Once again, it’s time to start organising our bullet journal setup for the new year! If you’re anything like me, you’ll have a huge amount of ideas. But it’s not always simple to get those concepts out of our heads and into a notebook. Over the years, I’ve experimented with a number of methods to make it easier for me to make useful bullet journals. Starting with printed calendars, page tabs, and monthly covers is a wonderfully effective strategy.
printable calendars to start your new year bullet journal setup!
Fear of making a mess is one of the main challenges I face when beginning a new dot grid notebook. I worry that my writing won’t be neat enough, or that I will make a spelling mistake. Drawing my first layout or header feels risky because my lines could be wobbly or my handlettering could be uneven.
However, I can set up my notebook’s basic pages and layout without actually writing anything down by starting with printable calendars and page tabs. I feel accomplished after doing this, which gives me the courage to begin filling in the blank pages.
printable 2023 at a glance calendar
Including a Year At A Glance calendar in your journal setup is a terrific idea. This year, I created a new calendar with a floral motif in a stunning colour scheme that I’ll use throughout my notebook. I can quickly see the year thanks to the yearly calendar. When planning, it’s a simple method to confirm dates and mark significant occasions. The lined space at the bottom of the calendar provides space for noting events, yearly goals, motivational quotes, and comments.
The 2023 At A Glance calendar is a downloadable A5 that you may print at home and trim to fit your planner. I adore printing my calendars directly onto sticky printer paper. I’ll only need to peel and stick them into my dot grid journal that way. PNG files that can be opened in the Cricut Design Space programme are included. If you have a Cricut, you can quickly print out your calendar and use the Print Then Cut tool to precisely cut it to the right size.
bullet journal monthly setup
Once I’ve printed monthly calendars, mini covers, and page tabs, organising each monthly part in a dot grid notebook is quite simple. The 2023 Monthly Calendars and collection of printable 2023 Mini Calendars and Page Tabs contains all of these. Choose from a variety of coloured page tabs that all elegantly match the calendars to give your notebook a uniform appearance. To secure the tab, fold the page tabs over the top or side of the page. You’ll be able to go through each month or part of your notebook with ease and speed.
Print the page tabs and calendars from the supplied files, then manually trim them to size. Alternately, use Design Space’s Print Then Cut option if you have a Cricut machine. I used the Cricut machine to create the monthly calendars, tabs, and covers for my journal. I created kiss-cut sticker sheets that are simple to peel and stick by printing onto sticky paper.
There are also mini calendars included in the collection. Any page in your notebook where you need to refer to a calendar or note important dates should have these. Even tracking habits can be done with little calendars! To make it easier for you to mark out each month in your notebook, there are two small calendars for each month that also have a monthly tab.
Set up for the whole year, or set up as you go!
When you start with a blank notebook, you have the choice of printing and adding calendars as each new month approaches, or setting up all of your calendars in advance. Your decision will depend on how you use your journal and whether you prefer to have an endless amount of room to journal at your leisure.
I bought two dot grid notebooks so I could start a bullet journal for 2023. I reserve a few pages at the start of each notebook to use for creating the cover page and index. The remaining pages were then divided into twelve equal sections. The calendars, cover pages, and monthly tabs have all been added to these areas. My notebooks are now prepared with the essentials for 2023, which provides me an excellent place to start when the new year begins. Each monthly section’s blank pages will probably be used for different purposes each month, including weekly spreads, daily logs, habit tracking, and note-taking.
You can add new calendars, cover pages, and monthly tabs as you go if you want your bullet journal to have unlimited capacity each month. I suggest printing everything out and cutting everything out beforehand. You’ll be prepared to add everything to your notebook at the start of each new month if you do it that way.
free printable 2023 bullet journal cover page
Add a lovely 2023 cover page to the front or inner page of your notebook. There are three covers available for selection. From The Planner Lovers Resource Library, you can download the bullet journal cover pages for free.
Will you use printable calendars to start your new year bullet journal setup? Leave a comment and let me know!
Happy journaling!
