophy watercolour paints
- 117 Charcoal and 114 Stone Grey from Vintage Pastels Collection
- 94 Daylight and 96 Deep Moss from the Woodlands Collection
- 129 Crabapple and 126 Willow Tree from the Terrain Collection
- Sakura Gelly Roll size 08 in white
- Ali Edwards Uppercase Alpha 6×8 Stamp Set
- Ali Edwards + Laura Wonsik Alpha Stamp Set (no longer available)
- Goldenwood Co for Studio Calico 6×8 Hand-Drawn Tags
- The Pigeon Letters Studio Round Brush in size 2 (affiliate link)
- Sierra Martinez for Studio Calico Stamp Set (no longer available)
- Tombow Dual Brush Pen in 277 and 346
- Natasha Miller Letters Calendar Stamp Set
- The Pigeon Letters Studio Mono Drawing Pens in sizes 03, 05, and 08
- Versafine Pigment Ink for Fine Detail in Onyx
The New Bullet Journal Setup Layouts for 2023
For the first half of the year, I added 5 layouts: a Future Log, Content Ideas, Blog/Video Checklist, Projects, and an I Want layout. The functions for some of these layouts are more standard – like the Future Log, and others are specifically tailored for me – the Blog/Video Checklist. Let me share the what, why, and how of my layouts.
My Future Log
This is a typical bullet journal layout. I have all the months for 2023 set out with the initial for the month, a calendar, and then space underneath. This layout captures any future events that I need to remember. For 2023, I have a few trips planned so this is a great place to capture that for an overview of the year. I tend to add bigger events, like trips, and then birthdays, school dates, sports dates, and so on.
Content Ideas
A layout that is more geared for my needs, and one that has seen many different variations, is this Content Ideas layout. It’s basically a space to capture any ideas for content that I have that I can jot down quickly. I am moving a lot of my content creation ideas and rough drafts digitally (I will share once I have an idea of what I’m doing), so this layout might not show up again. But it is nice having a place to capture my thoughts.
Blog/Video Checklist
This layout is completely tailored to me. It’s been 2 years and 3 journals in the making before I decided I like this. I used to have them separate (one for blog and one for video), and they were more Kanban style. It still has a Kanban element to it, but for ease, I am calling it a checklist – because that is what it is. This layout captures every video and blog post as it moves through my to do list. I currently have various videos in various stages so this is a great way to keep track of what still needs to be done.
Projects
This layout was added in my last journal and I really liked having it. It ties to my goal planner (which will be a Makselife Goal Planner), where I can breakdown specific projects and keep track of where they’re at and when they’re due. This is for my personal goals and objectives and I capture the name, due date, priority, and then action steps for each project. I am excited to get to use this again. Basically, it captures 1 project per month which seems far less daunting than thinking about them all at once.
I Want…
In the past, I have put together wish lists in my new bullet journal setups. This is a bit more than that. I intend on using this as more of a manifestation board. I’m just going to write down whatever I want. Put it out in the Universe and see what happens! This is my first time using this kind of layout and I am probably the most excited for this one. I don’t always verbalize my thoughts and dreams in case I feel disappointed if they don’t come true. (We can get more into this but maybe for another time.) So this is obviously a super bleak way of thinking. I’m hoping having this space will help me work to get over that mentality and start getting (working on, remembering, focusing on) what I want.
New Bullet JOurnal Setup Florals
For the last couple of years, most of my setups have had a generic floral theme, focusing more on the colour palette. I decided to go with the floral theme again. By watercolour painting the floral elements, I add a rough line in pen to draw the flowers after they’re painted. It gives it a less polished feel which helps the nerves when being too scared to write on a page. The alpha stamp set I used is great too since it is a rough, hand drawn font so it’s also less polished. Together, the 2 elements work so well together and just make me happy – making me WANT to use the layouts. The colour palette went above and beyond my expectations. I chose these using the Coolors website and fell in love with this combination.
For my tabs, I use Acrylograph paint pens instead of the watercolours since I don’t want my tabs to warp (I colour front and back of the tabs), and I love how opaque the paint pens are. The Sakura Gelly Roll works really well over top of them too..
And as with all of my layouts, I add a colour border. I started with a bright green that wasn’t hitting the mark. I then added a darker green over top and, not only was it a great combination, the two roughly added colours complemented the unpolished look and feel of the stamps and the florals.
Moving Forward into 2023
As I briefly mentioned earlier, I will be using a Makselife Goal Planner in 2023. This goal planner includes weekly layouts and captures any work towards my goals. Given the cost of the planner (I’m in Canada and after shipping, exchange, and duties, it was SUPER spicy), I want to actually commit to it completely. (I say this now but planners like that are too organized for me, LOL). So, I have been thinking about the purpose of my bullet journal for 2023. So far, I have come up with some interesting ideas and layouts, all of which involves more work – except for maybe one idea. But we’ll see. I want to start using the system and see how I can adapt and tailor it for me. Of course, I will keep you posted throughout this new (to me) experiment.
I hope you found this post helpful! I am linking to more new bullet journal setups I have done, for 2022 and mid-year 2022, as well as 2021, and mid-year 2021. If you would like more information on any of these layouts, please don’t hesitate to reach out. If you have a fun layout you think I should try, let me know too! I love learning and understanding how people use their layouts.
Thank you so much for your time today!
