Bullet journal layout ideas for time management

A bullet journal is a fully customisable planning tool that you can use to keep track of your to do lists, record appointments, brainstorm ideas, make plans, set goals, track habits, and much more.

One of the most common uses of a bullet journal is time management, in this case, helping you to manage your year, month, days, or weeks, so you work on things that are important to you.

There are many different bullet journal layout ideas to help you to manage your time, here I’ll highlight some easy ones to get you started.

However, if you’d first like some information on what a bullet journal is, and how to set one up, then please visit this post.

Bullet journal layout ideas for time management

The different types of bullet journal layouts that you can use for time management are:

• Future log
• Monthly log
• Weekly log
• Daily log

You can use whichever one, or combination of many, that suits your time management needs the best.

To help you choose what may be beneficial for your needs, here are two layout examples for each type of log you can have.

Future log

A future log helps you to keep track of anything that’s happening over the year, which may include:

• Birthdays
• Anniversaries
• Special events
• Work deadlines
• School events or reminders
• Family holidays

Some bullet journal layout ideas for a future log are:

The official bullet journal future log

Ryder Carroll, the creator of the bullet journal, developed a future log, which allows you to see six months at a time.

It’s perfect if you don’t want to include details on each entry, and just want an overview of what you have happening over the year.

Calendar future log

If you’d like to see what day a date falls on, and have space for details, then this calendar future log is ideal.

If using this future log, you could highlight dates that are important, which allows you to easily see how busy, or quiet a month is, and whether you may need to reschedule something.

Monthly log

A monthly log allows you to see your month at a glance, enabling you to see if you have a month that’s too busy, or too quiet, which means you may need to reschedule things.

Some bullet journal layout ideas for a monthly log are:

The official bullet journal monthly log

This monthly log is simple to use, perfect for those who don’t want anything overly complicated in their bullet journal.

Each month takes two pages, dates are written on the left hand side, and the things that you want to accomplish, or that you need to attend, are written on the right hand side.

Detailed monthly log

If you’re looking for a monthly log where you can write things for other areas of your life, like goals, commitments, or events, then this monthly log is perfect.

It provides a clear overview of what you have going on over the month, plus room to write things you’d like to accomplish that aren’t time pressured.

Weekly log

A weekly log isn’t part of the original bullet journal concept, but it’s a log that many bullet journalers use.

A weekly log allows you to plan your week, providing enough space for you to plan chores, self care, kid’s play dates, grocery shopping, and anything else you want to get done in a week.

Some bullet journal layout ideas for a weekly log are:

Horizontal weekly log

If you’re looking for an uncomplicated weekly log layout, then this one is perfect.

It lists each day of the week horizontally, and provides space next to each day for notes on what needs to be done.

Vertical weekly log

This vertical weekly log provides enough space to go into as much, or as little detail about your week as you want.

It even enables you to include notes on things outside of to dos or events, such as what you’d like to include in next weeks layout, weekly goals, or habits you’d like to track.

Daily log

A daily log allows you to plan your day, so you know exactly what you need to do each day, or what appointments you have.

It maximises your chances of having a productive day, by focusing your energy on what’s important.

Some bullet journal layout ideas for a daily log are:

Minimalist daily log

The minimalist daily log layout is easy to set up, which means that you can focus more time on getting things done.

This daily bullet journal layout simply has the date on the top, and a list of what needs doing on that day.

There’s no room to go into too much detail, so it really helps you to narrow down your priorities for the day.

Categorised daily log

This categorised daily log allows you to detail things that you’d like to do according to what category they fit into.

For example, perhaps there’s a day where you have different to dos for yourself, your family, things to buy, or things you need to remember for the following day.

You simply divide your page into each category, then list what you need to do for each of them.

I hope you’ve found some bullet journal layout ideas here that you’d like to try, so you can utilise your time to the best of your ability.

What bullet journal logs do you use regularly?