Do you want to try a different type of tracker page? One that can summarise an entire year in your Bullet Journal?

Hello, it’s Alex (@TheJournalCorner) from the Archer and Olive Ambassador Team.  Today I am going to show you how to create a different type of spread - a weather tracker for 2023 with space for nature notes in your journal.  For a Year in Pixels tracker, you colour a grid square each day and note anything you choose! It would be ideal to track the days you exercise, daily moods, screen time, health, time spent reading and many more!

Bullet Journal Spread Idea

For this spread I am using:

• an A5 Archer and Olive dot grid journal, 
• Archer and Olive calliograph pen, 
• A black fineliner
• A pencil,ruler and eraser. 

If you are looking to purchase anything from Archer and Olive, please use ‘Alex10’ for 10% off.  This is an affiliate link so thank you for supporting creators too.

Have you tried trackers in your Bullet Journal before?

There are many types of tracker, weekly, monthly and daily - I am going to demonstrate step by step how to create a yearly tracker.  If you prefer to watch how to create this tracker check out the video here:

Step 1 - Draft the layout

Whenever I am creating a spread like this I use pencil first to outline the layout. This definitely helps you get started initially, especially if you are worried about making a mistake.  Any errors can then easily be corrected before putting pen to paper.

Step 2 - Create the ‘Year in Pixels’

You will need to outline a table using 32 rows and 13 columns.  The rows are for the days of the month and columns for months of the year, plus a header row.

Top tip: Start counting up from the bottom of your page so you can maximise space for a title and key.

I added numbers upto 31 on the far left column (the maximum number of days in a month) and initials for the months of the year. I then checked how many days were in each month and drew a line to shorten my columns to the relevant

Step 3 - Create the ‘Monthly Note’

We are going to use the remaining space to create a simple table for notes each month, with room for the first letter of each month.  I found 12 grid squares wide x 3 rows high worked well in my A5.

You may prefer not to include this note section if you want plenty of space for a key.

Step 4 - Create the key

The categories of your key will need to be considered carefully to ensure they last a whole year. For temperature you will need to choose either maximum or minimum (or create a second spread/use the printable available at the end of this blog). I definitely recommend working out the key first on some scrap paper.

I am in the UK so included units in degrees celsius.  2022 had some record high temperatures so I have included this possibility on the key in case it happens again. It’s better to have more options than too few.

The colours I have chosen also symbolise cold (blue) and hot (red) so at a glance someone should recognise the results when complete.

Now just add a title at the top of the page!

Completing your Year in Pixels

It can be hard to remember to complete trackers in your Bullet Journal.  Try to add them into your regular routine, alongside other daily journaling.

For this Year in Pixels, I may sometimes write the temperature in pencil if I can’t easily find the correct color for the key. I can then go back and shade correctly later.

Printable Year in Pixels

Take a look at this printable Year in Pixels to help save time - it’s completely adaptable for whatever you want to track!

Sharing your creations

I hope you have found this helpful and it has given you some ideas for the year ahead. For more journal inspiration come and say hello at TheJournalCorner.  We always love to see your creations, so please tag @archerandolive and @archerandolive.community or use #aoshare on Instagram too.

Looking for more tracker inspiration, there a many more Archer and Olive blogs to check out! Read this blog next for inspiration for a monthly mood tracker. If you want to track your sleep, this blog has a great tutorial! Or if you're looking to make some lifestyle changes check out these tracker ideas!