The new year brings so many new opportunities! Whether you’re just starting out with bullet journaling or planning a new journal and thinking about spreads, these January bullet journal ideas are some of my favorites!
If you’re new to bullet journal spreads or even to setting up a bullet journal, read on for tips on how to start your journal this year!
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JANUARY BULLET JOURNAL IDEAS
January is the first month of the year so you might find yourself starting in a new journal and wondering what kinds of things to include this year. The great thing about bullet journals is that you can include what works for you.
There isn’t a set way anything has to go. Typical planners have never worked for me because I find myself not using half of it or not loving the layout. With bullet journaling, you can change the layout every week if you want until you find something you love!
There are a few things most people include in their layouts each month:
- COVER PAGE– this is the page that introduces the month. It can be as simple as the name of the month and then a decorated page. But you can also include a small month at a glance calendar, quotes, and anything personalized that you love.
- CALENDAR SPREAD – this page generally features a monthly calendar with small boxes where you can jot notes down for what’s going on during the month ahead. You can get our free 2020 At a Glance Calendar printable if you prefer a quick view!
- GRATITUDE/LINE A DAY – These layouts help us to be more mindful in our lives. You can do a gratitude page where you write one thing your thankful for each day (or multiple things depending on your layout) or you can record memories by doing a line a day. Or you can use this page as a combination of both!
- MONTHLY TRACKERS – Tracker pages are where things get very personal. There are tons of different things you can track. Some popular ones include:
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- Goal trackers
- Mood trackers
- Fitness Trackers
- Sleep Trackers
- Habit Trackers (that can track multiple habits across the month)
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- WEEKLY SPREADS – Some people might stick with just a monthly calendar spread, but many people do weekly spreads as well. The weekly layouts are a great place to play around with different ideas to find something that really works for you. That’s something you can’t do with a traditional planner!
Those are the basic pages for your bullet journal. You don’t have to include them all every single month either! It’s all up to you!
JANUARY BULLET JOURNAL THEMES
If you’re looking for bullet journal themes for January, here are some ideas:
- Fireworks (representing the new year)
- Confetti/Party/Celebration
- Stars
- Moon
- Winter Gear – Hats, Mittens, Scarves, Ice Skates, Skis, Sweaters, etc.
- Warm Drinks – Hot chocolate, coffee, apple cider, etc.
- Snowflakes & Snow
- Snowman
- Ice & Icicles
- Mountains
- Nature (in winter)
- Winter Animals – Polar Bears, Penguins, Fox etc.
- Arrows
- Dreamcatcher & Feathers
- Mandalas
- Your Favorite Things
- Shades of Blue
- Black & Gold/Yellow
RELATED: Massive List of Bullet Journal Themes
For the winter themes, our Winter Wonderland Sticker Pack is a great way to customize your spreads!
You can use any bullet journal theme that you want, of course. You can try to make it seasonal or just go with something that you love and that inspires you!
COVER IDEAS
While I work on my January plan, I found a few cover examples that I love. They also show you just how versatile bullet journaling can be. You can take one of the themes above and make it your own.
I love blues and purples for January as you can see above, but everyone takes their own approach! I hope you find some inspiration in these ideas!
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You can go very minimalistic and sometimes that works well if you’re just starting a bullet journal. I love the look of this simple lettering and a quick month at a glance calendar.
This idea could easily be customized by adding washi tape, color, and stickers!
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Snowflakes are a popular January cover page theme. You can go as simple or as elaborate as you’d like!
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Have a favorite interest? Why not start the new year in a fun way by featuring one of your favorite things?
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Galaxy themes are also very popular in January. I like thinking about how the sky is the limit! Quotes like those pair well with this theme!
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Remember that minimalistic is always a great way to start too! If you’re just beginning your bullet journal journey, I recommend keeping it simple!
If you’re looking for a printable cover page for January, you can buy our 2019 January layout for $1 and use everything except the numbered calendars! The theme includes a simple snowflake cover page that is perfect for customizing!
MONTHLY & WEEKLY JANUARY BULLET JOURNAL SPREADS INSPIRATION
For more inspiration, check out these January bullet journal spreads that you can use for monthly spread or your week by week pages!
You can stick with the same weekly spread for the entire month or try different ones each week. Even if you have a layout that you love, changing it up can sometimes be a good way to change things up in our lives too!
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This is a gorgeous example of how black and gold make for a great January theme! The colors scream New Year’s Eve for me and I love the rich feel they have together. If you’re looking towards a new year full of prosperity, I think that black and gold is a great color scheme to go with!
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I’m a fan of going more minimalistic on a fairly regular basis. It takes less time to draw out and I just love the clean look!
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If you love hand lettering, you can combine your lettering with more minimal layouts for a great effect!
THE PETITE PLANNER WEEKLY SPREADS
Here are a few more ideas for weekly spreads that we’ve used in the past. If you want to use them for inspiration and want a more “January” or “winter vibe” just work with different colors. I’ve mentioned before but I love blues and purples for this time of year! Recreating these using those colors definitely gives a cooler vibe!
You could easily change the floral doodles to any other winter doodle that you’d like. Snowflakes would also be a simple swap!
I love this unique take on the weekly spread. If you find this layout works for you, switching up the colors and the quotes is a way to make simple changes while using the same layout each week!
This spread takes a bit more time to draw but was definitely a different feel to a lot of the others we’ve used. I like the geometric shapes! It’s got a clean feel while still having a touch of cute factor!
Later this month I will be sharing my January 2020 bullet journal set up and plan with me. I’ve gone back and forth on what theme I want to use this year and I think I’ve finally settled on one!
PRINTABLE BULLET JOURNAL SPREAD
I’ve also designed a printable January Bullet Journal pack that you can download to use in your bujo if you’re looking for something to help you get started. I hope to do a video to show you some fun ways to personalize the Printable January Journal Theme if you do choose to buy it in the shop!
SHOP FOR YOUR JANUARY 2020 PRINTABLE PACK HERE!
Have you decided on a theme for your January layout? Leave a comment and tell me about it!
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