While the rest of the world (or so it seemed) was happily setting up their new bullet journals to begin on January 1st, I was still going strong in my current journal. I knew I wanted to finish it out and start a new journal whenever I ran out of pages. So I held firm, resisted the temptation to start a new journal with the New Year, and I’m happy to report that I finished around the end of February and started a new journal right away. So now here we are in mid-March and it’s time for a bullet journal flip through.
The old bullet journal was with me from mid-July through mid-February. When I started my new journal I had a plan for migrating collection pages and various information and over the course of a long weekend made the move into my new bullet journal. The hardest part of this transition was actually deciding which brand of notebook to use.
Which new Bullet Journal should I use?
As you know, I’ve got a lot of extra journals just lying around and I had my pick of any of them. I pulled the top picks off the shelf and went through them all again. Touched the paper, fondled the cover, double checked the binding, scrutinized the accessories, agonized over color… let me tell you about the ones I almost picked and why:
- Neo-Dot – In all honesty, this is the journal I most wanted to use. I really love the quality of the paper, the blue accents, and the attention to detail the Notobooks folks used when designing this journal. For the first ever journal by this new company, I’m really impressed. But there’s one small problem. Actually, it’s a big problem. They sold out. Not just sold out, but they sold out in a couple months and the designers are working on the second iteration of the notebook and they’ll come back to market when the new version is ready. Which means it’s not just sold out, but it’s going to be completely out of stock for a while. This wouldn’t matter if I was only worried about MY needs. I already own the notebook and it’s sitting right here. But that wouldn’t be very nice of me to talk about how awesome a notebook is and have no way for YOU to buy one if you wanted to. I do these reviews so YOU can make wise decisions about stationery supplies… so I can’t be selfish in my decision about which journal I’m using for my bullet journal. But believe me, I’m stalking their website and social media and as soon as they’re back in stock, you’ll hear me shouting it from the rooftops!
- See my full Neo-Dot Review here.
- Uberworks – I already have an Uberworks GAYA going with the layouts I did from mid-October through the start of November. So it made sense to move into this journal next. I totally lost my way in October and had to abandon my current bullet journal for a few weeks so I could reset my mindset and find my way again. So moving into this book would have been the most logical choice. The only drawback is the paper. It’s 80gsm and gives me more ghosting than I prefer, so I decided to consider others instead.
- See my full Uberworks GAYA Review here.
- Lemome – I own 8 of their notebooks and journals (even a traveler’s notebook they sell) so I have plenty to choose from in my stash. Plus, there’s been some problems with these notebooks lately – the binding is breaking for a lot of people – and I thought it’d be a good idea to use one of my Lemome notebooks and put it through its paces to see if I could break mine too (and determine what it takes to make that happen). So I pulled all my Lemome notebooks out and had pretty much settled on the Cork cover version. That was my choice! Lemome Cork Dotted. Done!
- See my full Lemome Cork Review here.
Hold on… not so fast!
After deciding on the Lemome Cork Dotted, I started carrying it with me so I could plan out pages. I added sticky notes to the pages to reserve spots for the collections, information, and spreads I wanted to create. During those two days of carrying it with me, I took a close look at the binding to see how strong it was going to be. That’s when a friend in one of the Facebook Groups pointed out the problem with the sewing on the spine. Basically, the stitching was done wrong so the end thread was sticking up between the pages instead of being secured in the back and adhered to the spine during construction. This means that if you snag that stitch on something or “pick at it” you can un-sew your book. The more I thought about what a disaster it’d be if I was midway through a journal and have it fall apart…. yeah, I started to change my mind.
Which notebook did I choose for my next bullet journal?
Once I determined that I wasn’t going to be valiant and sacrifice my planner peace by using a journal that I intended to “break” on purpose just for the sake of a review on this website. I love you guys and all, but there are limits. But I loved you all enough to not pick a journal that you couldn’t try yourself if you wanted. So my only logical choice was to [earnist_link ref=”tekukor-a5-notebook-hardcover-dot-grid” id=”657″]buy another Tekukor Dotted Journal[/earnist_link] and stick with the brand I have grown to love with my old journal. I quickly placed an Amazon order and as soon as it arrived, I pounced on it to get going on the migration. Whew! The agony of decisions like this. Seriously!
[earnist ref=”tekukor-a5-notebook-hardcover-dot-grid” id=”657″]
My Bullet Journal Flip Through
I love watching journal flip-through videos on YouTube. So I knew I wanted to do one for ya’ll too. It’s late coming for sure. I’ve been in my new journal for almost a month now. But it’s never too late to share fun stuff, right? The benefit of waiting so long is that the flip through also includes the set-up in the new journal too!
Here’s the video. Let me know what you think or if there’s anything you have questions about that I don’t explain or you want to learn more about.
Great article and very lovely flip through!
I have a Lemome Dream Tree notebook – very bare bones, but the paper is a dream. Really want to use it now, but I still have my (very thick) notebook from MUS. So… Maybe as a work bujo sometime? (But I can’t wait!! ;-; )
It’s awesome that you found a setup that works for you! I’m still experimenting, but overall, I know I like a little pop of color without all the embellishments and drawings – I just don’t like mixing drawing with productivity planning like that like. So, seeing your minimal daily layout was very insightful. Using a highlighter to code when a task is finished is also very cool and not something I’ve seen anyone else use before. And typing/printing your lists for busy days is genius! Keep up the awesome work!
Hi Liz! Thanks so much for stopping by and checking out the video. Glad I could give you a few ideas that might work for your journal too.