My 2021 Bullet Journal Setup Part 1

by The Productive Pixie - January 02, 2021

Happy 2021! I am hoping that 2021 will be a better year for working on my goals than 2020 was. We are probably all looking forward to an improvement from 2020, right? I had a lot of fun setting up my bullet journal for the year and I can tell that my bullet journaling skills have improved from last year!

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Updated for 2024

My 2021 Bullet Journal Setup Part 1

I haven't done a bullet journal set up post since 2018 so I am excited about this one! I used a lot of pink and went with a very minimalist design for all of these layouts.

Plus, as of right now, I am planning on doing a Part 2 as well because I definitely have more layouts to make in my new bullet journal. Most of the layouts in this post are focused on setting goals for 2021 so if you want some bullet journal layout inspiration for goal setting, then you are in the right place. :)

My 2021 Bullet Journal Notebook

I wanted to start off this post, by giving a quick review of my new bullet journal because I am using a different brand than last year. Last year, I used a Minimalism Art dotted notebook, but the binding broke halfway through the year. It was still a good notebook for the price, but because of that I wanted to try a different brand for 2021 so I paid just a little bit more and bought a Scrivwell A5 dotted notebook in pink. (I don't think the color I bought is currently being sold)

I like this notebook better than my Minimalism Art notebook. The notebook itself is a little bit wider so I have more room on each page. The paper is a true white and not cream. I also like that the paper at 120 gsm is thicker than in my other notebook and I don't have any problems with bleeding and I haven't noticed any ghosting. The dots are not too dark or too light and they match up across the pages.

It also has two bookmarks and a back pocket. I am really enjoying using it so far!

Bullet Journal Supplies Used

Crayola SuperTips - Crayola SuperTips are used on almost all of my spreads! They are great for beginners, really affordable, and there are tons of colors. If you are looking to buy some markers to use in your bullet journal, then I recommend these ones.
Ecoline Brush Pens - The Ecoline brush pens are the newest addition to my stationery collection and I really like them, but they are on the pricey side. The ink is really smooth and juicy though. For this setup, I mostly used these brush pens. :)
Black Sharpie Pen - If you have read probably any of my other posts, then you will know that I always use a black sharpie pen for writing in my bullet journal.
Tombow Dual Tip Brush Pens - Even though these ones are a little bit expensive, they are double-tipped: one side is a brush tip, and the other side has a regular pointed tip, making them good for multiple purposes.
White Gel Pen - I use a white gel pen to mark out any mistakes I make on my layouts, and while it is sometimes still a little bit noticeable, it doesn't bother me.
Mechanical Pencil - I sketch in my layouts using a pencil first to eliminate minor mistakes.
A Ruler - So I can achieve straight lines.

Now let's get onto the layouts I have added to my bullet journal. :)

1. The Cover Page

First of all, I had to have a cover page! It set's the tone for your whole bullet journal. On this page, I put the year and my name above it in a beautiful cursive that you will see on my other layouts as well because it isn't that hard to do and because I love this font.

The font is Champagne Dreams regular and it can be found on Creative Market. I usually find fonts for my bullet journal on Creative Market because they have tons of different beautiful fonts. You can use the fonts on Creative Market as inspiration for free too!

Below that, I have my personal info so if my journal is lost, it can be returned to me, and of course, my website name www.theproductivepixie.com.

2. The Index

Last year, I stopped filling out my index after a while, but this year I want to use it more. Again, I am going with a simple minimalist pink pastel theme and it is pretty easy to do!

I have three pages for my index and last year I used up one and a half pages, but I am using a three-page index again this year, to see if it works out.

3. Word of the Year

Every year, I pick a word to be my focus for the year. Last year, I picked "create" and this year I am going with "opportunity".

I found a quote with my word for the year and then I made "opportunity" stand out from the rest of the quote. The quote I picked says, "Today is your opportunity to build the tomorrow you want".

4. 2020 In Review

Before I set my goals for 2021, I wanted to review what I did well in 2020 and what I can improve on, plus my favorite memories for the year, and etc.

At the top going across, I have a box for each month where I wrote my highlights of the month and everything big that happened. Below that, I added a picture of myself. "Hello!"

I also added how many goals I completed last year, which was 12/21. I think that is pretty good because with quarantine I couldn't do some of my goals. Next to that, I have my quote for 2020 which was "The best way to predict the future is to create it".

Next to that, I have a list of the three things I want to improve in my life this year. Not surprisingly, one of them is screentime. All of us, probably want to have a little less or maybe a lot less screentime in 2021. :)

On the next page, I rated my year on a scale of 1-10 and I wrote three words that sum up the year. I wrote the three best compliments I received to help motivate myself for 2021 and I wrote a pretty long list of things I did in 2020 for the first time.

Overall, this is probably my favorite layout I have made in my new bullet journal so far.

5. Level 10 Life

The idea for this layout is from the book The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod. I actually haven't read the book because I learned about the Level 10 Life spread on other bullet journaling sites, but I am planning on reading it this year because I have done Level 10 Life layouts multiple times and I find it very helpful in evaluating my own life.

Also please note, that I used the Level 10 Life layout from The Petite Planner as inspiration for mine so please check out her post about Level 10 Life, in case you want to make your own.

Next, I made my Level 10 Life layout, which is basically an evaluation of your life in ten different areas and you rate your life in those areas on a scale of 1-10 so can you see where you need to improve.

As you can see, I gave myself a two for contributing, so that is something I am definitely going to be working on this year.

After rating each area on the chart, I wrote down a list of ideas for goals for each of the ten areas. These aren't real specific goals, because I am going to narrow it down on when I set my actual goals for the year. These are just ideas.

6. Hello 2021

Yes, I did already have a cover page, but after reviewing 2020, I needed to ring in the new year so I made another one!

I did it in a very minimalist style because almost the entire page is white space and later on I might write in some positive affirmations for the year, but right now I am leaving it as it is.

7. 22 Before 2022

On the other side of the page, I have my twenty-two goals for the year. I took the ideas from my Level 10 Life layout and I picked at least one from each of my layouts and I made it specific so I can grow and improve in each of the ten areas of my life.

For example, one of my goals is to read 12 non-fiction books so I can read one each month. Another of my goals is to learn 3000 words in French on Duolingo so I will also divide that up into twelve so I can do a little bit each month.

After I complete the goal, I haven't decided what I am going to do to show that I have completed it yet.

8. Master Plan

This is my master plan of how I am going to reach each of my goals this year. I have a column for each month, so this spread is six pages and I have enough room for each month to write a list of what I need to do to complete my goals for the month.

At the bottom, I have a tracker of the habits I am working on making for 2021.

9. Yearly Overview

And the last page, I have made in my journal so far, besides my first weekly layout, is a yearly overview. Below each mini calendar, I have a space to write down the important dates of the month.

I used white gel pen on top of black marker for the headers of the mini calendars and I think it turned out pretty cute!