Goal Setting: Using a Bullet Journal to Make it Happen

by | Jan 12, 2023

Start 2023 with simple goal setting and use a bullet journal to make it happen.

Recently we bid a fond farewell to 2022 and opened our arms to what 2023 can bring. And now we are a couple of weeks into the new year. Television stations already aired their  “Year in Review” programming, and print newspapers and online news organizations showcased the top headlines and stories of 2022. But what about the year we had as individuals? Do you take time to reflect on the past year? Or do you only look to the future? Do you make New Year’s resolutions that fall by the wayside now that a couple of weeks have passed? Here’s a suggestion. You still have time to start 2023 with simple goal setting and use a bullet journal to make it happen.

Goal Setting in a Bullet Journal

Previously, we shared a blog post titled: “How to Start Bullet Journaling for Patients and Caregivers,” which was chock full of information about the history of bullet journaling, tips to get started, standard practices, handy supplies and where to get access to the best of the best in bullet journaling.

As a refresher, a bullet journal is a method to keep track of tasks, take notes and jot down thoughts in one convenient location. The ‘bullet’ term is derived and used to describe the technique of using quick and short descriptions (“rapid logging”) for all of the above. Picture a short-hand and visual cue to quickly categorize whatever you need to capture in order to keep life on track. And that’s a bullet journal in a nutshell.

As far as goal setting is concerned, bullet journals are a far cry from a traditional planner. You have the luxury of making it unique for you. During the course of the year, you can adapt and change what information you capture—whether days, weeks or months down the line. If you need to adapt your goals during the course of the year, all is possible with a bullet journal. Your goals are not necessarily written in stone.

Tips to Get Goal Setting Off the Ground

In order to get started goal setting for 2023, reflect back on 2022 and think about (or better still write down) the answers to the following questions:

  • What were my best memories?
  • What were my successes?
  • What did I do that worked?
  • What didn’t work for me?
  • How can I make 2023 better?

Ideally, you could start your 2023 bullet journal with a spread that visually captures the answers to these questions. If you need inspiration for these pages, look no further than Shelby at Little Coffee Fox. On her site, there are also valuable guides to help newbies get started, from opening that first page to assistance with lettering.

Goal Setting: Tracking What’s Meaningful

Whether you are a patient, a caregiver or a family member, the beauty of a bullet journal is that you can track what is meaningful to you—goal setting is yours and yours alone. For example, if you suffer with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), you could set a goal of practicing pursed lip breathing and/or belly breathing on a daily basis. By making this a goal, when you have difficulty breathing, it will be easier to break the cycle of anxiety that comes when it’s hard to breathe. Or if you have congestive heart failure (CHF), your goal setting could be to monitor your weight twice daily. Watching fluctuations in weight is important to keep CHF symptoms at bay and under control.

As a caregiver of a loved one with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, watching out for changes in mood, and keeping track of instances of restlessness and confusion often associated with Sundown Syndrome, might be important to you. You could create a mood tracker spread, or if you are so inclined, a color-coded year in pixels. Don’t have time to make your own mood tracker or year in pixel spread? No worries, as there are free (or nominal cost) spreads available for download. Just paste them directly into your bullet journal and you are ready to go.

Staying Connected to Goals

Using a bullet journal for your goals—no matter if they are simple or complex—can help keep you accountable. Daily use is best to help stay motivated and connected to those goals. Nevertheless, if you don’t quite make some of your goals, it’s okay. A good practice would be to analyze why you failed or succeeded. You can easily adapt your goals and make them more attainable and reasonable.

Goal setting can be quite valuable for hospice patients. The visualization of a future date in a bullet journal can be a priceless motivator, especially if the goal is attending a significant family event. These types of goals bring home the point that every day is precious and we should all be dedicated to making the most of life each and every day.

Chapters Health System is committed to serving the needs of its patients, families, caregivers, health providers, partners and communities.

For more information, please call our helpful Chapters Health team at 1.866.204.8611 or Contact Us.

Phoebe Ochman

Phoebe Ochman

Phoebe Ochman, director of corporate communications for Chapters Health System, manages all content and communications for the nonprofit organization. Email: [email protected]

About Us

Established in 1983 as a community-centered, nonprofit entity, Chapters Health has grown exponentially through its radical approach to healthcare that leverages a one-of-a-kind system to support patients, families, and caregivers across the country, while remaining grounded in the mission of taking care of patients, or taking care of those who do®.

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John J. Whyte, MD, MPH

CEO and Executive President,
American Medical Association

John Whyte, MD, MPH serves as the CEO and Executive Vice President of the American Medical Association, the nation’s largest physician organization.

Prior to the AMA, Dr. Whyte served as the Chief Medical Officer at WebMD, leading initiatives that expanded strategic partnerships, created new business opportunities, and positioned WebMD at the forefront of digital health innovation. He was a pivotal force in evolving WebMD’s digital platforms from content delivery engines to powerful tools connecting consumers directly to care, establishing critical new revenue models. He is a recognized leader in healthcare delivery and regulation and is consistently named as one of the Top 20 Health Influencers.

Before joining WebMD, Dr. Whyte served as Director of Professional Affairs and Stakeholder Engagement at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. There, he spearheaded groundbreaking initiatives to modernize clinical trial design, expand diversity in research, and advance the regulatory use of real-world evidence — efforts that continue to impact patient-centered drug development today.

Earlier, as Chief Medical Expert and Vice President of Health and Medical Education at Discovery Channel, Dr. Whyte launched educational programming that captured both medical and mainstream audiences, successfully aligning mission-driven health education with corporate funding strategies and building new multimedia brand identities.

At the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Dr. Whyte played a pivotal role in formalizing Medicare’s national coverage decision process, directly shaping payment policies and advancing innovative models to improve healthcare outcomes. His experience at CMS demonstrates a deep understanding of health policy, reimbursement strategies, and the critical intersection of clinical innovation and payment models.

A board-certified internist, Dr. Whyte completed his MD at Hahnemann University School of Medicine, his residency at Duke University Medical Center and earned his MPH in Health Policy and Management at Harvard University. He previously served as a health services research fellow at Stanford University. An accomplished author, Dr. Whyte has written extensively for both professional and consumer audiences, including five best-selling book

Andrew Molosky on podcast

Dr. Venki Ramakrishnan

Nobel Laureate

Venki Ramakrishnan is an American and British molecular biologist who shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He currently works at the world-renowned MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England and from 2015-2020, he served as President of the Royal Society, one of the world’s oldest scientific organizations. He is best known for his work on protein synthesis, the process by which genetic information is used by the ribosome to make the thousands of proteins that make life possible. This process is fundamental to all life and its dysfunction leads to many diseases as well as to aging. He is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences and was knighted by the British government in 2012. In 2022, he received one of Britain’s highest civilian honors, the Order of Merit, which is restricted to 24 people across all fields.

In addition to his academic work, Ramakrishnan is a science partner of the venture capital fund Ahren Innovation Capital, and on the boards of the AI-based drug development company, Isomorphic Labs, and the British Library. He recently co-founded RNAvate, an RNA therapeutics company based on stable, next-generation RNA molecules. In the public arena, he played a leadership role when he was president of the Royal Society, including dealing with the consequences of Brexit and helping convene the Society’s response to provide advice during the covid pandemic and did a significant amount of public engagement including articles in the press and appearances on national media.

Ramakrishnan is the author of two popular books: Gene Machine (2018), a very frank scientific memoir about the race for the structure of the ribosome that led to the Nobel Prize; and Why We Die: The New Science of Aging and the Quest For Immortality (2024), which looks at the biology of aging and efforts to combat it.

Andrew Molosky on podcast

Marwa El-Menshawi, MD, MPH

Chief Operating Officer, PACE Chapters Health System

Marwa El-Menshawi, MD is the Chief Operating Office for Hope PACE. She is a triple board-certified physician, specializing in Family, Geriatric and Hospice Medicine. Dr. El-Menshawi's focus is on improving the lives of those affected by advanced age and serious illness through innovation in high complexity and value-based care. She has almost 20 years of clinical, academic and healthcare leadership experience.

Dr. El-Menshawi is a member of the American Academy of Family Medicine and the National PACE Association. She serves on the Mayor's Committee for Livability and Healthy Aging, focused on serving the community through advocacy and education, recommending and promoting programs and initiatives that benefit older adults.

Dr. El-Menshawi earned her Medical Doctorate as a Magna Cum Laude graduate from the University of Alabama School of Medicine and was awarded the distinguished membership into the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honors society, along with multiple academic achievement awards including the American Medical Women's Association Glasgow-Rubin Achievement Citation, the Merck Manual Award and the Peacock Teaching Fellowship. She completed her residency in Family Medicine and Certificate of Added Qualifications in Geriatric Medicine following a Geriatrics Fellowship at Advent Health in Orlando, FL. She serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Geriatrics at the Florida State University College of Medicine and an Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine.

Andrew Molosky on podcast

Andrew Molosky

President and CEO, Chapters Health System

Andrew Molosky is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Chapters Health System, the country's defining chronic illness organization, comprised of more than 30 different companies and programs, including the nation's largest nonprofit hospice network, PACE, value-based care such as CareNu, a Medicare Advantage plan, managed services organizations, technology solutions, advanced illness offerings, and more.
Established in 1983 as a community-centered, nonprofit entity, Chapters Health has grown exponentially through Molosky's innovative approach to healthcare, becoming a national leader recognized by Great Places to Work, Fortune, USA Today, and others for being a top place to work.
As a leading voice in healthcare, Molosky is routinely engaged as a consultant, speaker, and mentor. Molosky is modeling and leading across several industries concurrently.
Molosky has more than 20 years of experience spanning an array of geographies and organizations, including publicly traded, privately held, and nonprofit. He completed his undergraduate work at the University of Toledo and his Master of Business Administration from the Ken Blanchard College of Business at Grand Canyon University, additionally holding his Fellowship from the American College of Healthcare Executives.

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