I’ve been using a Bullet Journal for many years, both in my private as well as my professional life. To start this series I’ll introduce you to my reasons for a Book Blogging BuJo and a possible set-up you can adapt to your needs.

More often than not I use the official abbreviation “BuJo” instead of Bullet Journal – it’s probably obvious why “BJ” isn’t used.

In theory, I could go on and on about the method itself and its inventor Ryder Carroll. But I’m a fan of learning from the sources first and then diving into individual approaches so if you haven’t heard of Bullet Journaling there is a great introduction on bulletjournal.com.

It’s a helpful introduction even if you’re already using a BuJo or if you have but gave up because it seemed like too much work. So head on over there and then come back to me!

Your Blogging Bullet Journal has to work for you

To sum it up, the most important thing about a BuJo is to make it your own. I, too, love looking at all the pretty spreads people have done on Instagram and Pinterest, but ultimately it’s important to set up and use my BuJo the way my brain functions.

With the “everyday” one I keep in a Filofax, that might mean there are weekly spreads that are “artsy” (in the range of my abilities that is) and other weeks are plain black and white without any fancy writing.

Why I use a BuJo for my Blog

In theory, I could keep my Book Blogger’s BuJo in that Filofax and keep everything in one place. That might work for you and it’s worth a try if you want to!

It doesn’t work for me, because that would mean having too many notes and to-do’s on one page (or a set of pages) and very soon I’d end up feeling overwhelmed.

So I use a separate and actual notebook. Because I love notebooks and I own way too much stationary – although sometimes it doesn’t feel like it’s enough.

But coming back to the reason to use a Bullet Journal for Book Blogging.

It helps me organize my blog.

Organize it in a way that is very adaptable and flexible to my needs. Also, there is the bonus of setting up that calms me down, so that is a huge plus for using a BuJo.

So with my BuJo, I’m able to not also plan different blog posts, queer book reviews, bookish Instagram posts etc., but I’m also tracking my progress while keeping an eye on my reading habits, and have a place where I can brainstorm various ideas to come back to later.

Inspiration for your Bullet Journal Set-up

I’m not the only one who advocates for starting simple and then working yourself up when you’re comfortable with your current Bullet Journal system.

So, for your Book Blogger’s BuJo, you could start with a monthly editorial calendar to plan your blogging schedule for that month. Right now I’m using a two-page spread with colour-coded notes, so I know exactly which topic belongs where.

Followed by that spread is a spread focusing on progress. I’ve written out a goal for January, that I will reflect on at the end of the month.

My daily reading stats are also on this spread because that way I remind myself of my goal daily. Or force me to remember.

After that follows a maintenance spread with my monthly to-do’s and other stats I want to track, like the number of blog posts and social media posts I have done. I’ve been very quiet in 2023 and I want to change that. But how to know how I’m doing if I don’t hold myself responsible?

A personal favourite of mine is the “Level Ten” approach that I use in my daily life as well. You determine different areas you want to keep an eye on and improve along the way. Then you reflect where you are right now in that area.

I like to set up three actions for every aspect that I hope will improve said aspect. For The Queer Bookish I’m keeping an eye on:

• Reading
•  Social
•  Interaction
•  Postings
•  Note Taking
•  Book BuJo

And I will come back to that page sometime in the second quarter of 2024 to reflect on my progress.

I’m also using a spread to track the ARCs I’ve received (I’m really behind on these…) and queer books I’ve bought myself that I want to review.

There are also spreads for books I want to buy, this Book Blogger’s BuJo series, other ideas for posts, and anything else I don’t want to forget like future events or routines I want to establish regarding my book blogging. The possibilities are endless.

I don’t use weekly or daily logs because everything belonging to those will be written down in my everyday BuJo and then copied into the book blog oner

This system might change from month to month because like I said in the beginning, the BuJo has to work for your needs.

How do you organize your (book) blogging? What works for you, what doesn’t? Let me know in the comments!