PLAN WITH ME | October 2021 Bullet Journal Setup

(gentle music)

- Thank you to Skillshare
for sponsoring this video.

Hello doodles, it's Amanda, welcome back.

How are you guys?

How have you been doing,
what's up, what's new?

I can't tell whether time
is moving slow or fast.

All I know is that all of
a sudden it is time for me

to do my October plan with me.

So I wanted to implement
something a little bit new

for this month's planning with me video,

just because I feel like these videos

are like my monthly
check-ins with you guys.

So I was thinking the other
day that it would be nice if

at the beginning of
each plan with me video,

I can tell you guys about
my goal for the month.

And you guys can also
comment down below your goal

for the month whether it's like
a big goal or a small goal.

And then in the next plan with me video,

the following month I can
check in with you guys again

at the beginning of the video,

let you know whether
I've completed my goal

and also set a new goal
for the following month.

And it can kind of be like our way

to keep each other accountable.

It doesn't have to be anything serious.

It can be like a small goal,

but I think it'll be
fun to just, you know,

encourage each other in
the comments of these

plan with me videos for our monthly goals.

In my previous plan with me video

I mentioned that I wanted
to be working out more,

eating healthier, and I
definitely think I achieved that.

I worked out twice a week every single day

for the past month.

So round of applause for me,

and I'm very proud of myself for that.

But to my goal for this coming
month, which is October,

I think is going to be
to make more of an effort

to reach out to friends,
check in with them,

maybe hanging out with them,

going on like quick walks, coffee.

I feel like I'm the type of
person where if I don't actively

encourage myself to reach out to friends,

then I can definitely kind
of close inward on myself

and be like oh my gosh, like,

who would want to hang out with me?

Everyone's too busy, yada, yada, yada.

But usually that's not the case.

Usually you just have to be
the one to initiate sometimes.

So yes, that is my
personal goal for October.

And I want to know what yours are.

I just feel like these
monthly plan with me videos

are a good opportunity to do that.

I have blabbed on enough.

I'm really excited for
this month's set up.

Without further ado let's get on with my

October, 2021 bullet journal set up.

Last month I promised you guys
that is going to do a theme

that had very fall, warm, cozy vibes.

And of course I am delivering.

So this month's theme is
a library slash reading

slash book theme.

My main inspiration for
this was looking at pictures

of reading nooks and
libraries on Pinterest.

I always love looking at
people's houses and rooms

and interior design on Pinterest,

but specifically I really
love looking at what people do

with the extra spaces in their houses like

that aren't bedrooms or
kitchens or living rooms,

kind of extra rooms that you
can pretty much do whatever in

and when people are able to
have the space to do something

like a reading nook or a
library I just love it.

It seems so lovely and
cozy to just cuddle up

and I don't know, read a book,

drink a cup of tea on a rainy day.

I would love to be able
to have a space like this

in my apartment,

but currently I live in
a one bedroom apartment

in downtown Toronto.

So that's not going to
be possible for awhile,

but hopefully one day I
can have my very own space

that is dedicated to being cozy

because how amazing does that sound?

But anyway, yes, I'm obsessed
with looking up pictures of

like libraries and reading
books on Pinterest.

So I wanted to create that on
my bullet journal cover page.

So as you can see I've drawn
a picture of an armchair.

I have a little coffee
table and also of course,

a very large bookshelf in the back.

And I wanted to kind of
illustrate it in the same style

as the lo-fi theme that I did a while back

because to me it gives
off the same cozy vibes.

So I did that.

I have to mention, like I
mentioned in the lo-fi theme

video it does seem like a lot of drawing,

but actually if you break it down,

drawing this type of stuff is super easy.

I recommend you pause on my
video if you're trying to

recreate it because a lot of
this stuff is just simple,

basic shapes, like the bookshelf.

It's just obviously a lot of rectangles.

Probably the hardest thing
to draw is the armchair.

So if any of you are scared or overwhelmed

to try to recreate it,

I promise if you break it
down into simple shapes,

you can do it.

I know a lot of you guys
are up for the challenge,

I believe in you guys,

but I do really love the
way that this cover page

turned out and you'll see later
the colors that I ended up

choosing are very warm, cozy.

I went for a lot of like
brown, tan, beige tones,

as well as a like sage olive green,

which is one of my
favorite colors right now.

And to me it just screams fall.

So another reason why I chose
to do this theme is because

personally I've been getting a
lot more into reading lately.

I will be the first to admit

that I was never the biggest reader.

I never used to enjoy reading.

I would've much rather have
spent my time watching a TV show

or a movie because I'm
a very visual person.

But I have recently
rediscovered the joy of reading.

I remember being a really big
reader when I was a child,

but then I kind of like phased out of it.

And now I feel like I'm
getting back into reading

and there's actually a
fun cute little story

as to how that happened.

And I thought I would tell it
as you guys are watching me do

the rest of my quote page.

Right now I'm just coloring
stuff in with my markers.

So we have some time
for me to tell my story.

But basically when I was in Vancouver,

I did a little park meet and greet.

It was kind of like a busking session

where I played some music
with my friend Jennifer

and I just invited any little
doodles who were free that day

to come out and hang.

And one of my viewers came
and she was an author.

She actually gave me her book to read.

She signed it.

She said that my videos helped her meet

her writing deadlines for her publisher

and that she bullet journaled a lot.

And it was just such a sweet moment.

I don't know what it
was about that moment,

but it just made me realize like, wow,

my videos and what I do
actually helps other people

and affects other people's lives,

which is a very cool thing
to realize is like a very

concrete thing to see like this book.

And obviously the author is
so talented, she's so amazing.

And she probably would
have finished the book

even if she hadn't watched my videos,

but just the fact that
I could be a small part

of that project indirectly
is very cool to me.

And it was really special
that our paths could cross

in that exact location and
time for us to meet in person.

She gave me the book, it was signed.

I went back home to Toronto
and obviously I saw this book

and I was like, you know
what, I have to read it.

Like I can't not read this
book that a viewer gave me.

So I read it.

And it was such a cute, quick little read.

It was, it's called Made
in Korea by Sarah Souk.

And it again very quick and
easy read, really fun and cute.

And I think that was one of
the main reasons why it was so

enjoyable to me is because
it was such a quick read.

Which before the major deterrents
for me reading was just

that it took up so much time
and I'm always kind of on

a fast paced schedule.

So it inspired me to look up
more books that were quick

easy reads like that.

And I also got the help from
some of you guys on Instagram

with some book recommendations.

So yeah, I've been getting
a few more books in my,

in my collection and reading a few more.

That is that my fun little story.

I think it's cool that a little
doodle author was the reason

why my love of reading
that I had as a child

has been kind of reignited.

Who knows maybe there are
also some other little doodle

authors watching this right now.

And if you are, please leave your,

the name of your book in the comments,

or if you have any other
book recommendations for me

or other little doodles,
leave them down below.

I feel like we're all
similar minded people.

So I trust your guys'
book recommendations.

I know I rambled over most of this spread,

but as you can see,
I'm doing a quote page.

I drew a little doodle
of a stack of books.

There's a book that's
open and then above it,

it just says chapter 10, because
October is the 10th month.

I also added a lot of
paper scrapbooking elements

throughout this setup.

As you can see, of course,
using some old book pages

that obviously go really
well with this theme.

I think the text on the
book pages kind of adds

some dimension and texture
to the illustrations,

which I think looks really nice.

And that paper that you saw
on the quote page was actually

some handmade Japanese paper
that I got from a small store

in Toronto called Hanji.

And it has these really
beautiful dried leaves

and flowers in it.

Currently I'm doing my
monthly calendar page.

For the title I used my
rubber alphabet stamps

to give it that printed text look.

I always get so many
questions whenever I use these

rubber alphabet stamps.

So I'll link them down below

in case you are curious about it.

But for this monthly calendar spread,

I didn't do a full two pager.

I just did a half page where I
have the calendar at the top.

And then I'm just listing
out events in the bottom.

Mostly because recently I've
been finding that I want to add

a lot more kind of sub notes
to individual monthly events.

So for example, if I have an
appointment on a certain day,

but I also want to remind myself
to bring something for that

day or something that I
need to do for that specific

appointment then I have
been wanting to add that.

And if I confine myself to a
small box that I normally use

in the two page spreads,

there's not really as
much space to add those

sort of footnotes for the events.

So I've been trying to toy with
the idea of doing this type

of spread more often so
that I'm able to do that.

I just put the events
title on the side there

so that I can list it out at the bottom.

And then I also just doodled

a little stack of books as well.

And other than that I'm just
adding the splashes of color

with those neutral brown shades,

as well as using the light
neutral grid tape from the shop

AmandaRachLee light neutral basics set.

On the other side of the spread I created

a monthly dashboard is
what I'm calling it.

I just had these little
modules and ideas of things

that I wanted to note down for this month,

but I didn't want to make
full pages for any of them.

So the top one I have this
book and inside the pages

I'm listing out the books
that I'm currently reading

for the month.

Currently I'm reading One
Last Stop by Casey McQuiston,

sorry if I'm mispronouncing that.

And I have a couple other that
I've been planning on reading

hopefully by the end of the month.

And then on the other side
of that book illustration

I have TV shows that I'm
keeping up with this month.

I have been in a big as
you guys know K drama kick.

So I'm currently watching
Hometown Cha Cha Cha.

I've been wanting to start a Squid Game,

and also I've been finishing
up a couple other shows

that I have never gone around
to finishing for this month.

You'll see as I continue
drawing that the other sections

on this dashboard page are
sectioned for my monthly goals.

And then also at the
bottom I added a package

or a shipment checker for things that I've

purchased this month and I'm waiting on.

I wanted to add a little
section for that to help me keep

track of it.

I've done this in other months before

and it's been really
helpful especially when I'm

waiting on specific things.

And I just, you know, sometimes
I lose track in my mind.

Anyway, that's everything for the spread.

What should we talk about now
that we're just waiting for me

to finish this up?

I never know what to talk
about in these voiceovers.

Oh, I guess I never talked
about this on my YouTube channel

or in an official video yet.

But if you have been seeing on Instagram

or YouTube shorts or Tik Tok,

something really exciting
happened last month

and may be continuing on
into this month as well.

If you haven't seen it,

I was a part of a YouTube Canada campaign,

which basically put billboards
of Canadian creators

all across Canada.

One of the biggest placements
was in Dundas Square

outside of the Eaton Center in Toronto.

Which if you don't know where that is

it's kind of like Toronto's
smaller version of Times Square.

They have all these billboards
up and now if you go there

right now, my face is up
there, which is so crazy.

When I went to go see
it for the first time

I had someone filming
my initial reactions.

So I posted that on my
channel if you want to see it,

but it was a very, very cool moment.

And I'm still kind of
overwhelmed by the whole thing.

But I did just want to say thank you

because obviously you guys,

and you watch my videos over
the past eight to nine years,

are one of the main
reasons why I, you know,

I'm still doing this and
why YouTube picked me

for this campaign so thank you.

And yeah, if you want to go check it out,

I'm across Canada on billboards.

I don't even know where some of them are,

but some people have
been sending me pictures.

Quick interruption before I show you guys

the rest of the spreads,

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Even though I teach classes on Skillshare,

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You guys know we love Skillshare on here.

So anyway without further ado,

I will get you guys back to the video.

Next step, I'm doing my habit trackers.

This month again I opted
not to do a mood tracker

because I didn't feel like doing one.

But for the header of the habit tracker,

I used the book page as like a background

for the habit tracker,

which I also did on like
some old kind of cream paper

to make it look like book paper.

By the way, these book pages
are not from a new book.

It was from an old book that
I thrifted at a thrift store.

And I looked it up to make
sure that it wasn't like

a special edition book
or anything like that.

So don't worry, I'm not ripping
out pages from a new book.

It was kind of like an
old damaged book already.

So yes, any book lovers out there?

I'm sorry, there was a book
harmed in the making of this,

but I tried to make sure that
it was not a, a special one.

For the habit tracker
calendars I just drew

these small rectangles
with simple headers in the,

those neutral colors.

I also blocked off all those
grid sections on the inside

for me to fill out when I'm
doing the specific habits

and the habits that I'm
tracking this month are

reading of course, to
go along with the theme,

but also just in general
I'll probably add this

to my habit trackers moving forward.

I also have the usual
suspects like working out,

taking my vitamins,
doing my vocal exercises.

What else do I have,
stretching, stuff like that.

And then at the bottom of the page,

I filled the empty space
with some book doodles.

So I drew a stack of books
with some books leaning on it.

And then I also drew some
books at different angles.

So I have some that are half open.

Some of the pages fully open.

It was really fun to draw these.

I think book doodles
are a cute doodle to do

because they're quite simple to draw,

but they look really nice and cozy

and you can really
customize whatever you want,

depending on your color palette.

Of course I went with my neutrals,

but if you chose a
different color palette,

all you have to do is
change out to the colors

of the book covers.

(gentle music)

So the next spread that I'm doing

is my monthly playlist spread,

which I've missed doing because
I didn't do one last month.

And the theme for my playlist this month

and the songs that I'm sharing
are definitely very chill,

cozy songs that are kind of softer songs

that you would be able to
listen to while reading,

because personally I know some
people might not like this

but I like to have very soft,

low key music while I'm reading.

Just because it gives
me some background noise

and it can't be anything too upbeat

or the lyrics can't be the focus

or also just end up focusing on the music

and not on the book.

So I've kind of compiled some
songs that I personally like

to listen to while I'm reading
or even while I'm drawing

or journaling or stuff like that,

just because it helps me focus.

It's kind of similar to
the whole lo-fi thing,

which you know I love.

But recently I've been really
really into listening to

Bossa Nova and jazz,
which is the genre music

that you're hearing right
now for the background music

of this video.

And as you can hear with your ears,

it is so relaxing and it
definitely gives you the vibe of,

you know, being in a
nice little cafe reading.

So there are a ton of YouTube
mixes that have some really

good, you know jazzy, Bossa
Nova, lo-fi type mixes.

So I'll link some of those down
below in case you're curious

as to what I listened
to when I'm doing stuff

like reading or journaling.

So I listed those out.

I also have a couple of
songs that have, you know,

softer vibes as well.

So I put that on the left
side of my playlist spread.

So I'll link everything down below.

Basically what I'm trying to say,

I know I'm all over the
place in this voiceover,

but I basically have Spotify
songs that I listen to.

Some of them have lyrics,
some of them don't.

And then I also have
some like YouTube mixes

that are longer, they're
like hour long mixes.

And those are for when I want

a more uninterrupted stream of music.

So I split up my playlist
spread with that.

Anyway, I don't know why that
took me so long to explain.

One of my current favorite
YouTube mixes to listen to

is by cafe BGM channel,

which is the same channel that did

the cafe Bossa Nova jazz mix versions

of the studio Ghibli songs
that I shared like a year ago,

but this specific video
does that same thing,

except for Nora Jones songs.

Who I love already her music as it is

is very jazzy and relaxing.

But the Bossa Nova jazz
versions of the songs

are even more relaxing

and perfect to listen
to while you're working.

So definitely recommend that one.

Everything will be linked down
below in case you're in need

of some nice relaxing music to listen to.

Okay, we're almost at the
end of this set up here,

but this next spread is
basically just a brain dump page

except it is specifically for
anything related to do with

the 2022 doodle planner launch.

I know I've been mentioning
the doodle planner here

and there in videos as I've
been working on it this year,

but we're coming up on
the end of the year.

And I can now say that November
is when the 2022 doodle

planner will be released.

I can't give any more
details on the specific date,

but just know that it is coming.

So I'm very excited for you to see it

because I worked so hard on it this year.

I made a couple changes to it

that I think you guys are going to love.

And it's just, it's been very fun.

There are definitely a lot
of things that I need to plan

in relation to the launch.

Like taking specific pictures,

there's a lot of organization things

that I also need to keep track of.

So I am in definite need
of this planning space,

which is why it's just two blank pages

with a couple of doodles.

But yeah, get excited.

Oh, I wish I could say more,

but you guys will find out
more about it soon anyway.

Alright, lastly we have the
first weekly spread of October.

I kind of messed up.

I didn't, I don't know what
I was doing when I was doing

this weekly spread but
I was just kind of going

based off of, you know,
what I had previously done.

This weekly spread you'll see
that the numbers are actually

for the last week of September.

It kind of is like half and half,

half the last week of September,

half the first week of October.

Technically it should have
been a September spread

because there are more September
days, but I don't know.

My mind just automatically
just went to it in October.

So I guess we ended the September
theme a little bit early,

which is fine.

Just means that we'll
have more weekly spreads

with the book theme.

So for this layout,

I opted to do a spread that
has a weekly events sidebar

on the left side.

As you can see I drew it to
make it look like a bookshelf

because the weekly events sidebar,

taskbar always kind of looks
like a bookshelf to me anyway.

So I thought it was
perfect for this theme.

I drew eight shelves on my bookshelf.

The top one has some book doodles in it.

And then the bottom seven are
for where I'll put my weekly

events and appointments
for each specific day.

For the actual daily task boxes,

as you can see they're
all on that right side,

but I split the page up
vertically into thirds.

I believe the size of these
daily boxes are 12 by 12

with one space in between.

I wanted to keep it pretty simple

so the header is just a solid
block of those neutral colors

that I've been using with
just the title of the day.

I left some space for a
doodle and a quote, but yeah,

this layout is the layout
that I used to do quite a lot

back in the day when I first
started bullet journaling.

And I feel like I've come back to it.

Especially recently I've
had a lot more like events

and appointments as
things are picking back up

and kind of going back to real life.

So I've been really liking
having that events taskbar

or sidebar on the side,

just so that I can kind of have a visual

of what my week looks like.

And then those daily to do
tasks are more for more of the

repetitive mundane task list items.

The only other thing that I
did for this weekly spread

is filling those empty spaces

with a couple of quick book doodles.

So I have one at the top
that is the book open

with some reading glasses and a pen.

And then at the bottom
I drew a book stack.

I think these book
doodles look really cute

with this like loose illustrative style.

It definitely gives it more of that

like vintage kind of handmade
scrapbooky look to it.

I'm also using a thinner fine
liner throughout this setup

than I normally use.

Normally I'll use my Tombow
Fudenosuke hard tip brush pen,

which is obviously a little bit thicker

for outlining or I'll use
like 0.3 or 0.5 fine liner.

But this time I used 0.2
because I felt like it gave,

gives it more of like a
pencil sketch type of vibe,

which I think went with this
theme really, really well.

So yeah, that's it for this weekly spread.

Again, sorry that it's kind
of like a September week.

That was my bad, but again
that just means we get

to have fun with this cute
book theme for an extra week,

which I am not mad at.

Alright guys so we are done.

Here's the full flip through

of my October, 2021 bullet journal setup

with our reading slash
books slash library theme.

I loved the setup.

I think it was also fun for me to make.

Definitely very relaxing
as I listened to jazz.

And it has me ready for
fall cozy season for sure.

Alright guys, so that was it for my

October, 2021 plan with me.

I hope you guys enjoyed.

Of course as usual while
we're closing off this video

here are some of your recreations
from last month over here,

look at them.

They're so cute and beautiful and lovely.

If you guys do recreate any of my spreads,

whether it be this
month's previous month's,

I always love looking through them

and seeing all of your recreations.

You can tag me on any
social media platform.

Recently, I've been seeing
a lot of recreation's

on Tik Tok as well.

So you can tag me there.

If you do want to see how
the rest of my spreads

for this month turn out

I do weekly live streams on Twitch.

I do my weekly spread.

It's a really fun time.

You can chat, hang out
with other little doodles.

And I feel like it's a
good way to also see how

I create my weekly spreads
because it's real time.

So it's a bit more
chill than these videos.

And it's just a great way
to start off your weekend.

So come join us.

Twitch links, all of that over here.

And I think that is pretty much it.

I talk a lot in these videos.

I just realized how much I talk.

But that's, you know, what can you do?

You guys have a lovely day, week, month,

and I will see you in the next one.

Keep doodling, bye.

(gentle music)