It’s that time of the year again! I absolutely LOVE new journal season! It seems really silly but there is something just exciting about a brand new, un-inked journal! This year, I did things a little differently to help make my journal more efficient. Basically, we cut out somethings that waste time during set up that I literally NEVER use throughout the year (I’m looking at you future log!). So join me as we breakdown how to set up your 2025 bullet journal!
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Supplies You Need to Set Up Your 2025 Bullet Journal
First things first, you have to get your supplies! God bless my husband, honestly. Every year I put a journal on my Christmas list and every year the man buys me one but it’s never the right one. After this year, he decided that moving forward I am NOT to put a new journal on my Christmas list and that I am to order my own since I am on a “professional” level of journal at this point. That comment really made me laugh. I mean it really is no fun to get someone a gift that don’t like so I don’t blame him! This was a long, round-about way to tell you that I got a late start on my 2025 journal because I had to wait for Amazon to deliver me a second journal. It was an agonizing two weeks, let me tell you.
This year, I went with the tried and true Scribbles That Matter, B5, dot grid journal. This thing has it all, center tick mark, center of the horizontal, center of the vertical, pen holder, two bookmarks, back pocket, bookmark grid guide… I mean the list continues. Oh and the biggest thing for me, THICK PAPER! I cannot, CAN NOT handle ghosting. This is what I told my husband was one of the most important features for me, thick, non-ghosting paper.
For those of you who are just getting into journaling, this may sound a little bougie. I’ve been at this my daughter’s entire life so I’m entitled to some bougie-ness, but rest assured, a basic notebook works just fine to get you started.
The second most important thing you need to set up your new bullet journal is a writing utensil. This is another spot where I get a little bougie but honestly, any pen will do. I am still stuck on my SAKURA Pigma Micron Fineliner Pens. I love the thickness options. For example, if I’m making outlines or boxes for my calendar spread, I was a nice, thick black line, so I use the .8 mm pen. Conversely, if I’m writing words, I just like a medium thickness, so a 0.3 mm is perfect. Again, the bougie-ness. But I will say I have found a new favorite basic pen from Mr. Pen! These are super smooth, nice to look at, and feel good in the hand.
Plan Your Bullet Journal Spreads
Now that you have your supplies for your new bullet journal, it’s time to get down to business. I grabbed some handy dandy post-it notes and decided what spreads I needed in my new journal. I put the name of the spread on a post-it and then placed the post-it note on the page I wanted that spread to be on.
If you read my 2024 Bullet Journal in Review, you know that I had already planned to axe some spreads I just never use! For me, that was the Future Log and the reading tracker. I use a shared google calendar to house all of my repetitive things, such as holiday and birthdays, so having a future log was really a waste of pages and time. If you’re dead set on having one, check out these bullet journal set ups for some ideas.

I also skipped the books read tracker in my journal as well. This is another spread that I not only keep digitally, but I also have an entirely separate journal for my reading habits (see that here). It was again a waste of a page and time.

So let’s look at what I included this year. The first page you need in your new bullet journal is a cover page. This indicates the year that this journal is for. I have done many variations of this page. Sometimes it’s something super simple and other times it’s something more involved. This year is was a little more involved but that’s what happens when you allow your 8-year-old an opinion.

Since I’m skipping the future log this year, the next page that made the most sense was my Word of the Year page and my goals page. While I don’t reference these pages a lot throughout the year, its nice to look back on them at the end of the year and see how you did. These again can be super simple or more involved depending on your preferences. I’ve been doing a lot of writing and words on my Word of the Year pages lately. You can also draw an image to help illustrate your word as well. That’s something I’ve also done previously.

Next up are some literal housekeeping spreads. The Zone Cleaning spread is actually something I referenced a lot in 2024. I just don’t know why I couldn’t remember which week was which zone. It was annoying, but having it in my journal was super useful! I also included a new variation on the “when did I last” spread. This will take some of the load off of the zone cleaning while also tracking some things I don’t do every month, like wash the walls and curtains.

Finally, our last two spreads of my 2025 bullet journal set up are a bujo theme planner and new movies watched in 2025. I like to do a theme every month in my journal and recently, I’ve been planning these ahead of time. This helps me order washi-tape and making the decisions all at once helps take some mental load off of getting my new monthly spreads done. I also kept my New Movies Watched spread. We are huge movie people in our household so I like to keep track of movies we’ve watched, but only the new ones. We re-watch a lot of movies too. Which reminds me, I had to add Fly Me to The Moon to the list. It was really good if you’re looking for something to watch.

Put Ink to Paper
Once you’ve “planned” your spreads, it’s time to execute them! Grab as many or as few pens and markers and embellishments as you like and get to work! Pinterest is a great place to find inspiration! I like to see what other people do and then make some changes so that it fits my journaling needs. Don’t be afraid to print things out and paste them right into your journal. Use stickers and washi tape when you can to save time and add some special flare. The thing about bullet journaling is that you get to make it yours! It’s a great way to keep yourself organized and have a creative outlet to further reduce stress.
I hope this post helped you learn more about what bullet journaling is and how to get started with your own bullet journal!