Bullet journals are different for everyone.
That flexibility is the key to why they're so popular!
My own preference: Functional, simple daily and weekly layouts combined with elaborate monthly collections. That way, I save time on my daily planning but can still have fun.
With that in mind, I change up those monthly collection pages to fit with a "theme" or "aesthetic" - mostly inspired by the seasons or any of my current obsessions.
April here in Korea means cherry blossom season! For a couple of weeks, there are cherry trees in full bloom and events everywhere.
Of course, I couldn't NOT center my April bullet journal spreads around cherry blossoms.
Here's the result: A cute but simple collection of pages and ideas.
I hope you enjoy the printables I made to go along with my own BuJo month. Read on to grab the free coloring page, too~
This post contains affiliate links which means that if you shop through one of the product links, I may receive a small commission. None of the products are sponsored. You can check out my full disclaimer here.
Before April started, I prepared my printable files...
I like to use them for myself, too, after all. It's so much easier to just print a habit tracker or similar (complicated) layout than actually measuring and drawing the tracker.
For some reason, despite working as an illustrator, I always mess up when drawing straight lines using rulers... so prints are safer!
Planner Setup of a Freelance Illustrator
Productivity in my Bullet Journal
Creative & Life Balance Goals for 2018
Bullet Journal Doodles: Florals for Spring
Aren't cherry blossoms the ultimate sign of spring? Here on Jeju Island, they're in full bloom right now, with white trees lining every road. Hopefully, I'll get around to posting a little travel log with all the pretty pictures I've accumulated!
For the drawings, I went with simplified blossoms so that they'd be easy to color, but still look whimsical and natural.
I drew quite a lot of these! A wreath for the calendar cover page, a large branch to be used as a mood tracker, and several smaller clusters of cherry blossoms to decorate my habit tracker page.
Materials used: Smooth Bristol drawing paper, Artline Drawing System 0.3 Pen
Really happy with how these turned out! Compared to the simple and minimal look of my March Eucalyptus plants, these are more cutesy and playful!
Free Printable Coloring Page: April Calendar
When I made the calendar page for April, I noticed what a strange month this would be! The days fall on a kind of awkward spectrum, spread over a total of six different weeks.
Well, at least like this, the month will feel longer - I really need a slow month asap.
You can find the printable coloring page with this motive in my Library.
Cherry Blossom Mood Tracker
The large cherry tree branch got turned into a mood tracker - I drew an additional 31 day version so that I could use the same motive in March or May, too.
Find the printable files here!
Color Scheme: All the Pinks!
While most of the cherry trees here on Jeju have white blossoms, I decided to go with shades of pink instead of trying to be more subtle...
What color do cherry blossoms have where you are from? In my home country Switzerland, there are quite many deep pink cherry trees!
I'm not a very moody person, actually. But my energy levels definitely go up and down!
IF I'm moody, it's more of a short-lived thing. One minute I'm happy, then I'm annoyed, then calm - it's usually not an entire day's worth of emotion. ;)
So I decided to go with five moods that could summarize my days.
For me, there's a big difference between having lots of energy and actually managing to FOCUS that energy.
Grumpy is for my (rare?) bad mood days. It happens, we all get stressed and annoyed, after all!
I'm using my Polychromo color pencils. When coloring mood trackers, it's nice to have a convenient selection of similar but still distinguishable shades! But you could also go for more variety, or try mixing your own colors by layering.
Cherry Blossom Habit Tracker
I like to keep my trackers close together. This way, I don't have to flip through different pages in my (unnumbered) Midori journal when I reflect upon my day - which I usually do just before going to bed.
If you've seen my previous habit trackers, you know that I don't like to color in boxes - I need a little bit extra to motivate me to stay consistent.
- For the lunar calendar habit trackers, it meant filling in little circles with moon shapes.
- For the constellation habit tracker, I use tiny star doodles.
- For the Eucalyptus plant trackers, I colored in leafs.
So, of course, I wanted something special for this cherry blossom habit tracker, too!
I went with a dot grid layout - now I can doodle small flowers each day!
Doodle art habit trackers work really well for me - they give me that extra motivation and inspiration.
I draw different sizes for more-or-less kept to habits. A quick yoga session at home, following along to a 20 minute YouTube video, gets me a smaller flower than going to a 90 minute Yoga class, for example! It's a very intuitive way of tracking.
What habits are you trying to include in your days?
As for my weekly layouts: I've got nothing much to show yet!
But I've recently switched to even thinner vertical lists that leave me less room. That way, I don't cram in too many tasks!
If you're completely new to the idea of bullet journals or got overwhelmed by the sheer amount of possibilities, I really love this guide that takes you from the very basics of planning in a journal to the more complicated (but fun and creative!) parts like hand-lettering, decorations, and special page ideas.
You can get TWO months of Skillshare Premium access for free as a reader of my blog! So if you're about to tackle journals, planning, a blog, a business launch, a creative project of any kind, you really need to check out their vast library of well-made tutorials - I've learned so much myself through Skillshare myself. My calligraphy skills have improved a lot, if I may say so! :)
A small addition that I fell in love with during March:
Memory & Gratitude Doodles
I mostly keep these to small drawings or even just text, and especially love the Polaroid picture look!
At the end of the day, I doodle one or two of these below my daily task list. Visual reminders of events, delicious food, or just a pretty sunrise are so lovely to look back on later!
I made Polaroid stickers with watercolor patterns in the background, too. When using only calligraphy or plain text for memories, the colorful textures make those look more artsy. :)
Passive Income & Expenses Tracker
Since I have separate (digital) spreadsheets for larger expenses and all my freelance work, my bullet journal's budget trackers are always quite tiny.
This month, I really just track my passive income from Etsy (not including any physical products, just printables) and write down any grocery expenses, restaurants/cafes, shopping of any kind... stuff that could easily get lost in the endless mess of credit card statements!
The little doodles are for no-spend days.
Project Mindmap & Monthly Goals
As always, I need space for a good old brain dump!
You can see the half-finished mindmap for April above.
Since I couldn't work on my blog or Etsy products for most of March (too many art commissions all of a sudden!) I want to put more of a focus there this month.
Like for the habit tracker, I'll doodle tiny flowers next to each completed task!
Just for fun, I've added a fitness/yoga related category, too!
I'd started going to a Hatha Yoga class last month and it's a lot more challenging than I expected! My shoulders and posture, in general, are a mess thanks to over a decade of hunched over sitting and drawing... I'm determined to get a grip on that! Using a DIY standing desk for both illustrations and PC stuff already makes a difference, but now that the worst pain is gone, I'm in the mood for a challenge (or five)!
(I'd love to draw yoga pose illustrations, by the way... like a little guide in pencil and watercolor.)
Mood Tracker Outer Space | Lunar Calendar Habit Tracker | Moon Phase Planner Stickers
