Trackers, Modules, & Other Elements I Use in My Spreads
Click on the Tracker and jump down to my explanation (or scroll down to see it all!)
Spread Elements & How I Use Them:
- This Week to do (Weekly Spreads)
- I almost ALWAYS have a “This Week to-Do” Section. Sometimes I title it “This Week” or “Now”, and have a lists of things I’d like to get done this week .
- I fill this out before the week begins by transferring my to-do’s that weren’t completed in the previous week. Tasks assigned to a certain day go in the individual Day boxes.
- Next week to do (Weekly Spreads)
- If I have an appointment, meeting, or scheduled plan NEXT week, I’ll add it to this box. I sometimes add other goals I’d like to get done in the future in this box.
- Habit tracker (Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly Spreads)
- Habit trackers are one of the most common elements I see in a journal. You can find them on Instagram by searching the #habittracker hashtag. I’ve noticed a lot of journalists love tracking & this is a simple way to see (at a glance) how you’re doing.
- I include habit trackers mostly in my monthly spreads, because I like to see an overview at the end of the month. I sometimes include small 7 day habit trackers in my weekly spreads in case I’m tracking something new for the week.
- Habit trackers can be easily marked with X’s, but they sometimes are color-coded. I color code mine with colors from my KEY. In my journal, green always represents the best, and the color scale goes down to red (which represents the worst).
- For example: if I’m tracking “Eating healthy” for myself, I’ll mark the square green if I didn’t cheat-eat at all for the whole day. Lighter green if I ate healthy, but not perfect, etc. Red means I ate like crap ALL day (which DOES happen, but I try not to make a habit of it! ?)
- Mini-Calendar (Weekly Spreads)
- Sometimes it’s nice to see an overview of the calendar with your current week highlighted or outlined. This is a good, aesthetically pleasing filler if you have a little extra room!
- Weather Tracker (Weekly Spreads)
- I started out by writing weather forecasts for the week prior to the week beginning.. But now I’ve started filling them end at the end of the day. I’ll draw a little icon showing the weather, and enter the highs & lows in the boxes if I’ve added spots for that info.
- Wake + Sleep Tracker (Weekly Spreads)
- My sleep trackers generally all look about the same. (Some are horizontal and some are vertical). The general idea is that I’ll write my Wake up time in the box beside the corresponding day, then I’ll write my Go to Sleep time in the box under or beside it. In the boxes in-between, at the end of the row or column (only 6 boxes), I’ll write my number of hours slept.
- I’ve been asked how I know my Sleep time, but I just estimate — I usually have a general idea of when I went to sleep. Also, I sometimes use this tool to calculate number of hours slept — I usually wait until the end of the week to calculate them all.
- Meal Planner & Meal Tracker
- As much as I’d like to say I use these spots to PLAN my meals for the week.. But I really usually use them to TRACK my meals for the week. Feel free to do either!
- I sometimes use B, L, & D to represent Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner.
- Water Tracker, ?, or H20
- Do you know how much water you should be drinking?? I’ve read that a good guide for this is taking your weight and dividing it in half. Whatever that number is is the amount of ounces recommended for you! I try to keep up with this by writing the amount of ounces (estimated) that I drink per day. I’m so much better about it at work, because I carry around a 20 oz. bottle and keep it filled, but on my off-days, I struggle!
- If you ever see the ? water droplet — this is what I’m tracking. I’ll sometimes add it in with the meal tracker.
- Gratitude
- It’s nice to have a spot for tracking what you’re thankful for… even if they are super small things. I sometimes add these to my weekly spreads, but they can be made into their own full spreads. Also, I’ve started adding just one box for the whole week for gratitude, so I can write as much or as little as I want in the box that week.
- Notes, Remember and/or Ideas
- This is a good section to add to a blank spot in your spread. Since I’m a blogger, I sometimes come up with different ideas during the week about blog topics, or tools, or really anything. I’ll write these down in the “Notes”, “Remember” or an “Ideas” section.
- Memories
- This is a good place to add highlights from your week — write down a few random memories from the week, no matter how small — you’ll love looking back!
- Step Tracker
- Here’s another “fitness” related goal. Most smartphones keep up with the steps you take throughout the day — and many of us are using Fitbits, Apple Watches, Garmin’s, etc to keep up with this. The step tracker is usually in my Habit Tracker on my monthlies, and I have it color-coded. Again, green is for the MAX amount of steps, and red is for the minimum. See my key to see my actual code.
- Calorie/Protein/Macros Count
- I haven’t implemented this yet, because I haven’t been super-strict about this, but is a good spot to jot down your intake for those who keep up with what you’re eating!.
- Daily Takeaway or “What Happened Today”
- This is a spot for whatever the heck you wanna write! I usually write a funny, interesting, or different thing that happened that day. Either personal or in the news.
- Headlines
- Speaking of news — this is a place to add news that happened that day. Sometimes I’ll have them for days & sometimes I’ll make a box for the whole week, and add a few from the week. I’ll find a top headline from MSN, Google, or CNN.
- Song of the Week
- This is exactly as it sounds. Your favorite song of the week! Fun to look back on these, because I do have my weeks & months where I’m obsessed with a certain song!
- Waiting On…
- Many journals have a spread for their “Waiting On…” list, but I sometimes include them in my Weekly Spreads. Add things like packages you’ve ordered but haven’t received, e-mails you’ve sent but can’t take any action on, phone calls you’re expecting, etc.
- Word of the Day
- This is a new section I’ve added to change it up a bit. When reflecting and writing in your journal at the end of the day, what word comes to mind to describe the day? Maybe SLEEPY, maybe SHOPPING, maybe VACATION, maybe PRODUCTIVE, maybe BORED. This is completely up to you!
- Quote Spot
- Here’s another “filler spot” for when you’re setting up your week or month. So many quotes out there help inspire, make you laugh, or build confidence. It’s nice to write down some of the most meaningful in your journal. These quotes may lift you up during the week!
- Weekly Takeaway
- Write down something that you’ve learned this week. Add this during the week as you have them, or at the end of the week when looking back.
- Doodles
- If you’re a doodler, your weeklies are great spots to add some decorational doodles to your spreads. These are good space-fillers and they add some personal flair to your journal! If you’re not much of a doodler, find inspiration on the web or on Pinterest! Search simple doodles or how to doodle and then amaze yourself with your awesome drawing skills!
Thank you for this… This is a great compilation of spread elements as I continue to refine my BUJO system. Keep up the outstanding work! Thanks again!
Thanks Matt! I get a lot of questions asking about how I use them, so I figured I’d sum it all up! Glad I could help!
Wow that’s a big list!! Thank you for sharing all these ideas! I especially like the “Weekly takeaway” one, to track what I learned… I love to learn new things and reflect to see how I can improve my work, my relashionships or just myself! It’s such a good way to track small and big progress! And I guess (even if I’m not quite there!!) that it could also work for parenthood to track children achievements 🙂
Your spreads are always so impressive! Sometimes I feel like I need a tracker to keep track of how often I am filling out my trackers. . . which is never, by the way. Haha! I do love the way your look, though, when they are completed!