Woohoo! My first plan with me of the new year! I know I didn't make a monthly bullet journal layout in January, and I am going to explain that in a minute. For this month though I am using my new bullet journal and I am trying out a totally new set up, which I am really liking! :)

By the way, I got the inspiration for this layout from #12 on this post (No longer available). If you are new to my blog and have never read one of my posts before, then I recommend scrolling to the next heading, which says, "February Monthly Bullet Journal Layout" because you will have no idea what I am talking about in the next few paragraphs.

Why the New Bullet Journal?

Okay. I had better start from the beginning, if you read my blog often, then you may remember that I said in this post I was going to use my rose-gold ring-bound planner for my monthly layouts and I was going to use this new traditional style bullet journal notebook for my collections.

Well, things didn't go exactly as I had planned. For a while now, I have been feeling like I haven't been using my ring-bound planner as much as I wanted to. Back when I bought it in 2018, I was using a more traditional planner set up, with the exception that I made the pages myself. Then in around June 2019, I started wanting to use a bullet journal again. I love the creative side of bullet journaling!

I was also getting bored with the rigidness of my calendar set up, and I didn't have enough time to redesign a new one every month. So, I started making bullet journal layouts in my planner (See a sample here. I am pretty sure this is the first one I did). I enjoyed it so much that I started making monthly bullet journal layouts and weekly ones too!

But then it started feeling like a chore, having to make a new layout every week. First, I had to print it out, and then I had to cut and hole punch it. It got to be too much work. The holes didn't line up sometimes and the rings got in the way when I wrote on the left side of the page.

The perks of using a ring-bound binder to bullet journal just didn't outweigh the cons for me. Using a ring-bound planner for bullet journaling is supposed to make the system more flexible because you can add and remove pages and include sections. You can also use the planner for a long time because it never fills up.

I realized that realistically I couldn't remove pages whenever I wanted unless my two-page layouts were front and back. If they weren't, I would have to remove two pages to remove a two-page layout, and then it would remove two layouts that were on the back of those pages.

I also wanted to start carrying my bullet journal around, but I felt like my ring-bound planner was too bulky and I thought things might fall out or it might get scratched.

I decided for 2020 I wanted this to be the year that I really complete my goals! I did okay last year, but definitely not super well so this year I decided I wanted a new start and the best way to do that (for me at least) was to get a new journal and start fresh.

When I received my Minimalism Art Journal I loved it! I started adding collections to it. The smooth paper with perfect-colored dots (Not too dark or too light) and the sleek design makes it easy to carry and I need to mention the larger pages, which are a nice plus. My idea was that I would use my new journal for collections and my planner for planning layouts. Then I realized how much I liked my new journal and I have decided to use it full time.

Unfortunately, I am going to stop using my rose gold planner for now even though I love it because it is not working for me. I always think it is important to use a system that works for you at the moment. Hopefully, I will find something else to use it for and who knows, later I may go back to it. The reason why I didn't make a January bullet journal layout, is because I had not decided what journal I wanted to put it in.

That took a lot longer than I thought it would to say, so now let's get right into my new bullet journal monthly layout.

February Monthly Bullet Journal Layout

For 2020, I have decided to take things slowly and start with a more minimalist approach. I am not going to make any weekly layouts for this month, so I don't have to feel pressured to create a new layout every week. I also felt like I was wasting space (and pen ink!) on my weekly layouts because I would write down almost the same tasks every day.

My monthly layout for this month is also simpler than my other ones because I have it only on two pages instead of four.

I am not tracking any habits this month or using a gratitude tracker because I don't want to feel pressured to have to write something every day, and then forget once and then feel like I didn't reach my goal.

I set 21 goals for this year, which is less than last year because I want to achieve every one or almost all of them. This is also why I am not concentrating on habits right now.

At the top of my first page, I have my February header with a super cute little heart! Under that, I have a mini monthly calendar. Down the side, I have a list where I can write down places I have to go to and holidays, etc.


Below that, I have a goal column, where I write five mini-goals. These will help me get closer to reaching my 21 yearly goals. Below that, I have my monthly blogging schedule. Don't look, unless you want to know the posts for the rest of the month! And you might have noticed I got Zebra Mildliners, which I am planning on doing a review on soon! :)

Plan With Me February Bullet Journal Layout

On the other side of this layout, I have a running to-do list at the top. At the bottom, I have a "next month" spot and a "highlights" square. I want to make sure I fill in my "Best of 2020" layout this year.

Overall, I am really excited to start fresh with this new notebook and new layouts, so I can better work towards my goals. :)

Read these posts too!

• A Pretty Bullet Journal for Under $10
• How I am Goal Setting for 2020 in my Bullet Journal
• How to Bullet Journal Even When You are Super Busy
• Layouts to Add to Your Bullet Journal for the New Year