Autumn Bullet Journal

Autumn is my favorite season. Partly it is the cool weather, but in truth it doesn't really get that cool in the deep south in the early autumn months. I think autumn is my favorite season because my happiest childhood memories are autumnal in nature. 

There was a large oak tree in the front yard of my childhood home. As a child, I would take my books outside and sit on a cool, mossy patch under the branched limbs of oak. I would pat the yielding earth under the moss, crumble leaves between my fingers, and roll acorns around in my closed palm while I read. I could hear my dad raking leaves into a large pile and then burning the leaves. The smell of smoky leaves tendriled in my nose and clung to my sweater. Indoors, my mom would make Russian Tea and I would drink mugs of it as I read when it was too dark or rainy to go outdoors. 

Maybe I prefer autumn because I'm bookish? I lean towards classics and relish novels with all the Northanger Abbey goodies: ghosts reals and imagined, locked doors, grey skies, and chills created by atmospheric weather and creeping suspense.

Lately, my brain can't appreciate approaching autumn coziness or focus on large Victorian novels. I'm a mishmash of "what will happen next?" and "what did I forget to do?" The pandemic means that things are constantly changing. I feel unmoored and uncertain. I'm learning to balance grief, purpose, and anxiety with joy, playfulness, and calm. I've determined that returning to a solid bullet journaling practice will help me balance all of those disparate emotions. There are practical things that need to be balanced as well: laundry, cooking, work, children, relationships. I'm hopeful that bullet journaling and establishing routines will help me create the mental space I need to slow down and appreciate the coziness of autumn and read some effin books. 

Let's talk about my process in creating routines. First, I listed things I had to do: pay bills, laundry, cook, work, parent, etc. Then I examined the things that have brought me the most peace and happiness in the past year. I wrote these things down quickly and without judgement: books, coffee, music, meaningful connections and conversations, cooking, exercise, writing, being outside with birds and trees, receiving mail, poems, and podcasts. My hope is that bullet journaling will allow me to get shit done. 

Scheduling is difficult since the kids' school schedule is in flux and my work schedule differs depending on the day.  However, routines I can do anytime of day. A morning routine works at 6 a.m. and at 8 a.m. In my bullet journal I have some times listed in pencil and that was done to give me an idea of what I can reasonably squeeze into a routine knowing that there are some time restraints. The purpose of developing routines is to create structure and to quiet the decision anxiety I experience on a daily basis. 

Key Elements: 

• I developed routines for when I wake, morning, lunch break, afternoons (for days I work and days off), evenings (with kids and without), and before bed. 
• I prioritize reading, connection, writing, and physical activity. 
• I use the Pomodoro Technique when working on personal projects or during my work time. It helps me stay focused on the task at hand. 

I created a weekly spread to help me organize the day to day tasks and priorities. 

Key Elements:

• Weekly events panel on the side makes scheduling easy. (I also have a monthly calendar in my journal.) 
• Each day of the week gets a spot for me to track completing my routines, the weather, goals for the day, weekly repeating tasks, and outfit. FYI, I've been picking out my outfits on Sunday and it has calmed my self-esteem anxiety attack I get when picking out my clothes for the day. 
• A reading log to track how much I read each day.
• Coffee calendar. This is for budget purposes. I put myself on the a budget and I'm focusing on what days I get to have coffee out. On  Thursdays, I support the campus coffeeshop, this Friday is Atticus and mom night and he wants to get PSLs, on Saturday I'll socially distance myself at a large cafe to focus on writing, and on Sunday I'll get a PSL. 
• I have goals for the week listed and those goals are related to things I want to do. Not chores. Not desk work. Not parenting. Personal goals. 
• Tasks are listed under goals and those are limited to five per week. I have my weekly tasks such as grocery shopping on Saturday, but these are one-off tasks that need to be done this week. 
• Meal plan because I can't eat Kix with almond milk for dinner every night. 

On Sunday evenings, I sit down with my journal and create a new weekly spread. It is rewarding to see what I've done and reflect on how delicious, joyful fullness of my life. I've removed the stress of prioritizing on the fly and I'm less distracted. If it is reading time on my routine then by golly it is reading time and my phone is far away from me. If I'm writing because it is next on the list, then I'm probably not going to respond to text messages for a bit. I already feel more mindful and present. 

Mindful and present definitely lends itself to more reading and autumn fangirling.