This month’s feature is Jessica of Genuinely Ginger. Jessica has some seriously gorgeous layouts and a beautiful blog! So, let’s check out what she has to share about her own bullet journal experiences!
Meet Jessica of Genuinely Ginger
My name is Jessica Owinyo, also known as Genuinely Ginger. I have the never-ending creative itch and embrace it fully! I provide handcrafted graphic design services to businesses, teach creative classes, and design my own products,. Products I design include the “What a Day” bullet journal planner and hand-drawn prints for your home. Additionally, I am an avid coffee drinker and my leather covered bullet journal is pretty much always by my side!
My Bullet Journal Journey
When I first started bullet journaling, I had just received a beautiful leather journal filled with sectioned booklets. I knew I wanted to use it for bullet journaling! Having had many a planner in my day, I haven’t finished a single one. I was, however, really good at failing with my planner for a random month at a time and then having large sections of blank pages throughout my planner (can I get an amen?). So I knew this “plan as you go, un-dated” method was for me.
I started out with just the very basics, didn’t do any fancy layouts, just me and the bullet points. As you can imagine, my creative driven self was not very enthused with using it and it lasted a whopping 3 months. I completely fell away from it for an entire year! But after a fresh season of my life opened up, I decided I needed a fresh start in my planning skills, too.
Making My Bullet Journal Work For Me
In reality, at the time I had no planner at all and was flying by the seat of my pants every single day. So I began a new bullet journal and decided I would make it pretty and bend the rules a little to make it work better for me and boy did it work! I loved the challenge of thinking of a new weekly spread and having a fresh new design to look at each week! Due to this concept, it turned into a great outlet I commit to doing every week. My love for bullet journaling grew, as did my productivity and use of it.
As a result of my adaptation, my bullet journal now holds it all, schedule, goals, dreams, marketing plans, budgeting, etc. After many inquiries of how it works for me, I decided to move forward and teach a class series on my approach. Since then, I've got inquiries about making bullet journal templates. I've made the “What a Day” bullet journal planner, filled with spreads for weeks, months, goals and more was born! It has been such a sweet experience as the bullet journaling has a great community and I am so thankful to be a small part of it!
Jessica's Tips for Bullet Journal Beginners
One thing that really helps me use my bullet journal efficiently is using it for everything!
For instance, I add my budget, meal plans, goals, ideas, doodles, random notes to remember, and anything else important. With more things I need all wrapped up in one place, I use it more often. And as long as I have my bullet journal with me, I have what I need!
Maybe you’re just starting out, maybe you’re starting over, maybe you’re thinking of trying, or you’ve been at it for a while but feel stuck. Here is my advice to you… You don’t need to follow all the bullet journal rules! If it doesn’t work for you, change it so it does. One method simply won’t work for everyone, so bend the “rules” a little bit and run that bullet journal your way! You can add illustrations, add washi tape to the page edges. You can add lots of colors, clippings from a magazine, and anything else that inspires you! As long as you are keeping those basic principles of bullets and utilizing your key, you’re still bullet journaling. You’re just doing it with your own twist…. as it should be, in my opinion. Happy Bullet Journaling, friends!
Come join me and a bunch of other creatives on Skillshare! When you join me, you get an exclusive offer!. Can’t wait to see what you create!
Genuinely,
Loved Jess? Check her out some more below!
>>If you are interested in becoming a featured bullet journaler, check out the details and apply here!<<
