Bullet Journal Future Log – 7 Ways To Plan For The Future

The future is coming whether you like it or not, so why not be prepared by creating your own bullet journal future log? Here are 7 ways to create yours!

What Is A Future Log?

A bullet journal future log is a place for you to add all of your future monthly and yearly commitments in one place. A future log allows you to write down and plan for those tasks that are too far away for you to easily put into your daily, weekly, or monthly tasks. Keeping a future log allows you to keep track of tasks that are easily forgotten because they are so far away.

What Goes In One?

You can put anything that you need to remember in the long-term into your future log. Some examples of things that are worth including are:

• Doctor appointments
• Quarterly, bi-annual, and annual bills
• Cleaning days
• Tax filings
• Holidays
• Trips
• Meetings
• Vet appointments

Why Create One

I am a stubborn person. I have been using the bullet journal for years, but it took me a long time to finally use it to its full potential — partly because I was still discovering the methods that work for me and partly because of stubbornness. I resisted creating a bullet journaling future log for a long time.

I always gravitated towards monthly spreads and was still hesitant to add another page to my bullet journal. The problem was that I would still lose track of things more than a month out. I would jot them down in my monthly spread and plan on migrating them to the next month. But inevitably, somethings fell through the cracks. The bullet journal future log finally solved that problem.

7 Ways To Create It

There is no right way to create a future log. The most important thing is to create your future log to fit your schedule. If you are someone with a lot of commitments planned months in advance, then it is probably worth it to create a year-long future log. But if you don’t have a ton of stuff planned in the future, keep it short and sweet. Here are 7 bullet journal future log examples to help you find your perfect setup.

#1 The Three Month Setup

This simple log is great for anyone who does not have a lot of stuff on their schedule. This was my first future log. It may not have been the prettiest, but it was highly effective. Since this spread limits you quite a bit when it comes to long term planning, I highly recommend a long-term section somewhere in the spread, so you have somewhere to add tasks that do not fit in the three-month future log.

#2 Keep a Full Spread

Keeping a full two-page setup devoted entirely towards your future log can feel like a bit much, but it is worth it if you value planning months out. I often do a six-month layout when I do a full spread, for example, but you can easily keep an entire year.

#3 Create A Dutch Door

Creating a dutch door future log is a super fun way to keep track of your future planning. You simply cut the dutch door in the center of your normal monthly spread, and add any tasks or events that you need to remember so you can easily reference them later.

#4 Add it to Your Monthly Spread

If you’re not someone who thinks they will benefit from keeping a long-term future log, then don’t. Simply add a blank section to the side of your monthly spread where you can add any future tasks that you know need to be addressed at a later time.

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#5 Create A Master Plan

I’m a huge fan of keeping a master plan. Although it is not technically a bullet journal future log, it is an incredible long-term planning tool. A master plan is simply a spread where you break down a sizeable future goal that you are hoping to achieve into manageable pieces. Keeping a master plan is not going to help you keep track of small tasks, like remembering a doctor’s visit. But it is the perfect tool if you have a lofty future plan like starting your own business or buying a house.

#6 Just Keep a List

Sometimes, simple is the best answer. My husband is not a big planner, and he does not like spending a lot of time on his bullet journal. So rather than trying to create a fancy future log, he keeps a nice simple list for each of the future months. Sometimes he includes monthly headers, and other times he keeps a huge list with the important dates or important events next to it. This can get a bit unruly if you have a lot of tasks, but it works well for him.

#7 Go Digital

I recently started a digital bullet journal, and I love it. One of the things that a digital planner excels at is future planning. With a digital bullet journal, keeping a future log becomes much more manageable. When you finish a monthly log or an old future log spread, you can highlight and drag the task to the next month. No need to erase or rewrite — just drag and drop and you’re done!

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The Future is Bright

After I drew up my first bullet journal future log, it didn’t feel nearly as scary. The idea I had built up in my head made it seem like this enormous, daunting task. In reality, a future log is straightforward to create and even easier to fill. Don’t worry if something doesn’t quite fit the parameters of your setup; just adjust as you go.

If you have been avoiding putting off future planning, give one of these future logs a try. Whether you plan for the future or not, it’s coming. So why not get a little extra control by planning ahead?