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I know you will hate me for this. But bullet journaling is not about washi tapes. It is a method for productivity, designed with mindfulness in mind. If you still use tapes and stickers to make it better, why not add a cheat sheet of life hacks as well? This post contains a free printable for your next best bullet journal spread.

Looking for bullet journal hacks?

I decided on creating and publishing this post last week. I was just looking for some life hacks to put into my bullet journal’s brand-new page. Which is called “cheat sheet of life”. I googled “life hacks to put in bullet journal” and similar stuff. But I couldn’t find any life hacks. All the results were about “amazing journal hacks”. Basically, tips like how you can use washi tapes and stickers to cover mistakes.

Now I don’t know what you think. But I think there is a problem with the bujo community. Don’t get me wrong. I love art journals. And I believe a journal is whatever you need it to be. But the bullet journal method by Ryder Carroll has a specific definition. And I believe it is often overlooked.

Attention This post doesn’t contain enough glitter/washi tape related tips. You are looking for tips on how to make your bullet journal have more Instagram #bujo effect? Then this is not the post you are looking for. You may want to check this blog for art journal related tips.

It seems like, some people who use bullet journal, are more interested in their bullet journal, than organizing their life. Yes, you probably should take your time to make your bullet journal look the way you want. But it seems like everyone is forgetting the bullet journal’s purpose. There is a difference between a bullet journal and an art journal.

Image: A perfect example of a bullet journal with a monthly spread. It is from Reddit user /u/lcabic12. This person was probably being productive while you were busy gluing glitters on your washi tape.

Usually, a new bullet journal contains weekly and monthly spreads, future logs. Also, a journal page of daily affirmations for a little touch of mindfulness. If you check some other spread ideas posted on Instagram, you will realize there are countless other options.

How to bullet journal as a starter

So you are a beginner and the first thing you do is checking bullet journal supplies? Well, you are close to making a bad start with a new bullet journal. I suggest you check out top bullet journal bloggers’ tips on how to bullet journal as a beginner here.

There is also this nice guide for beginners by Cerries. (BTW, she stopped bullet journaling because, according to her, she couldn’t help focusing on how good it would look on Instagram. Which made her bujo unproductive and time-consuming.)

Cheat Sheet Of Life Hacks Spreadsheet

What I’ve created, for my efficiency-focused bullet journal is actually a quite minimalist spreadsheet.

I’ve always been a fan of the subreddit called Lifeprotips. I often find myself taking notes from there to my personal note-taking app. From time to time, I am moving these notes to my home or business bujo too. By the time, I realized these life hacks were taking too much place and were somewhat unorganized.

So I decided on creating a cheat sheet of life hacks spread page. After just a week, it became one of the most popular pages of my bullet journal.

You can try it too. Actually, I would love to know how it works for other people from the #bujo community. Download the free printable below, and please let me know how it works for you!

Examples Of Life Hacks For Your Bullet Journal Cheat Sheet

What are some productivity life hacks? When it comes to productivity focused life hacks, you will need to do your own research on the web. Because the best productivity hack for me can be useless for someone else. But here are the top hacks from my own notes:

– Do some cleaning when you need a mood boost.

– Use Win+V for clipboard history

– If you copy a link to share, try removing everything after question mark.

– Don’t drink coffee every day, or you will build tolerance.

What is the best bullet journal tips related to personal finance? Never trust a call from your bank. Always call them back by dialing their official number. Always get hospital bills itemized. This will usually lower the price. Also, for internet shopping, if you find a discount code such as Save10, try Save30 and Save15 too. (You can also try test or test50). There is one last tip that works for me, but you may disagree. It is “Never lend money you cannot afford to lose.”

Where can I find different life hacks to put in my bullet journal spread? As I mentioned earlier, you can always check Reddit or quora for more life tips. For some other random life hacks from my own bullet journal spread, check these out:

– When you are bored, check out the comments of reddit or facebook ads.

– Before buying a lock, first search for “how to unlock *model*” to see how secure it is. (You can do something similar while choosing bullet journal supplies too!)

– Always take photos of medications you are taking.

– Do not argue with yourself. You will lose.

– Fill out a CBT form whenever you feel depressed. You can also try this free printable too.

I have a bonus life hack for you.

There are two ways to create the best bullet journal ever.

Option 1: Create the best bullet journal ever.

Option 2: Tear all the other bullet journals in the world to pieces.

My point is, I guess, choose the first option, and be happy for other people and their achievements.

Download The Free Bullet Journal Spread

The ZIP file you are about to download contains 5 files. 4 of them are the free printables. I put bullet journal spread in both US LETTER and A4-A5-A6 format. Since the PDF content is in vector format, you can also create a huge, A0 sized life hacks spreadsheet to cover your living room’s wall. But I wouldn’t suggest that.

For both the LETTER and A-series versions, there are two different PDF pages. One is filled with the life tips I shared above. The other one is the one with blank areas for creating your own creative spreadsheet.

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List of resources

The above cheat sheet of life hacks is great, especially for starters. But of course, this is my opinion. In case you are going to give it a try, I am sharing resources from my research. I hope these links will be helpful on personalizing your new bullet journal spread.

Chris Brogan’s great article on his life hack philosophy.

DiynCrafts’ fun collection of life hacks and tips. You definitely should note some of these on.

April’s wonderful post will be very handy for starters.

5 important tips from Petra Monaco. The page is not directly related to life hacks. But you may want to add those useful tips to your cheat sheet spread.

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37 Cheat Sheet of Life Hacks – Key Bullet Journal Spread