Best Books for Bullet Journal Inspiration and Layout Ideas
Are your bullet journal spreads starting to feel a little repetitive? If you’re bored of using the same layouts over and over, a bullet journal guidebook could help you find some new page layout ideas, or some different ways to decorate your favorite spreads.
This post has the best bullet journal books for beginners and anyone stuck in a creative rut. With ideas for daily, weekly and monthly spreads, checklists and other handy page ideas, plus various decorating ideas. I also found some books with step by step instructions on how to draw doodles, and tracing books if you’re feeling uninspired or want to do themed monthly divider pages.
I own some of the books on this list and refer back to them when I need some fresh ideas. Many bullet journal guidebooks are aimed at beginners, but if you’ve been bullet journaling for a while and feel overwhelmed with all of the bullet journal ideas on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook Groups etc. then a book could be a focused way to help you decide what you actually need in your spreads.
This post contains affiliate links. If you click one of the links and make a purchase I’ll receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you) in exchange for referring you.
Are bullet journal inspiration books actually worth it?
I think they’re worth it if:
- You’re new to bullet journaling
- You’ve been using the same layout over and over again and need ideas for other elements you could add to your layouts to mix it up
- Enjoy bullet journaling but are completely out of ideas
- Are overwhelmed by all of the layout ideas, tips and inspiration on Pinterest
- You’d like a tangible paper book rather than ideas scattered across Youtube, Pinterest, Instagram etc.
- Want to practice doodling and / or hand lettering and find it easier to learn by tracing
- You need ideas for themed spreads
Most of the books on this list are $20 USD or less and can be referred back to over and over again.
Most of these books can be found online at Amazon. I’ve included links to the USA Amazon site and if the book is not available there, I’ve added a link to the Amazon Australia website. Some of these books were released years ago and are a little harder to find, you may need to do a Google search for second hand copies.
I’ve structured this post into:
- ‘Traditional’ bullet journal inspiration notebooks that are specifically for bullet journaling
- Doodling
- Hand Lettering
- Mandalas
- Patterns
Bullet journal inspiration notebooks
In no particular order:
1. Beyond Bullets
I quite this like book. It has the usual beginner stuff like tips and recommended supplies which I skipped past, but the weekly spreads had some good ideas.
The book was originally published in 2017 but I still think the second half of the book has some good spreads and is still relevant.
When I bought my copy a few years ago, the only option was a used version. As you can see in the photos above it was still in great condition. At the time of writing this post it’s only $6.20 USD on Amazon.
See my full review of the book in this pos: Beyond bullets book review (inspiration for bullet journal layouts)
2. Dot Journaling: An Interactive Guide to Designing A Creative & Practical Planner
This book has very clean layouts, but there’s only about 30 of them in the entire book so I’d only recommend this book for absolute beginners. There’s plenty of practice pages in the book, so this could be a good gift idea for a bujo newbie.
You can buy the notebook on Amazon.
See my full review of the notebook (including video walkthrough) in this post: Review of the dot journaling book by Hannah Beilenson
This book is a lot smaller (only A5 page size) and the pages don’t lay entirely flat so I have to lay it under a heavy book when using it.
Some of the page layout ideas you can find in this book:
- Spread ideas for:
- Yearly
- Monthly
- Monthly habit trackers
- Weekly
- Daily
- Using your dot journal as a diary
- Health and fitness spread ideas
- List ideas
- Financial spreads
- Chore spreads
- Meal-planning spreads
- Travel spreads
Review of the dot journaling book by Hannah Beilenson
Buy on Amazon.
If you’re stuck on page layout ideas but also on what to actually put in your bullet journal, this book should give you some ideas.
There aren’t many photos showing the inside of the book so if you want to see if the style of the spreads is right for you, visit Journal With Purpose’s website or Instagram page (author of the book).
Buy on Amazon
Image credit: Amazon
5. Journal with Purpose: Over 1000 motifs, alphabets and icons to personalize your bullet or dot journal
I’ve been thinking about buying this one as I can’t draw and my spreads can be a bit bland. I do incorporate ‘extras’ like stencils, planner stickers and washi tape. but I’ve never done hand drawn doodles.
With this book you can copy or trace direct from the page, or follow the well laid out steps for each of the doodles.
There’s a quick flick through of the book on Amazon.
Image credit: Amazon
6. Creative Journaling: A Guide to Over 100 Techniques and Ideas for Amazing Dot Grid, Junk, Mixed Media, and Travel Pages
This book looks interesting mixing a more crafty approach to bullet journal spreads.
Purchase on Amazon.
Image Credit: Amazon
7. Hack Your Journal: Stay Organized & Record Everything that Matters with One Notebook
This book is one of the best ones on the list if you want spread ideas. The book covers:
- Journaling supplies
- Monthly planning
- Weekly spreads
- Daily spreads
- Themed layouts e.g. travel planning, health
Within each of those categories there are multiple options. E.g. The daily planning section has spread ideas for:
- Vertical time line
- Vertical with habit trackers
- Prioritised task lists
- Sectioned task list
- Open ended writing space
- Daily planning table
Buy on Amazon
There’s a few tips for header ideas too.
See my full review in this post: Hack Your Journal Book Review
9. Bullet It!: A Notebook for Planning Your Days, Chronicling Your Life, and Creating Beauty
If you like the idea of colorful hand drawn bullet journal spreads but lack the time, energy and creativity, this book has pre-made layouts you can start using straight away.
Image credit: Amazon
This author also has another book Bullet It!: A Notebook for Planning Your Days, Chronicling Your Life, and Creating Beauty. That one is moreso just pictures and how to draw rather than bullet journal page layout ideas.
Image credit: Amazon
10. Journal Me Organized: The Complete Guide to Practical and Creative Planning Paperback
This book includes an explanation of the how / why behind creating bullet journal spreads, not just pretty pictures.
Buy on Amazon
Most of the books on this list focus on functional spreads, the layouts in this book are a mix of decorative and functional.
Image Credit: Amazon
More bullet journal inspiration
If you already have some ‘go to’ layouts and you just want some ideas for decorating your spreads, here are some recommendations for books on:
- Hand lettering
- Drawing patterns
- Doodling
- Tracing books
- Mandalas
Hand lettering
- The Complete Guide to Modern Calligraphy & Hand Lettering for Beginners
- The Ultimate Guide to Modern Calligraphy & Hand Lettering for Beginners by June & Lucy
- The Beginner’s Guide to Modern Calligraphy and Hand Lettering for Kids
- CreateSpace Classics Lettering and Modern Calligraphy: A Beginner’s Guide: Learn Hand Lettering and Brush Lettering by Paper Peony Press
- Hand-Lettering: An Interactive Guide to the Art of Drawing Letters by Megan Wells
- Lettering for Absolute Beginners Workbook: Complete Faux Calligraphy How-to Guide with Simple Projects (Fox Chapel Publishing) Learn How to Create Gorgeous Alphabets with Any Pen on Any Surface by Danielle Stringer
- Super Simple Hand Lettering: 20 Traceable Alphabets, Easy Projects, Practice Sheets & More! (Design Originals) Beginner Lettering and Calligraphy Workbook with Tracing Vellum Paper and Step by Step by Kiley Bennett
- Written by Hand: Techniques and Tips to Make Your Everyday Handwriting More Beautiful by Erica Tighe
Image credit: Amazon
9. Pattern Books
I don’t doodle but I do occasionally hand draw patterns on my monthly divider pages and the header sections of monthly calendars.
Click the links below to go to their Amazon pages for more details:
- 40 Relaxing Patterns for Ink Tracing: Trace Beautiful Patterns for Relaxation and Creative Fun by Bergamont Publishing
- Simple Patterns Tracing Book: Bold and Easy by Silhouette Press
- Trace and Pattern by Silhouette Press
- Mindfulness Patterns: Coloring Book with Creative Pattern Designs for Stress Relief and Relaxation by Vivi Tinta
- The Mindfulness Patterns Coloring Book: Anti-Stress Adult Coloring & How to Draw Soothing Patterns (The Mindfulness Coloring Book Series)
Most of these books do a good job of breaking it down step by step – how to start with simple lines and turn them into increasingly complex patterns.
Image credit: Amazon
Doodling books
Most doodle books cater to nature, florals, animals, food and everyday objects. A good way to add the ‘finishing touches’ to a bullet journal spread:
- Learn how to draw – Fun & Easy: 1007 Drawings to Sketch in 5 Minutes or Less (for Kids and Adults; With Three Difficulty Levels) by Amanda Piniecka
- Botanical Line Drawing: 200 Step-by-Step Flowers, Leaves, Cacti, Succulents, and Other Items Found in Nature by Peggy Dean
- Draw Over Botanical Sketches & Minimal Floral Line Art: Practice Drawing Over 48 Beautiful Illustrations by Chickpea Studio
- Doodle Everything!: Learn to Draw with 400+ Easy, Adorable Designs by Amy Latta
- Doodle a Day Journal: 365 Days of Creative Drawing With Prompts (My Colorful Year Art Series) by
- How to Doodle Everything: Step-by-Step Drawing Guide to Draw 1001 Exciting Creations with Leo
- How to Journal like an artist: A Beginner’s Guide to Keeping a Sketch Journal by Jane Maday
Image Credit: Amazon
Image Credit: Amazon
Image credit: Amazon
Tracing Books
If you like drawing (or would like to be able to draw) different themed spreads in your bullet journal, you could use a tracing book.
I think some of them are actually supposed to be coloring books, but there’s nothing stopping you from tracing the pages into your bullet journal. This would work best with the Happy Planner or other disbound notebook where you can remove pages, otherwise with a larger B5 size notebook.
Related post: The Best B5 dot grid notebooks for bullet journaling
A few I found that look interesting:
- Trace and Explore by Silhouette Press – book 1, book 2, book 3 and book 4
- Relaxing Tracing and Coloring Book by Silhouette Press (I couldn’t find this one on the Amazon USA site)
- Tracing Flowers: Tracing and Coloring Book With Abstract Floral Designs by Silhouette Press (I couldn’t find this one on the Amazon USA site)
- Tracing and Coloring Flower by Silhouette Press
Image credit: Amazon
Mandalas
I like the look of mandalas (especially when they’re colored in), but I don’t have the time or patience to draw them from scratch.
If you also want to ‘cheat’ here are some mandala themed tracing and coloring books:
- Doodle Art Workbook: Mandala Elements for Tracing and Practice (Doodle Art Practice Workbooks) by Lana Karr (Author) and Olga Dee (Author)
- Tracing and Coloring Mandalas by Silhouette Press
Image credit: Amazon
The original bullet journal book
If you want to go right back to the beginning, there’s Ryder Carol’s book The Bullet Journal Method.
Image Credit: Amazon
Bullet journal weekly spread ideas
- 26 Non-typical 2 page weekly spreads to try
- 10 Bullet Journal Landscape Page Orientation Weekly Spreads
- 15 Quick and Simple Vertical Bullet Journal Weekly Spreads
Bullet journal monthly spread ideas
- 12 Planner Layout Ideas for Monthly Habit Tracking in Your Bullet Journal
- Quickly create monthly spreads in your bullet journal: These are all the stencils you need
- 12 Monthly planning bullet journal spreads (you can do in 5 minutes or less)
- 50 Themes for your planner or bullet journal spreads
Bullet journal daily spread ideas
- 10 Bullet Journal Daily Scheduling Layout Ideas
- 7 daily spreads that don’t include a timed schedule section
- 10 Quick and Simple Bullet Journal Daily Layouts
More Bullet journal tips
- How to resize any printable for any size bullet journal
- The best stationery for bullet journaling and paper planning newbies
- 7 Ways to quickly and easily cover up mistakes in your planner or bullet journal
- How to create a DIY dot grid spacing template for any bullet journal notebook
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