Bullet journaling goals: how to watch your goals come to life
The word “goals” is enough to make any of us shudder, as memories of failed New Year’s Resolutions come flooding back to haunt us. But bullet journaling goals are different.
But, goal setting doesn’t have to be as scary as you might think. Your goals are simply your guiding compass, recorded in your bullet journal to remind you where you’re going (and how you hope to get there).
Just because you’ve got a goals page, doesn’t mean that you can’t veer off course and make a detour along the way. But you will, at least, be conscious of the fact that you’ve gone “off piste”. And you’ll know where you need to go to get back on track.
Bullet journaling your goals
We love bullet journaling goals. Why? The simple fact that it’s just you, your journal and nobody else. When you’re writing out your goalsin your journal, you’re away from digital distractions. There’s no comparison, no looking at what everyone else is doing. Instead, you can fully focus on you.
You can figure out what you actually want to do, rather than what you think you “should” be doing.
Below are some of our favourite ways you can journal about your goals.
Beautiful Aesthetics
@junamy.bujo has created a beautifully designed goals page in their bullet journal, whilst leaving a clear blank space for exploring objectives
Structured and Practical
@blankpagenotes has gone for a more structured style with their bullet journaling, creating categories for each goal. Still beautiful of course, but these could include health and fitness goals, mindset and mental health goals, relationships goals, work goals, school goals and so on...
The Simple List
@studyabel has opted for a listicle style approach to bullet journaling goals, listing out 22 goals for the year. This turns the goals page into a fun challenge for the 12 months ahead!
A Fun and Creative Style
@journalingwithmeema has gone for a fun and creative style for her bullet journaling goals, with a 2021 bookshelf and resolutions for the year ahead. Still Remember, you can name your goals whatever you want - from resolutions to focuses to aims or ideas.
Building a Mind Map in your journal
If mind mapping’s more your style, you could use this beautiful spread from @mlle_bullet’s bullet journal for inspiration. Simply write the year (or your goal) in the centre, and then map out the goals that’ll support you along the way.
Turning your bullet journal goals into tasks
@journalsbysav’s weekly spread breaks down her actions and tasks with creative doodles to bring them to life
At the end of the three months, you’ll review these tasks to mark them as completed, migrate them or bid them farewell as they are deemed no longer relevant.
Adding a milestones section to your bullet journal goals page
Set aside a section of your goals page to break those big goals down into smaller milestones.
All this really means is taking your big goals for the year, and turning them into little goals for the three months ahead. This will give you just enough time to plan and get things done, without setting an impossible schedule for yourself.
They say three’s the magic number… so set yourself three milestones that will move you towards that bigger goal. You can think of these as checkpoints to mark off along your journey.
For each of your three milestones, create three tasks to get you going. These tasks should be clear actions, that will help you achieve your mini milestone goals. We always like to turn these into checkboxes because adding that “tick” is oh-so-satisfying.
Add these tasks into your monthly log, including any relevant dates or deadlines along the way. More immediate tasks can be added into your weekly spread.
What to do when you veer off course
We’re all only human. Even with the most perfectly planned and organised bullet journal, life can still get in the way of achieving your goals. But there are some things you can do to keep on track…
- Use a habit trackerto monitor your progress every single day
- Look back at your “tools” collection and find something to help boost your motivation
- Get really granular and break your goals down into baby steps in your bullet journal
- Make checking in with your goals part of your daily bullet journaling routine
- Check back in with your goals page and remember why you wanted to do this. How do you want to feel at the end of the year?
- Choose a reward for yourself when you achieve your goals (yes, bribery always works!)
@blankpagenotes has organised their habit trackers into categories, with seasonal doodles for each month
Even when bullet journaling goals, you can still benefit from a regular goals check-in. At the end of each quarter, check back in with your goals and review what went well, what didn’t work out and how you can best support yourself on the rest of your journey. You might like to set aside a separate section in your bullet journal just for this exercise.
Good luck!
New to bullet journaling?
This (free) beginner’s guide walks you through how to start bullet journaling. It’ll help you live a more intentional life, with everything you need to get started.
Overflowing with bullet journaling ideas, you’ve got everything you need to start bullet journaling today!
Choose a new home for your goals
Pssst…want a ready-made goal planner (rather than building your own from scratch)? Check out the Power of 3, our ultimate goal planner. And put your potential in your own hands.
The Power of 3 ® system is a simple continuous process of (1) Goal Setting, (2) Goal Execution and (3) Reflection & Migration.
The aim is to focus your attention on three goals every three months. Each goal has three milestones and each milestone has three tasks. The tasks can then be integrated in your day-to-day activities.Following this process will help you focus, integrate your goals into your busy schedule and reminds you to reflect on the importance of each goal at regular intervals.