October 2018 Bullet Journal Setup

As the leaves begin to turn, the page must also turn . . . The bullet journal page, that is.

Okay, I acknowledge that that was absolutely terrible, but I just wanted an interesting way to preface my October bujo setup! Unfortunately, you don't get any fun introduction. Here's my October setup anyway.

September 2018 Bullet Journal Setup

Like I mentioned in last month's bullet journal setup, I am currently in my senior year of high school, so as to be expected, I've already been pretty busy (even though we're only a month into the school year). Because of that, I'd like to apologize for my lack of posting. Regardless, I did actually set up my bullet journal for September on time; I just haven't gotten around to taking photos until now. Thus, though I'm a little late to the game, here is my bujo setup for September 2018!

Setup for New Bullet Journal #5 (August 2018)

Hey, it's August! Not only have I set up for the new month, I've also transitioned into a new bullet journal (which also happens to align with my transition into my senior year of high school). Since this is my fifth bullet journal, I've got my system down pretty solid, so setting up this new bujo was fairly simple. Anyway, without any further ado, keep on reading to see my setup for my new bullet journal and for August 2018!

July 2018 Bullet Journal Setup

My laptop has been having issues, so I am finally now able to show you guys my July bullet journal setup. I set up and took the pictures before I left for China in the middle of June, but my laptop couldn’t connect to the internet; consequently, I was unable to post this in a timely manner like I planned. I just got back last week, soI’m still recovering from jet-lag. I know it’s near the end of the month, but hey--better late than never!

June 2018 Bullet Journal Setup

Hey!! I'm on summer break now!! Now, it's time to set up my bullet journal for June. I've felt bad because I've been so inconsistent this school year in terms of posting here (throwback to when I actually posted every week), and I'd like to post more since school has ended. However, that's probably not going to happen considering I'm going to be in China on vacation from June 16th to July 18th. Anyway, regardless of all that, here's my bujo setup for June!

How to Know When It's Time to Change Your Bullet Journal System

I've said this so many times about the bullet journal, but one of my favorite things about the system is that you can do pretty much do whatever you want with the system. Because you make things yourself, you have the freedom to create everything to your own tastes. However, something I've definitely fallen into the trap of (and I'd assume others have, too) is sticking with things in my system just because I feel like have to, and this can lead to a bujo slump. Today, I'll be discussing how to know that it's time to change something up your bullet journal system.

May 2018 Bullet Journal Setup

Now that it's almost May, I am preparing my bullet journal for the coming month. April has been fairly busy, and with AP exams and finals coming up, I know that May is going to be even busier. At least I know that after all of this, I'll be on summer break! Anyway, here is my May 2018 bullet journal setup!

PSA: Stationary vs. Stationery

In today's PSA post, I will be talking about the difference between "stationery" and "stationary" and when each one should be used. These two words are not only confused within the bullet journal/planner/calligraphy communities, but it is also a grammatical error that I see with people in general.

Stationary

Stationary with an A is an adjective used to describe something that's not moving. For example, "The toy car remains stationary when it runs out of battery."

Stationery

Stationery with an E is the thing we love so much--a category of objects often associated with office or school supplies that includes notebooks, notepads, pens, pencils, etc. For example, "I need to get new stationery before the school year starts."

How to Remember Which is Which

I think the difference in meaning between the two is fairly clear, so it's more of a matter of remembering which spelling indicates which definition. Here's one way to remember:

• Stationary with an A is an adjective
• Stationery with an E is something we get excited about (even though it can be expensive)

That's it; I hope this short little guide was helpful for distinguishing between "stationary" and "stationery!"

Are there any other things you want clarified in regards to stationery/bullet journaling/calligraphy? Make sure to leave a comment if you do!

April 2018 Bullet Journal Setup (2 Years of Bullet Journaling!)

Now that it's almost April of 2018, that insinuates two things: 1) I've got my new monthly setup done, and 2) I've been bullet journaling for two years!! If you're interested, this was my first monthly setup ever. A lot of things have changed since then: my calligraphy, a lot of my bullet journal system, and my life itself. So, here is my monthly bullet journal setup for April of 2018!

How to Get Better at Calligraphy

Whoa--I've been doing calligraphy for almost exactly two years now! It's honestly crazy to think that it's already been that long, though I guess two years isn't really that long in the grand scheme of things, but it's especially amazing (and possibly inspiring?) to see how much it's changed--for the better, I'd like to think. There are things I made in the past that I thought were amazing that looking back at them now, I can see that they were simply mediocre or just straight up bad. Through my own experience, I'm going to be giving some suggestions on ways to improve your own calligraphy and hand-lettering. Read on!

5 Tips for Bullet Journal Beginners

I've been using a bullet journal for almost two years, and in that time, I've really learned a lot about the system. I've gone through about three and a half notebooks, and my bujo itself has changed, along with my mindset about it. Here, I'm going to be giving five tips specifically for bullet journal beginners, but they also apply to anyone in general who has a bullet journal.

Make sure to also check out this post I published last year with 10 more tips about bullet journaling!

Applying Bullet Journaling to Creative Hobbies: How to Set Up a Song Journal

I don't know how applicable this will be to you, but this is something that I'm personally quite passionate about. Along with calligraphy, my other "main" creative hobby is music making - especially songwriting. Ever since I started writing original music and getting more serious about music, I've kept a song journal. In it, I primarily have stuff about my own original songs, but I also use it as a resource for music-related things in general.

My first song journal, which I started a little over three years ago, was honestly a bit of a mess. However, because of my knowledge of the bullet journal system, I was able to apply parts of bullet journaling to the setup of my second one. In this post, I'm going to show you how to apply bujo techniques to your songwriting notebook if you're also a songwriter (specifically a singer-songwriter), but I'm also going to show in general how the bullet journal system can be adapted to not just your planner, but to other notebooks for creative hobbies and such--or really anything else that you need organization for. Read on!

March 2018 Bullet Journal Setup

We have less than a week left in February; that means that it's time for my March bullet journal setup! I actually did it at a reasonable time instead of leaving my entire setup to be done at the very end of the month, which is what I usually end up doing lol. Anyway, there isn't much else to say; here is my bullet journal setup for March 2018!

PSA: Planner vs. Bullet Journal vs. Normal Journaling

Something I see that confuses both people who do and people who don't is the difference between a planner, a bullet journal, and just a normal journal. A little egotistically, I consider myself to be somewhat of an expert on all three, so in today's installment of my "PSA" series, I'll be explaining each one of these words and how they relate to each other.

February 2018 Bullet Journal Setup

Now that it's almost the end of the month, it's time for next month's bullet journal setup! I tend to procrastinate my monthly setups till the last two or so days prior to the new month, but this month, I had the opportunity to guest post on the Sakura of America Instagram page about bullet journaling!!! This is especially exciting for me because Sakura Gelly Rolls and the brand as a whole are really what got me into stationery and initially led me to calligraphy (and later to the bullet journal system). Anyway, this is relevant because it means I had to actually set up for February at a reasonable time. So, here is my February 2018 bullet journal setup!

Working Through a Bullet Journal Slump

Hey, everyone! This topic may be a little sad, but today I'm going to be talking about working through a bullet journal slump (as you've  garnered already from the post title). I feel like probably almost every avid bullet journalist goes through some period--or multiple periods--of time where they just really don't enjoy bullet journaling anymore and don't feel like doing it. I'm going to be talking about my own experiences and what to do if you're in a bujo slump, and I hope I can also help out any of you guys out there who are in one right now.

PSA: Embossing vs. Debossing

I started a series last year (it feels weird to say that . . .) called "PSA" where I would explain common misconceptions about bullet journaling, calligraphy, or just stationery in general. Today's installment is about the difference between embossing and debossing. These are both embellishing techniques and are related in a way, but they're the opposite of each other.