Migrating into a new journal is always exciting! You’ve probably seen all the beautiful and creative spreads all over Pinterest and Instagram and wonder is BUJO-ing right for you? You may have some questions such as

• What is a BUJO Spread?
• How to migrate into a new journal?
• Which spreads should I try out?
• Can I have inspiration for my BUJO migration?

Well, I’m here to answer all your question and get your creativity going! And if you’re new to BUJO-ing (Bullet Journaling), welcome to our community!

WHAT IS A BUJO SPREAD?

A bullet journal spread is a collection of pages that are of a related topic. Often, they are on 2 pages so it provides an overview of the topic in discussion.

The special thing about BUJO Spreads is that you can be as creative as you can be. Every BUJO spreads is unique to its own creators. Just like a snowflake or your own fingerprints!

HOW TO MIGRATE INTO YOUR NEW JOURNAL OR CREATE A NEW JOURNAL?

Lucky for you, I’ve made a whole guide for you. All you need is 3 simple steps.

1. Review your current BUJO setup. Creating two lists – new spread and old spread.
2. Re-organise your lists. Sequence the spreads listed into the 2 lists in Step 1 and re-categorise them.
3. Get Started. Getting creative in your spreads.

For more details for each step, do read “How to migrate into a new BUJO“. If you are new to BU-JOing, fret not, just read on to find out more about getting started in your first journal!

WHICH SPREADS SHOULD I SET UP?

As a beginner, it can be difficult to decide on what spreads you should set up. That is perfectly normal! I struggle with creativity block every month.

Lucky for you, I found a little trick that can help me with that. Simply look up online creators, especially on Pinterest or Instagram.

Here are some of my favourite creators from Youtube and Instagram

• @amandarachlee
• @leelajournals
• @caitlyndasilva
• @Reflect with Raksha
• @ihggs
• @amizaomar
• @6.02
• @mondaymorningdesign
• And More…

Alternatively, I look up simple doodles. For example, in my June Spread, I stumbled across the astronauts in space images and found a whole collection of similar images. Thus, I’d chosen it for my BUJO spread.

Remember, inspiration only comes if you go searching for it! So, the best is to go ahead and try them out to see if they work for you!

To give you even more inspiration as you set up your journal, I’ve curated this list, which I will be using for the rest of 2021. These are the very spreads that I am using in my new journal setup.

CAN I GET INSPIRATION FOR MY BUJO?

Of course! 101 times yes hehe. I’ve categorised my spreads in these areas.

• Basic Spreads (2021 Cover Page, Grid Spacing, Quote, Future Log)
• Goals (Personal, Business and Blog)
• Braindump Ideas (Business and Blog)

I’ve also included other setups specifically Hobbies, Tracking, Bucket List and Self-Care in this blog post for even more creative inspirations for your BUJO migration/ setup!

1. BASIC SPREAD – 2021 COVER PAGE

Simple one this year to annotate the second half of 2021. Why I always include this cover page is because it denotes a fresh start as well as ensure that I keep organized as I keep my Bullet Journals throughout the years.

2. BASIC SPREAD – GRID SPACING

Grid Spacing spreads is an ongoing trend in the BUJO community. Personally, I try to keep to this spread but I do find that I haven’t been using so much of it. Nevertheless, I’ve included this because I think it is useful for some of the journalers within the community.

So the spaces are in halves, thirds for both vertically and horizontally. I chose not to do the quarters horizontally because the spaces are very narrow already. It is unlikely I will include spreads that are in quarters on a singular page. Vertically, I’ve also opted to include the space for headers before splitting the bottom into thirds.

This spread is entirely personalised and yours should be too! The spaces on each notebook and types of spreads are dependent on the style each individual decides on.

3. BASIC SPREAD – QUOTE

The quote I’ve chosen for the second half of 2021 is “The secret to getting ahead is getting started”. Quotes are a great way to remind us of what we intend to do for the rest of the year. I definitely want to be more productive. What about you?

4. BASIC SPREAD – FUTURE LOG

Future logs are always in the spreads of Bullet journalers. This is a great way to remind yourself of the activities happening in the month. Especially if you haven’t created the spread for that month. I also chose to use this spread to remind myself of the birthdays of some of my friends and family.

5. GOALS – PERSONAL | BUSINESS | BLOG

Goals are a huge part of life. Writing it down in my journal makes it more concrete and serves as a reminder whenever I find myself side-tracking from the goal.

The goals are categorised into three areas (personal, business and blog).

I really liked the goal setting done by @craftyenginerd on Instagram and brought it forward to use for the rest of the year. Within each category, I’ve identified the goal, the purpose, obstacle and action plan.

• Purpose: This helps to think about whether you are serious about the goal. Otherwise, there is not much use for the goal. Reminder: For some, lesser goals are better.
• Obstacles: They are the little monsters that are stopping you from achieving your goals. If you can prevent these obstacles then it is more likely that you will accomplish the goal you’ve set.
• Action Plans. This is the measurable area of your goal. There are 2 things that you need to include. First, the action plans against your obstacles. How can you eliminate these obstacles? Second, the action plans which can contribute to achieving your role.

For an example of how this goal setting system work, do refer to this blogpost.

Do keep a lookout whenever you are migrating into a new journal, remember to take out the goals which you’ve already accomplished and conduct a periodic review. This will lead to 3 things.

• The goal remains relevant in the circumstances you’re in.
• Your action plan for achieving this goal works. If not, you may need to change the method you are using.
• The goals are a reminder that you want to change for the better in the year.

BONUS: BRAINDUMP – BLOG | BUSINESS

Braindump pages are super useful for an ENFP like me. I am constantly swarming with ideas as I go about my day. To avoid forgetting them (Did I mention that I’m very forgetful?), I like to write them down somewhere. That way, I can go back and think more about it again when I have the time. Instead of writing it on a random piece of paper, I find it better to recategorise them. This is so that I can combine some of these ideas later on.

I keep this page much cleaner than the rest because it would leave more space for me to document some of my thoughts. I’ve also chosen to be a bit more creative in the naming process and came up with “Blog Thoughts in Progress” and “The Dawn of the Venture”. Okay… they may not be that creative but yours can be!

Remember, you don’t need every single one of these spreads. Even I don’t know if I need them. Your needs will change from month to month, year to year. After all, BUJO-ing is all about taking time to experiment and finding out what works for you! Isn’t that magical?

And there you have it, all the spreads you may want to incorporate into your new BUJO setup. I hope this post had helped you in your journey of migrating into a new journal and if you have any questions, do comment down below!

This blog post is the 1st part of a 2-part series on BUJO migration. For more Bullet Journal Migration ideas, here’s Part 2!