Future Logging

Hey lovely people!!

So, it's been crazy around here.  Two kids back at school, the younger one starting her first year of high school!!  It has been full tilt with correspondence from school, correspondence from extra mural activities....yikes!!!

All I can say is thank goodness for my bullet journal!!!!

Not pretty, but functional!

If you follow me in Instagram, you will notice I have made a couple of small purchases from Muji...OMG, why have I waited so long to invest in Muji-magicness!!!

One of the things I bought on my first "haul" were a set of A5 grid notebooks.  My intention was to use them in my Filofax-bullet journal as the size was perfect and all I'd need to do is punch some holes.

I am currently still well supplied on Rhodia Graph paper so the Muji notebooks were on ice until I needed them.

One of the things I have not being thoroughly enjoying at the  moment is the future logging with the bullet journal.  This became glaringly evident when we got schedules for events during the school year, all the way up to March next year.

I have delved in Calendex (Hope method).  I was so hopeful that it would work, but sadly, I ditched it as I didn't feel confident in correctly capturing what was needed.

I have used the method suggested in the original Bullet Journal Video by Ryder Carroll.  I found it lacked in space for multi entries, and so I the Alastair system which resolved a couple of the snags, but ultimately, I knew I needed a monthly layout for future months.

I use a monthly log at the beginning of every month anyway, so I figured it made sense to ditch the double work of logging in the future log, then in my monthly layout, oh and of course cross referencing to the Birthday spread in my collections. (Birthday/Anniversary spread still survives in my collections section, as I still find it relevant).

NOTE:  This post is not to say the fantastic future logging systems created by Ryder, Alastair and Hope are not useful.   There were great benefits in both systems when I used them, it's just they didn't gel for me and my way of planning.

I have been toying with the idea of doing loose-leaf monthly layouts for upcoming months, storing them in the beginning of my Filofax, using them as a future log, inserting them to my daily pages when the month comes up.

So, I was sitting at my work space, brain storming an alternate solution.  I was thinking about my very first attempt at bullet journaling in 2013, when I used a Midori Passport size notebook with one notebook with monthlies setup for the whole year, and a separate notebook for the day to day bullet journal stuff....LIGHT BULB!!!

A5 Graph Notebook from Muji

Rest of 2016 Monthly pages (I have done all the way through to December 2017 in this book)

I had the Muji graph notebook, just crying to be used, so I sat down and drew up the months for the rest of the year.  It slips right into my Filofax Domino and it's not causing any additional stress on the binder.

September monthly in bullet journal.

September Monthly (Muji notebook)

Rest of 2016 Monthly pages (I have done all the way through to December 2017 in this book)

I have found two lucky coincidences since changing over a couple of days ago...

1. I can keep the monthly notebook open in front of me while I am plotting out my day - (no more flipping backwards and forwards to the monthly/future log which is a few pages ahead of the page I am currently on.

1. If I want to travel really light while out and about, I can pop the monthly notebook into my bag, and be confident I can future log without double booking!!

I am trialling this system for a little while and if you have read any of my previous posts on this blog, you know my feelings on planner peace...the ever elusive Unicorn!!  There is not chance I am going to get up on my soapbox and say that this is THE system that works for me forever and always full stop.  I am under no delusion that this is what works now, and who knows, 6 months from now I may be all over some other idea of perfect planning. I will say it again, planner peace is when your planning system is working for you, whatever that system may be, and I feel that just like us, our lives and our circumstances, our planning systems should be just as malleable as we are!

Happy planning all you fabulous humans :D

Jo

XXX