The Easy Way to Manage a Busy Schedule in a Bullet Journal

This DIY planner concept is super functional and all you need is a basic notebook. Start the year off organized!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Here on BCP, we’ve designed a couple different DIY planners that you could download and print. We called them “Life Pages” and they work when standard planners just don’t. Does your life have lots of different components? The original Life Pages might work for you. The Life Pages 2.0 version is another layout that might work for you. Rena Hoberman of Rena’s Nook has more really helpful productivity and organizing tips here on BCP (if you’re overwhelmed, maybe you want to start with a mind dump?). Below is another idea from Rena we loved! That paper flap in the middle of this DIY planner concept is brilliant.

There are certain times of the year and certain stages of life where there seem to be a million pieces that are constantly shifting and changing times. 

Here is a layout for a weekly log that is straightforward and easy to set up.

The supplies you will need:

• A notebook. A classic bullet journal will have a faint dotted grid in the background, but any notebook will do.
• A pen.
• Sticky tabs in a few colors. I found mine on Amazon. They come in different sizes and colors.

We’ll start with a fresh blank page. The first thing you’re going to do is take the right hand page and fold it in half. Now you have a full spread and a folded flap in the middle for extra notes.

We’ll come back to the folded flap soon. For now, we’ll just make six columns and put down the days of the week at the top of each. The last column can be split into two sections to include Shabbos and Sunday. Since I’m using a notebook that has a dot grid, I counted out 8 boxes across for each column.

On the middle flap, choose what you want to include. I included space for a meal plan,

a shopping list,

and a to-do list. You can come with your own ideas to suit your needs.

On the main schedule, use sticky tabs to put down all of the things you need to get done. The best part about using colorful sticky tabs is that you can color code the tabs according to the child or category. Put down the things that need to get done in the morning at the top, and the things that are for later in the day towards the bottom. This schedule is super flexible, because if any appointments or events move around, all you have to do is move the sticky tab to its new location. If your tabs are transparent (mine are), you can layer them on top of each other when you have several things happening at the same time of day.

(Some pens will smudge on the sticky tabs, so try a sharpie or a pencil instead.)

Happy planning!

FOR EXCLUSIVE CONTENT AND A PEEK BEHIND THE SCENES, MAKE SURE TO JOIN OUR WHATSAPP STATUS HERE. JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP AND WE’LL LET YOU KNOW WHEN A NEW POST IS UP!