Future log in the bullet journal is where you keep all the important dates that you don’t want to miss out on. Not sure how to do it? You come to the right place!
Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links at no cost to you.
BULLET JOURNAL FUTURE LOG
Have you ever been in a situation where you forget your mom’s birthday or an important appointment?
Then, you blame yourself for being such a scatterbrain.
Well, I have.
Lots of time.
This mainly happens because of 2 main reasons
Number one, well.. I forget
Number two, I didn’t plan my week and month and end up missing out on important dates because I’m busy with other things
Not actually busy, but rather not organize & prioritize my life well
If you want to start bullet journaling, check out this post. And get the best Bullet Journal Notebook to start your journey
The Bullet Journal Method
Note
if you are just starting and want to know more about the bullet journal, you might want to read this post to help you begin the process.
The bullet journal method can be approached in 6 steps
- Bullet journal key
- Bullet journal index
- Bullet journal future log (We are here!)
- Bullet journal monthly spreads
- Bullet journal weekly/daily spreads
- Bullet journal collections
The future log is the third step of the bullet journal system
What is a bullet journal future log?
The future log is where you keep all the important dates and events that you don’t want to miss out
The birthday dinner date? It’s the future log
Dentist appointment? the future log
The food carnival you don’t want to miss? it’s the future log
You get me.
The future log will help with the planning as well as provide a bird’s eye view of what is going to happen in the near future.
This will be the place where you add all of your commitment in one place.
That way, you will be able to keep track of all the important dates via the future log
What to put in the future log?
Basically anything, any dates that you don’t want to be missed.
These includes:
- Birthday/ anniversary
- appointments ( doctor or vet)
- Holidays/ Vacation /Trips
- Family events
- Bills (Monthly, Quarterly, Annual)
How to set up the bullet journal future log?
The future log is set up at the beginning of each bullet journal.
If you owned the Bullet Journal notebook, they already have the designated page for the bullet journal at the beginning of the notebook.
If not, it doesn’t matter, just use the first few pages as the future log following the bullet journal index and key pages
There is various way to set up the bullet journal future log. I have shared a few ideas you can try at the end.
If you are new, here are some bullet journal notebooks you can use to begin your journey
- Value for Money: PAPERAGE Dotted Journal Notebook (160 Pages,100 GSM Thick Paper)
- Crowd favourite: LEUCHTTURM1917 (203 Numbered Pages with 120gsm)
Future log vs monthly spread
One thing I notice is that the future logs where the important dates are stored will be pretty redundant with the monthly spreads where the important events of the month are kept.
Should I just use one of them?
After reading a few experience bujo-er, they recommended using both despite the overlap in information
The reason is mainly that usually, we don’t make the spread ahead of time
Say, right now we are in the month of April, and the important event is in July, we can just keep the date in the future log so it’s not to be missed
Once you have created the monthly spread for July, you can transfer the date to that spread.
Since I’m still at the beginning of the bullet journal journey, I will keep both and see how it goes
Update: I have kept most of the fixed appointments in the future log which is separated by month. I find it a hassle to write the same thing twice
Bullet journal future log ideas for 2023
1. The original bullet journal
Ryder’s future log is very straightforward and super quick to create.
Just use 2 pages of the journal and divided them into 3 horizontal lines. This will create 6 sections that will represent the 6 months
Simple and practical.
The photo was taken from How to Bullet Journal Youtube.
Learn the actual Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Caroll, himself!
2. The 3-month setup or Quarter Setup
Similar to Ryder’s method, but instead of 6 months, just use 1 page and divide it into 3 sections that represent 3 months
This is great if you don’t have anything much-planned long-term
Photo by @lindseyscribbles via Instagram
3. The 12-month future log
Each page will represent 6 months.
Use the entire 2 pages to set for 12 months’ future log
This will give you the whole year’s commitment in one spread
Photo by @feather.eaux via Instagram
4. The vertical log with a mini calendar
I love how the mini calendar helps to roughly estimate the free date available
but you have to spend some time, in the beginning, to write all the mini calendars in your spread.
Don’t worry, you just have to do it once a year
Photo by @supermassiveblackink via Instagram
5. Vertical future log With Birthday Reminder
Simple & practical
I like the idea of highlighting the birthday date in the future log. It’s easier to see and of course not make us forget about it
Photo by @andreea.writes via Instagram
6. Vertical months with dates
My favourite so far. I love how easily I can view the event
The only issue is, that I might end up not having much space if 2 plans fall on the same day
Photo by @lines.and.lettering via Instagram
7. colour-coded the event
Is it a family, self, or work-related event?
Using a highlighter, separate this category using different colours to rapidly view the events in the future log
Photo by @craftyenginerd via Instagram
8. The Alastair Method
This is quite a genius method of creating the future log.
The left column is the month, and the right column is the event (doesn’t matter if added non-chronologically)
Go visit his site where he elaborated in detail on the method for project completion and the to-do list using the same method
Photo by Log that life (@logthatlife) via Instagram
9. Calendex
Register the event by jotting down the page number in the setup calendar page set as a future log.
When the day arrives, flip to the page and write down the detail of the event.
Quite sleek, eh?
Photo by @decadethirty via Instagram
Photo by @minimalisticplanning via Instagram
10. The list method
Write down the month and the important event of that month.
Simple but works for those who don’t have time.
Photo by @janelle.nutritionist via Instagram
Which future Log Idea works Best for me?
It depends greatly on your preference and how much time you have
The original future log is very minimal and didn’t take much time. So maybe we can start from there
The idea is you can record or log in the important date without any difficulty and be able to review it later.
I found the vertical design suit my preferences, but I’m not sure whether I have the patience to write down the mini calendar although it will be extremely helpful
keep experimenting, friends
I’m thinking to keep the different designs for my future log every 3 months so I can experiment and see which design works best for me.
the criteria I’m looking for are hassle-free and take little time to create
Bullet Journal Future Log Hacks
Problem #1
The thing I am worried about is the time I need to spend writing the mini calendar. I don’t mind if I have time.
But if I don’t, I can foresee I completely abandon the idea of doing the future log
Hacks/ Solution
- Follow the Bullet Journal original method which doesn’t require the mini calendar
- write down the day and date at the end of the list so don’t really require the mini calendar on the page
- Use calendar stickers
- Printable journal log
- Calendar stamps
Problem #2
Schedule multiple events on the same day
I have the tendency to schedule multiple dates on the same weekend without knowing another event scheduled on the same day
Hacks/ Solution
- Highlight the days filled with events with a highlighter indicating the day is filled and shouldn’t use for other appointments
Problem #3
Have a sense of overwhelms when seeing the future log filled with events
Hacks/Solution
Separate the birthday date to separate birthday log to prevent overcrowding of the future log
some people might not like the idea of having too many separate logs
but for those who have a higher tendency to feel anxious, separating the birthday log will come in handy
Minimalist & Practical Bullet Journal Future Log Idea
Photo by @another.page via Instagram
Photo by @papeles.y.tintas via Instagram
Photo by @kiki_wishlist via Instagram
The future log is where the planning goes
After listing down some ideas to be used in the bullet journal, I found some glimmering hope that the future is actually not as scary if we are able to anticipate it.
Share with us your version of future login in the comment section
“The best way to predict your future is to create it”
Abraham Lincoln
Related Post:
