April is finally arriving and I don’t know about you but I have found that the first three months of this year could have been an entire year. The world is changing fast and trying to keep up in my bullet journal has been next to impossible.
I wanted to adjust the way I bullet journal to keep up with my ever changing productivity levels in this period of time. I’m also adjusting to trying out a new schedule to help me stay on track with my work and household chores.
Additionally, due to massive swings in my emotions in March, I’ve brought back my mood tracker. The mood tracker helps me to identify my triggers so I can avoid those triggers as much as possible until I get a handle on how those triggers affect me.
I didn’t do much gratitude logging in March because, I forgot to. With my anxiety at a constant high through March and trying to convince me the world was coming to an end I had an extremely hard time finding things to be grateful for. I hope to change this in April by trying harder to focus on the silver lining.
March Was A Waste
Overall March was a complete waste in my bullet journal. It started off strong and then I didn’t even complete my actual monthly spread. By mid to later March I was using my bullet journal purely as a way to write down what I was feeling on any given day.
I even created a spread that briefly detailed what was happening here in the states and in other parts of the world. I knew that I was seeing history in the making and I wanted to quickly record what was happening in quick notes to myself.
I spent the majority of the month trying and failing to be productive in the midst of a global pandemic and I don’t want April to be the same. So I am getting back to the basics.
What My Bullet Journal Will Look Like For The Foreseeable Future
Since planning ahead is not something we can actually do at this point I am instead taking going to be taking it day by day.
The Return of Daily Spreads
Whenever my life gets a bit chaotic or unpredictable I go back to running daily spreads. This helps me to plan out my days on days that I feel I can plan.
I will also do things like make the decision to ignore social media and chats for a day during times like these. I simply write a reminder in my daily spread and I stay off social media. This helps me to stay away from bad news or time sucks that zap productivity.
Of course not every day can be productive. Sometimes you just need a day to be unproductive. Using daily spreads I can just skip the day in my journal or just write down thoughts and feelings. I no longer feel bad for not being productive, which no one should at this point.
When times get rough and your stress levels are high, it’s ok to not be super productive. Taking care of yourself should be a priority.
Quote Pages
My plan is to do quote pages and art pages a lot during this month. These are more artistic expressions that get me away from the things that are causing me stress.
For years I used painting as a way to relieve stress and anxiety in my life, when we downsized and moved a state away I got rid of most of my paint supplies. I started really getting into my bullet journal at that time in order to still be creative.
With the additional stress of our current world situation I’m going to be doing a lot in my journal over the next month.
Emotional Support
My journal is an emotional support for me. With ADHD, anxiety, and depression all playing a role in my mental health I’m going to need someplace to record it all.
Switching to daily spreads I am more likely to keep a daily diary of everything that is going on our lives. I can record what’s happening globally, how it’s affecting our lives, how we are eating, and what activities we are doing to stay busy during this crisis.
It’s also a place to record hopelessness, loss, and possible anger towards the entire situation. Writing down how I feel is just a part of the process I use in dealing with negative emotions in my life.
April 2020 Bullet Journal Cover Page
I wanted to go with bright colors for April because this would help to brighten up my daily life. I decided to keep it simple, in my Scribbles That Matter Journal, by using bright colored Mild Liner highlighters and drawing circles. I used an 08 and 05 Micron Fineliner pens for the little black dots and lettering.
A New Monthly Layout
Due to the hectic nature I foresee in the upcoming month I am planning very little. I decided to break down April into it’s five weeks and give each week it’s own spot.
I’ve never done this type of monthly layout before and I like the way it looks. It’s also less overwhelming because I only need to focus on one week at a time with this type of layout.
Having the week start on Monday with a date will help to keep my dates straight. The last box for next month will also help me to move it forward when April finally ends. Let’s hope that April is filled with good news and progress towards an easier year ahead.
Getting Back To Mood Tracking
Due to everything that is going on in the world right now I’ve noticed that my moods are swinging heavily. So I am getting back into tracking them.
I can better combat the triggers when I know exactly what set them off in a quick glance instead of searching day by day through my daily logs to find them.
Gratitude Is Important
I completely failed to keep a gratitude log in March and I can tell. The past few weeks I’ve been pretty positive the world is coming to an end when logically I know it’s just changing. We will get through this.
Keeping a gratitude log I can focus more on the positives in my life and this month’s log will be a bit different. I will not just be naming one thing I’m grateful for, I will be keeping this page open as often as I can to record everything I’m grateful for.
I could record one thing I’m grateful for on one day and then five things I’m grateful for the next. Leaving this open I can also keep my mind focused on finding what I am grateful for as it happens instead of trying to just find one thing alone.
Being Creative Isn’t Cancelled – Like Everything Else
While it feels like everything right now is cancelled until further notice, creativity is not. Now is the time to get creative. Be it in a bullet journal, in videos you can post to social media and YouTube, in writing, or in anything your heart desires.
Being creative is mostly free and something you can do from the comfort of your home so you can continue to practice social distancing. I am grateful that the world is coming up with new ways to be creative and to bring a bit of joy in.
So this month when you are in your bullet journal – being creative – take a picture of what you created and tag it #creativityisntcancelled. Then share it to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit. We have the time to embrace creativity so do it.
What’s your theme for April? Let me know in the comments below. Follow me on Pinterest for more like this and pin this to your favorite Bullet Journal Boards.
Related Posts:- Colorful February 2019 Spread
- 17 Creative Mood Tracker Ideas
- 21 Beautiful April Bullet Journal Ideas
- 20 Gratitude Logs For Your Bullet Journal
