I first started using the Passion Planner system in 2017, but abandoned it when I discovered bullet journaling and creating my own layouts. With bullet journaling, I loved the freedom of a blank page, and I had the time and energy to create layouts and spreads that worked for me. Fast forward to the recent process of pregnancy and motherhood, and everything got busy. I really felt like I could benefit from the focus that comes from using the Passion Planning system and planners not only because I didn’t have as much time to create layouts, but I also wanted to refocus on the dreams and goals I had before pregnancy and motherhood. Passion Planners have now turned into the ultimate tool when it comes to planning, goal-setting, and also tracking my schedule and baby’s schedule.

It started with virtual teaching in the fall of 2020 when I had to take things day-by-day. I started the 2020-2021 school year almost 5 months pregnant, and I was facing a crazy year of teaching without being in front of kids. I literally took things in the transition to that school year day-by-day. I loved the Daily Passion Planner because it was undated, and I could really focus on a few months at a time. In comparison, I tried the Weekly Academic Passion Planner for the 2021-2022 back-to-school year season because it gave me a chance to plan out my year as a new mom. This post goes into detail about my experiences in two Passion Planners, why I chose the new Passion Planner I did, and what I love and don’t love about each planner. I talk sizes, layouts, and different spreads that are included and what works for me now.

When I think of productivity, I think of schedules, goals, and the day-to-day grind. I think of planners. I think of lists that get to be checked off. I love a good list. Productivity may be one of the main reasons I will often turn to a journal or notebook, and bullet journaling has created an outlet where planning can become beautiful. Whether you choose a more formal setup of a planner like a Passion Planner or if you prefer a blank page, sometimes figuring out what system works best for you can make the difference between feeling in control and calm or full of chaos and overwhelm. This post contains ideas for daily, weekly, and monthly layouts for scheduling, and it also has a focused list of journaling prompts to help you figure out what really needs to go into your planning setup. Remember: Your journal can operate as a planner. No need to reinvent systems. You can create your own systems based on your style.

After having our first little one this past year, I hit a learning curve with all of the things a new mom has to keep track of and record. Being a person who loves planning, I was obsessed with learning about schedules, wake windows, bottle timings, night wakings, and more. I found out immediately that schedules and sleep were linked. This caused me to become hyper-focused on how to get our little one on a schedule because sleep was the key to functioning again. I ran to a well-known app that worked perfectly for the first 8 months. An app on my phone was great because I could track feedings, pumping, diaper changes, and sleep patterns all in one spot. I also had a report that would come to my inbox weekly when we were updating our pediatrician on how things were going. Apps are amazing things, really.

Then, our little one started daycare, and it wasn’t feasible or practical to have the daycare use our tracking system, and it was too tedious to try to keep entering in the day’s information all at once. I was exhausted after work, and I didn’t want to feel like I had one more chore to do at the end of the day. I was also finally moving to a place where I was more “go with the flow” and didn’t feel the need to track every minute of our little one’s day. I have always been an analog person. I love the feel of paper when it comes to both journaling and reading books. I get why other people enjoy the other mediums, but when I was faced with how I keep track of our little girl’s schedule in a new way, I immediately ran back to paper. This post outlines how you can use any bullet journaling or planning system to keep track of your young one’s day. I go into detail about what I track, how I track those items and some setups that might work for you

One of the things that I love the most about bullet journaling and the bullet journaling system is that you can combine your want-tos in life with your have-tos. I’m talking about your work stuff, your appointments, and your to-do lists with your dreams, your passion projects, and your ideas. You can use your one notebook as a planner and the same notebook as a journal for your thoughts. You can do your morning pages right next to your grocery list. You can mindmap a project, and then on the next page draw a doodle or two. You get what I am saying.

With me returning from maternity leave in April, I hesitated to go back to what I normally did which was plan one month at a time. One of the biggest things I hear from people when they look at bullet journaling from afar is “I don’t have time for that.” If you are a person who is trying to balance life and also balance how you feel AND your dreams…I don’t know how you are managing without some help. Notebooks are a big help if you have the right systems in place that work. So, knowing that I wouldn’t have time to plan on a monthly basis, I extended my journaling method to a 3-month or quarterly basis setup. Basically, this one notebook is going to get me through the 1.) first three months back from maternity leave 2.) the end of the school year 3.) quarter two for my blog.

This post will walk you through how to set up a notebook 3 months at a time. Are you a business person? You will use 4 notebooks for the year (one for each quarter). Are you a person with long-term goals? Set up check-ins for every 3 months. Are you a person that is struggling to try to find balance in all areas of life? Use a 3-month notebook to get yourself on track.