Bullet Journal Spread Ideas for School

Bullet journaling for students in school is something I have been talking about with my son a lot. He is getting ready to head off to college and could definitely use some organization tips. So far, bullet journaling is hitting a homerun with his female friends.  We’ll see how successful I am convincing him it will help!

His friends said it helps them organize their study plans and classes, and it’s proven relaxing, thoughtful and useful. Savorandsavvy.com has been offering a free dot grid page to try out bullet journaling before making the big leap to a bound journal. Print a few pages to get started!

If you want dots on both sides of your paper, adjust your printer setting to print two-sided or stick your printed page back in the printer on the opposite side.

5 Ways to use a Bullet Journal for Middle School Students

• Assignments! I can’t say that loud enough! Middle schoolers are renowned for their forgetfulness and having a fun journal that they can doodle in will allow them to have that important notebook right in front of them in class! They can quickly write down the assignments before the bell rings and it will be another reminder for them to follow through on their assignments.
• Note taking.  Middle school is the time when students dive right into note taking in class and they quickly learn how important it is to study for tests and prepare for projects. Give them the tools and somewhere fun to capture all those important facts down for their project. Help them design their own page to give them a spot to write in their own bullet journal.
• Studying for tests. One of the best ways to study for tests is to practice writing the key topics for the exam. For a French class, have your middle schooler write the words in the bullet journal, just like they would on flash cards. The more they write, the more their mind retains.

Extracurricular Activities

• Leadership and Clubs. Create a #BuJo page to help your student document key information for their leadership opportunities and clubs. Your student should write done the meeting dates, topics discussed and action items needed to be completed before the next meeting.
• Sports, Band and Drama. I love that kids are involved in all of these activities.  It is good for them and prepares them for high school. But, with these activities comes a lot of extra things to remember.  Moms are busy, and kids tend to not remember key pieces of information, right? Have them document the times and dates of their extra practices, uniform issues/requirements, and payments due. There is so much sent via email, but many coaches leave some of the information to the student to follow up. Having students learn early to write it down will get them into a good habit to keep checking their journal and sets them up for success.

10 Ways to Use a Bullet Journal for High School

• Note taking – it is so important to take notes in class. Why not have them all in one spot? Of course, they are taking notes from reading their textbooks too, right? Separate the classroom notes from the textbook notes with doodles, dividers or banners. It adds a bit of fun, and your high schooler will almost want to go back to study the notes, right?
• Daily Schedule – Your student can use their bullet journal as a weekly spread and include their exam times, finals week schedule, essays, leadership positions, jobs…even what time the cafeteria opens. High school students are becoming increasingly more involved and giving them a solid method to organize their day can help them stay focused and on-task.
• Monthly Schedule – Using a bullet journal is a great way to track longer term goals, such as healthy eating, joining exercise classes, and participating in community events. Monthly scheduling also is important for high school students to start to visualize that assignments/tests and projects are closer on the calendar than they may realize. Having calendars hidden out of sight in their phone is not helping them stay on track.
• Assignments for Class – One of my son’s friends uses the bullet journal to add each and every assignment in a box and document the requirements and when it is due. Writing it down might minimize the chances of forgetting about it. Be creative here and make cute checkboxes or develop other ways to mark off completed assignments.
• Degree requirements – High school students have more options available to them in their scheduling and high school degrees. They are also offered more specializations to qualify for graduation. Dual enrollment or full-time study at a community college offers additional challenges to keep everything straight. Keep it all together in a bullet journal. One of my friends trusted her son to participate in a guaranteed admission program with the local community college.  Unfortunately, he didn’t read the requirements for the guaranteed admissions and was missing a prerequisite course. He never wrote down the requirements, and lost track of them.

Other Classroom uses for Bullet Journals

• Semester Overview – There are so many competing demands between all the classes.  One class may have a huge report to write. Another may require a lengthy science project.  Consider using a page of the #BuJo to list out each class’ major projects. Sometimes, without that visual, time runs out faster than expected. Create the visual cues in your bullet journal to keep these projects in mind as you plan out other activities.
• Textbook Summaries – Take notes from your textbook separately or add them into the notes taken in class.
• Group Project Notes/Ideas – Gather everything into one bullet journal section and put together a project plan. Have your groupmates use the journal as well to keep everyone on the same page. It beats the alternative when a task doesn’t get accomplished because everyone thought it would be completed by someone else.
• Study Tracker – I love this idea. If a student writes down how much they actually studied, they will hold themselves accountable.  Most students need to keep track of how much they are studying and plan for dedicated study time to make sure everything is accomplished.
• Grades – Yes, everyone’s grades are online nowadays, but it never hurts to keep them right there with you as a reminder to keep your eyes on your goals. It can also be used to track your weekly quizzes, class participation scores, or homework results.

5 Ways to Use a Bullet Journal for College and University Students

• Degree Requirements – Use a bullet journal to document the classes needed for the degree. Use this to track class prerequisites and those harder classes that are only offered certain terms. It’s best to keep a constant eye on it to avoid any surprises.  Student can use #BuJo to actively track their required classes.
• Exercise – Use a bullet journal to track daily/weekly exercise plans to avoid the Freshman 15!  You know what I am talking about. It can be much easier to relax and watch Netflix, but tracking your exercise might be a good incentive.
• Budget tracking – College is usually the first time that a student has to really keep track of their money and manage a budget on a daily/monthly basis. Make changes in spending if you are finding costs are going up. It’s amazing how fast money is spent on things like gourmet coffees every morning!
• Leadership and Clubs – Students are so involved with clubs at a collegiate level. Deadlines and projects come in to play and the student really has to work hard at balancing all of these competing demands. Document roles and expectations of elected positions.
• Project-based assignments – The dreaded “group projects” can be made much better when using a bullet journal. Track deadlines, roles in the group and assignments.

Bullet Journaling is a Great Tool to Stay Organized

Bullet journaling is exploding in popularity, and for good reason!  This trend is not going anywhere soon! There are so many benefits for all aspects of life, but especially for students.  Have you read Ryder Carrol’s book? Check it out on Amazon! He is so inspirational!

If you are just starting out, don’t go crazy yet spending tons of money on pens or hard bound journals when you don’t know if it will work for you. Grab one pack of the Micron pens that have a couple colors to get you started. It will allow you to practice and get a feel if this is an organizational skill that will be a match for you!

Don’t forget to snag the Dot Grid Journaling Page   for free to try out any of these ideas. Leave us a comment below on how you use it or any more ideas you might have!

Check out our Pinterest board Bullet Journaling for Students for more ideas!

And our Pinterest board for Bullet Journaling Dividers and Bullet Journaling Plants Leaves Wreaths  

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