13 Journal Pages for the New Year
Both Bullet Journal and Reading Journal Pages to Start Your Journaling Year Off Right
One of my long-time favorite activities for late November is the art of setting up my bullet journal (and now reading journal!) pages for the new year. It’s a Thanksgiving weekend tradition that has served me well.
Ryder Carroll suggests starting each new year with a new bullet journal in his book, The Bullet Journal Method.
However, what pages are best to start with? While both the bullet and reading journal system encourages taking what works for you and running with it, the following pages are a starting place.
Bullet Journal
A Dedication Page
This is a good place to put your name, the year and your contact information. It’s also a good place to state the purpose of your new notebook. Is it to:
- practice self-care and be more creative?
- To plan both short and long-term projects?
- To keep track of things day to day?
- Is this a notebook you are going to be using as a commonplace book or a course?
Mark your intentions early with this page. It will serve in the future as a way to look back if you feel lost in the journey and to set the tone for what is to come.
Index
This is one that I constantly forget and neglect, but it’s important. It is the place where everything can be accessed. Any special pages or collections (not daily logs) can be listed here. It is a vital part of the organization system.
A Future Log
This is one of the original cornerstones of the bullet journal. It’s a place to keep track of things that are coming up but are not vital in the upcoming month. It can be a simple 12 box setup with the names of the month at the top or a beautiful layout with a calendar at the top of each month and only 1–2 months covering each page.
New Year’s Resolutions
If you enjoy creating New Years Resolutions, put these front and center for easy access. These can take the form of a vision board, a bulleted list of goals or a page per project.
Quotes
I love starting a yearly journal with quotes. These can be related to goals, things to remember, or just things that make me smile.
22 in 2022
Separate from yearly goals, these are the smaller things you want to do that year. Think of these as a bucket list or a just-for-fun list. It can be a list of places, things, challenges, books, or movies to take on next year.
An About Me Page
We change so much throughout each year. Why not create a page about who you are right now, at this moment? What do you love? What are things synonymous with you? What are some fun facts about you in this season of life? Additionally- you can create one at the beginning and end of each year and compare it. It’s one of those pages that simply seem fun right now but will be intriguing to look back on in the future.
Book Journal
This is a relatively new project to me, and I’m enjoying learning what I need in mine. However, there are pages I know I will be creating for this upcoming year, and I think they are worth considering as a new journal is started. Disclaimer: these are the pages that I’ve seen in different setups that I’m super excited to add to my year. None of these is originally from me.
22 Most Anticipated in 2022
List the 22 books you are most looking forward to in the new year. Whether these are new releases or from the backlist (more than two years old). These will be the books that you think are most important to fit into the puzzle of your reading selections.
Books Read Page
While many people enjoy drawing a large bookcase or stack of books to be filled in, I prefer creating a design that incorporates hearts. If you’re one of the people who want to be unique this way, could one of your favorite shapes be colored in while reading each book? What about just making a shortlist- x amount of bullet points that will have titles written next to them?
TBR game page
Some readers enjoy having a TBR game that they return to over and over again. I think mainly of YouTube creator Becca and the Books’ Bookopoly or BookswithMaddi’s Deck of TBR, where the prompts correspond to cards in a deck. If you would like to create a game with a TBR- is there a way to incorporate that into your journal? IE: have a monopoly board drawn out and then create community and chance prompts separately? What do cards in a deck correspond to? Is there a standard prompt that you can write down and repeatedly use when a card is drawn?
Goals Page
I consider this different from the books read page. This is where you can write down goals for yearly challenges, social media channels, or types of books that you want to read more of.
Best Book of the Year Brackets
What was the best book that you read this year? If someone asked you to write an article on your top x favorites, would you know which ones those would be? This page encourages you to choose only one book per month and have those books go head to head to win the title.
Hopefully, this gives you a starting point.
There are so many types of pages that can be created for both bullet journaling and book journaling. However, I hope that these give you a starting point for pages you’d like to create when starting your new or continued journal (while I use a new bullet journal, I will continue with my reading journal from year to year).
Let me know which ideas are your favorites and if you think you will use any of these suggestions.
