Rachel of Planning Mindfully | January Feature

January 31, 2019 Elizabeth Ghekiere

This month’s featured bullet journal is @planningmindfully, an account which I am personally a huge fan of! She does amazing bullet journaling work as well as plenty more information and helpful resources in planning and being mindful!

January Bullet Journal Feature | Rachel of @planningmindfully

Meet Rachel of Planning Mindfully

My name is Rachel Watts, and I am the CEO of Planning Mindfully. I blog about bullet journals, creative time management, and personal development. I am also a blog coach; so, I help women learn how to monetize their blogs. Further, I am 30 years old, married to a lovely husband (also my tech support), and we have a five-year-old daughter.

My Bullet Journal Journey

I started bullet journaling in 2016 when my therapist introduced it to me. She didn’t know much about it, but heard enough she thought it would be my ‘cup of tea’. I fell down the rabbit hole and haven’t stopped since! It’s amazing to think about the progress I’ve had in life just because I started bullet journaling two years ago. I mostly use my bullet journal as a planner but do include some fun spreads and collections.

A big part of my focus with bullet journals is on the ‘practical’ side of making it work for your needs; I try to help provide ideas anybody can use, tips to optimize, and time management tools for those who use their bullet journal as a planner. Yes, I include fun art, but make sure that my readers are set to use their bullet journals successfully from a time management perspective. My audience tends to be ‘Type B’ personalities; people who see the importance of time management and planners, but don’t like the traditional tools and information available.

Tips for Bullet Journal Beginners:

One thing that I found helpful as a new bullet journal user was having accountability. While I didn’t directly intend to have it, since I started my bullet journal at the recommendation of my therapist, I found that I often brought my bullet journal to sessions to talk about my week. I also used it for therapy homework. I’d recommend finding a friend you can hold yourself accountable to, or even finding somebody who can also start a bullet journal along with you. Plan to meet up one or two times a week to set up for future weeks. Plus, bonus, you get to share bullet journal supplies!

This isn’t so much a tip, but more a ‘disclaimer’ I like to pass along to new bullet journal users. A bullet journal is a tool that you will learn and grow with for as long as you use it. Your first spreads probably won’t be to your liking, you’ll probably make spreads you never use, and you will probably worry about making mistakes.

I highly recommend you read these lessons that I learned from six months of using a bullet journal, as well as lessons from my first two years of using a bullet journal. I think they are very eye-opening and will provide you with helpful insight and realistic expectations. As you can see from the two blog posts I’ve added, you’ll learn more as you go, and find your tips/tricks to make bullet journals easier. t journals easier.

I’d love to help you master your bullet journal, so here is how you can follow me!