Here’s How I’ve Set My Bullet Journal Up for 2022

Bullet journalling has been a mainstay in my life since 2017, a creative and practical outlet through which I can capture my to-do’s and document my did’s. I’ve been looking forward to sharing my 2022 bullet journal setup on here for WEEKS. You see, I am so proud of 2021’s journals (I ended up using up two notebooks…) that I was incredibly excited to set up next year’s. With thoughtfully chosen, carefully considered trackers and spreads, a bullet journal can become a brilliant keepsake of a moment in time. And what a time 2021 was.

For 2022’s bullet journal, I wanted to keep it much the same as this year’s. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I picked out trackers that’d thoughtfully complement my current plans for 2022 – rejoin the gym, focus on my offline hobbies, buy a house – and, best of all, I have a good idea of how much space I’d need for each section based on my current bujo.

Excitingly, I now have a Cricut Maker 3 machine, which has opened up a world of opportunities for me. I’ve already used it to make Christmas decorations and tags, but I’ve spent lots of time making vinyl cut-outs to use as headers throughout my new bullet journal. Oh, she’s looking polished indeed!

Without further ado, here’s a flip-through of my 2022 bullet journal…

Title Page. For 2022, I was really excited to simplify things and create some ‘stickers’ using my Cricut Maker 3. I used black vinyl to cut out all of the elements in my favourite fonts (Aire Pro, IM Fell Pica) and the result is an impactful and minimal title page that brings a smile to my face when I open the notebook.

Key. Although I’ve bullet journalled for several years now and have always used my own system, I still like to include my ‘key’ in the first few pages of my journal. Great for beginners, who’d like to refer back to which marks mean what.

Index. I’m the sort of journaller who, yes, opens the notebook with plenty of trackers and collections, but also adds more and more in amongst monthly pages, the index is an essential page in my bullet journal. It’s a running contents page that you can add to as your bujo grows.

Vision Board. Unpictured; I really enjoy putting together vision boards. They remind me of what I visualise my life to be for the upcoming months, plus scrapbooking is always fun, isn’t it?

Future Log. This year, I’ve preemptively only mapped out six months for my future log, because I know I’ll likely need to split my 2022 bujo across two notebooks. I always add any upcoming events here first, so that I can refer to it weekly or monthly when setting up the respective spreads. January’s already looking pretty packed!

Games I’m Playing. A self-explanatory page, divided into four functional columns, I’ll be using this to keep a record of the games I play next year. My cosy gaming lifestyle thrived throughout 2020 and 2021, and next year looks like it’ll be full of fun games! I’d like to play more story-led JRPGs in 2022, after picking up far too many open-ended life-sim games this year…

2022 Books. My reading finally picked back up in the latter half of 2021, thanks partly to my boyfriend who also loves to read. I created Yet Another Bookcase spread to keep a note of everything that I read! This time ‘round, I’m going to colour them in based on a 5-star rating, rather than by month read. Hopefully this’ll give me a great visual representation of how many great books I read.

K-drama and Anime Tracker. One of the biggest joy-inducers in my life last year was getting to pour more time back into watching my beloved K-dramas and anime. I’m prioritising it again this year, and can’t wait to track all of the episodes watched, and an overview rating out of 10.

Spending Planner. Ever since making one of these in my 2019 bujo, I’ve steadfastly kept to it. My spending planner is a way for me to plan in purchases I have to make, be that a bill, a birthday gift, a skincare top-up… Seeing these listed out allows me to carefully plan my budget month on month – it’s a real help!

First Home Tracker. Surprise surprise, your girl still doesn’t have a house. But I’m on track – fingers crossed – and the tracker looks much different this time. With my full deposit and moving savings ready, this double-page spread now includes a little area for me to note down non-negotiables and ‘maybe’ house features, of which I’m racking up many during viewings, plus a checklist for the complicated UK house-buying process.

Self-care Lucky Dip. I’ve made little secret of the fact that I really struggled through a lot of 2021. And creating a simple self-care lucky dip page genuinely helped me to remember to make time to do the things I loved, rather than a) wallow, b) spiral, and c) work myself to the bone. Here I’ve made a quick note of all of the self-care things that make me feel good, like taking a walk by the lake or calling a friend.

Musings Ahead of 2022. I dedicated a double-page spread to some candid writing ahead of 2022. It’s too personal to share with the Internet, but it felt really cathartic and hopeful to just braindump. I also wrote about my hopes and goals for the year ahead.

Monthly and Weekly Set-up. If you regularly keep up with my journaling antics, you’ll know that I look forward to doodling up a new monthly title page every month, and creative weekly spreads too. This tiny, hands-on approach to journaling stokes my creative fire and helps me to retain those important to-do’s and notes that I’ve, of course, had to handwrite. January includes lots of gold foil details – once again, thanks to my Cricut Maker 3! – and the Hygge sticker sheet by Moehrenkunst, where I buy most of my stickers.

My Bullet Journal Essentials:

Papier notebook (previously gifted as part of a brand partnership)
MUJI 0.38 Gel Ink Ballpoint Pen
MUJI Metal Ruler
Moehrenkunst Sticker Sheets
STABILO Pastel Highlighters
Tombow Dual Brush Pens

Will you be journalling, whether in a bullet format or traditional, in 2022? I’d love to see how you keep a record of your lives. Now, to squirrel away and fill in some of these pages!