I have a page at the end of each month that acts as a recap of the month and some room for a bit of introspection before heading into the next month. I have a page at the beginning of each month that lists out newsletter topics for each week’s email to send and those regular monthly tasks I need to keep track of (like did I forget to pay my electric bill in the craziness of last’s week’s sales rush?) and current projects and/or goals for that month. I end up setting up at least 3 months of weekly calendar pages in mine at a time so I can schedule out tasks, events, etc ahead to avoid having days or weeks where I’m staring at my calendar wondering what, exactly, I’m supposed to be focusing on this week. I think, when you’re a small business owner, you are really planning things out months in advance.

I can use it as a daily task list and appointment reminder, but when it comes to working out the bigger things that are involved with being a business owner the bullet journal doesn’t really cut it. The thing that I’ve found, or maybe struggled with, is making it work for me as a comprehensive planning system as a business owner. I’ve played with layouts that are more doodles and art, and I’ve gone minimalist and kept to the core basics, and a variety of blending of the two over the years. I’ve used a bullet journal in some way/shape/form since 2018, both as an employee in the public sector and, now, as a self-employed brick-and-mortar business owner. There are layouts for tracking social media posts and growth, layouts for project planning, layouts for social media planning, financial tracking, and so many more that would have been better suited to making this post far more suitable for the target audience. There are some legitimately good bullet journal layouts and ideas out there in the world that were made for business by other business owners, but none of them were really presented in this post. I was really excited to get the link to this in my email, but ultimately disappointed in the way this is presented. Bring your style and creativity into your bullet journal to help make managing your business easy and joyful.

If you need a place to begin, try purchasing existing spreads from Etsy sellers or on Creative Market, but in the end you may find that your pages end up being a true reflection of your individuality so make it your own. The bullet journal is a tool that can be a little intimidating to begin with, but the point of the system is to simplify and improve any aspect of our lives we’re hoping to level up. Self-care spreads could also include affirmations, and tracking physical and emotional wellness. The mental break of journaling or recording self-care items is an opportunity to reset and manage stress in the business. Reflecting on your intentions for the day or recording business-related gratitude can shift your mindset during a frustrating day. A visual tracker is a great alternative to a purely number-based log.

Take a step back each week or even each day to keep track of where your time and energy are going. It’s easy to let the scales tip too far into work. A precarious balance between work and the rest of life is common for small business owners.

Work schedule bullet journal