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The tick-tock of the clock never yields. It is an unstoppable force beyond the control of man. The future is coming whether you are ready or not.
A future log can at least help you to prepare for the months ahead while adding a little of bit of organization to your life.
What is a Bullet Journal Future Log Spread?
The future log is a bullet journal spread where you can keep all of your monthly/yearly commitments in one place. It gives a glance at what’s ahead as well as a record of what has already passed. Keeping a future log will relinquish the burden of trying to remember birthdays and appointments that are six months out.
I use my future log to plan out my vacation time each year as well as scheduling quarterly, monthly, bi-annual, and annual meetings at work. The future log can be used as a reminder of birthdays, anniversaries, and appointment at the base level. But it can be so much more than that. You can schedule self-care days, cleaning days, blogging days, gardening days, etc. The future log is a glance and how you want to design your life.
How My Future Log Has Helped Me
I am a very forgetful person. Between work, home, my blog, and writing, I can’t seem to remember from one point to another. Living one bullet at a time has been very helpful and made me super productive in my daily and professional life.
I have used a bullet journal for years now. At first, I will admit, I wasn’t sure how to properly use a future log. Looking on Pinterest, there are so many ideas out there that it can be overwhelming. Not all bullet journal spreads will work for everyone. You have to experiment and find the one(s) that will work for you.
The original bullet journal is the Leuchtturm1917. I use this journal for work. It has a pocket in the back for my sticky notes, is small enough to fit in my purse, and has a durable cover.
Another bullet journal I have used is the celestial themed bullet journal by Peter Pauper Press. I picked this one up at Walmart, but later found I could have saved some money if I’d bought it on Amazon.
Good pens and art supplies are not cheap. Yes, you can go the dollar store and pick some up, but “you get what you pay for”. Remember that some pens and markers will bleed, so choose your mediums wisely. Here are a few pens that I have used that work well.
Fine point Sharpie Art Pens are the bomb! Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars with over 2,000 reviews, these pens are worth every penny. Plus the case folds back and turns into a handy stand. I bought my pens about a year ago and I am just now having to start replacing the ones that have run out.
Other than pens, I use Mildliner Creative Markers from Zebra. These are the best highlighters I have ever used. I loved them so much that I shared them with a friend, and then she went out and bought some more. These highlighters don’t bleed through the paper and show great color on the grid paper. They have both a wide end and a fine tip. I can’t tell you enough how awesome these highlighters are.
Future Log Bullet Journal Page Ideas
There is no right or wrong way to create a bullet journal spread. The only thing that matters is if the spread layout works for you. If you have a lot going on in your life and a ton of commitments each month, a twelve month future log, may not work best for you. Maybe a quarterly future log would work better. But, if you don’t have a lot going on, a yearly future log might just bet the spread you need.
Yearly (12 Month) Future Log
You can use a yearly future log to track holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, appointment, etc. It doesn’t take long to set up this spread if you keep it simple. Now I know, there are a lot of artsy people out there—I’m not one of them. I enjoy a good doodle, but I can live without all the fluff.
If you find you need more room to write your appointment, you can always stretch your future log over multiple pages using the dutch door method. I listed the days of the month on the right and left hand sides of the first and last page and then cut the center pages one dot in so that I wouldn’t have to rewrite the day numbers. Each page is one quarter of the year. This worked out better for me in my work bullet journal.
Quarterly (3 Month) Future Log
If you don’t like to plan more a few months ahead, a quarterly future log may be what you are looking for. A quarterly future log gives you a glance at the next three months. You can easily schedule your projects, meetings, and events in one place. One of the big downfalls I have found in using a quarterly future log is that you can’t schedule past the three months. You would need to put a sticky note or something with anything past the quarter so you wouldn’t forget what you need to do.
Stacked Future Log
If you find that you don’t want to dedicate more than one page to your future log, the stacking method may work best for you. This method only needs one page. Using a sticky note for each month, you would write, then stack them along the page and throw them away or store them in the back pocket of your bullet journal once the month has passed.
This method works well, if you don’t have too many appointments within one month. You can however use this method and multiple sticky notes per month. However, you do face the risk of losing a sticky note that no longer wants to stick.
Running Future Log
A running future log is good if you don’t want to draw out a calendar. This method works well if you have a continually growing list of meetings, appointments, etc. The running future log is simple to use and takes very little time to create.
Other Uses For Your Future Log
A future log can be used for so much more than birthdays and appointments. The sky is the limit with what you can do with a good plan.
Blogging Future Log & Tracker
I use a future log to plan out and track my blog posts. This helps me to ensure I am posting consistently. Also, I highlight the days I designate to blogging and writing. This helps me to keep my focus where it belong and energizes me to push forward toward my goals.
Financial Planning Future Log & Tracker
Planning your finances and tracking them should be one of your yearly goals. I use the dutch door method to plan out my finances for the year. Tracking my big bills, like taxes, and spacing out my monthly expenses is easy when using a future log layout.
How To Use Your Bullet Journal Future Log Spread
Using your future log is easy. Write in all of your appointments, birthdays, and events that you want to keep track of. You will then use the future log to set up your monthly calendar spread.
The main point behind using a future log is to schedule your time out months in advance. After it is scheduled you will then be able to easily plan you month, weeks, and days according to what you have written on your future log.
For me, I use my future log and my lunar calendar to help plan out my month and schedule events for each week. By doing this, I don’t have to worry about forgetting anything important.
Design your future log like you design your life. Your bullet journal is personal. It is your creative space to be who you are without fear of judgement or inability. The future log is a valuable tool that, if used properly, can add organization to your life and increase your productivity.
If you have other future log ideas or have used a different method for your bullet journal future log spread, I would love to hear about it. Leave me a note in the comments below.
Other Bullet Journal Posts:
How To Make A Bullet Journal For Beginners
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Bullet Journal Page Ideas (with Examples)
Bullet Journal Series: Bullet Journal Spreads You Need To Include In Your Bullet Journal | There are thousands of bullet journal blogs that tell you what bullet journal pages you need in your journal. Each bullet journal blogger says something different, but all list these essential bullet journal pages. Click through to read more.
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