Must-Try Monthly Bullet Journal Dashboards

The monthly dashboard can be the main hub for bullet journaling. Checking it every day means crossing off tasks from your to-do list, making progress on goals, and creating a time capsule to look back on. Without my bullet journal monthly spreads, I honestly feel lost.

But what goes into a monthly dashboard? How do you even determine what’s important enough for you to include in your monthly bullet journal spreads?

In this post, let’s take a journey through time to see how my bullet journal monthly spreads have evolved over the years. It’ll give you some monthly spread ideas for what to include (or not include) in your own bullet journal! At the end of the post is a TL;DR version of my monthly bullet journal ideas for the sections I've included, along with a Pin-able graphic if that's more your speed. Also included is a free downloadable list with over 125 ideas for sections you can include in your bullet journal spreads!

The First Building Blocks of the Monthly Spreads

The first bullet journal monthly spread I did was back in January 2019. I wasn’t sure what was important for me to include in my monthly dashboard yet, so I started with the basics: a calendar, a habit tracker, and a mood log. I had to rotate my journal when I wanted to update my monthly pages. 

The calendar also doubled as a weather tracker, but I later dropped this since weather tracking wasn’t important to me. Living in Southern California meant that the weather wasn’t wildly different from day to day, just hot!

The habit tracker section was set up as a table, and the mood tracker was set up to line up with the habit tracker days. This was my dashboard throughout 2019. It’s a simple setup, but this setup is the foundation for everything that’s to come.

The next era of monthly spreads takes us straight to 2020, and these examples are specifically from February and September. The dashboard got an updated layout, but the core sections remained the same.

I still included a calendar, a tabular habit tracker, and a mood log in my bullet journal monthly spread. The calendar and the habit tracker got rotated, making them easier to fill out. The mood log was shifted to the edge of the monthly spread, which gave me a brand new space for a Notes and Events section.

Everyone knows 2020 was a difficult year. This meant that both the habit and mood trackers disappeared by September, leaving space for decoration and a larger notes space, which I renamed Notable Anythings. This section captured anything I wanted to remember, from dates, family gatherings, and other events (all of which I was safely masked at with my bubble).

Beginning to Expand to New Bullet Journal   Monthly Layouts

By 2021, my monthly dashboard got a small redesign. The calendar remained the same, but the Notes section moved below the calendar so I could repurpose the old notes space into a new section to track movies and shows I watched. Spotify was a daily presence at the time, and so a space to record the Song of the Month was added to my monthly bullet journal spread.

July 2021 saw the return of the habit tracker, this time in the form of mini calendars below my Media section. Nowadays, I use mini calendar stickers instead of drawing them myself. When I started listening more to podcasts instead of music during my commute, I ended up not having a song of the month. This led to the Song of the Month section being removed from my bullet journal monthly dashboard entirely.

The First Double Monthly Spread

At first glance, October 2021 doesn’t look very different, but this was the first month that saw my dashboard expand from a single two-page spread to a double two-page spread.

This month also features a habit tracker that I honestly hated using. For every habit I completed in a day, I would put a corresponding dot in a predetermined color (the key was in the Notes section) to show if it was done. While this was a fun idea, I couldn’t recognize any patterns in my habit completion, and it was difficult to check how well I was tracking my habits.

The second spread adds some astrology to my monthly pages. I don’t remember how I determined which astrological houses were in focus at the time, but Astrological Houses sections were added to note down activities I was doing that fit within the focused houses. Below that is a Mood tracker section in the form of a stretched-out mini calendar, followed by two goal sections: one for Goal Planning and one for Goal Progress.

Finally, the last page in this monthly dashboard features a section to record my favorite Memories from the month and a Reflection section to reflect on the whole month. This reflection helped when filling out my Monthly Ratings sections for three areas in my life: physical, mental, and spiritual.

Like the vibes for this spooky October spread? Check out our Spooky Ghosties stickers, Autumn Gourds stickers, or Poisonous Potions stickers!

Shrinking It Back Down to One Monthly Bullet Journal Spread

The expanded monthly dashboard didn’t last long because in the next month, the dashboard shrank back down to a single two-page spread. While no section was lost, every section got downsized, including the calendar. Each daily space for the calendar shrank down from 5x5 squares in my standard 5mm dot grid journal to 4x4 squares.

This dashboard is still one of my favorites, only coming in second to my current dashboard. This monthly bullet journal spread packs so much information into one spread, but it also looks crowded, so there's still room for improvement.

Like the books vibe for this November spread? Check out our book themed Page Turners stickers!

In 2022, the mood log migrated from the monthly dashboard to the beginning of the journal as a Year in Pixels-style spread, so none of my 2022 spreads have a mood log in them. If you hate setting up Year in Pixels-style spreads as much as I do, you can get my free printable templates here to print them out and hand-cut or use your cutting machine.

The bullet journal monthly spread in February 2022 saw a slight redesign, which removed the Goals section and the Memories section. The Astrology sections were reduced to leave more room for both the Media log and the end-of-the-month Reflection.

Side note: the theme I used for February 2022 remains one of my favorites! The mountain ranges in acrylic paint were really fun to paint for the month, and this was the first time I set up an entire month's worth of bullet journal spreads in one sitting. Before this, I was setting up weekly spreads at the end of each week.

The August 2022 bullet journal monthly dashboard got another redesign, bringing it closer to my current setup. For this spread, the calendar was relocated to the middle of the spread, leaving room on either side for my logs and trackers.

The habit tracker received another redesign, this time using a small calendar and coloring one corner of each daily square according to the habit completed. I liked using this tracker, but this tracker could really only work if there were a limited number of habits to track.

New to this monthly dashboard is a small section to write down the Food Highlight of the month, or my favorite meal of the month.

Return of the King Double Bullet Journal Monthly Spread

In 2023, I moved my mood log from the beginning of the journal and back into the monthly dashboard. I missed having my mood tracker with the rest of my monthly trackers! This year was also the return of the new and improved double two-page spread.

For the first two-page spread, I included my standard calendar in the center along with my Media log, Favorite Food, and Astrology focuses. Along the left side is a new section for my Monthly Bill Due Dates. I was struggling at the time to remember when they were due and if I had paid them. Paying late fees sucks!

The second two-page spread has three sections: a Mood Log, a Habit Tracker, and a Gratitude Log. The doodled mood logs were a new addition for me in 2023 and one that has stuck through to today, though now I use DIY Color Sticker Sheets to speed up my mood log setup.

This habit tracker is also different than before because now there is one mini calendar per habit. Nowadays, I use mini calendar stickers instead of drawing them myself. The gratitude log is something I really enjoy, but it has evolved. Sometimes I call it Gratitude, Highlight, or One Line a Day, depending on what I want to record. Either way, I usually use vertical number stickers to set it up because sometimes I go on autopilot, which means I've skipped a number one too many times.

Like this koi theme? Check out our Dappled Koi stickers!

The next iteration of my bullet journal monthly dashboard is in June 2023, and it does away with the large decorative area below the calendar and adds a new section for In-Season Produce. I ended up not using this section too much since my partner does the grocery shopping, so even though I love the idea of this section, I wasn't utilizing it.

The mood log also got an update since I started using my DIY Color Sticker Sheets, which save me so much time now that I'm not drawing out all the doodles. The last addition is a reduction of the habit tracker in exchange for some tracking statistics for my small sticker shop. 

Like these crystals stickers? Check out our Curious Gems Color Sticker Sheet and Curious Gems DIY Color Sticker Sheet!

Another section that didn’t last long was the Astro Happenings section, which was the In-Season Produce section replacement. This was a space to record natal and mundane astrological transits, but I found myself not wanting to write them down in the first place. And even when I did, I wasn’t applying the transits anyway!

Like these lemons, limes, and grapefruits? Check out our Citrus Grove stickers!

For all of 2024, I used the same bullet journal monthly dashboard. I tried to do a different health-related challenge every month in 2024, but halfway through the year, I lost steam. Regardless, I kept my Monthly Challenge section in hopes I would get back to it.

In the first half of the year, I had a Decluttering section since I was preparing for a mid-year move from Southern California to the Bay Area of California.

The other new sections include a section to record monthly Priorities (kind of like a goals replacement), a section to note down any creative projects I finished, named I Made, and a space for my monthly chores titled Chores.

At the beginning of my journal is a cleaning schedule, but since I found myself not looking at it as much as I should have been, I added it to my monthly dashboard to make sure I was at least aware of my monthly chores, even if they all didn’t get checked off every month.

Stickers featured in above spreads: Love Notes Themed Color Sticker Sheet, DIY Color Sticker Sheet, Die Cut Stickers, Decorative Sticker Sheet. Gingerbread Delights Themed Color Sticker Sheet, DIY Color Sticker Sheet, Die Cut Stickers, Decorative Sticker Sheet. Blank Mini Calendar Stickers, Vertical Number Stickers.

One Bullet Journal Monthly Dashboard to Rule Them All

We’ve gone through a lot together, but we’re nearly there since we arrived at the present day! So far, I’ve kept the core layout the same, but some sections have changed again. The whole point of my monthly dashboard is to grow and change with me.

My old Priorities section was changed to Goal Check In, where I check in with the specific goals I set at the beginning of the year. The I Made section got a name change to Creativity. There’s now a Headlines section to record the big news events that occurred during the month.

I also added an Astrology section back in and decided to add a small section for a Tarot card of the month. Since I’m trying to pull a card daily, I’ve started recording those on the calendar.

The last addition is for an Adventure where I record something that’s out of the ordinary for me. I’m an introverted person who loves to be at home, so this year I’m trying to find ways to get out and do something to shake up my routine. I was inspired to add an adventure section by Olly Staniland’s YouTube video on Dopamine Journals, so give it a watch if you have time!

Like the coffee vibe? Check out our Morning Coffee Color Sticker Sheet, Die Cut Stickers, DIY Color Sticker Sheet, and Decorative Sticker Sheet. Also featured is the Blank Mini Calendar Stickers.

What a Journey!

My monthly dashboard has changed so much from January 2019 to January 2025. It was such a trip to go back and see what sections I used to include and what was important for me to log. Some stuff never left, and some did.

Curious about how to get started bullet journaling and want to know my journal recommendations? I've got you covered here! You may also want to check out this post on bullet journal benefits.

Want a TL;DR version of my bullet journal monthly spread sections? These are the sections I've included at one point or another in my monthly bullet journal spreads:

General sections  Calendar Habits  Tabular Mini calendars for each habit Within the calendar Combined within 1 mini calendar Mood Tabular Mini calendar Doodles Notes Notable Anythings	Goals & Responsibilities Bill Due Dates Declutter Goal Planning Goal Progress Goal Check In Monthly Challenge Monthly Chores Priorities	Reflection & Memories Daily Highlight Favorite Memories End of the Month Reflection Food Highlight/ Favorite Meal of the Month Gratitude Log Headlines Monthly Adventure Monthly Ratings One Line a Day
Spiritual Astrological Events Astrology Houses Astrology Signs Daily Tarot Card Tarot of the Month	Media related Media Log Song of the Month	Miscellaneous Creative Projects Weather

I hope this journey through monthly dashboards has given you some ideas on what you can include in your monthly dashboard. If you’re looking for even more ideas, check out this free downloadable list of over 125 ideas for all of the sections I could think of that could potentially be part of your monthly dashboard.