Colour Keys are a fantastic tool to have in your bullet journal. Simply put, a bullet journal key is where you put all the symbols you use in your bujo and their meanings. A color key is an extension of your key, allowing you to use color to differentiate between things such as personal vs work appointments.
If you are here wondering what is the point of a using a COLOR KEY in a Bujo – Can’t I just color things in as I want them to be colored in? While the answer to that is of course yes, you can do it in whatever way YOU want, however it helps to be consistant. Using one color for personal projects and appointments, another color for work, a third for kids stuff etc etc.
The purpose of a colour key at the beginning of your bullet journal is to remind you how to color for the various options in your journal through out the year. But you can also use color keys throughout your journal on different pages, for example using colors on a mood tracker to show how you are feeling – a color key on that page is a great reference.
I like that it keeps my planner consistent throughout and saves me time in the long run by keeping me productive and always ready to fill in my journal!
Below will be some great examples of what a color coded journal looks like and how effective it is at sharing your information and thoughts back to you with it all color coded.
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Why is Color Coding Important?
Color coding helps organize your thoughts and give you the information you need at a moment’s notice! When you need to fill in your mood tracker, a weekly or monthly spreads the colors you are going to use are already set giving you more mental bandwidth to fill in the information you are already looking to fill out!
It also is a great creative outlet! It’s not EVERYDAY that you get to be both productive AND creative at the same time!
The Mildliner Swatch Set is a cheap and effective set of highlighters with 25 different colors, you really can’t go wrong for the price either!
Bullet Journal Color Key Examples
Here are some great examples of how to use your color key for different areas of your journal!
Although not in English – clearly shows that each subject has a specific color that will be used in calendars, weekly and daily homework spreads and other important school related spreads you would find a use for!
This Disney Feature Films trackers is an amazing example of how color coding is so effective at organizing information. They created a KEY at the top, then used that to easily categorize the types of film that each item is.
Now we’re talking about creating a MASTER Color Coding Key at the beginning of your Bullet Journal rather than a key on each individual page, but this IS a great idea to implement!
Using a different color for each habit makes each one really stand out. They are easy to locate individually and give a fun amount of color to your journal making it fun to look at and admire!
A journal that is fun to write in is a journal that you WILL write in!
This spread has an amazing amount of popping color that REALLY stands out on the page! Each week is clearly defined and there will be no trouble distinguishing them with the other spreads throughout the month!
These habit tracker stickers aren’t exact – but are easy to incorporate in a similar way! Give them a try and let me know what you think!
Now I realize not very many people schedule out a full year in advance, but this really shows you how powerful color coding is AND how useful a Bullet Journal is. In one notebook that is affordable like this Leuchturm1917 you can create your year in advance AND each month in just a handful of pages instead of purchasing the MOM Calendar like we all do EVERY year (although I do love a good calendar as well).
This might seem so simple and defeats the purpose of having a planner. But sometimes all you have IS a sticky note and your journal is a great place to keep all your thoughts in one place! Using color coded sticky notes for different tasks and things your are tracking is a really easy way to keep on top of things!
Color Key Recap
After going through those examples I hope that you can see how helpful a color key in your bullet journal is and what it really is. To remind you of these things here is our recap
- Color Key’s provide a quick reference for your ENTIRE Bullet Journal as you fill it out.
- They increase your productive time in your Bujo
- Give A LOT of color to your Bullet Journal
- Are a great Organization tool!
Also these are some of the recommended items I had throughout my post!
- Mildliner Swatch Set – The 25 Pack of Amazing Highlighters
- Habit Tracker Stickers – Pre-colored Monthly Habit tracker Stickers
- Leuchturm1917 Notebook – A great A5 budget Bullet Journal!
- Color Coding Washi Tape Strips – Amazing color Washi Tape strips!
Check out this great post filled with High Quality Printables for your Bullet Journal as we get closer to the holiday season! Have a great day!
Don’t forget to pin.
For more information on Bullet Journal Key Pages check out my other post that gives some great examples and talks you through what a key is in your journal!
Also I recently put out this post on more simple Key page ideas!