Bullet journaling in the summer is a powerful way to stay organized, productive, and moving towards your goals. Many bullet journalers abandon the habit for the warm months, but this runs the risk of a permanent ending. In this article, you’ll learn why (and how) bullet journaling through the summer can improve your break. Summer bullet journals help us schedule more than just things to do– that also help us stay accountable to the critical work of relaxing, resting, and recharging.
Today, I’m sharing tips on how to bullet journal year round to stay productive and mindful.
For traditional and non-traditional students, summer is our well-deserved break from schoolwork. You might be thinking about going in Hot Girl Summer mode and resting, playing, and having fun with friends. That’s great, but summer is also the best time to start a productive habit that will impact your future. I have plenty of bullet journaling ideas for warm months to get you excited to begin.
In this article, you will learn:
- how to use bullet journaling to track productivity in the summer
- which summer activities can be documented and tracked in your bullet journal
- how to manage term-break finances with savings trackers
- plus tips on staying motivated while on vacation
Ideas for your Summer Bullet Journal
What sets an achiever apart from the rest is how they effectively turn each day into an opportunity to do something productive. If you’re wondering how young professionals (read: the LinkedIn Influencer set) get so much experience by the age of 25, there’s a high probability that they seized opportunities to be productive in their downtime.
This brings us to the question: how does bullet journaling in summer help in staying productive?
Bullet journaling helps track your activities that can impact your long-term goals. Doing this in the summer, when most schoolwork has temporarily ceased, can motivate you to spend a summer on worthwhile activities.
The good news is that it won’t take away the joy of your summer break! Bullet journaling can even inspire you to look forward to the coming days to find meaning and purpose in your summer activities.
Summer Activities to Document and Track in Your Bullet Journal
Summer break is an excellent opportunity to expand your horizons and gain more experience and skills. These experiences don’t have to be as overwhelming as a job internship—although that’s ideal —they can be things that make summer (and your life beyond) easier!
Here are some activities you can bullet journal in the summer:
Bullet Journal your Advanced readings
Prepare for the next term and get ahead academically by doing advanced readings. It doesn’t have to be extensive—just learning the fundamentals can help you excel when school starts again.
To incorporate your readings in your bullet journal, list the books and other materials that cover the topics for your next semester. Make a table of which literature to read and how you want to track your progress for each reading.
For example, you can create a table with the list of readings. For the first column, list the titles of the books and other reading materials you want to work on. Then, create five small columns of squares on the right. For every 20% of the reading you complete, shade one square of the corresponding reading.
Track Your Fundraising efforts
In the summer, you may raise money for causes you feel strongly about. This is great for making friends, building a student resume, and dropping some good karma in the cosmic piggybank. For instance, if you want to advocate for stray cats’ welfare, consider raising funds for animal shelters. Coordinate with them and propose a fundraiser that you can organize with them- here are some ideas from AAPA to get you started.
Jot these details down in your journal and indicate a timeframe for each so you won’t lose sight of your main goal. Set a specific amount to raise for the entire summer break. For easier monitoring, prepare a table with milestones and dates when they should be achieved. In another column, indicate the type of fundraising activity you intend to do with the shelter to reach the goal amount.
By tracking your fundraising efforts in your bullet journal over the summer, you’ll stay organized and be able to account for the money raised. When it’s time to report on success- you’ll only have to flip back to the fundraising tracker in your bullet journal!
Create Bujo Layouts for Summer Traveling
Jot down the places you plan to visit once summer vacation starts. Write them down on a simple bulleted list. Also, indicate the dates you’ll be away (if you’ve already booked your trips).
If you’re feeling ✨extra,✨ you may also note some important reminders (what to bring, who to contact, etc.) With this help, you’ll have less stress on the day of your trip.
Need more travel bullet journal resources? Check out our travel journal layout and our packing list printable.
Use a Bullet Journal to Juggle Working part-time
Juggling part-time work all summer along with other activities can be exhausting. This is especially true if you don’t have a system in place. Bullet journaling is a clever way to manage a summer job while juggling other responsibilities.
If you can, write down the work-related tasks you need to do for specific days. You may use your usual weekly or daily tracker to do this. If you need to complete something urgently, use stickers or highlighters so your entry stands out from the rest.
Manage Your Summer Finances with Savings Trackers
Before you proceed to save those pennies, set a goal for a specific amount that you want to save before summer break ends. Once you determine the goal decide if you’ll save on a daily or weekly basis. This information will form the final design for your layout.
If you want to add to your summer bullet journal a daily savings tracker, create little squares that you can shade as you go. You may set equal amounts of savings per square, per day. Create a key so you know how much money each shaded box represents. Shade each square daily- only if you met your savings goal!
If you want a weekly tracker, draw a rectangle per week. Assign equal amounts per rectangle and shade each once you saved up the amount for that week. You may mark off milestones for both types of savings trackers to keep you motivated throughout the summer.
Staying Motivated While on Vacation
As mentioned earlier, you don’t need to pass up on a holiday or trying out new things. I often use summer as an opportunity to travel and reflect on journeys with my bullet journal. By using my bullet journal in the summer, I stay motivated the whole year-round.
Here’s how to do it:
Make a list of all the things you want to do during your summer vacation. If possible, set a date for each activity and plot them in your calendar. If you already have a monthly tracker, write down the activities there. Then, you can easily see if you have too much on your plate, or if you can schedule more.
Below are some suggestions for bullet journaling on summer vacation
Have a routine
Building a summer routine can be easier if you plan ahead and list activities in your bullet journal. If you’re just starting, stick to one or two activities you want to do regularly.
For example, if y you’re aiming to jog at least three times a week, plot the days you plan to do this. Monthly and weekly trackers are ideal for this routine. Shade the square corresponding to the exercise day once you’ve accomplished it.
Get in touch with nature.
Taking a quick hike or camping in the woods while on offline mode can help you recharge and appreciate your surroundings more. It can also help you be more mindful. Use your summer bullet journal tracker to tick off your bucket list of nature spots you’ve visited over break.
Immerse yourself in art
Try a new craft and track your learning process. If you’ve never tried knitting before, give it a go. Get a simple pattern and learn the ropes (pun intended). Draw the final design in your bullet journal and shade each region that you’ve completed knitting. Doing this will help you visually track your progress easily.
Reach out to your trusted people
Staying connected to friends over summer break is really important. Go pick up that phone, ask them to go out for meals, and have the heartiest of laughs among the crowd. This will help boost your morale and that creative spark of connection can help you create better bujo spreads in the long run.
Log each date and time that you plan with these people. Either use your monthly tracker or create a meet-up tracker for the month if you’re planning to have at least three meetings. This way, it’s also easier for you to see if you’re schedule is filled to the brim.
If you find yourself getting so busy that it’s easy to lose contact with people, make a list and track the connections you want to make time for. Having a reminder in your bullet journal that you haven’t called your grandmother a few weeks can be a helpful way to stay on track and keep that relationships strong.
Final Thoughts on Bullet Journaling in Summer
Bullet journaling in summer is a CEO move that will help you balance life, work, and academics for success.
In this article, you learned how to use bullet journaling to track productivity and summer activities and create variations and decorate summer bullet journal spreads.