Keen to try ‘Bullet Journal Doodling’ but unsure where to begin? Or, you’ve experimented with drawing in your journal, now you just need to make it a regular practice? Drawing and doodling in the Bullet Journal is the best way to create unique page layouts that reflect your style and suit your needs. Today I’m sharing my tips for getting started with a drawing practice, staying inspired, and making drawing a daily habit. It’s easier than you think.
Drawing and doodling has recently become one of my favourite creative pursuits. I’d always enjoyed drawing, but never had a reason to make it a regular thing. That was until I began Bullet journaling. I admit, I did find the idea of drawing in my bullet journal daunting at first, and I worried it may even be a bit of a time waster. My reason for Bullet journaling, after all, was planning and organisation. But the more I saw other bullet journalists illustrations and hand-drawn page layouts, the more inspired I was to incorporate drawing into my journaling.
WHY do you want to draw?
When I first started doodling in my Bullet journal my drawings were of random things and my pages were a mess! It wasn’t until I spent some time thinking about exactly why I wanted to draw in my journal, that I was able to start establishing a daily rhythm. My reasons for wanting to draw were:
- Creativity
- Relaxation and mindfulness
- Improved drawing skills
- Unique page layouts
Once I knew why I wanted to set aside time each day for drawing, it was easier to work out what I wanted to draw, and how I would fit drawing into my day.
Choose YOUR drawing prompts
Rather than feel pressured to draw exactly what other bullet journalists were drawing, I focused my Bullet journal doodling around topics that inspired me. Choosing topics you’re passionate about will help you create a drawing practice that is fun and, most importantly, achievable. For me, it also means I’m able to create practical drawings that can be used repeatedly throughout my Bullet journal, such as weather icons, nature borders, food, coffee etc. From a rather large list of ideas, I finally settled on my 12 drawing prompts, and set myself a goal to focus on one prompt per month.
Make Bullet Journal Doodling a daily habit
So, you’ve worked out why you want to draw in your journal, and you know which topics you’re super excited about. Now it’s time to make the actual practice of drawing fit into your regular bullet journaling schedule. Here’s how I set up my regular drawing practice: I designed a simple daily log layout that had all the bits and pieces I needed for my planning, plus a specific space for doodling. I kept the space for doodling small so that I wouldn’t feel overwhelmed. Having the same sized space to draw in each day means my drawing has become part of my regular daily planning. It’s just another little box to fill in each day. Keeping the drawings small means I don’t need to add too much detail, or spend a lot of time drawing. This way I’m much more likely to stick to my daily practice.
Keep your drawing practice flexible
Even though I have my little designated space for daily drawing in my Bullet journal, this doesn’t mean I’m limited to just this space. On days when I create other layouts, such as a collection or a weekly log, I may choose to doodle here too. I just keep with my current drawing prompt and style. And if I’m really in the mood for drawing, I might even create a whole page of doodles, just for fun! Then there’s the days when I simply don’t use my journal (yes, sometimes it happens!) I just draw again when I next create a daily log. This flexibility is one of the things I love most about Bullet journaling.
Now you know how to make Bullet Journal Doodling a daily habit. Choose your drawing prompt, create a little space in your layouts each day, week or month, and get doodling!
Has this post inspired you to start a regular drawing practice? Let me know in the comments below. Or do you have other ways to make drawing and doodling a regular thing? I’d love to hear about them!
