Jenna’s 2021 Planner and Reading Goals

January 28, 2021 by Jenna | Books, Features

Happy new year everyone! For my first post this year, I thought I would go through my planning method that I’m using in 2021 (I have previously done two planner posts in the past) and talk through my reading goals for the year.

For my planner this year, I’m sticking to using only my bullet journal, which is an Archer & Olive A5 notebook (it’s the Virgo one and has beautiful silver sprayed edges). This is a massive change for me because I’ve always used multiple planners. In 2020, I used the Erin Condren Daily Duo, a Hobonichi Weeks and a bullet journal… which was a LOT and I found myself mostly using the Daily Duo on a day to day basis, the Hobonichi for memory keeping and the bullet journal for random miscellaneous things.

Now, I still have my second Erin Condren Daily Duo book (July-December was Book 1 and January-June was Book 2) and I did really enjoy using it but I don’t need both a daily planner and a bullet journal. Given that I no longer support Erin Condren as a business because of some things that Erin Condren herself did last year, I figured it was no big deal for me to pull it my planner line up. It’s a perfectly good planner though so I still use it to jot down notes occasionally.

I’ve found that I’ve been enjoying planning a lot more since I’ve downgraded to just one planner. The beauty of a bullet journal is that I can have everything within the same notebook, rather than using multiple books that have different purposes. It’s cut down on the amount of time I’ve spent on filling in my planners (and sometimes writing the same thing across multiple notebooks)… so I get to spend more time reading and playing with my new kittens! (Yes I’m a cat mum to two kittens now and they have an Instagram account that you should all follow: @tortelinguine). Through enjoying the planning process more, I’ve also been a lot more productive and have used my planner to its full extent. It’s allowed me to be more creative as well, especially because it’s so inspiring seeing what everyone else in the bujo community is doing with their bullet journals.

I’ve also been keeping track of my reading in my bullet journal, which has eliminated the need for a reading journal/planner. I’ve got a year at a glance (above) so that I can see all the books I’ve read in 2021… though I’m not sure why I made the boxes so small. I’ve also got reading sections in my monthly overview spreads as well, where I list my TBR and log the books I’ve read and their star ratings. Seeing my reading spreads has been keeping me motivated to read on a regular basis.

 


READING GOALS FOR 2021

My reading has definitely deteriorated over the past few years. Back in 2015 and 2016, I read over 200 books each year and this number has steadily dwindled… I didn’t even manage to get to 40 books last year! You’d think that me being at home all year would’ve encouraged me to read but nope. This year, I’m determined to read more and to keep up with the new releases that are coming up, so I’ve set myself some goals that hopefully shouldn’t be too difficult to achieve.

Read daily

HAHAHAHA I feel like I’m already setting myself up to fail but I’m hoping to do at least a little bit of reading each night. I’m mostly a binge reader and like to read everything in one or two sittings but I’m finding that I really don’t have time in my life to sit down for long periods of time to read anymore. So I’m going to try to change my reading habits and try to read in little chunks instead.

Read 100 books in 2021

I’ve had this goal every year for the last few years and I’ve been failing miserably every time. But I’m so determined to make it this year. I’m currently on track so we’ll see where the rest of the year takes me.

Pick up more books from my TBR

I was actually really good at not buying books in 2019-2020 but I do have hundreds of books that I’ve bought and hoarded prior to this that I do want to pick up and read. I’ve recently moved into a larger apartment and will actually have room for giant bookshelves now so I’m keen to be able to bring most of my TBR books from my family home to my apartment (and read them).

Read more widely

Last year, I pretty much exclusively read YA contemporaries because I was in such a slump that I couldn’t really get into series. And also I mainly read books for review so that I could keep up with posting on the blog. This year, I want to branch out and read different genres and I think I’m succeeding so far (I’ve read Kingdom of the Wicked, the Elfhame novella and reread The Infernal Devices trilogy… among others).


What are your reading goals for 2021 and do you keep a planner?

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Jenna is an Aussie blogger and reader who loves to indulge in great books and great food. She is a doctor (of philosophy) and can usually be found fangirling about something, devouring delicious food, or taking a nap. You can find her on Twitter @readwithjenna and on Instagram @readingwithjenna.

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12 responses to “Jenna’s 2021 Planner and Reading Goals

  1. Bec

    Jenna your spreads are stunning!! I always start a bujo with good intentions and then… it usually gets forgotten or I’m not happy with my design choices haha.

    My only reading goal this years is to read more of the books I already own on my physical TBR

  2. I don’t have a planner but I do have two notebooks, one that I use as a reading journal where I keep track of the books that I read and the other is an ARC Notebook from Staples where I put the challenges that I’m doing and write down blog post ideas.

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