Bullet journal spreads, my experiences of trying out a range of craft activities and lots of wellbeing tips to help you get the best from life.
Author: Laura
A creative planning and journalling addict who lives in the North East of England, My current passions are my bullet journal, my Traveler's Notebook for memory keeping, my DSLR for taking nature photos, my new watercolour paints and my papercrafting supplies. I also own and run LJDesignsNE on Etsy where I sell pretty and functional goodies to fellow planner and journaling addicts.
We’re all familiar with the concept of a ‘to-do’ list and have likely used them many times in a bid to make our day super productive. We’ve probably tried to make ourselves feel like we’re winning by adding a few things we’ve already finished or got started on so we can quickly tick them off. However, sometimes, we’ll have felt disheartened when we’re approaching bedtime and discover that most of our list needs migrating to tomorrow’s to-dos because we weren’t productive enough, have too much to do, or, we got distracted by other things.
Creating a ‘not to-do list’ can be a wonderful tool to help us identify and eliminate tasks, habits and distractions which prevent us from focusing on what really matters and stop us from being as productive as we would like to be. In a nutshell, a ‘Not to-do list’ is a list of activities you choose to avoid doing so that you can manage your time effectively. This might include things like the following:
anything which distracts you on a regular basis
things which drain your energy
bad habits that you want to remove from your working time
things which don’t currently add value to your life
unnecessary tasks i.e. things which don’t need to be done
other people’s responsibilities
Ideas for items to add to your not to-do list
Your Not to-do list should be highly personalised depending on your own wants and needs but here are some ideas to get you started.
Checking your emails repeatedly throughout the day
Mindlessly scrolling social media
Checking your phone in bed – either last thing at night or before you get up
Drinking coffee after 3pm (when you have work the next day)
Going to bed later than 11pm (Sunday – Thursday)
Spending time thinking about / stressing over things which are out of your control
Reading negative news
Things that are not my responsibility
Doing tasks which would be best delegated to someone else
Multi-tasking (or attempting to)
Saying yes to tasks or events that aren’t a priority right now
Working whilst eating lunch
Spending time with individuals who drain your energy
Forgetting to take regular work breaks
Doing work after 5pm
Procrastinating by watching lots of productivity videos (binge watching) on YouTube
Keeping ideas, thoughts and must dos in your head instead of writing them down and scheduling time to deal with them
Not identifying your top priorities for the day
Eating unhealthy snacks which make you feel sluggish
Making excuses to avoid / put off difficult tasks
Aiming for perfection – forgetting that done is better than perfect
Setting too many goals at once
Final words…
I hope you’ve found today’s post useful and it’s helped you to consider tasks, habits and distractions which prevent you from being as productive as you could be. I would really appreciate it if you took time out from your busy schedule to drop me a comment sharing your top three things to add to your ‘Not to-do list’.
The last time I did a life update was in the summertime of this year so I figured that, as we’re now well into the autumn season, it’s time to write a new one. Before starting, I’ve made some brief notes on what I’m up to right now and how I’m feeling at the moment.
Currently reading…
About once a week, I check out the Kindle charts to peruse the popular books and select a few to download. I also regularly visit Waterstones to see what’s new. This month, I’ve decided to try a few different authors and I’m currently reading a novel by Simon McCleave called The Snowdonia Killings which is a crime thriller set in North Wales. I found it a little difficult to get into at first but I’m now enjoying it more. The only other book I’m dipping into at the moment is The Happiness Year, where I’m selecting Autumnal exercises to try.
Currently watching…
There’s so many good television series on in the autumn and I made a list of all of the ones I want to check out. At the moment were watching:
Joan – a crime drama inspired by the true story of a woman who becomes a jewellery thief in a bid to provide for her young daughter who is currently under the care of social services
Ludwig – a crime / comedy drama starring reclusive puzzle lover David Mitchell who poses as his twin brother, a police detective, to try to find out why he has disappeared and ends up solving a number of crimes along the way
The Voice Season 13 – the popular British singing competition where individuals (and the occasional group or duet) take to the stage to perform in the hope of get at least one chair turn and the chance to work with the support of a celebrity coach
Currently eating…
Since the beginning of autumn, we’ve been enjoyed cooking together and trying out a range of online recipes for vegetarian soups and stews. Over the next few weeks, I’m hoping to type out the recipes with any modifications we’ve made, to add to our little recipe folder that I keep in the kitchen.
Currently drinking…
As the weather gets colder, I’m starting to crave hot chocolate and I’ve discovered that it tastes much better made with oat milk rather than the soya milk I used last year. However, cartons of oat milk are much more pricey so I’m trying to only have it as an occasional treat.
Currently feeling…
I’m feeling a bit sorry for myself at the moment as I have a painful sprained wrist after falling over on the beach and it’s taking ages to heal. Also, I’ve been unable to hear through my left ear for two months due to impacted wax and I’ve been trying various remedies to no avail. I’ve finally seen a doctor about it and will be getting it syringed at the surgery later in the month. I’m grateful that they’ve started to offer this treatment again though!
Currently crafting…
I’ve bought a couple of mini cross stitch kits from Mouseloft to do this autumn. I’m currently working on a cute little squirrel called Cyril who is holding up a prized acorn. The other kit, which is also from the ‘In The Woods’ collection, features a mouse peering around a tiny toadstool. These kits are super quick to do and intend to custom frames for them so I can add them to my seasonal decor next month and for years to come.
Image credit: Laura Jones for Keeping It Creative
Currently working on…
I started adding some new products to my Etsy Shop last month and I hope to continue with this during October. Some of the charms are winter and Christmas related, whilst others will be available all year round. It takes me a while to take all of the photos with my DSLR and, as it keeps raining, the lighting isn’t too good!
Currently enjoying…
As the dark nights draw in, there’s plenty of time for indoor hobbies and one which I’m particularly enjoying right now is doing 1000 piece jigsaws. At the moment, I’m doing a Gibson’s one called curious creatures and it has four panels going across – minibeasts, land mammals, birds and aquatic life. After I’ve finished doing my jigsaws, I pass them on to my mum and dad to do. They then donate them to a charity shop for someone else to enjoy. During days out, they scour various charity shops for jigsaws to do. They then save them for me so we’ve always got a good stash to keep us busy.
As well as being fun, doing jigsaws is an excellent way to challenge and exercise the brain.
Final words…
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my mini life update and it’s made you think about all of the things that you have going on at the moment. I’d love to hear about your current favourite hobbies and if you tend to enjoy different activities depending on the particular season.
One of my bucket list items for Autumn 2024 is to create a pretty collage of different leaves I’ve found on my walks. So far, I’ve collected some lovely examples, and, in order for them to retain their beautiful colours, I’ve spent time pressing and preserving them. Today I’m sharing my process with you so that you can have a go yourself if you would like.
Step 1
When going on a woodland walk, I usually take a small, plastic popper wallet to place my leaves into. This keeps them flat and protected from the elements. It also means I can collect plenty of different examples and not have to worry about them getting spoilt. Before putting the leaves in the folder, I check the reverse of them, looking for any tiny creatures which might be lurking there.
Step 2
I’ve been collecting my leaves for several weeks now, and as soon as I get them home, I examine them carefully and then gently wash them. When checking the leaves, I looked for signs of mould on them or general decay and discarded any which looked too blackened, dry or crumbly. For this reason, I try to collect as many different leaf and colour examples as possible.
To clean the leaves, I use a cotton wool ball dipped in warm water and wipe each on the front and back before leaving them on some kitchen towel to dry. I’ve been amazed how much invisible dirt is on some of them!
Step 3
After allowing the leaves to air dry, I press them by putting them on card stock layered on top of each other with a heavy book placed over all of the layers. I then wait for 24 hours before removing them. It’s surprising how much moisture come from them and soaks into the card.
Step 4
After pressing the leaves nice and flat, it’s time to coat them in a preservative. For this, I use a bottle of gloss mod podge. I paint the sealent on one side using a decoupage brush and then leave them to dry, before repeating the process on the back. The mod podge has a really strong and not particularly pleasant smell, so I try to make sure I open a window whilst working. The silcone mat you can see on top of my self healing mat is from Hobbycraft and can be washed clean with warm soapy water afterwards.
Photo credit: Laura Jones for Keeping It Creative
Step 5
As the leaves were drying, I found that some of them curled up again so back under the cardstock and heavy book they went! Others remained completely flat so we’re ready for my collage. Some of them were difficult to get completely flat but I’ve still kept them as they will add dimension to my collage.
The collage so far…
I’m still in the process of collecting my leaves but here’s the ones I’ve finished so far. I intend to fill my table with them later on in the season, but I’m thrilled with what I have so far. The Mod podge makes them super glossy, and the colours really pop.
Picture credit: Laura Jones for Keeping It Creative
Final words…
I’m sure many of you collected and played with leaves as children but there’s no reason why you can’t have fun doing the same as an adult. I think the finished, glossy leaves would look great displayed on a mantlepiece or scattered on a table but there are many other creative ways to put them to good use once they’ve been preserved. I found this page on the Woodland Trust website which has some additional leaf craft ideas as well as a number of ways you can put fallen leaves to good use in your garden.
Let me know in the comments if you’ve enjoyed any Autumn season crafts already this year or if you’d like to give preserving leaves a go. Searching for beautiful colours on the trees and scattered on the ground during woodland walks is a great mindful activity and, in my opinion, a lovely way to destress on a weekend.
Welcome to another blog post where I share my bullet journal set up for the month. For October, I went for an Autumn vibes theme with lots of stickers featuring autumnal leaves, fungi, hot drinks, squashes, woodland animals and colourful trees. I hope you like my pages which took me a good while to complete!
Front cover
I decided to do an autumn wreath for the cover and was going to do a watercolour design but I decided to look for something on Cricut Design Space in the end. My thought was that creating stickers would be less time consuming than mixing autumnal watercolours to make my own wreath shape and the colours would be more intense. I was certainly correct about the lovely, bright designs but I spent ages sizing images and making sheets of stickers for all of my pages and subthemes. At least I’m pleased with the effects I’ve achieved.
I selected about 4 different wreath designs in Cricut and asked my husband to pick his favourite and here it is with an October 2024 title added in the centre and a few leaves dotted about in the spaces at the top and bottom.
Photo credit: Laura Jones for Keeping It Creative
Monthly calendar
As is usually the case, I wasn’t happy with my lettering on the first attempt so I practised on dot grid paper and stuck in the title I was happiest with. The paper is from Claire Fontaine and I’ve been using it for years to cover up little mistakes in my journals.
I’ve gone back to my usual 6 dot space grid calendar layout this month as I missed it in September. As you can see, I added tonnes of stickers which are mainly from Design Space but a few are from a mini Carpe Diem book I’ve had for quite a while now.
Photo credit: Laura Jones for Keeping It Creative
Finances
My finances spread is my usual layout with a few autumnal colours, a cute little fox design as some tiny leaves. I like to record my income and spending for each month to keep an eye on my purchases and to check I have a few low or no spend days.
Photo credit: Laura Jones for Keeping It Creative
Monthly goals
This is a fairly new spread for me and it’s a great way to set myself some small goals which contribute to my longer term goals for the year. This month, I split my goals into personal and business. I’ve got a few more on the list than I wrote last month so lets hope I haven’t taken on too much.
On the adjacent page to the monthly goals I’ve created a bright and colourful evaluation space so I can journal about the progress I’ve made and then summarise at the end of the month. I’ve purposely kept the box quite small so writing isn’t such an onerous task.
Photo credit: Laura Jones for Keeping It Creative
Weekly spreads
Preparing all of my weekly spreads took quite a while but I’m sure I’ll appreciate the effort I’ve gone to every Monday morning when my pages are ready to write in. I enjoyed choosing a different aspect of autumn for each week but it was a challenge searching for images that I liked which would be suitable for small stickers to decorate each day.
The autumnal border strips that I used at the top of the pages were from The Range and were a cheap, quick and easy way to add decor above the weekly boxes. The stickers have a transparent background so were easy to align with the dot grid.
Photo credit: Laura Jones for Keeping It Creative
Photo credit: Laura Jones for Keeping It Creative
Photo credit: Laura Jones for Keeping It Creative
Photo credit: Laura Jones for Keeping It Creative
Photo credit: Laura Jones for Keeping It Creative
Final words…
I hope you’ve enjoyed looking at my spreads for the month of October and they provided you with some inspiration for your own bullet journal planner. In addition to the ones I’ve shown you, I also create a meal plan each week which I photocopy and attach to our noticeboard in the kitchen. Writing the plan in my bullet journal gives me something to refer back to at a later date and it’s a wonderful record of all of the delicious dishes we’ve enjoyed throughout the season.
Let me know in the comments if you have any exciting plans for the month of October or autumn activities that you’re looking forward to trying.
Most of us are familiar with the abbreviation RAK i.e. Random Acts of Kindness and are likely to have given or received one or more of these over the course of the year. Kindness from another, whether they’re a complete stranger, an acquaintance or someone much closer has the potential to brighten our day, make us feel good inside, change our mindset, and even restore our faith in humanity. But, as well as this, research shows that helping others is wonderful for our mental health and wellbeing, so it has huge benefits for the giver too. Today, I thought I’d discuss some of the benefits of doing things for others and also list a few easy and low cost RAK ideas that you might like to give a try.
Photo from a selection on Unsplash
Releases positive ‘feel good’ chemicals
Acts of kindness towards others has been scientifically studied and the research shows that not only do they have the potential to make the recipient feel warm and fuzzy inside, they also release dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin (feel good hormones) in the giver, creating feelings of euphoria which have been described as a ‘helpers high’.
Reduces stress levels
On the subject of feel good chemicals, the release of oxytocin (sometimes referred to as the love hormone) has also been shown to counteract the production of stress hormones like cortisol. As well as creating calm, lower stress levels can also help with physical ailments that are often precipitated or aggravated by stress such as headaches, back pain, neckache, stomach complaints, poor immunity, low energy levels and fatigue, sleeplessness or insomnia.
Increases positive emotions and mood
On a similar theme, small acts of kindness towards others can brighten our mood and make us feel much more positive in general. When we regularly engage in good deeds, it increases positive emotions in us such as contentment, happiness and joy. It can also boost our self-esteem and generally make us feel more optimistic.
Reduces negative emotions
In addition, with being filled with positivity will naturally reduce negative emotions and feelings such as anger, sadness, anxiety, depression, discontent and loneliness. Obviously, it’s normal to feel some of the above at times, but kindness towards others can help to put you in a positive frame of mind and stop negativity from taking over.
Creates a chain reaction
When the recipient of your RAK experiences the feelings of happiness it creates, it’s likely to inspire them to do something kind for someone else and this kindness can then be paid forward, creating a chain reaction. Here’s a video you might like to watch which shows a kindness being paid forward – yes, it’s not necessarily a true to real life situation, but I think it provides a heartwarming illustration.
Creates a real sense of belonging and reduces feelings of isolation
Finally, being kind towards our partner, children, other family members, work colleagues, neighbours and even strangers helps us to feel a deep social connection and trust in others. This can lead to better relationships and the belief that we are a key part of the workplace and local community. It can also reduce feelings of social isolation and loneliness in ourselves and the individuals who receive our kind acts.
Some RAK to try today
Some of the RAKs involve a small financial outlay, but there are also many free ideas too. I’ve tried to include a wide mix of suggestions, so hopefully there’s something there for all of my readers.
feed the birds in your garden or local park (please avoid giving bread to ducks though as it isn’t healthy for them)
buy a treat for your pet and watch them enjoy it
hold the door open for someone
help a person who is carrying a heavy load
buy a bunch of flowers for someone who’s having a hard time
thank your server for being attentive when out for a meal
go for a nature walk and say ‘good morning’ or offer a friendly ‘hello’ and a smile to everyone you meet
donate some unused items to charity
compliment someone on their choice of outfit or accessories for the day
leave a surprise somewhere for a friend, family member or complete stranger to find e.g. put a post it note in your child’s school lunchbox saying ‘I love you’ or ‘I hope you’re having a nice day’, paint a pebble with a bright rainbow and leave it at the base of a tree in the woods, hide your partner’s favourite chocolate bar in their bag etc.
if someone is popping out for lunch and it’s raining, lend them your umbrella
put an item or two in a food bank
let someone who has a small number of items go before you in the supermarket
show your appreciation for a fitness instructor whose classes you particularly enjoy
offer to get groceries for an elderly neighbour or someone who is sick
donate old magazines to be put in a waiting room e.g. at a doctor’s or dental surgery
bake cookies for your work colleagues
if someone is new to your gym class, your place of work or somewhere else you go regularly, find opportunities to get to know them and ask them how they’re finding things
when out and about for the day somewhere, offer to take a photograph for an individual, couple or family so that they can all be in the shot
create a wildlife friendly area in your garden, for example, by scattering wildflower seeds, putting up a bug hotel or allowing leaves to pile up in a corner
write a list of things you love about your partner, child, friend or work colleague and share it with them
leave a nice comment on a blog post, YouTube video or picture shared on Instagram
leave a positive review for a small business who have given particularly good service
give a book to a friend you think might enjoy it
send a surprise gift in the post to a loved one
donate to your favourite charity
offer some helpful advice to a member of an online group you belong to
let someone out in front of you when driving in heavy traffic
call or text a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while
send an interesting online article to a friend or family member you think might benefit from or enjoy it
offer a lift to someone
write a summary about a place you’ve visited on TripAdvisor so that other potential similar visitors know what to expect if they go
message an author to say how much you enjoyed their first / latest book
post a good news story on social media
make a self care package to give to someone you think would benefit from it
take part in a community litter pick
stop and take time to talk to a neighbour – even if you’re super busy!
give up your seat on public transport to someone who needs it more than you
volunteer your time for example, to walk a neighbour’s dog, to do some babysitting for a friend of family member, to go to the shops for someone, to help teach someone a skill such as reading, knitting, sewing, crochet or computing
Final words…
As you go about your day today, try to think of at least one way you can make a difference to someone. It doesn’t matter how small your gesture of kindness is or whether it is costly (financially or time wise) or not. One you get started with offering random acts of kindness, you’ll find that more and more opportunities and ideas will present themselves, making it easier and easier by the day.
After giving or receiving a RAK, why not do a short amount of journalling about it in a notebook to explore the positive effects it has had. Alternatively, you could create a short post about it on Facebook, explaining how you felt afterwards and celebrating kindness towards others. You might even prompt someone else to think about what they could do to help another person in their life.
Keeping it creative 