What Is A Bullet Journal Spread, And How Do You Make One

What is a bullet journal spread?

A bullet journal spread is a page in a dot grid notebook that has been created for a purpose of beauty or use. It often includes some kind of planner layout, but that is not necessary. It could also just be a decorated page with a quote, or a page designed for journaling.

Some examples of bullet journal spreads

There are so many possibilities when it comes to creating spreads for your bullet journal. Here is a little list of what could be considered a bullet journal spread..

Yearly cover
Yearly overview
Future log
Memories
Book review
A year in pixels
Yearly health tracker
Monthly calendar
Mood tracker
Habit tracker
Daily gratitude
Weekly planner
Daily journal

You will be able to think of many more, I am sure. Basically every page that has been designed in your dot grid notebook can be considered as a spread. That is why you will get people looking for ‘spread ideas’, it is basically people looking for ideas for what to create as part of their journal or planner.

Here is an example of ‘Memories’ spread:

Picture of a bullet journal memories spread. Each month has a seperate box and the title at the top says ‘memories’

As you can see there is a small box for each month of the year that you can write into. You could record your highlights, accomplishments or journal how you were feeling that month. It’s a great way to look back over the year.

Do you need more inspiration? Check out lots of bullet journal spread ideas here.

How to make a bullet journal spread

This is the real meat of the meal here…we want to know how to do things, so here is my advice for making your own bullet journal spreads.

What will YOU use?

When you start looking for inspiration, there will be so much. It might actually get overwhelming. So the very first step is:

DECIDE HOW YOU WANT YOUR BULLET JOURNAL TO FUNCTION.

There is no point making bullet journal spreads and not using them, it wastes paper, and as you know, I’m not a lover of that.

So, is your bullet journal going to be a journal, a planner, a scrapbook? If you want it to be a planner, will you use a mood tracker? [I know I don’t] Do you want to track health, do you want to focus on events and time or on personal development. Will it just be for work tasks?

You get the point…think before you create. What spreads will you actually use?

Get creative with layouts

So you have a little list of the bullet journal spread ideas you want. Now..

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX WHEN IT COMES TO LAYOUT IDEAS.

Here is an example:

Picture of a bullet journal calendar that has a vertical layout. The days of the week are down the left hand side.

This is a monthly calendar done is a slightly different way. Many consider a calendar to have a horizontal appearance – that the week goes along the page. But would it suit you better to view the weeks vertically instead.

Many people struggle with layout ideas so please stop and think and use your imagination. This is the true beauty of a dot grid notebook.

Try using pencil before the pen

This is one of my biggest tips, especially if you are a bullet journal newbie, or beginner. I have many times gone straight in with a pen, only to regret it when I made a mistake.

START BY DRAWING YOUR DESIGN IN PENCIL FIRST.

This way you can see if the spread is going to work for you or not. You can then play around, if you decide you don’t like it that way. It will still be changeable while ever it is in pencil.

By the way if you are a beginner you might want to check out this blog post:

What is a BUJO? Discover the magic with this ultimate guide.

Lastly, decorate your spreads to inspire

This is the final step:

AFTER THE LAYOUTS DECORATE WITH YOUR PERSONAL STYLE.

There is a big reason I included the point there ‘with your personal style’. There are very many talented people doing beautiful art pieces in their bullet journal spreads, but you don’t have to copy them.

It is ok to keep things simple, or to have a completely different style. What is in your bullet journal spread should work for YOU. Read: Make a simple minimal bujo planner.

Picture of a notebook, the left side is turned over to an inside blank page. The title reads: what is a bullet journal spread and how do you make one?

Conclusion

I hope this helped you to discover more about bullet journal spreads and how to make them. You might have many more questions. Feel free to contact me. Also by all means share your creations, I love to see them.

Thanks for reading and being here. I really appreciate it.

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