April marks the beginning of a new quarter in this year. And with the dragging on of the pandemic and a few other curves in the graph of my life, I felt like really needed to take advantage of this fresh start that April would lend me.
And what better colour than a fresh blue to mark this fresh start! Its an antithesis to summer which has arrived in full swing where I live. Its like splashing some cold water on your face - you feel wide awake.
Blue is such a basic colour and I think that is what makes it so versatile. All the stationery brands will ofcourse include this colour while making their products since it is a primary colour and goes with a lot of other colours. Which is why, it was easy for me to find pens and washi tapes in the shades of blue from my own stationery collection without having to make any extra purchases.
So now that we're done with our ode to the freshness of blue, let's get to the April Bullet Journal Setup.
The April Cover Page:
I went for a pretty minimal vibe for the coverpage. The central piece is a watercolour and gel pen mix media piece I'd leisurely painted a few months ago and that turned out to fit here perfectly. I think it gives a really nice vibe to the whole theme.
Goals and affirmations:
Alongside the cover page is a spread for my goals and affirmations.
When I think about my goals I'll usually pen down about 3-4 of them. I've also started to write down quantifiable, output based goals.
For example if my goal is to be consistent with Save Ourselves content creation I would write down make 4 videos and 4 blogposts for this month. That way I know exactly what I need to get done in order to fulfil the intention I had.
Next to that is a column to write down some affirmations. These have been serving as great reminders for me for aspects that I tend to delve into self- doubt about or to become the version of myself I'm seeking to be.
An affirmation can be as broad or specific as you want to be. As long as it resonates with you.
The monthly log:
If you've followed my blog for a while, you maybe aware of this calendar format I use for my monthly log.
I like to see how my month is set up in an format that gives me most visual clarity. For me, that comes in the form of a monthly calendar. I'll try and make the calendar boxes as big as possible for each month in order to document it as thoroughly as possible.
It serves as a good overview while you look at the month as a whole or in retrospect.
The only decorative element I added to this format was a plain blue washi tape that I drew on with my white Gelly Roll. Minimal and cute.
Gratitude Log:
The gratitude log has become an indispensible part of my bullet journal for me. I've seen slow, sustained and evident growth in my mental health and overall mindset because of a simple spread as this.
It's so amusing to see how just one line of gratitude a day can impact you in such measures.
Habit and health trackers:
As is the norm, my monthly setups almost always have habit and health trackers. They are a way of keeping myself accountable and documenting my life through my habits and routines.
Here are the habits I'm tracking this month:
Reading
Journalling
Meditating
Screen time limit
Waking up early
Getting some fresh air (with COVID measures in mind)
Reading the news
Laundry
Save Ourselves work
Working out
The health aspects I'm tracking are:
Overall health
Metabolism
Stretching
Energy level
Skincare
Sleep quality
These are the things that are important for me this month which is why they have taken shape in my spreads.
Days in April:
This is a new addition that I made for this month.
Since we're close to going into lockdown again and the pandemic cycle seems to be happening all over again, I want to take a fresh approach towards my every day routines and schedules.
In this spread, I have written time slots from 8am-11pm (the rough time I'm usually awake everyday). And on the right hand side, I'll be filling up the spread with options of schedules to choose from for my days in April.
There can be an option for a regular working day, a regular rest or break day, a work heavy day or a day that's given for personal projects.
You can add these options to your own life depending on the different kinds of days you usually have in your life.
So these were all the spreads I made in my April monthly setup.
If you're interested in the process of their creation, check out the video up on my Youtube channel. Consider subscribing if you like what you see!