Continuing my theme of using stationery I’ve bought but never used, this week I decided to use a notebook from The Paper Studio where the dots are printed very close to the edge of the page. The dots are also not straight if you run your eye from the left page to the right page. It becomes rather obvious if you do spreads where you draw up boxes for each day, so I decided to try a different approach.

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using one of my affiliate links, I’ll receive a small commission as as thank you for referring you (at no extra cost to you).

Before the Pen

To get around the imperfect grid, I turned the page landscape ways. Then it doesn’t matter if the dots are close to the top or bottom of the page as they’re now on the side of the page instead.

Next, I grabbed the VANCO stencil which is the perfect stencil for bullet journal headings. The letters are much smaller than other alphabet stencils and the letters are wide enough that I can easily fit a pen in there. The stencil is 2.5 inches wide x 3.75 inches high. Most of the letter are about 0.8cm wide.

Why bother using a stencil? For me, using a stencil is like using 2 different fonts when designing a printable. If you only use one font the text looks a bit busy on the page. Using a different font for the headings helps them stand out more.

Read more: Best stencils for bullet journal daily, weekly and monthly spreads

I went with a checklist based layout this week, with lists for travel planning (I’m planning a trip to Hong Kong next year), and then time based lists for the rest of my to do’s.

Since the dots are misaligned I didn’t draw any lines or boxes around each section so it makes the misprint far less noticeable.

Black pen only is a little too boring for me, so I added some color using the Shuttle Art dot markers. They’re dual tip.

After the pen

If you’ve been following me for a while you’ve probably noticed I rarely use my planner for planning blog posts anymore. I use to put my workflow tasks in my planner, but nowadays I just use a modified version of my master tasks spreadsheet. I’m posting way less than I used to (I can’t believe I ever used to have the time to post 4-5 times per week!)

Related post: 12 Different ways to plan blog posts using pen and paper

I used the Shuttle Art dot markers for my exercise tracker. This was a good example why it pays to spend a few extra seconds thinking about what is going to go where. Always write the longest task first then do the boxes or dots for the habit tracker. I forgot to do this and the misalignment drove me nuts the whole week. Especially after I put extra thought into the layout of this spread to get around the misprinted dots!

I do have a master habit tracker where I put exercise in there as well, but I’m so busy with my day job these days that I’m having to re-write it in my planner to try and get exercise back into my daily routine as that habit has basically disappeared at the moment.

Related post: 100 things to put in your habit tracker of your planner or bullet journal (plus free printable habit tracker)

I used the fine end of the dot markers to draw the underline under each heading, then used the dot at either end of the titles (it looked a bit plain otherwise).

Supplies used

• VANCO alphabet stencils (purchased from THINK stationery store in Singapore)
• Shuttle Art dot markers
• Pilot Frixion erasable black pen 0.7
• The Paper Studio Make it Happen Notebook

Would I use this layout again?

Yes, I’ve done time based checklists like this before. Turning the page on it’s side helped, as 3 columns would’ve been far too crammed portrait ways.

The Shuttle Art Dot Markers were actually a bit of a flop quality and color wise. I normally use pink but didn’t this week as I don’t like the shade of pink that comes in the pack. Some of the dot ends were also damaged when I first opened the packet. If you want to use dot markers, check out these brands instead.

I hope this gave you some ideas if you’ve ever ended up with a ‘dud’ notebook where the dot grid is imperfect.

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

Need some inspiration? Browse more than 200+ past weekly spreads here.

Bullet journal tips

• 5 Things to do when you get a new bullet journal notebook
• 10 Bullet Journal Daily Scheduling Layout Ideas
• 7 Useful washi tapes for bullet journaling

Found this post helpful? Pin it!