Do you want to journal everyday but don’t have the time for it? Or did you used to journal, but you just ended up not being able to devote time to it? In this blog, I will be talking about some tips and tricks to journal even when you don’t have time! Let’s get right into it! 

Hello! I’m Viv from @bujowmee on Instagram/YouTube here talking about the tips and tricks you can use while journaling if you don’t have time! When i first started bullet journaling, I started creating themes which would take up all my time, but now that I’m a third-year university student, I realized I can’t really create those spreads since I don’t have the time. I have tried a lot of tricks to get myself to journal and in this blog, i’ll be talking about some I think helped me a lot! I’ll be talking you through different minimalist spreads for journaling with a busy schedule with a printable that you can use in your spreads!

Supplies! 

For the different types of spreads I’ll be showing you today, I used the supplies below which you may also find helpful in recreating any of the spreads! Remember you can always use my code VIV10 for 10% off on all your orders at Archer and Olive; we love ourselves a little discount!

• Archer and Olive’s A5 Moon Flowers Journal
• Archer & Olive’s A5 journal from the December subscription box
• Acrylographs and Calliographs
• [Optional] Prints, stickers and washi tapes!

If you’re more of a visual learner, feel free to take a watch the video below, where I talk about the topic of this blog! Feel free to continue reading if you would want to read instead of watch!

But what are they..?

I’ll be dividing this section into some parts where I talk about particular themes, weekly ideas, and just journaling in general! One big theme that you’d find floating around this entire theme is minimalism. I’ve started journaling in a minimalist style and it’s been saving me a lot of time for my daily workload and assignments that I have due! I’ll also provide you with examples from other artists that you can follow a well!

The spread above is definitely one of my current favorite spreads! I spent less than 20 minutes creating this cover and it turned out beautiful! You can recreate the same thing I created here or you can always change it up with the season for the month you use. For example, I used this spread for my April bujo cover, which was tea time. Everytime I think of spring, I think of tea picnics outside, and this theme was originally going to be picnic themed but I thought I might not have enough time, which i didn’t :’(. I like how minimalist it is, along with the touch of washi tapes on the side!

This cover page above is my cover page for my journal from april to june! This took me no time as well since you can always just go ahead with some brush pens, some acrylographs, and a metallic pen to create these spread. This one also did not take as much time as I was just doodling around and didn’t really have much to illustrate or shade. I like how this turned out and like in my april cover page, this one also has some washi tape details to make it look prettier!

The cover page above by @craftyenginerd is another example of a simple but elegant cover page! The best part about this cover page is that you can create it in any size and in any font you want and it’ll still look like it fills up the page. I used a very similar layout for my first bullet journal and would recommend using this if it’s your first time bullet journaling. Another versatile think about this cover page is that you can create it on any colored page without using a lot of pens. It’s also a spread you can create in between your classes or during your break time!

This cover page by @bloomanddot is another cover page you can try out! It’s different from the usual minimal spreads because they’re mostly made with one color only but this one uses earthy tones, which I love! I believe the only tedious part of this spread would be to color the block at the edge of the page. And if you’re not one to color, you can always just stick colored paper to your journal! As for the line, you can always use acrylographs since when they dry, they turn opaque and look like you printed something instead of creating it. If you have the time and want to create something that is more colorful than sticking to just one color, you can always try this one!

And that’s all I have for the cover pages but you can always look for more on Instagram and Pinterest! We’ll switch to weeklies now! :D

This weekly above is something I tried for the first time and I absolutely loved it! It’s a layout I love using when I want to write about my memories in my journal instead of my tasks. In saying this, I don’t mean that you cannot use it for your daily tasks, because you definitely can! Although it may look like it’ll take a long time, it actually doesn’t! It’s just layering your prints and washi tapes on each page and writing the days below it. There’s enough space to write about your day or a reflection on how your day went. It’s my to-go weekly layout for all my weeklies now (:

This weekly by @autumnaldrich is another example of how minimalism can look beautiful in your journal! I love how she’s used two different colors to create stripes of color and written the days below. I tried this type of weekly before and it turned out really easy to use as well. I love how minimalist yet pretty it looks when you finish filling it up. Again for this weekly as well, you can always use it to write your memories of the day or note down your daily tasks. You can also add your schedule if you want that to be a part of your spread as well!

The weekly above by @creffectivepaper is something you can do in a planner! It’s minimalist with clear stickers, which are perfect if you want to try decorating your planner but don’t want clashing colors in your spread. Like in the spread, you can also create trackers for your habits and steps you take everyday! Along with that, you can always add a part for your weekly events and things you don’t want to forget. It’s an effective way to plan if you have a planner, or if you just want to create a spread similar to this in your bullet journal!

The next weekly by @whystarsfall is also something you can try out in your journal! The best part about this spread is that it doesn’t have to be perfect, it can be just the way you want. In the spread above, you’ve got all days of the weeks along with the tasks or memories from the day. You can also doodle if you want to fill up the empty space or you can always use washi tapes. I’ve always loved the idea of creating weeklies where you don’t have a set theme but can create a new theme every week, and this weekly gives you the freedom to do just that!

That’s the examples I have for weeklies, but there are of course a plethora of them by now. We’ll be moving to minimalist spreads that can be included in your yearly setup or just about anywhere in your journal!

This spread above is from my yearly setup which includes my period tracker, This period tracker was inspired by @plantbasedbride and so far, it’s been the easiest for me to use! It’s not updated here, but I create small symbols around next to the day when I had my menstrual cycle, It’s been very helpful in tracking any symptoms I had before or after as well. The plus point of this spread was that I didn’t really have to worry about spending too much time! I just took a mildliner and created it on the spot! It was definitely much easier to work around it too.

The spreads above are probably the ones I’m going to use a lot when I journal! Both of these spreads were easy to setup and took almost no time. I’ll be using my theme ideas spread for any doodles that I think I want to turn into making a theme for. It’ll definitely be more of a brain dump spread than an actual spread filled with tiny doodles and scribbles! I actually have a reason for creating a spread dedicated to pen swatches. I accidentally used a pen which bled through the pages in one of my journals, and ever since then, I’ve been too paranoid to use a pen without swatching it first :’) But I believe I’ll be using the spread for most pen swarches and might end up creating a new one later on in one of my months–

This spread above by @softpallete.studio is a calendar spread that you can recreate in your journal! It’s by far the simplest calendar I’ve seen and it’s definitely one you can try if you’re too busy! All you need for this spread if just a calendar layout and some stickers. The stickers can be selected based on your theme and you can always find calendar printouts on the Internet! If you don’t feel like creating one and just want to start making your spread after reading this blog, feel free to use the printable below for your first minimalist spread! The printable should help you create a calendar like the spread above along with some black and white stickers that you can use in your journal!

And that’s all the spreads I’ve got for you today! I hope you found some spreads you want to try or were just inspired to try a new type of journaling! You can also branch out to new types of journaling if bullet journaling becomes too hard! Always remember to take breaks and take some time out of your day for yourself!

There are various spreads you can try in your journal even when you’re too busy and I hope you’ve found the ideas in this blog post to be helpful; I hope you’re excited to start journaling again or just to get back in that journaling mode! Feel free to tag me, @bujowmee, @archerandolive, @archerandolive.community, #AOShare, and #archerandolive in your spreads related to this blog on Instagram. We can’t wait to see what you create! (: