I had so much fun setting up this month’s spreads – I’m still really excited about them. When I sat down in front of the TV with my pens and journal, I didn’t really have an idea of what September would look like. I started drawing, and this intricate, yet simple look just came out.
I just Love the contrast between the intricate zen-tangles on the title page and the super simple “memories” page, the contrast between the detailed drawing and the almost childish font. Love it!
I’m not gonna lie, it took two quite sizeable Netflix documentaries to get all of this done, and in spite of a bit of a sore hand, it was totally worth it.
I’ve been very sparing with colour on these pages since I didn’t want them to take away from the patterns and the overall look I achieved on the title page. Therefore I decided to go with this lovely mint green from Faber Castell, which I love – it’s one of my favourites anyway.
So as you can see, I’m using a very simple month-to-a-page layout on the left. This really works for me by giving me an overview of the month, without overloading me with information.
On the right, I have my monthly task list and a Gratitude Log. I like keeping the gratitude log as it reminds me to look for something nice and good and lovely every day instead of just remembering the bad things, which I have a tendency to do. It’s also not very big, and there’s reasoning behind that. I want it to be manageable even if I only remember I need to fill it in last minute. A few words are always manageable. No need to have it turn into a chore to feel anxious about, while still not forgetting about it.
The final component to my monthly set-up is my trackers. As you can tell by now, I prefer a minimal look. It makes it easier to see what matters – to me at least. I actually spend a fair amount of time figuring out how to make this spread both pretty and useable with as few frills as possible.
I divide my tracker into three parts:
- Habits
- Housework
- Mood
All of the habits and housework categories except ‘laundry’ are things I aim to do every day. Laundry is just something I like to see how often it gets done – there’s no need to do it every day if there’s nothing to wash.
I track my Mood alongside the other categories in the mood tracker to see if there’s any correlation between them; e.g. between a lack of sleep and high levels of anxiety. It can get pretty interesting!
Have you set up for September in your planner yet? Tell me about your month in the comments!
SUPPLIES USED
Notebook: Leuchtturm1917 Dotted Journal
Black fountain pen: Black/Gold Carbon Desk Fountain Pen by Platinum
Black ink: Platinum Carbon Pen Ink Cartridge
Coloured pens: Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen
Fineliners: Staedtler 334 Triplus Fineliner
Note: The list above contains affiliate links. If you happen to purchase something, I make a small commission – at absolutely no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Meanwhile in Dreamland!
