How to Bullet Journal for Household Tasks

Posted on June 11, 2019. 

Do you have trouble keeping track of random, but important household tasks that need to be done? From changing the air filters to cleaning the gutters, certain chores seem to fall by the wayside more easily than others. Why? When you only need to do a particular chore once or twice a year, it can be difficult to make that chore a habit. Instead, it becomes a singular task that bugs you week after week.  

This is where writing a to-do list comes in handy. You can use your Rocketbook, bullet-journal style, to keep a master to-do list to track these pesky but important tasks!

Step 1: Make Your List

The first step is to make a list of tasks. Write down every recurring task you can think of, from annual all the way down to weekly. Some tasks on the list might include: paying property taxes, changing your car’s oil, and going to the dentist - just to name a few!

If you have a family, put all of the family chores on the list, too. This might cover shopping for school supplies, making pediatric dentist appointments, and buying new clothes for the kids each season. Once you have the list, you can divvy it up with your partner, if you have one. It’s a great way to share the mental load of running a household!

Step 2: Organize the List

Once you have your master household list, you can organize it in a couple of ways. The tasks can be broken down by frequency:

• Once a year
• Twice a year
• Quarterly
• Monthly
• Weekly

You can also organize the to-dos by area or category. Categories might include:

• Home exterior
• Appliances
• Auto
• Health
• Yard
• Clothing

You can choose the categorization scheme that makes the most sense to you!

Step 3: Set up your Bullet Journal Pages

Now that you’ve written down your master task list, it’s time to set up a bullet journal style tracking system in your Rocketbook! Your Rocketbook is going to be awesome for keeping track of the list because it’ll be at your fingertips whenever you want to add, update, erase, or check-off a task.

When you use your Rocketbook to track household to-dos, you’ll create a template that you can re-use for months and years to come! Best yet, you can upload the list to the cloud or send it via email to make sure your entire family can see the latest chores. This is a fantastic way to collaborate and stay up to date on life’s essential tasks.

Step 4: Set Up Templates by Frequency

If you organized your tasks by frequency, you should set up your Rocketbook bullet journal pages that way as well. For tasks that occur one to four times a year, set up a page that you will reset once a year. Your page will look something like this:

Tasks that occur monthly should have a dedicated template that resets each month. A similar format can be used for weekly tasks with a list can be updated weekly. This template might look something like this:

Once you have your templates set up, it’s simple to track tasks from week to week, month to month and year to year!

Step 5: Set Up Templates by Category

If you prefer to organize your task list by category, you should set up your Rocketbook bullet journal templates a little differently. Each task list by category would look something like this:

When you set up your templates by category, you have to track a little differently. Rather than a simple symbol, as you would use in a traditional bullet journal, use a more descriptive mark so it’s easier for you to track. You could use Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4 for quarterly tasks. For monthly tasks, using one through twelve could work.

When you’re tracking very frequent tasks, you can use numbers like one through 24 for tasks that occur twice a month. It’s really up to you! The beauty of bullet journaling in your Rocketbook is that it can be endlessly flexible to meet your needs.

No matter which method you choose, you can stay on top of every household task by keeping a bullet journal in your Rocketbook. Your lists will not only help you stay on track, they will also change and grow with your life. Best of all, when you’re ready to reset the bullet journal template, just wipe with water (Everlast) or microwave (Wave) and you’re ready to start a new list. Happy bullet journaling!

About the Author: Beth Cubbage is a consulting manager at a software company and mom to two girls. Beth has a PhD in Economics, which she uses to design various incentive programs for her kids’ bedtime (still working on that).  When she isn’t wrangling work projects or family activities, Beth writes about career, productivity and parenting at ParentLightly.com. In her (very) spare time, Beth enjoys mountain biking, martial arts and obstacle races. Beth's Rocketbook Everlast helps keep her sane.