Bullet journaling can be a helpful activity for all kinds of tasks, from planning events to recording memories. It’s an engaging and personal way to stay organized. Plus, a dotted journal (or dot grid journal) offers the perfect mix of structure and flexibility. You can draw charts and tables or doodle between the dots—wherever your mind takes you. But what are some bullet journaling ideas, you may be wondering? How can you begin bullet journaling to organize your day-to-day life?
Below, we’ve compiled a list of 10 bullet journaling ideas to get you started, plus pictures of a dotted journal template to help you visualize your own.
And if you’re shopping for dotted journals, look no further: our full-grain leather Refillable Journals come with the option for dotted pages, so you can fill yours—and then refill it—to your heart’s content. Click the table of contents below to jump to each section:
10 Easy Bullet Journaling Ideas
1. Vision Boards
Dotted journals can be a powerful space for creating miniature vision boards that inspire and clarify your goals. Combine drawings, magazine cutouts, quotes and written resolutions. Whether related to your health, career, relationships or personal growth, they'll help you visualize and achieve your plans. Unlike traditional vision boards, a dotted journal version can be followed by pages of space to regularly track your progress (see section 4 below). Add the "boards" at the beginning of your journal over a few spreads. Then, follow them up with a checklist or other layout to record your progress throughout the year. This keeps your goals top of mind and turns your journal into a visual, motivating reminder of the life you’re working toward.
2. Checklists
Stay organized by creating checklists in your dotted journal for work or everyday tasks. With simple check boxes, bullet points and symbols, you can monitor your progress and stay focused throughout the day. Consider dividing your dotted journal into sections: daily, weekly and monthly to-do lists, as well as long-term goals. Writing down your goals and storing them all in one place will boost your productivity. Plus, it always feels great to check items off as you go along, reminding yourself of your accomplishments.
3. Calendars
Creating calendars in your dotted journal lets you see your plans from a zoomed-out perspective. Choose the format that fits you best: weekly or monthly. For a weekly calendar, split each page into a single column with seven rows and label the dates at the top of each one. For a monthly calendar, draw a grid—we’d suggest across an entire spread—with seven columns and enough rows to fit each day. (This might have to be as many as six rows depending on what day of the week the month starts.) Write the days of the week across the top, and fill in the dates in the upper corners of each box, just like a regular calendar. From there, you can add all your events, plans or deadlines. Include symbols and colors for further organization, or doodles around the margins for extra fun.
4. Bullet Journaling Habit Tracker: Sleep, Fitness & More
Writing out your goals is known to improve your commitment and reduce stress. Bullet journaling can be a powerful way to track your daily habits, sleep patterns, fitness goals and other wellbeing metrics. Create a bullet journaling habit tracker to monitor daily routines like drinking water, doing chores or reading. Draw seven columns across a single page for each week, or 31 across a full spread if you prefer a monthly view. Then divide these columns into rows labeled with each desired habit, and check them off each day as you complete them. Tracking your habits will make it easy to spot patterns and stay accountable. By visually mapping each aspect of your health, your dotted journal can keep you motivated for long-term wellbeing.
5. Work Planner
A dotted journal is a great place to plan your work to-do lists. Dedicate a page for each day, or a spread for each week or month. Daily lists help you stay on top of the details, while a weekly or monthly view can help you track big-picture goals and key deliverables. You can organize by task, writing each item in order from top to lowest priority or earliest to latest deadline. Or, sort your pages by the names of which coworkers you’ll be collaborating with on each project. You can also create separate sections or pages for meeting notes and project planning. Consider writing tasks on the left side of each spread and relevant notes on the right. Use a highlighter to color code your items. Review and update your journal daily to stay on top of priorities and unfinished tasks.
6. Travel Records
A dotted journal is an excellent way to document and reflect on your favorite trips, turning your travels from passing memories into lasting experiences. You can create travel logs to write down destinations, itineraries, expenses and packing lists. It’s also perfect for journaling daily events and adventures; pasting in photographs or mementos; and noting favorite restaurants, landmarks and cultural insights. You can design each travel spread to match the spirit of your trip by adding colors and icons, giving it the personalized feel of a scrapbook with the structure of a grid. For more ideas, check out our travel journal template here.
7. Media Review Log: Books, Movies, Podcasts & Music
Use a dotted journal to record your thoughts on books; movies; TV or podcast episodes; music albums; or any other types of media you consume. If you’re interested in multiple categories, divide your dotted journal into sections to accommodate them all (or shop our dotted page refills and dedicate one to each). Use a page for each item—for example, one podcast episode or song per page. Consider decorating it with doodles related to the topic. Write first impressions, takeaways, things you would have added or ways you would have improved it. Give it a rating on a scale of one to ten. You can even compare it side-by-side on a spread with other content by the same creator. Over time, you’ll have a well-kept log of your favorite media and insightful opinions on it.
8. Poetry
Using a dotted journal to write poetry offers a creative space to explore your emotions freely. Compose entire poems or jot down fragments of ideas as they come to you. Save inspiration by copying down poems you enjoy from authors you admire. The flexibility of a dotted journal allows you to experiment with layout, add sketches or decorations, and organize your work by topic or mood. You can also track writing goals, prompts and edits. In doing so, your dotted journal will become both an outlet for your poetry and a tool for your growth as a writer.
9. Quotes, Verses & Affirmations
A dotted journal is the perfect place to collect quotes, verses and affirmations that uplift and inspire you. You can devote entire pages to them or sprinkle quotes throughout a daily journal to focus your mind on positive thoughts. Hand-letter the words for creative expression or simply write them in a log for easy structuring. Organizing sections of the journal by theme—like love, courage or faith—can help you quickly find encouragement when you need it most. Each time you use it, your dotted journal will steer you towards confidence and personal growth.
10. Gratitude Journal
Using a dotted journal as a gratitude journal is a simple yet powerful way to cultivate a hopeful mindset. It increases your awareness of all there is to be thankful for in your life. Recognizing these good gifts is important even—and especially!—during difficult times. Devote a page (or even just part of one) to write a few things you’re grateful for, big or small, each day. They could be anything from a personal win to a beautiful sunset or an uplifting conversation with a friend. Regularly acknowledging these moments helps shift our focus away from stress and towards appreciation. You can enhance your entries with doodles, colors, or themed pages to make them more personalized. In time, your dotted journal will become a mosaic of reflection and appreciation. Revisit its pages for daily encouragement.
We hope this list has provided you with some helpful bullet journaling ideas to kickstart your journey. Don’t forget to shop our Refillable Journals with dotted pages for a dotted journal that will last even beyond its first use. With enough consistency, you’ll begin to see deep growth as you reflect on your life and work towards your goals.