Productive Pixie: April 2020

Are you bored? It is just a guess, but you are probably on home quarantine and you are looking for something fun to do because you have been bored at home for a month or more now. You also like to bullet journal, or are interested in starting a bullet journal. Am I right? Yep, I thought so.

36 Bullet Journal Layout Ideas for When You are Bored

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Updated for 2024

You are in the right place because, in this post, I will share with you a bunch of ideas for layouts you can make when you are bored. I also have two other home quarantine posts, which you can read below if you are interested in being more productive while you are at home.

Bullet journaling is a great way to relax and be creative, but it is also great for productivity. Some of these layouts are going to be purely for fun, and others will be for productivity, so you can pick to make a layout that you are in the mood for.

You might want to close down some of your tabs because a lot of these ideas have links to help you get started making the layout you choose. If you are like me, then you always have like ten tabs open. :) Let's get right into the bullet journal layouts that you can make when you are bored!

Bullet Journal Layout Ideas for When You are Bored

1. Quote Page - Fun to make, inspirational, and you can practice your calligraphy skills too! Read some tips on how to make your bullet journal quote page here.

2. Wardrobe Collection - Do you know how many items you have in your wardrobe? And what about all of those items in your wardrobe you never wear? Change that today, by reading this post here.

3. Wishlist - Everyone has something they want so why not make a list. Then the next time someone asks you what you want for your birthday, you have your list all ready to go.

4. A Vision Board - This one definitely doesn't have to be made in your bullet journal or planner. You can make a huge one to stick on your wall or you can make it small enough to keep in your pocket. Read about how to make one in your planner or bullet journal here.

5. Habits to Make - I am always trying to start new habits, that I track in my monthly bullet journal layouts. When I am ready to start tracking a new one, I have an already made list of habits that I want to start.

6. Books to Read - You probably can't go to the library right now, but you can always make a list of books to read for when they open up again. I am a fan of reading print books, but you can always find digital versions online too. If you need a book recommendation, then read my review of the book Atomic Habits and add it to your list.

7. A Goal Map - If you have a goal you want to reach, then consider making a goal map to figure out where you want to start. Read how I make goal maps here.

8. Things to do When Bored - I have a layout for this in my bullet journal. When I am bored, I can flip to it and pick out something to do or I can add another idea to this layout. You can grab some ideas to add to your list here.

9. Movies and TV Shows to Watch - Remember when your friend told you of a great TV show or movie to watch, and then you forgot to write it down. When you wanted to watch a movie, you couldn't remember what it was called! Don't let this happen to you again, by making a layout for all of the TV shows and movies you want to watch.

10. Bullet Journal Layout Ideas - Don't forget to make a layout for all of the layouts you want to make. The next time you are bored and you want to bullet journal you can flip to that spread and then get right into making a new layout, instead of getting stuck scrolling on Pinterest. I have been there! Plus, you can add the layouts on this list, that you want to make some time, to that layout too, so you don't forget them. :)

11. Courses to Take or Courses Tracker - Because of quarantine a lot of places are offering their courses for free, and you might just want to take advantage of that. Make a list of the courses you want to take, or a tracker for the courses you are taking.

12. Wardrobe Color Palette - If you are new to the concept of making a capsule wardrobe, then you can read Capsule Wardrobe 101 + a List of Must-Haves. Make a layout in your bullet journal for all of the colors you have in your closet, and if you are interested in making a color palette for your wardrobe, then read this post here.

13. Things to do When Quarantine is Over - Are you wishing quarantine will end? Me too, but since it is still going, you can make a list of all of the fun things you are going to do when it finally does end.

14. Bucket List - This layout idea is similar to the one above, but it can be for any time period. For example, I did a bucket list in my planner last summer, and I worked to complete every item on my list. If you want to make your own and see what mine looked like, then you can go here.

15. Things to Look Up - Every time you have an idea of something you want or need to look up, but you don't have your phone or laptop lying around, you can write it down on this spread instead and look it up the next time you have your phone or laptop on.

16. Font Styles - Make a layout for all of the bullet journal font styles you want to use! Here are some ideas to get you started with making this layout. The next time you don't know how to start a layout, you can go to that layout for some inspiration.

17. Daily Routine - If your daily routine is all out of whack because of quarantine, you can start a new one right now by making a bullet journal layout for it. Read this post to see how I made my daily routine.

18. Marker Swatches - Organize all of your pens and markers by creating a layout with a swatch of each color. You can number them, or write down what the brand of the marker is, or you could even write down the date you bought the marker, to see how long it lasts.

19. Washi Tape Swatches - Same as the idea above but do it for your washi tape instead. The next time you create a layout, you don't have to pull out all of your washi tapes, to figure out which one you want to use or if you even want to use washi tape on that layout.

20. Project Ideas - Make a list of all of the DIY projects you want to do. When you are bored like right now when you clicked on this post, you can go make one of the fun DIY projects on your list instead of staying bored.

21. About Me - Have some fun and create a layout all about yourself. It will be fun to look back at when you have totally filled up your bullet journal. Start your "About Me" bullet journal layout, by clicking right here.

22. Running To-Do List - Now that you have more time at home, it is time to tackle your to-do list. You honestly don't have any more excuses left to not get those items done. You know, the tasks you are always saving for later. Start by sitting down and making a list of everything you need to do, and then go from there.

24. Brain Dump - Sometimes you have so many things you want to do, that you just don't know where to start. You can fix this, by making a brain dump layout in your bullet journal!

25. Word of the Year - A word of the year, is when you pick one word, and you focus on that word the entire year. My word of the year is "create", so I have a layout that says the word "create" and around it, I wrote everything I am creating or want to create this year. You can get started with picking your word of the year here and it is totally fine if you don't start at the beginning of the year.

26. In Review - Make a "Month in Review", "Year in Review", or even a "Quarantine in Review" layout. I haven't done one of these layouts yet, but I am planning on making one at the end of the year.

27. Recipes to Make - Home quarantine is a great time to make new recipes because you are at home, and, everyone has to eat. You might as well make it fun, by trying out some new recipes!

28. Favorites - This layout idea is kind of like #26. You make a list of your favorite things. It can be in a certain time period like "Quarantine Favorites" or "April Favorites". It is a fun way to remember what your favorite things were for that time. You can also call them "Highlights", which is what I do.

29. Food Log - Now that you are on home quarantine, you can't go out to eat. So that is why now is the perfect time to start some healthy eating habits! Start your layout by reading Kim's tips here.

30. Best of 2024 - Make doodles or write down everything you have accomplished or done this year. I have one of these layouts and it is nice to have because when it is the end of the year I can look back at this layout and see everything I have accomplished.

31. Mood board - Make a mood board for anything you want to! I have a mood board for my blog and it was really fun to make because I made it scrapbook style. It is also useful though because it has all of my blogging information on it. :)

32. Exercise Tracker - I have to work out at home now because I am on home quarantine. Motivate yourself to exercise by making a layout with a tracker on it, and a list of your favorite places to find workout videos. You can read these ideas to get you started with making your fitness plan.

33. Doodle Ideas - Make a layout just for doodling. Then when you aren't feeling as creative, you can come to this layout to get some ideas for decorating your other layouts with cute doodles.

34. Favorite Blogs - Never forget what your favorite blogs are called again! Just write down the name of the blog and what the domain is, and you are good to go.

35. Gratitude List - Make a list of everything you are grateful for. You can see what my gratitude layout looks like in the picture above. I have a small space for every day of the year. By the end of the year, I will have a list of 365 things I am grateful for.

36. Cleaning Tracker - If you always have trouble keeping your house clean, then make a cleaning tracker to help keep yourself accountable. Here are a bunch of layout ideas you can use to start cleaning your house.

Bullet Journal Layout Ideas for When You are Bored

That is the whole list of 36 different ideas of bullet journal layouts to make when you are bored! I hope that you found at least one new layout that you can make.

It is hard being in quarantine all of the time, but when it is over, do you want to come out of it a better person or the same person? I know I want to come out of home quarantine a better person than I was before, so I am using this time to practice my skills and learn new ones. You can come out of home quarantine a better person too! Even your small decisions add up so make some of these bullet journal layouts and have some fun doing what you love!

I hope that you liked this post. If you did, you can read some more of my posts below...

Have a great week and hang in there! :)

Share this post with your friends, so they aren't bored!

April 25, 2020 No comments

I have been on quarantine for a month now and all of you liked my post on fun and productive things you can do at home so much, that I decided to make another one focused just on how to be more productive. I am sure that you are trying to be more productive and that you haven't just been watching a lot of movies lately or scrolling through your social media feeds. Am I right? :)

How to be Insanely Productive While at Home

Updated for 2024 - We are no longer in the midst of a world pandemic, so I've made a few tweaks to this post to make it more relevant.

In the first post, I wrote about ways to be productive that were fun, but in this post, it is going to be all about productivity.

A lot of us are in quarantine, and so it is really easy, to be unproductive. You don't have to work or to go to school, you can sleep in, use your phone as much as you want, eat whenever you want, and go to bed whenever you want. Your entire routine is out of sync, so you have two choices. You can create a quarantine routine, or you can go wild and not have any sort of routine at all. Which one is the better option?

Now, some of you are probably shaking your head and thinking that you don't need any sort of routine at all, which might just happen to be true. If you don't want to be productive, or if you don't want to get anything done, then don't make a routine. If you are using quarantine to relax, and you think a routine will ruin your relaxation time, then let me tell you this little scenario.

Making a simple routine will help you have more time to relax, not less. For example, if you go to bed at 2 AM, how good are you going to be feeling when you wake up at 12 PM the next morning? Then you grab your phone, without getting out of bed, and scroll for two hours. Where did the day go? It is now already 2 PM and you haven't gotten out of bed yet. How productive are you going to be feeling? And if you are trying to have more time to relax, then you won't feel relaxed either because you will be feeling like you wasted your day.

Okay! I kind of went on a tangent there, but now you probably see what I mean. Being productive will give you more time to relax during your quarantine. Let's get onto how to be insanely productive during quarantine and if you want some ideas of fun and productive things you can do during quarantine, then go here.

How to be Insanely Productive While at Home

1. It All Starts the Night Before

Your insanely productive day needs to start the night before. Like I said above, if you go to bed late, then you are going to wake up late and you aren't going to be feeling productive if you wake up and the day is already half of the way over.

So plan in advance to go to bed early. If you are used to going to bed late at night, then you might want to gradually go to bed earlier every night for a couple of nights in a row, just so you don't all of a sudden throw your internal clock off by a few hours, before you start waking up earlier in the morning.

Since it is during quarantine, you are going to want to get as much rest as you need, so I don't recommend waking up with an alarm clock. Instead, focus on going to bed earlier at night and then when you wake up, get out of bed, instead of turning on your phone. You can't use the "my phone is my alarm clock and I might as well check my notifications while I turn off my alarm" excuse anymore because you aren't waking up with an alarm.

Now is also the time to plan out what is going to stop you from being productive. If you always have trouble deciding what to wear, then pick out an outfit the night before. If you usually end up being overwhelmed because you have so many tasks to do, then make a list, and start at the top.

2. Don't Turn Your Phone on Right Away

If you turn your phone on right away (Just to check important things of course!), then you might end up scrolling on social media for way longer than you ever wanted to. Only turn your phone on, if you have an actual valid reason. If you have to turn on your phone, then you might consider putting all of your "distraction apps" into one folder and then using a productivity app to lock that folder until a certain time in the day.

If you don't have a reason to turn your phone on, then don't. It is as simple as that.

3. Know What You Are Trying to Accomplish

If you don't know what you are trying to accomplish, then it is going to be hard measuring whether you were productive or not. Make it easy for yourself by writing it all out. I use a bullet journal, but you could just write down everything you need to do on a sheet of paper on your desk.

You could write your hardest tasks at the top of the list, or maybe the ones that have a deadline. It is up to you.

If you know you are more productive in the morning (I definitely am!), then put your hardest, biggest tasks at the top of the list, so you can get those done.

4. Take Breaks

Taking breaks can seem counterproductive, but if you are working really hard the entire time, then you might start working slower and slower and slower. So instead, take a quick break after every hour or two.

I don't recommend going on your phone though because you might get stuck scrolling through your social media feeds or texting a friend. Instead, stand up and walk around for a few minutes or get a drink of water. Pull out a fresh sheet of paper and just write your thoughts for a few minutes. Then get back to work.

5. Eat Healthy + Exercise

Eat healthy food, that makes you feel good and gives you energy. If you have more energy, then you can be more productive.

In the afternoon when you are starting to feel tired of working on your to-do list, take a break to exercise, and then get back to work feeling fresh and ready to go. I have been enjoying doing the Fitness Blender workout videos right now. They have workouts for every level, that you can do at home. Some of the videos are short and some are long, so you can pick ones that fit into your quarantine schedule. Did I mention they were free?

6. Have Some Fun

You can be productive when you are having fun too. You know that fun craft, you have been waiting to do for forever? Now is the time for you to it.

Once you have finished up with work, or with schoolwork for the day, don't just spend time on your phone, or watch a movie. Really relax. Turn off everything that is distracting you, and take some time to think of what you really want to do. Then go and do it.

If you have been waiting for the perfect time to start journaling or painting or calligraphy, then wait no longer. Start today!

If you are looking for a new hobby to try out, then you are in luck! You can read some of my bullet journaling and calligraphy posts to get started. You don't need to be good at it in the beginning either so don't be afraid to try it out.

7. Know When to Stop

Finally, you need to know when to stop. If you are going to be productive tomorrow, then you need to start tonight. Plan out what you need to do today for you to be productive tomorrow. Decide what you are going to accomplish tomorrow, and then go to bed early enough that you will be able to wake up early tomorrow without an alarm.

How to be Insanely Productive While at Home

I was in quarantine for two years, and so it was important to find ways to be productive and have fun while being at home and stuck inside for the most part.

As always, make sure you take care of yourself, especially during this time, so if you need to take a break from being productive, then do it.

If you want to read some more posts on how to be more productive, then click the links below. :)

I hope you enjoyed this post! Stay safe, healthy, and productive!

If you have a moment, please pin this post. Thank you!

April 18, 2020 No comments

Who here loves stationery and markers? Me too! I just barely got three packs of Ecoline brush pens and they work so well. Today, I will tell you my honest opinion of the Ecoline brush pens and I will tell you how well they are working in my bullet journal, so you can decide if you want to use these in your bullet journal.

Using Ecoline Brush Pens in My Bullet Journal

Updated for 2024 - I still love using these pens! I use these pens even more then I use my Tombow brush pens.

Later in the post, I will talk about how well you can bullet journal with them, and then I will compare them with Tombow Dual Brush Pens (Click to read my review.), which are super popular.

If you don't bullet journal, then that is fine too because these brush pens will work for lots of different things like calligraphy, and scrapbooking. Sound good? Let's get right into the review then.

Ecoline Brush Pens Review

First of all, I bought three of the Ecoline brush pen five packs. They are a little bit on the pricey side, but as you will read below, I think the money was worth it.

The colors of these brush pens are beautiful! The colors are very vibrant and the ink is smooth and juicy.

Colors

The colors in the beige pink pack were very light and pastel and I really like them. The beige pink pack is my favorite just because I love the colors! Some of them are a little bit on the brown side, but it isn't a problem for me because after all, it is called beige pink and not just pink.

Some of the colors in the blue pack look a little similar to me, but this might be perfect for someone who wants every color of blue. I would have liked if there had been a pastel blue, but since I already have a pastel blue Tombow dual brush pen and a pastel blue Crayola SuperTip, it is fine.

The colors of the violet pack were very different, and I like that because it will give me more options, than having five similar shades of purple. Again I would have liked if there had been a pastel purple color because I like using pastel colors in my bullet journal best. They do sell a pastel pack on Amazon, but I didn't get it because I thought it would be too similar to colors I already have.

Design

The markers are around the same size as a regular Crayola marker. I like the design of the pen cap. As you can see in the photo above, it is easy to match up the pen with the lid because of how the top of the pen was designed.

Each pen has a number and a color name, so it is super easy to find the one you want. Another plus to these pens is that the color of the outside of the marker is very close to the color of the actual pen. I hate it when I grab a marker, and then when I start using it, it is a totally different color than what I thought it would be! You won't have that problem with these brush pens. :)

Actual Use

Now for the part of this post, you have been waiting for. How well do they actually work? They work really well! The ink is so smooth and it comes right out. These are definitely not dry or scratchy brush pens.

The tip of the brush pen is a little bit shorter than the tip on a Tombow Dual Tip brush pen, but it is more flexible so you can still make thick lines. Because it does have a more flexible tip, it is harder to make thin lines though so keep this in mind if you are a beginner to calligraphy and hand lettering.

I have to mention how well these brush pens blend. I made this "Goals for a Decade" layout in my bullet journal last night, and I didn't even have to use a blender pen on these to blend them together. I first wrote out "goals" in the lighter color and then I added the pink on top and it looked good. They didn't need to be blended together.

The ink is pretty wet so I think that is why I didn't need to blend them. They didn't bleed through my bullet journal pages either though so they are not too wet to use for bullet journaling (More on how I am using them in my bullet journal in just a minute).

When I touched the ink, right after using it, it didn't smear, but it was damp. If you used a lot of ink on one page, it might wrinkle the paper.

How They Compare to Tombow Dual Brush Pens

Tombow Dual Tip brush pens are probably the most well-known in the bullet journal world so I wanted to compare them for you, so you can decide for yourself if it is worth it to buy the Ecoline brush pens.

They are not Dual-Tipped - The Ecoline brush pens are not dual-tipped so if you are looking for the most options for your money, then these might not be the best option.
They are More Expensive - The Ecoline brush pens are more expensive than Tombow Dual brush pens, but the Ecoline brush pens might have more ink in them because they are a thicker pen.
They Might be Harder to Use - If you are a beginner, then you would want to go with the Tombow Dual-Tipped brush pens because they have a stiffer nib, which is easier to use in my opinion.

I like both the Tombow Dual Tip brush pens and the Ecoline brush pens equally, but I think if you are a beginner, or you are on a tight budget, then the Tombow Dual Tip brush pens are a better buy. If you have been using brush pens for a while, then I would say that the Ecoline brush pens are a great buy.

How I am Using Ecoline Brush Pens in My Bullet Journal

Overall, I really like these brush pens, but I wouldn't recommend them to a beginner because of the price and because of the more flexible pen nib. If you are just getting into doing calligraphy and hand lettering, then you don't want to spend a lot of money into a hobby, and then decide you don't like it.

I have been using these in my bullet journal with no problems. The Ecoline brush pens ghost a little bit, but they don't bleed at all in my notebook. I use a Minimalism Art Classic Notebook with 100 gsm paper for reference.

You will be seeing me use these brush pens in my bullet journal from now on!

If you liked this post, you can also read these ones too. :)

Thank you for reading and have a productive week!

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April 11, 2020 No comments

March had some very unexpected twists and turns, so I wasn't able to complete all of my goals. To be honest, I actually only completed one out of five of my monthly goals. In April, I hope I will be able to complete all five of my monthly goals. This month, I went for a fresh spring theme for my bullet journal layout that focuses on new beginnings!

Plan With Me April Bullet Journal Layout

Updated for 2024

I changed up the whole look for my April bullet journal layouts but kept mainly the same elements because they have been working really well for me. I used the same font for the header as last month because I am really liking that font right now but used small capitals for all of my sub headers.

I feel like my layout this month is very clean, structured, and minimalist. I think it is perfect to symbolize the fresh beginning I am getting in April. :)

Let's get right into how I set up this layout.

Supplies

This layout used very little supplies! I mostly like to use black and then one other color. Each month, I have been picking a different color to use. I have already used purple and blue this year so I decided this month I would use green because flipping through my bullet journal, I see that I almost never use green.

I went on a little tangent there, but now let's get back to the supplies.

Black Sharpie Pen - I use this black pen for all of my regular day writing. In this layout, I used it for the black boxes and all of the headers.
Light Green Pastel Tombow Dual Brush Pen - I love using Tombow brush pens! The ink is really smooth and the colors are so pretty! I need to buy some other colors because right now I only have the pastel pack and I use them way too often.
Mechanical Pencil - I use a mechanical pencil to sketch in the general idea of all of my layouts, but this year I have been trying to do my layouts more freehand.
A Ruler - By looking at April's bullet journal layout, you can easily tell that I use a ruler to draw my lines. I love straight crisp lines, but I did do the circles for my goal's freehand, and I think they look okay. I was just too lazy to go find my circle protractor! :)

That is all of the supplies I used for this layout except, of course, I used my Minimalism Art Classic Dotted notebook too. You can't forget the notebook! I have used the Minimalism Art Classic Dotted notebook for a few months now, and I love the quality. I bought it for under $10 and the paper is so smooth. If you are looking for an affordable bullet journal, then go check it out because I can't recommend it enough!

First Page + Header

At first, for this layout, I was lost. I had no idea of what I wanted this layout to look like. I just started by adding the green and then I did the entire header freehand. The cursive turned out a little bit off-center (One of my hardest problems with making bullet journal headers) so I added the branch doodle on one side, and it centers the header. I am really happy with how it turned out.

For February and March, I had a mini calendar on my monthly layouts. While I really liked having them, I didn't add one this month because I have been on home quarantine, so I haven't had as much to do. I opted to have more room for my quote on the next page.

I used the light green Tombow dual brush tip marker to make the bullet points for my task list, and then when I complete a task, I will fill it in with my black Sharpie pen.

Goal Section + Quote

At the top of the second page, I have my goal section, and like last month, I made it large. I think it is good to have a large space to write down my five goals because then when I flip to my monthly layout, one of the first things I see my monthly goals.

I think the mini capital letters with space in between looks super cute, so I am really glad I used that for all of my sub headers.

After I finished the rest of the page, I went back and added in this quote, which I drew entirely freehand! What do you think of the little doodles I added? I tied in the header theme by adding the green behind the quote and using the same font for "spring" and "April".

Bullet Journal Trackers + Next Month

At the bottom of the second page, I have three sections. In the first one, I can put down dates for the next month, or any tasks I want to complete in May. I made it small because last month, I didn't use it much.

Next to it, I have my blogging section, with the dates I am planning on posting this month. See what the first one says? Yep, I am posting right on schedule! Now I just need to decide what I am going to post for the rest of the month. If you have any ideas of what you would like to see, then leave a comment down below!

At the bottom, I am tracking one habit for the month, which is to go outside. I have been trying to spend more time outside in the sunshine so I decided to track it. I am finding that it is easiest for me if I only track one thing because then I am so much more likely to do it. If I do it every day for thirty days, then (hopefully) it is already turning into an automatic habit, and I can move on to tracking a new habit while continuing the old one. I love how I did the tracker entirely in green without an outline.

In the corner of the page, I put my "Highlights" section. It is bigger than last month because I really like writing down the highlights of my month. When I have a chance, I am going to go through all of the "Highlights" sections and pick out my favorite highlights to add to my "Best of 2020" layout!

Plan With Me April Bullet Journal Layout

I think this is my favorite bullet journal monthly I have made so far this year! I think this after every monthly I make. Every new monthly layout I make turns out to be my favorite. I wonder what next month's layout will look like.

At the beginning of making this layout, I had no idea of how I wanted it to look, but I still like how it turned out. If you think an idea you have won't turn out, then just try it! If you don't like it, you can always cover it up somehow. If you never try anything new, then you will never improve. Your layout will look great! :)

Read these posts too if you liked this one.

Stay home and stay safe! Have a great week!

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April 04, 2020 No comments

Bullet Journal Layout Ideas for When You are Bored

Bullet Journal Layout Ideas for When You are Bored