Dot grid notebooks. New ones seem to be coming out all the time. So what makes one better than the other? In terms of bullet journaling basically just the page quality and whether the pages are numbered or not. If you’re not too fussed about it and just want a notebook to jot down to do’s etc., then the Scrivwell notebook would be a good option – it’s a cheap and basic dot grid notebook that’s not very wide making it ideal for list making.

Before the Pen

My favorite layout is days of the week on the left and list making space on the right. However I knew I’d run out of space since this notebook is quite small (approx 5.25″ wide x 8.25″ high) . So I opted for 2 pages for the week and more pages for notes as needed (one of my favorite parts of bullet journaling – just add more pages as you need them!)

The We R Memory Keepers day of the week washi that I used has a big gap between each day. It felt like a waste to throw them out so I took the middle parts and stuck them to the pre-plan / weekly to do list page. I don’t like how it turned out – looks a bit weird. Guess I’ll just throw out the excess next time.

After the Pen

Blogging post planning / weekdays on the left

To do’s / weekend on the right

I ended up adding a strip of washi to the side of the page to find the week easier in the notebook. The We R Memory Keepers day of the week washi that I used has a big gap between each day so I took the middle and turned that into the page marker.

I don’t know why but I have this thing about not wanting to start weekly spreads at the front of a notebook. Maybe I’m subconsciously leaving it for reference notes since that is how I set up my discbound planner.

Supplies Used:

• We R Memory Keepers confetti washi tape border
• We R Memory Keepers days of the week washi tape
• Staedtler Triplus Fineliner in Mint Pen
• Carpe Diem numbered stickers for the dates
• Scrivwell Dot grid notebook

I considered using the Caliart mint pen and the Papermate Flair UF but the Staedtler looked better with the We R Memory keepers washi tape.

Pros

• Bright white paper
• Notebook is light

Cons

• Scrivwell notebook does not have page numbers
• Boring black cover
• Would go through the notebook quickly as it’s not as wide as the Leuchtturm, so some tasks extend over multiple lines unless you have small handwriting
• The Carpe Diem numbered stickers are a bit fiddly to handle and the punch outs in the numbers didn’t come out easily – I had to poke / tear them out.
• Since I write on every 2^nd line to avoid bunching, I ran out of space quickly. I ended up using 3 pages for the week.

Would I use again?

The Scrivwell notebook does not have numbered pages. For me it’s not a big deal since I switch to a different planner each week but if you did bullet journaling every week you might want to keep the Scrivwell for weekly spreads (or experimenting with bullet journal layouts) and use another notebook that has numbered pages for your collections.

I probably won’t use the notebook again as it’s too narrow.

If you like this notebook, it’s available on Amazon (affiliate link)

More bullet journal

• Bullet Journal Ideas: 26 Weekly Spread Layouts to Try
• Bullet journaling in the Leuchtturm dot grid notebook
• Travel planning in a bullet journal

Planning tips

• 7 Ways to make colors POP when printing using an Inkjet printer 
• Finding planner peace: how to choose the right planner page size for you 
• 10 ways to save money when buying planner supplies

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