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If you’re new to this bullet journaling malarkey, or maybe just bujo-curious, you might be wondering where the hell to start when it comes to setting up your first journal? Well wonder no more - I’ve written a blog post to explain how I set up my most recent journal in just one hour. And it wasn’t a journal for monthly, weekly or daily planning. It was a specific book, dedicated to organising the million-and-one redecorating / DIY jobs needed in our home. It might not be Grand Designs, but fingers crossed by the end of 2020 we won’t have a bedroom door that regularly falls off its hinges 😬! Link in the usual place 👆

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“When we feel lost [..] the best thing we can do is look back. Because there are clues; from our childhood, from how we played. Before there was ever the risk of failure.”
-@elainewelteroth speaking on Episode 25 of In Good Company

If you asked me 12 months ago whether I would start a business that involved illustration and art, I would have laughed. But if you asked me the same question 30 years ago, my response would not be surprise; just excitement and joy. The clues were there, maybe I was just too afraid to look for them.

#followyourcuriosity #wordstoliveby #anewperspective #getunstuck #trustyourpath #limitingbeliefs

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If I had to sum up why I fell in love with bullet journaling, this would probably be it. I realise flexibility and control probably sound like a bit of a contradiction 🤦‍♀️, but I guess it’s about balancing those two sides of my personality. I do better when I have a list, knowing that everything is written down helps me to stop worrying about tomorrow or next week or the rest of the month; and just focus on the now. That’s the sense of control. The flexibility is probably the rebel in me that doesn’t want to be tied to one format for 12 months! I like to switch it up depending on my mood, what I need and sometimes just out of sheer boredom 😄. What about you, are you a planner - and if so, why do you love to plan?

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I don’t know where this quote comes from, but it could have been written for me. I might be feeling all Beyonce this week, but please know it’s a long, twisty, winding, trail that led me to the path I’m starting on now. If you’re feeling stuck, like I was last January AND the January before that AND the January before that, don’t lose heart. The most important decision has already been taken, that you are lighting that damn tunnel up for yourself 🧡

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Ask and ye shall receive. Here is a flip through of my February bullet journal setup! And because I’m feeling in a sharing mood, scroll 👉 to see my setup for the start of the year too. I’ve had so much fun creating these layouts, but full disclosure - they’re not something I whipped up in an evening 😆. Not every page in my journal will look like this and there will be plenty of messy, super quick, scribbly to-do lists when needs must. But when I have the time, I love to create a solid design to start my month with a sense of calm and purpose.

If you’re feeling like your journal or planner needs a little love, but aren’t sure where to start, I just opened my online shop for digital downloads (link in bio as always). All the spreads in this post are on there. And each month I’ll be adding new layouts and monthly calendars that you can use in any A5 notebook. Above all, bullet journaling should be fun so whatever it looks like, enjoy the process! (And to thank you lovely people for your support as I’ve figured out where I was going in life, there’s 10% off everything until Sunday!)

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Take 542. Self portraits are clearly *not* my forte. For better or worse though I guess this is me. In conversation with the lovely Nicola from @seedtosource yesterday, she spoke about the importance of our work being a true reflection of who we really are.

And she’s spot on. In the last decade, as my career grew, I changed into who I thought I should be. Instead of finding something that reflected who I already was. But this week, as I get ready to put my lettering art and bullet journal templates up in my shop, this feels like a chance to realign.
So this is the me who loves to draw. Who loves to create. Who also loves diy, repurposing, a good home improvement show, beautiful stationery, 80s music, meaningful conversations and my own company. What about you, what do you love?

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☝️Anyone else? I’m trying very hard not to get bogged down in the details as I finalise things for the shop launch next week. But it’s hard to break those habits, and in my experience perfectionism just stops me from actually getting the thing done. Tips anyone?

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I read more last year than I thought I could. 15 books to be precise, which is probably 14 more than I normally manage! I only know this because, for the first time, I wrote them down. I kept a simple list and it really helped me, both to remember what books I *wanted* to read, and then keep track of what I finished. So this is a nice easy spread I created for my bullet journal. Or if drawing it out isn’t your thing, a printable will be available in my online shop (hopefully coming soon!). How many books are you hoping to read this year?

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I came across this the other week and it reminded me of the importance of recognising what you’ve already achieved instead of critiquing what you haven’t. I didn’t always feel that way, I used to buy into the ‘New Year, New You’ until experience taught me differently. But that’s the joy of being in my 40s I guess 😄.

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Yay I’ve finally settled on my 20 goals for 2020! It’s been a bit of a process this time. I knocked out 20 pretty quickly at the start of the month, but they just didn’t spark that excitement I was hoping for.
~
Then like so many things when you set it aside for a while, I realised the issue. More than half of my 20 goals were home improvements. Now I enjoy interiors and diy as much as the next person, but house stuff is not *my* stuff. So I’ve taken everything house related off the list (and on to a dedicated home one!) and come up with 20 fun, exciting, sometimes scary projects to aim for, just for me, in 2020.
~
I don’t expect to tick them all off, but I’m going to have fun trying 😄
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#20for2020 up on the blog if, like me, you love have a nosy at everyone else’s list for inspiration!

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