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family bullet journal

Get Organised!!!

March 2, 2019 by Annie Leave a Comment

Three more basics for your family bullet journal. I use these more than any other pages in my bullet journal so I thought I would create them as loose leaf templates for you. The downloads are available in A4 and letter formats.  

Get Organised!!!!

Do list

The trusty do list! I used to have several of these running in different notebooks and a couple of electronic ones for good measure! I recognise that my do list habits are not good. Habits such as adding tasks to the list that are already complete (so I can give myself a tick)…. not really helpful. Another trap I often fall into is putting enormous tasks on the list that I have no hope of completing… again not conducive to making progress. Here are some tips for constructing a useful motivating do list….

  1. Make each task clear so it is obvious when it has been completed.
  2. Break down larger tasks into actionable elements
  3. Only put tasks on the list that you can complete yourself
  4. Put the tasks on the list that will make a real difference
  5. Put the hardest tasks first and do them first or alternate one hard one easy. 

Final tip from me is to date the tasks. Write down the first date you put the task on the list. This is one thing I started doing when I realised my do lists going back months had some of the same items on. These were items I always wrote down but never actioned. I was constantly carrying the weight of failure to complete these actions. Either these were things that weren’t important to me (or anyone) or I was really letting myself down by not doing them! One item that sat on my list for more than a year was to start a blog! ๐Ÿ™‚ 

Do List - prints to A4 paper (145 downloads)

Do list - prints to Letter paper (120 downloads)

The printable formats you can download here have a space to include the date. If you find a task sitting on the list for a long time then consider…is it REALLY something you want to do? If so GET ON WITH IT! If not, strike it from the list and give yourself a break!  

When did I last….

This is a great tracker for routine tasks. Everything from changing beds and towels to caring for pets and cleaning rooms that aren’t in frequent use (if you are lucky enough to have them!). Even jobs that are supposed to be done weekly get a slot on my list and putting them here means my do list doesn’t fill up with repetitive routine.   

You can also use this tracker as a reminder to stay in touch. Time passes soooo quickly. Adding reminders such as when did I last call Jack or visit Rachel reminds you not to lose touch. Fill out the list and check it over each week.  

When did I last... prints to A4 (157 downloads)

When did I last... prints to letter paper (175 downloads)

Activities List

This is one of the layouts we use as a family to record things that any of us would like to do. We have often used it at the start of school holidays to work out how we will spend any free time we have together. Having this list helps to get the best ideas together. The first step is to brainstorm all the activities each member of the family would like to do. We keep a list open all the time and add to it whenever the inspiration comes!

The layout includes columns to estimate the cost and to indicate whether an activity is indoors/outdoors… important when you consider the normal British weather. Using the completed list to drive the discussion about how to spend time as a family teaches us lots of interesting things:

  1. The budget is not limitless
  2. Everyone likes doing different things
  3. Negotiation and persuasive skills are needed if you want your activity to make it to the top of the list
  4. Time is precious!

The layout also includes a section where you can add notes and review the activity. We use a simple method of *’s out of 5 and each member of the family has a colour they normally use. I think this teaches us that it isn’t always the expensive activities that are the most enjoyable. The ratings people give can be a real eye-opener!

Activity Planner - prints to A4 (437 downloads)

Activity planner - prints to letter paper (174 downloads)

Next week I have a habit and sleep tracker for you… or I will have if I complete all the actions on my do list! Have a good week!!

Annie ๐Ÿ™‚

Filed Under: Bullet Journal Tagged With: bullet journal, do list, family, family activities, family bullet journal, family fun, free download, free printable, get organised, organisation, planner, planning, tracker

Family Menu planning – free printables

February 24, 2019 by Annie Leave a Comment

I don’t know about you but I find menu planning for the family one of the least enjoyable jobs of the week. Trying to keep everyone happy and keep them healthy whilst fitting around everyone’s busy schedules is hard! Keeping up with changing tastes is impossible. It is easy to get into a rut of making the same dishes over and again. Even this only works till everyone gets bored and tastes change – which seems to happen every other week!

I have two free printables for your family bullet journal to help you with the job. Firstly, a tracker that lets you list all the meals make and get feedback from everyone on which dishes they like or do not like. We keep this list in our family bullet journal and anyone can update their preferences as they change. Everyone’s tastes change from time to time but this is especially true for children as their palettes develop.

From time to time we try new recipes and we decide as a family whether or not something new is worth adding to the list – ie would you ever want to have this again!? The format of the tracker allows you to list down the left hand side the dishes you make. Along side the list of dishes, we take a column each and put our initials at the top. Everyone scores the meals according to their own preference. We use a rating of 1 – 10. You could just put stars next to your favourites or use ticks and crosses – choose your own method to show your preferences! The free downloads for these printables are at the bottom of this post in both UK (A4) and US (letter) formats.

The other bullet journal format that I like to use is the documented weekly menu plan. I find that this helps in soooo many ways! Firstly it helps keep cost under control – planning ahead for the week enables batch cooking and planned use of leftovers. We also do less impulse buying which means reduced waste. Where possible we involve the family in planning which can lead to happier meal times and less grumbling (note I say ‘can’ lead to!). Keeping a bank of these sheets also means that you can refer back to weeks that worked well and repeat them – although too much repetition is a source of grumbling, at least it is in our house!

It helps when starting the plan for the week to run through the favourite dishes list at the top of this post – it is easy to forget things that you have made in the past that have worked well. It is also fun if your children are old enough, to get them to add dishes from recipe books that they themselves can make. Anything to add a bit of variety is a good idea.

Each day and meal on the menu plan has a space to write how many people the meal is being made for and the boxes are deep enough to include more than one dish. We have some days where we cannot all eat together and other times when we have family or friends round. The notes section is helpful to include any info for the week eg if someone is away from home or has decided to avoid meat for the month! ๐Ÿ™‚

Here are the links. I hope you find these printable trackers helpful and that you come back again for more of these free downloads as I build the collection for your family bullet journal. Please let me know if there is any particular format you are looking for and I will try to produce it for you.

Menu Plan layout - A4 size (121 downloads)

Menu Plan layout - Letter size (116 downloads)

Favourite Meals - A4 format (120 downloads)

Favorite Meals tracker - Letter format (111 downloads)

Happy menu planning and have a good week!

Annie ๐Ÿ™‚


Filed Under: Bullet Journal Tagged With: bullet journal, family, family bullet journal, family meal times, free download, free printable, menu, menu planning, organisation

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