• HOME
  • Planning
    • Planner Newbie
      • New to planning? Start here
    • Planning Tips & Inspiration
    • 52 Planning Systems in 52 Weeks
      • My weekly spreads
    • Planner Index
    • Planner Reviews
      • Horizontal Weekly
      • Horizontal 1 Page Weekly + Notes
      • Vertical Weekly
      • Hourly Planners
      • Categories Weekly
      • Daily Planners
      • Discbound Planners
      • Teacher Planners
      • Planner Roundups
      • Happy Planner (MAMBI)
      • Budget Planners
    • Planner Comparisons
    • Bullet Journal
      • Bullet Journal Reviews
      • Bullet Journal Spreads
      • Bullet Journal Tips
    • Planner pens
    • Highlighters
    • Planner Stickers
    • Digital Planning
    • Household Binder
    • Stationery Shopping
    • Rachael’s Favorites
    • Blogging & Online Business
  • Graphic Design
    • Photoshop Tutorials
    • Microsoft Word
    • Microsoft Excel
    • Canva
    • Silhouette Studio
    • PicMonkey
  • SHOP
    • Shop at Etsy
    • Online Store
    • Graphic Design Resources
    • ECOURSES
    • Ebooks
      • 54 Mistakes Etsy Sellers Make (And How to Fix Them)
      • 1200 Blog Post Ideas
        • 1200 Blog Post Ideas (Exclusive Download Content)
      • 200 Blog Post Title Prompts (For Any Type of Blog)
        • 200 Blog Post Title Prompts (Exclusive Download Content)
    • Feedback & Testimonials
    • Planner Supplies (my sister’s shop!)
    • Shop my favorite planner supplies on Amazon
  • Learn
    • ECOURSES
      • Free Graphic Design Video Tutorials Library
      • How to Make Planner Stickers
      • How to Make Printables in Photoshop
      • How to Make Printables in Microsoft Word
      • How to Make Printables in Microsoft Excel
      • How to make digital planners and notebooks in Microsoft PowerPoint
      • How to Make Labels in Photoshop
      • How to Make Patterns in Photoshop
      • How to Make Party Printables
      • How to Write Product Descriptions
    • Ebooks
      • 54 Mistakes Etsy Sellers Make (And How to Fix Them)
      • 200 Blog Post Title Prompts (For Any Type of Blog)
      • 1200 Blog Post Ideas
  • FREE
    • FREE Printables
    • Free Printables Library – Subscribers Login
  • Travel
    • Travel Planning
    • Europe
    • Australia & New Zealand
  • About
    • Browse All Posts
    • FAQ
      • What is a Printable? What happens when I purchase a printable from you?
      • Printing Tips
      • Printable Planner Stickers
      • Downloading Files
      • How to Open Zipped File Folders
      • What does EDITABLE mean?
      • Monogram Etiquette

All About Planners

Printable planners to organize your home, business and life!

July 10, 2020

7 useful spreads your bullet journal should have

A blank page in a dot grid notebook = so many possible spreads! If you’re not sure where to start (or you have the other problem – too many spreads and need to narrow it down!) these are the 7 (I think) useful spreads you should add to your bullet journal.

1. Packing List

One of the first printables I ever made was a packing list as it takes a long time to rule up the page and write out everything you need. So if you’re going to do it, make it worthwhile and add multiple columns either for multiple trips for yourself, or to keep the entire family’s packing list in the one place instead of everyone wasting time writing out the same items.

bullet journal packing list spread simple minimalist quick easy multiple people on one page family travel planning layouts

2. Favorite meals list

You could just write this list out but… if you put each meal on sticky notes and color coordinate them (e.g. green = chicken, blue = seafood etc.) then you’ll have a functional and colorful spread. Doing meal planning will be quick as you only need to transfer the sticky notes and can easily rearrange if your plans change.

how to meal plan quickly using sticky notes color coded meal planning favorite meals tip menu planning organizing household binder

3. To do list

But not just any to do list, don’t just dump everything on the same page. I like to use an entirely separate notebook/s dedicated only to lists. And within those notebooks I have separate pages for each list. I prefer to use a discbound notebook for my lists so I can organize / cluster lists by category (blog post lists, shop product ideas lists etc.).

I also print some useful printables and add those to my discbound notebooks e.g. cleaning checklists. I mainly use the ARC A5 notebook, Happy Notes classic and the Happy Notes mini. The reason I use discbound notebooks is that I can add, remove and rearrange pages as often as I like.

For lists that aren’t going to change very often like books to read, I go to a bit more effort to add some color and make them look prettier. I also put them in my good bullet journal notebooks (the expensive ones with better paper like the Archer and Olive.

Related Post: Bullet Journal notebooks with the best paper (my top 7)

Some lists I think every bullet journal / planner should have:

  • Passwords
  • Cleaning chore chart (categorised by room and another for seasonal cleaning tasks)
  • Life admin to do list (download one for free here)
  • Favorite meals list (if you don’t want to use the sticky notes method I mentioned earlier in this post)
  • Books to read
  • Things to do when bored
  • 10 minute, 15 minutes, 30 min and 60 minute lists
  • Things to learn

bullet journal to do list checklist page spread ideas must have bujo newbie monthly daily weekly useful productive list_11

Read more: 25 Ideas for your Bullet Journal To Do List Spreads

4. Last time I did list

Use this for anything you need to do, but not very often. E.g. the date you last updated your will, cleaned the air con filters, reviewed your mortgage interest rate etc.

More ideas for things to track in these posts:

  • 30 Purposes for Your Planner
  • 50 Reminders to Put in Your Planner or Bullet Journal

last time I did bullet journal spread simple colorful neon useful pages to add to your bullet journal tips ideas inspiration

5. Monthly planning

Most people seem to do an annual planner / future log and a monthly calendar, but they skip over the monthly planning page.

Some of the things I include as part of my monthly planning:

  • Brain dump life admin & reminders – all those random / annoying things like visit the dentist
  • Brain dump to do list (for my shop and blog)
  • Projects (and when I intend to work on them e.g. focus on goal 3 on the 3rd week of the month. Or spread the steps involved in that project among the days of the month). I used to do this on paper but would change things so often that I switched to using Microsoft Excel. I use a gantt chart style format for this (download my template here). I use a similar format for annual planning too (download my template for that here). if you do want to do this in your bullet journal, you should definitely use erasable pens
  • Meal planning

I usually use a minimum of 4 pages (sometimes more, sometimes less – depends how busy the month is and what page size / notebook I use).

monthly planning setup checklists categorised work and personal rainbow lined notes pages

Read more: 12 Monthly planning bullet journal spreads (you can do in 5 minutes or less)

6. Habit tracker

If you’re not using a habit tracker… why?? One of the most useful pages! It’s a quick, efficient (and can be pretty!) way of tracking not only habits but little recurring tasks / reminders you don’t want to waste space in your planner e.g. reminder to do a face mask twice a week

habit tracker bullet journal inspiration ideas highlighter pencils simple minimalist productivity tips hacks color coding simple quick and easy-min

Read more: 12 Planner Layout Ideas for Monthly Habit Tracking in Your Bullet Journal

If you want to save time and / like the look of a printable rather than hand-drawing, you can find a tutorial on how to resize to suit any bullet journal notebook in this post.

how to resize printables for bullet journal leuchtturm rhodia scribbles that matter or any bullet journal bujo

How to resize any printable for any size bullet journal

7. Password Log

Not adding a picture to this post (for obvious reasons!) but a password log is so handy. You won’t realise just how many passwords you have until you start writing them down.

More planning tips

  • Choosing sections for your planner: what to keep in your weekly planner versus a household binder 
  • 10 ways to save money when buying planner supplies
  • My all time favorite planner supplies

50 tips for writing a better to do list productivity time management organization planning get stuff done beat procrastination

Found this post helpful? Pin it!

useful spreads your bullet journal should have tips inspiration ideas to do list functional last time i did quick simple easy bujo newbie all about planners

7 useful spreads your bullet journal should have tips inspiration ideas bujo planning tips all about planners newbie

You may also be interested in...

  • 5 Things to do when you get a new bullet journal notebook5 Things to do when you get a new bullet journal notebook
  • 7 Quick and easy ways to make your bullet journal less boring7 Quick and easy ways to make your bullet journal less boring
  • The best time saving tool for bullet journaling (Ink by Jeng Row & Column Stencil)The best time saving tool for bullet journaling (Ink by Jeng Row & Column Stencil)
  • Hack Your Journal Book ReviewHack Your Journal Book Review
  • 7 Bullet Journal Supplies I Don’t Use7 Bullet Journal Supplies I Don’t Use
  • How to choose the right bullet journal notebook for you (10 things to check)How to choose the right bullet journal notebook for you (10 things to check)

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Posted In: Bullet Journal, Bullet Journal Spreads · Tagged: bujo newbie, bujo spreads, bullet journal newbie, bullet journal tips, functional bujo spreads, functional bullet journal, functional bullet journal spreads, how to use a bullet journal, setting up a bullet journal, useful bujo pages, useful bujo spreads, useful bullet journal, useful bullet journal ideas, useful bullet journal spreads

Welcome

Welcome to All About Planners! I’m Rachael, a 20-something Aussie addicted to graphic design and all things planning. On the blog you’ll find more than 1,000 posts about all things planning including planner reviews, tips, favorite supplies and some of my past weekly spreads.

Subscribe and join 60,000+ others on the quest to find planner peace!

Follow Me

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Search

Subscribe

free printables library sign up all about planners blog image graphic subscribe

Shop At Etsy

The photos and content on this site are the property of All About Planners. They are not allowed to be used without permission from All About Planners.

Categories

Recent Posts

  • ARC Punch versus Happy Planner versus the Levenger 1-2-3 Punch: Which is better?
  • Clever Fox Planner Pro Weekly Review
  • Simple Christmas themed weekly spread with washi tape and stencils
  • 10 Useful printables to add to your planner or bullet journal
  • Bullet journal stencils weekly spread in the Archer and Olive Notebook

Disclaimer

All About Planners is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Popular Posts

  • 130+ functional ideas to use blank notes pages of your planner or an empty notebook
  • Setting up a new planner: 70 Tasks to add
  • Planner Organization: How to color-code your planner so you’ll actually use it effectively
  • Clever Fox Planner Pro Weekly Review
  • 10 Useful printables to add to your planner or bullet journal

Printables

  • Learn How to Make Printables
  • How to Make Planner Stickers
  • Resources & Tools I Recommend

Subscribe to access the free Printables library

Follow Me

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
Privacy

Copyright © 2021 All About Planners · Theme by 17th Avenue