If you’ve been bullet journaling for a while you’ve probably spent a lot of time counting dots before drawing up your spreads. I used to do that too until I found this handy tool …

Ink by Jeng row and column stencil

It helps you determine how many rows and columns you can fit on a page and is especially helpful if you switch between different dot grid notebooks all the time like I do. It works for almost any dot grid notebook. There can be any number of dots horizontally and vertically but the dot grid spacing should be 5mm.

Most dot grid notebooks have 5mm spacing. For the very few that have a smaller grid (e.g. the Nuuna dot grid is 3mm), you can still use it, the holes to mark the spacing won’t line up perfectly.

Using it in the Leuchtturm notebook

Previously I would count out how many dots horizontally and vertically in the notebook, write it on a sticky note and stick it to the inside of the front cover of the notebook. Then I would use a calculator to work out how many rows or columns I could fit for a horizontal weekly spread with equal sized boxes for each day, a list style monthly calendar etc. It took ages and then I would have to sit there counting the dots and putting a little mark so I knew where to draw the lines (I use the Frixion erasable pen for this).

With this tool you don’t need to count the dots or use a calculator to work out the spacing, the stencil has it already there for you:

To enlarge the screen of the video, click the square icon in the bottom right hand corner of the video (it will say ‘full screen’ when you hover your mouse over the icon).

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2024 update: Unfortunately Ink by Jeng has closed down. I shared some similar row and column stencil options in this post.

The holes in the stencil are big enough to add a small dot with your pen so you know where to draw the line.

Handy for doing list style monthly calendar spreads, habit trackers or you could use for counting out schedules for a vertical hourly layout as well.

Using it in the Dingbats notebook (4 columns with 7 dots per column)

Also handy for monthly calendars:

Related post: 7 Ways to use dot markers in your planner or bullet journal

In the photo below we can see in the Leuchtturm notebook I could do spreads with:

• 8 columns with 3 dots each column
• 6 columns with 4 dots each column
• 5 columns with 5 dots each column
• 4 columns with 6 dots each column

etc.

The only thing missing is a version of the stencil that includes a space between each row if you want to do boxes and leave a gap like this in your spreads:

If you like this stencil it’s available in my sister’s planner supplies shop, Carefully Crafted. Ink By Jeng has plenty of other functional bullet journaling supplies like weekly habit tracker stencils, stamps and washi tape!

Update: Ink by Jeng no longer sells the row and column stencil. However, I did a review of 4 row and column stencils from other brands in this post.

Bullet journal notebook reviews

• PAIPUR Dot grid notebook
• Vivid Scribbles Dot Grid Notebook (bleedproof 140GSM paper!)
• Archer and Olive Dot Grid Notebook (Is the 160 GSM Paper Worth the Hype?)

Bullet journal tips

• Tombow Brush Pen Testing in 8 Different Bullet Journals
• My Favorite Ballpoint Pens for Planning & Bullet Journaling
• 8 Ways to use highlighters for Bullet Journal Spreads

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