Monthly Review Prompts (Most Underrated Bujo Spread!)
HAY, how art you? When we mention bullet journaling, the spreads that come to our minds first are usually meant for keeping track of our daily lives or future plans. For example, weekly to-do lists, habit trackers and future logs are often considered staples. Most of us, including me, neglect looking to our past to better our future. The bujo spread that I’m sharing today is the monthly review page – which helps us to reflect on the past month and improve the upcoming one. Keep reading for monthly review prompts and ideas!
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Watch the video for monthly review prompts
Watch the setup process of my January Monthly Review spread here:
Benefits of Self-Reflection
According to an article by Thrive Global, self-reflection:
- makes you learn from past mistakes
- sparks off good ideas
- helps you inspire others
- makes you happier
- puts things in perspective
- increases your self-awareness
With these many benefits, I will be keeping up with monthly review spreads this year and see where they take me!
Choosing Monthly Review prompts
Since this is my first monthly review, I wanted the review process to be part fun and part reflective, so that I don’t feel too overwhelmed by the amount of reflection and deep thinking to do. I’ve included a few fun sections to fill up to keep the process casual and fun to go through.
For most of the sections, I did not specify the number of things to write. This is to reduce the tendency to fill up the sections with filler answers.
Prompt 1: Word of the Month
As the name of the prompt suggests, think of a word that summarises the month as a whole. It can describe a feeling, the projects you worked on, the challenges you faced, or simply any word that comes to your mind.
Questions to ponder:
- How would you describe the month with one word?
- What was the biggest challenge you faced and how would you describe it?
- Which word would yo use to summarise the key projects you worked on?
Prompt 2: Favourites of the Month
For favourites, you can list down your favourite things of the month. They can be food, songs, things, or even people.
Questions to ponder:
- What was your favourite comfort food?
- What song was on replay on your playlist?
- Who was your favourite person to hang out with or talk to?
- What was your favourite purchase of the month?
- Was there something brought you lots of joy and happiness?
Prompt 3: Gratitude List
This section is meant for a list of things, people or experiences that you are grateful for during the past month.
Questions to ponder:
- Which moments made you stop and appreciate life a little more?
- Was there anyone who made the month a better one? What would you say to him/her?
- Which decisions or actions would you want to thank yourself for?
Prompt 4: Key Events or Milestones
Write down memorable events that took place this month, or notable milestones that you want to document.
Questions to ponder:
- Which event was especially memorable during the past month?
- Which milestone did you achieve? Celebrate it no matter how tiny it seems!
- What memories do you wish to keep close to your heart forever?
Prompt 5: Feelings & Emotions
Under this section, reflect on instances where you felt a certain negative emotion, and reflect on how to avoid feeling that way again. Of course, if it’s a positive feeling, you can think about how to replicate it more often.
Questions to ponder:
- When did you feel overwhelmed, angry, or depressed? What triggered these negative emotions? How can you avoid it next time?
- When did you feel fulfilled, happy, or calm? Who or what made you feel this way? How can you replicate those scenarios again?
- Did you experience a productive flow state? What were the circumstances that led to that state?
Prompt 6: Actions to Start, Stop, & Continue
The last section is for actions that you want to start, stop or continue in the following month. These can be new habits to start, bad habits to break or positive things you want to bring over to the new month.
Questions to ponder:
- What actions or habits can you start committing to next month for a happier and better life?
- Which actions or habits do you wish to cut out from your life?
- Which actions brought about positive effects? How do you plan on continuing them next month?
More Monthly Review prompts & Ideas
Here is a list of additional monthly review ideas and prompts that you can include in your bullet journal:
- People and community: significant people you want to reach out to or connect with in the following month
- Intentions & goals for the upcoming month
- Key projects for the next month
- Top three priorities for the next month
- Plan of the following month’s bullet journal theme and spreads
- Next month’s budget
- Lessons learnt during the past month
- Favourite memories
- Books Read / Movies & Dramas Watched / Courses Enrolled
- Review of the past month’s expenditure and budget
- Photos of the month
- Bullet journal review: spreads that worked and spreads that didn’t
More journaling Ideas
Subscribe to my YouTube channel for more creative content! Check these ones out for more journaling inspiration:
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I hope these bullet journal monthly review ideas were useful for you. Have fun crafting your personalised monthly review page!
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Related articles, videos and resources:
1. Article – Creative Journaling Prompts to Kickstart 2021 (Or Any New Year)
2. Article – 2021 Vision Board Tutorial In 5 Beginner-Friendly Steps (Free Printable!)
3. Article – 20 Bullet Journal Spread Ideas to Get Your Life Organised
Disclaimer: Some of the links above are affiliate links, meaning I earn a small percentage of commission via those links, but it doesn’t cost you anything extra!
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