10 Monthly Layouts to Simplify Your Life

Journaling is an essential part of my creative process and lifestyle. I can jot down a character outline, keep track of books I want to read, or make note of healthy meal ideas. But my ability to carry only ONE notebook hinges on being able to manage my schedule, as well.

|10 Monthly Layouts to Simplify Your Life|

Monthly pages are an easy way to gather future planning events and tasks on a central spread for the whole month. From there,  I migrate events and tasks to my weekly and daily pages. How you organize your monthly spread depends on your needs.

Now, close your eyes. Don’t worry, I’m not going to do anything weird! Just close your eyes and ask yourself these questions:

• How much of my time is dominated by meetings and appointments?
• Am I visually motivated or do I do well with sequential lists?
• How important is goal-setting to me?
• Which major tasks do I intend to track monthly?

Keep the answers in mind as we work through some of these layout options.

My Current Layout

The Modified Berry:

The original inspiration for my current monthly layout (pictured above) came from the lovely and talented Kara at bohoberry.com. I loved how she broke up the spread into columns, which makes scheduling multiple events on a given day much easier.

I also added a column dedicated to my blog planning. It gives me a quick snapshot of ideas and posts I’m planning; from here, I can move things around and change post ideas as needed.

Having my monthly goals on the page also gives me a metric to evaluate at the end of the month for how effectively I used my time.

Alternative Layouts

If you’ve visited my blog before, you know how much I love my Leuchtturm1917 notebook. I have an old dot grid journal from the clearance pile at Target ($2.98), and decided to keep it handy for trying out new layouts. It allows me to experiment a bit without burning through half the pages in my bullet journal. The quality isn’t great (the stiff binding drives me bonkers), but for less than $3, I really can’t complain.

See my list of high-quality notebooks that hold up to bullet journaling.

What works for me might not work for you, so I gathered up some of my favorite monthly layouts and developed a few of my own. If you’re new to bullet journaling, I encourage you to examine each layout critically in terms of your needs.

Here we go…

The Ryder:

Ryder’s Bullet Journal system is clean, simple, and minimalist. A monthly layout can be as simple as a header (the name of the month) and a numbered column, one for each day of the month. The “Ryder” is one of the quickest methods to set up your monthly log, and I would encourage you to give it a try before moving on to more elaborate formats.

Advantages:

• Requires very little time to set up
• No unnecessary distractions
• Creates a single dedicated page to hold the month’s appointments
• Streamlined format makes for at-a-glance scheduling

Disadvantages:

• Does not distinguish time of day
• May not suit visually-oriented people who need grid calendar format
• Goals are not incorporated into task list
• No additional space for notes

The Basic Betty:

The “Basic Betty” is essentially the “Ryder” but with a few additional features. For starters, days of the week are added to the far left column to make scheduling a bit easier. The additional sections on the right page showcase the month’s actionable goals, and separate notes for people who need a little free thinking space.

Advantages:

• Easy to set up
• Goals drive major tasks for the month
• Space for notes, inspiration, ideas
• Streamlined format makes for at-a-glance scheduling

Disadvantages:

• Does not distinguish time of day
• May not suit visually-oriented people who need grid calendar format

The Double Life:

Rather than creating entirely separate journals for your personal and professional needs, the “Double Life” allows you to synch appointments from both worlds. This system deals strictly in appointments, meaning goals and task lists have to find a home elsewhere.

Advantages:

• Easy to set up
• Synchs professional and personal appointments for the whole month
• Simple, at-a-glance scheduling
• No unnecessary distractions

Disadvantages:

• Does not allow space for goals or monthly tasks
• May not suit visually-oriented people who need grid calendar format
• Does not break scheduling into time of day
• Can be overwhelming to have so much information on one spread

Check out how and why I use the bullet journal system.

The Weekly Warrior:

A month can be a lot to process all at once. If you like biting off a week at a time, the “Weekly Warrior” is for you. The right page organizes appointments and events, while the left page is left to prioritize major tasks on a weekly basis.

Advantages:

• Easy to set up
• Quickly migrate major tasks from week to week
• Simple, at-a-glance scheduling

Disadvantages:

• Does not allow space for goals or monthly tasks
• May not suit visually-oriented people who need grid calendar format
• Does not break scheduling into time of day

The Crop Top:

Some people like a highly-structured layout where everything has its place. Others like a lot of free space for tasks and notes. The “Crop Top” suits both types of people. The top half of this spread neatly organizes scheduled events. The bottom half can be customized to the user or left blank (for all you plan-by-the-seat-of-your-panters).

Advantages: 

• Allows space for goals, notes, tasks, etc.
• Simple, at-a-glance scheduling
• Appointments visible even while writing on bottom half

Disadvantages:

• May not suit visually-oriented people who need grid calendar format
• Does not break scheduling into time of day
• The two column format may create an awkward break in the middle of a week

The Task Master:

The “Task Master” is for people of action. This layout emphasizes actionable goals and productivity like a task assembly line. Unaccomplished items from the previous month are listed in the far left column, followed by current goals and tasks based on those goals. The far right column gives a preview of upcoming projects. The monthly scheduling section is significantly smaller than other formats, so this layout should not be used by people with heavy appointment loads.

Advantages: 

• More space to focus on tasks and actionable goals
• Simple, at-a-glance scheduling
• Appointments visible even while writing on bottom half

Disadvantages:

• May not suit visually-oriented people who need grid calendar format
• Very limited space for appointments

The Calendar:

Now, we’re getting into the traditional calendar layouts. If you’re new to bullet journaling or have a hard time adapting to list-based scheduling, try drawing out a standard monthly calendar in your bullet journal. This is a nice format to use if you want your spouse or children to be able to read your schedule easily.

Advantages: 

• Ideal for visually-oriented people or those who need grid calendar format
• Familiar, even for non-bullet journalists
• Easy at-a-glance scheduling
• Allows some space for goals or tasks

Disadvantages:

• Takes longer to set up
• Spans the seam of the notebook
• More difficult to customize or separate into work/personal categories

The Mini Calendar:

If you like a traditional calendar, but you need more room for goals, notes, tasks, etc., the “Mini Calendar” might be a good fit for you.

Advantages: 

• Ideal for visually-oriented people or those who need grid calendar format
• Familiar, even for non-bullet journalists
• More space for notes, tasks, goals, etc.

Disadvantages:

• Takes longer to set up
• Spans the seam of the notebook
• Limited space for appointments

The Vertical Twist:

The “Vertical Twist” solves that pesky problem of scheduling on the seam by turning the whole notebook on its side. The top page now has the ideal shape for a traditional calendar view, and the entire lower page can be used for note, task planning, goals, habit tracking, etc.

Advantages: 

• Ideal for visually-oriented people or those who need grid calendar format
• No more calendar on the seam of the notebook!
• More space for notes, tasks, goals, etc.

Disadvantages:

• More difficult to set up that list schedules
• Requires user to turn whole notebook to view properly

Now, Make It Your Own!

I can almost guarantee that your perfect monthly layout is not in this post. These are basic templates to get you pointed in the right direction, but each person’s needs are unique.

Start somewhere. Adjust as needed!

Which basic format do you use? Comment below & tell me about your planning system, or post a photo on my Facebook page!

Brainstorm with me!

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Megan Rutell

Writer & Creative Blogger

Megan Rutell is the blogger behind Page Flutter. She's also a writer, stationery lover, Air Force veteran, and homesick Colorado girl.