May 07, 2024

How to Use a Bullet Journal for Fashion Blogging

Ever wondered how to use a Bullet Journal for fashion blogging? In this post I’m going to be giving you an insight into how I use the planner, why it has been my go-to journal for years, plus some handy Bullet Journal hacks to make your planning faster and simpler!

Pin for Later >>

Starting off the New Year is as exciting as much as it can be overwhelming! Many of us rush to buy annual planners that we first have to learn how to use, only to then find out that they don’t really cater to our needs. I believe that putting too much faith in a planner designed by and for somebody else is one of the contributing factors which leads us to give up on all of our goals and New Year Resolutions by the end of February! If I had to choose the single, most useful organisation and productivity tool from the last few years, I would have to say it was learning how to use a Bullet Journal! No more scraps of paper lying all over my desk in addition to my annual planner and numerous other notebooks. Now I plan most of my schedule and to-do lists in one simple planner.

Ever since Bullet Journals first came on to the market and we began learning about the benefits of using the Bullet Journaling system, we've seen endless examples of doodles, sketches, charts, tables and lists that people create to keep on track with goal setting and to stay organised. I've been using the Bullet Journal method for several years now for blogging, organizing our editorial calendar, as well as for fashion design when planning, designing and launching new product collections. I really do love this organizational system because it can be as creative or as simple as you choose. But most importantly, it works!

When I first started my very first Bullet Journal, I searched Pinterest for Bullet Journal inspiration and got lost down the usual Pinterest rabbit hole, spending many hours lusting over gorgeous illustrations and pretty designs. I started out with good intentions and established a very complex color-coding system to organize my Bullet Journal to-do lists. However, as time went on and the reality of everyday life took over, I began using my planner in a very basic way instead of wasting time sketching out fancy tables and grids. My advice for anyone getting started would be to stick to whatever way works for you and enables you to be productive. I love that Bullet Journaling allows you to be creative if you want, jotting down quick notes, creating doodles, grids, lists, sketching out your ideas but if that doesn't work for you then that's fine too. You really can make your Bullet Journal into anything you want it to be. Although I recently started using this mini printer and it has completely changed the way I use my Bullet Journal. It keeps my journal looking cute, neat and tidy, and I can carry around in my pocket too - it's very convenient! Basically, I can create any graphic, quote, sketch or image I choose or even a piece of text. I links up with my phone and I just print off anything I wish to add to my journal. For anybody who uses vision boards (or action boards as I've recently started referring to them), the mini printer makes it really fast and easy to create inspiring quotes, mock-ups and inspiring images to keep you accountable.

How to Use a Bullet Journal for Fashion illustrators

How to Use a Bullet Journal for Fashion Blogging and Editorial

The way I use my Bullet Journal as an editorial calendar is by first drafting lots of content ideas. I write down a long, long list of topics to write about. Then I go through them, edit and refine the list and then add them to each month throughout the year. Then I have the initial long list of blog post ideas, either a single or double page spread for each month of the year with all of the posts we will publish during that month and I have separate sections for each individual post. I like to make sure that each individual post has it's own plans for an appropriate call-to-action, points to cover, any links or references that need to be mentioned, a checklist for images (do we have images and if so, have they been edited ready to go?) and a schedule date.

How to Use a Bullet Journal for Fashion Designers

I first started using my Bullet Journal for fashion blogging in 2016 and since then I've gone on to use the same system in many areas of my business life, including fashion design and planning out the design, manufacturing and launch of new collections. Up until recently, I used to design and jot down all of my notes and ideas myself, from shape, texture, material inspiration to costing, logistics, product design and launch dates. I now use my mini printer to quickly print off any plans, textures or inspiration that I have created digitally but want to keep all in one place in my design journal. With a Bullet Journal, you can order all of your designs and product campaigns into chapters, series or ongoing tasks so that you no longer need to have endless scraps of paper everywhere.

A Bullet Journal works really well for creative businesses that need to both plan the business side of things, as well as create. You can use a Bullet Journal for illustrators, blogging, as an editorial planner, a Bullet Journal for fashion designers and sketching - the possibilities are endless!

How to Use a Bullet Journal: What is It and How to Make It Work For You!

A Bullet Journal is a simple yet effective way of journaling and planning. If you’re a fan of the micro/macro system then you will love the Bullet Journal’s ability to plan on a big and small scale. You can use the journal as a habit tracker, as a business planner, as a yearly diary, and in many more ways. Surprisingly, Bullet Journals are empty diary notebooks, with nothing but plain paper inside (traditionally with small bullet point dots instead of lines), but they give you the option to customise it how you like. Setting up a Bullet Journal is easy, but I would recommend making notes on a separate piece of paper, detailing what you would like your journal to include. Now, here comes the fun part. You can then begin to create your journal pages in any order and in any style that suits your personal preferences. Should you search for Bullet Journal inspiration on social media, you will see how creative and colourful they can be. The versatility of this type of planner means that you can get as creative as you want or keep the layout as simple as you like.

How to Set up a Bullet Journal: What You Need to Get Started

Bullet Journal Page Ideas

I first got into using a Bullet Journal during April 2017. In all the years that I have been running a business and needed a good planner, I have always struggled to find a suitable planning system that resonates with my needs. Ironically, so many planners (even those created by e-commerce businesses) cater more to ‘traditional’ brick and mortar business rather than to online business owners. I know what I need from a planner but when you buy a ready-to-use planner, they can be very limiting and tend to dictate what you need to write or plan. After spending hours researching different planner types and then starting off the year with a standard yearly week-to-view diary which was too small for my business planning, I decided to research more about the Bullet Journal method. And from April 2017 I have been a keen journalist and happy fan of the journalling system. Admittedly, I have customised the system to make it most suitable for my daily business life, but the beauty of the journal is that you can modify it until you achieve your desired results.

I don’t use the bullet point system that is best associated with the journaling system and I don’t index each page either. Instead, I’ve created a straightforward planning system that allows me to add pages with ease, as well as keep track of numerous activities in my business and personal life simultaneously. If you’re unsure what to add to your journal planner then here are some excellent Bullet Journal page ideas that may prove helpful:

Productivity planner
Monthly calendar
Day-to-view planner
Fitness tracker
Website stats tracker
Social media planner
Recipe book
Weight loss / weight gain progress sheet
To-do lists
Bucket lists
List of goals
Editorial planning
Youtube video content planner
Content planner

And the list goes on…

In my 2024 journal, I am currently using the following Bullet Journal pages:

Productivity planner
To-do lists
List of movies to watch
List of books to read
List of goals
Editorial planning
Design ideas and sketches
Website stats tracker
Social media planner

Bullet Journal Hacks

A planner full of plain paper gives you the option to be as creative, artistic or as simple as you choose. If you’re a visual person then you may choose to add in lots of beautifully curated sketches and calligraphy to your planner. If you respond best to text then keep it simple with just your planner and a plain black pen. There is so much journalling inspiration out there, just search Pinterest to see what others are doing. Personally, I like to mix mine up a bit. Some pages are full of cute graphics and fancy writing, whereas my to-do lists are very simple. Here are some Bullet Journal hacks to make journalling simpler:

I don’t use the index in the journal and I don’t number my pages, so instead I colour code my pages. I use red pen for blog planning, blue for to-do lists, green for business notes, and black for personal life stuff.
I now cheat and use my mini printer and photo creator to print off stickers to add to my Bullet Journal. It's perfect for creating your own Bullet Journal stickers.
Don’t forget to draw up things like graphs, tables and charts – another great way to stay organised.
This year I’ve started a “Productivity in Pixels” table. Basically, I colour in each square at the end of the day based on how productive I feel I’ve been. The options are: 1) very productive, 2) semi-productive, or 3) not productive. Each option has a different colour. I assigned “not productive” to a brown pen because I hate the colour brown and therefore it is the colour I want to see least of in my table.
Interestingly, I like the colour red (it is one of my favourite colours), so I respond well to the colour. Many planners avoid using red because it’s supposed to signify negative vibes, whereas it actually motivates me…another great reason to use this planning system because you get full control over colours, formatting and content!
I have all of my tables and charts, and goals at the front and at the back I have my miscellaneous business notes, and personal notes.
When I create a to-do list, I use different colours for each day of the week so that I can differentiate each individual day if I’ve listed more than one day on a single page. This eliminates the feeling of overwhelm because I’m not seeing one long list of tasks to complete but just a couple of tasks per day.