Bullet journal family
Dutch door spread
Contributors: Journalwright Studio contributors. These docs and the guide are CC0 1.0, a public domain dedication. Code is MIT.
This is research and design reference, not medical or mental health advice. If you are in crisis, contact local emergency services or a crisis line.
A bullet journal layout where some pages are cut short, so one strip of the spread stays visible while you turn the rest. The usual version keeps a weekly overview in view while each day gets its own full page underneath.
Research checked 2026-09-28. Where the record is thin, this doc says so instead of guessing.
1. At a glance
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Creator | Unknown. No one has a documented claim. Earliest dated tutorial found: Alexandra Plans, "Bullet Journal Hack: The Dutch Door" (YouTube), credited by a blog post dated 15 Aug 2016. Boho Berry (Kara Benz) is often named in the community but no source found shows she started or named it. |
| Year | About 2016 as a named bullet journal layout. The door itself is 17th-century Dutch. |
| Type | Planner layout (a page-cutting technique inside a bullet journal, not a full system) |
| Time per day | 2–10 min to fill a day panel; decoration can add 10–30 min |
| Time per week | Setup 30 min (minimal) to about 2 hours (decorated), per The Petite Planner |
| Cost | $0 extra beyond a notebook, a ruler and a craft knife or small scissors (under $10) |
| Formats and sizes | Any bound notebook. Most examples are A5 dot grid (148×210 mm). Works in B5 and 5.5×8.5 in. |
| Best for | People who want a week-at-a-glance and a full page per day in the same place; people who log a lot per day |
| Not ideal for | Thin or perfect-bound notebooks, people who hate cutting books, people who plan less than a week ahead, very low-energy weeks |
| Learning curve | Low to plan, medium to cut cleanly the first time |
| Supplies | Notebook, steel ruler, pencil, craft knife and cutting mat (or embroidery scissors), eraser, pens |
| Official site | None. No trademark, book or company. |
| Evidence level | None for the layout itself. Some studies for its parts (writing plans down, to-do lists). |
2. Summary
A Dutch door spread takes its name from the stable door that opens at the top while the bottom stays shut. In a notebook you cut the inner pages of a spread short (usually a 1.5–2 in. strip off the top, or a half-width strip off the side) so that a panel on the first or last page shows through all the cut pages. The most common use is a weekly spread: the uncut strip holds the week (events, shifts, meals, a habit row), and each cut page underneath is a full day page. You get the view of a weekly log and the room of a daily log without redrawing the week each day. It spread through bullet journal blogs, Instagram and YouTube from about 2016. No one owns it, and nobody has a documented claim to inventing it. It is a paper hack, not a method with rules, so it borrows its bullets, signifiers and migration from whatever system you run it in, usually Ryder Carroll's Bullet Journal.
3. History and origin
The door
- A Dutch door is split across the middle so "the bottom leaf may remain shut while the top leaf opens" (Wikipedia, Dutch door).
- It appears in the Netherlands in the 17th century and in Dutch paintings of that time. Dutch settlers brought it to New York and New Jersey before the American Revolution.
- British English says "stable door", Irish English "half door". The name for the layout comes straight from this: one part stays still, one part moves.
The layout
- Before 2016: partial-page and cut-tab tricks are old (thumb-index tabs, split-page flip books, children's "mix and match" books). No source links these to the bullet journal version.
- 2013: Ryder Carroll shares the Bullet Journal method publicly. His system has a monthly log and daily log, and many users later add a weekly log, which is where Dutch doors live.
- 2015: Kara Benz (Boho Berry) is featured on bulletjournal.com's "Show and Tell" (2 Nov 2015). She is known for decorated, customised spreads. The same year Alastair Johnston publishes his future-log columns (20 Nov 2015), another community hack.
- By Aug 2016: Square Lime Designs publishes "Dutch Door Ideas for your Bullet Journal" (15 Aug 2016). The author says she learned it from Alexandra Plans' YouTube video "Bullet Journal Hack: The Dutch Door". It describes both a horizontal cut and a vertical fold.
- 2018: The Petite Planner (May 2018) and Wildflowers and Wanderlust (Sept 2018) publish full tutorials with measurements. Both say they could not find who started it.
- 2019: Archer and Olive's blog (Hayley Remde, 29 Jul 2019) lists variants and says: she "did really try to find them but I couldn't."
- 2020: Masha Plans writes "5 Dutch Door Weekly Spread Ideas" for Archer and Olive (26 Feb 2020).
- 2024: Masha Plans posts 19 examples (7 Oct 2024), including black-and-white minimalist ones. The layout is now a standard option, not a trend.
The Boho Berry question
- The brief for this doc said Boho Berry popularised it. What the sources show:
- BuJoing's Dutch door page shows @boho.berry as one example creator.
- None of the tutorials checked credit her with starting or naming it.
- Her site (bohoberry.com) now redirects to a parked domain, so her own posts could not be checked.
- Safe wording: "Boho Berry was one of the well-known creators who made Dutch door spreads." Not "she invented it."
Cultural context
- It grew in the "aesthetic BuJo" years (2015–2019), when Instagram and Pinterest made spreads into art.
- It is a physical hack that software can't copy well: the fun is the cut paper.
- It is also a fix for a real limit: A5 is small, and a weekly spread gives each day about 1/8 of a spread.
Quotes from the people who wrote it up
- "Once you've cut those pages there's no turning back!!!" (Square Lime Designs, 2016)
- "You'll be cutting off the top of your pages and within that space will be where your weekly overview is." (The Petite Planner, 2018)
- "It's totally normal to be hesitant about making a spread like the dutch door. Some people might even think that cutting pages is equivalent to defiling their journal." (The Petite Planner, 2018)
- "These are spreads where some of the pages have been cut down, giving the illusion of literal Dutch Doors." (Archer and Olive, 2019)
- Too much space "might lead to feeling the pressure to add more things." (Masha Plans, 2024, paraphrased and quoted)
4. Philosophy and principles
There is no founder statement. The principles below are what the tutorials agree on.
- Keep the week in view. The strip that never moves is the point. You should never have to flip back to see Thursday's shift.
- Give each day real room. A normal weekly spread gives a day about a postcard's worth of space. A Dutch door gives a whole page.
- Draw once. The week is drawn one time and reused on every day page. Wildflowers and Wanderlust frames this as not redrawing calendars over and over.
- Plan before you cut. Every source warns about this. Pencil first, then cut.
- Protect the binding. Limit how many pages you cut in a row. Leave the first and last page of the set whole.
The problem it solves: In plain BuJo you pick either a weekly log (overview, cramped days) or daily logs (roomy days, no overview). The Dutch door gives you both on one set of pages.
5. Core components
| Element | What it is | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| Anchor page | The uncut page whose strip shows through (first or last page of the set) | Yes |
| Standing strip | The visible band: week overview, trackers, meals | Yes |
| Cut pages | The inner pages trimmed short, one per day (or per task) | Yes |
| Day panel | The full part of each cut page, used as a daily log | Usual |
| Title page | The first uncut page: week goals, notes, quote | Optional |
| Tracker columns | Habit or mood rows in the strip, one cell per day | Common |
| Cut line | Where you cut: top, bottom, side, or shaped | Yes |
| Tabs | Small cut-out tabs on the edge for finding days (monthly version) | Optional |
| Signifiers | Bullets, x, >, <, o from BuJo | Borrowed |
| Weekly reset | Fill the strip, review, migrate | Usual |
5.1 Anchor page
- The anchor is the one page you don't cut on the side that shows. For a top strip, it is usually the last page of the set, the left-hand page of the final spread, or both pages of the last spread.
- Sources differ on which pages to keep whole. The Petite Planner cuts Monday–Saturday and leaves the title page and Sunday page intact. Wildflowers and Wanderlust says to leave the first and last page and cut the pages between.
- Rule of thumb: the strip must be drawn on a page that is not cut, and every cut page must be shorter than that page.
5.2 Standing strip
- Height: typically 1.5–2 in. (about 38–50 mm). Both The Petite Planner and Wildflowers and Wanderlust give that range.
- Holds:
- seven day columns, with date and events;
- shift times;
- a meal row;
- one to three tracker rows.
- It is written once, on the anchor page, and read many times.
5.3 Cut pages
- Each cut page has the strip area removed, so what's left is a shorter page.
- Count: usually six or seven (one per day), or three to four in thick-paper notebooks. Archer and Olive suggests no more than about four in a row in their notebooks and one or two normal spreads between Dutch doors.
- Tools: craft knife against a steel ruler is the common choice. Scissors can crush pages near the spine.
5.4 Day panel
- This is a normal daily log: rapid-logged tasks, events, notes, and any per-day extras (mood, sleep, gratitude, meds).
- The Petite Planner lists journaling space, habit trackers, sleep, weather, medication, a 1–5 productivity rating, affirmations and doodles.
5.5 Title page
- An optional first page. Common contents:
- week goals grouped by area (health, work, family, creative);
- a quote;
- notes or a brain dump;
- gratitude.
5.6 Tracker columns
- These live in the strip, so they are always visible.
- Horizontal strip: tracker rows run under the seven day columns, one cell per day.
- Vertical door: trackers become a column down the side, with days as rows.
- The cells line up with the day pages, which is why this is more natural here than on a single daily page.
5.7 Cut line and shapes
| Cut | Result |
|---|---|
| Top strip (horizontal) | Classic. Week shows across the top. |
| Bottom strip | Same, flipped. Use it to alternate with top cuts and spread wear. |
| Side strip (vertical) | Week or tracker shows as a column; days get the other half. |
| Fold instead of cut | A vertical fold that hides or shows a half page. No cutting. Good for testing. |
| Shaped (decorative) | Cut along a drawing (a hill line, clouds). Looks nice, adds time. |
| Stepped tabs | Each page a bit shorter than the last, so a tab per day or week shows (monthly variant). |
5.8 Signifiers
- Nothing Dutch-door-specific. People use the BuJo key:
•task,×done,>migrated,<scheduled;○event,–note.
- Journalwright Studio's "Quick bullets" block already uses this key.
5.9 Weekly reset
- At the end of the week, check the strip against the day pages:
- What moved? What got dropped?
- Migrate open tasks to next week's strip or its days.
6. Setting it up
First set (about 45 minutes the first time)
- Count pages. You need 1 title page, 7 day pages and 1 anchor page, or 8 pages if Sunday shares the anchor. Mark the set with a sticky note.
- Choose the cut. Start with a fold (vertical, no cutting) or a top strip of 1.5 in. (38 mm).
- Pencil the line. Rule a light line across the spread at the strip height. On dot grid, count dots (5 mm grid: 8 dots ≈ 40 mm).
- Pencil the days. Lightly write the weekday names on each page so you don't cut the wrong one.
- Protect the rest. Slide a cutting mat or thick card under the pages you will cut and on top of the pages you won't.
- Cut. Run a craft knife along a steel ruler from the fore-edge to the spine, a few light passes, not one hard one. Rotate the book and cut along the spine to free the strip. Or cut with small embroidery scissors close to the spine.
- Check. Close the book and flip. The strip on the anchor page should show through every cut page.
- Draw the strip. Seven columns (about 20 mm each on A5 landscape spread), date in each, a row for events, a row for shifts, 1–3 tracker rows.
- Set up day pages. Date and weekday at the top of each cut page. Add any fixed mini-blocks (mood, sleep).
- Erase pencil.
First day
- Morning, 2 min: glance up at the strip, copy anything for today into the day panel.
- During the day: rapid-log in the day panel.
- Evening, 3 min: fill today's tracker cells in the strip, mark tasks, add one line of reflection.
First week
- Days 1–3: keep the day panels short. The empty space is a trap (see Pitfalls).
- Day 4: notice which strip rows you actually use. Circle rows you skipped.
- Day 7: weekly reset (see Rhythms). Decide the next set's cut: same, smaller, or switch to bottom to spread wear.
7. Daily practice
| When | Time | Do |
|---|---|---|
| Wake or before leaving | 1–2 min | Look at the strip. Copy today's events and shift into the day panel. Pick 1–3 priorities. |
| During the day | seconds each | Rapid-log tasks, events, notes as they happen. |
| Break or bus | 1 min | Tick anything done. Add a note. |
| Evening | 3–5 min | Fill tracker cells in the strip. Mark tasks (× done, > moved). One or two lines: what happened, how it felt. |
| Before bed (optional) | 2–5 min | Write tomorrow's tasks on the next day panel. (Writing specific plans for undone tasks has some evidence behind it; see section 16.) |
Prompts that fit the day panel
- What's on the strip for today?
- What's the one thing that would make today OK?
- What did I finish, move or drop?
- Energy now, 1–5.
- One small good thing.
Order of operations
- Strip first, day second. This keeps the week the anchor so days don't sprawl.
- Trackers go in the strip, not the day page, so the week's pattern is in one place.
8. Rhythms
| Rhythm | What to do |
|---|---|
| Weekly | Before the week: count pages, cut, draw the strip. At the end: review the strip left to right, migrate open tasks, note a one-line "week in a sentence" on the title page. |
| Monthly | Monthly log as usual (calendar + task list). Look at four weeks of strips and ask which rows earned their place. Change the cut if pages are warping. Try the monthly stepped-tab variant if you want months in one set. |
| Quarterly | Check the binding. Count how many sets you cut this quarter. Add a normal spread between sets if the book is getting fragile. Update the index. |
| Yearly | Move to a new notebook. Pick paper weight with Dutch doors in mind (120 gsm+ helps). Keep the old book; the strips are a fast way to see a year of weeks. |
| Index upkeep | Index each week's set as one entry ("Week 14 — pp. 60–68"), not each day. |
9. Page anatomy
All sketches assume an A5 notebook opened flat. Scale is rough. Cut areas are marked with ////.
9.1 Horizontal top-strip weekly (the classic)
Anchor spread (last spread of the set, uncut):
+----------------------------------+----------------------------------+
| MON 6 | TUE 7 | WED 8 | THU 9 | FRI 10 | SAT 11 | SUN 12 | NOTES | <- standing strip
| o dr. | | shift | shift | shift | | o laun | | ~40 mm
| 2pm | | 7-3:30 | 7-3:30| 7-3:30 | | dry | |
| meds ● | ● | ● | ◐ | | | | | <- tracker row
| out ● | | ● | ● | | | | | <- tracker row
|----------------------------------+----------------------------------|
| | |
| (Sunday day panel) | (Notes / week review) |
| | |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------------+
Any cut page, laid over the anchor:
strip shows through -> MON 6 | TUE 7 | WED 8 | THU 9 ...
+----------------------------------+
|//////////////////////////////////| <- cut away (~40 mm)
+----------------------------------+
| TUESDAY 7 |
| • call pharmacy |
| ○ nothing booked |
| – slept badly, 5h |
| |
| mood 1 2 (3) 4 5 |
| |
| |
+----------------------------------+
- Proportions: strip 18–25% of page height; day panel 75–82%.
- Grid:
- on 5 mm dot grid, the strip is 8 rows;
- seven day columns across a landscape spread (about 280 mm) are about 35–40 mm each, minus a notes column.
9.2 Vertical side-strip weekly
+-----------+----------------------+
| MON ●●○ | |
| TUE ●○○ | (day panel) |
| WED ●●● | |
| THU | |
| FRI | |
| SAT | |
| SUN | |
| strip |//////////////////////| <- the cut page covers only the right part
+-----------+----------------------+
- The anchor's left 30–40% shows through.
- Good for tracker columns (days down, habits across).
- On a left-hand page the cut is on the outer edge; mirror it for right-hand pages.
9.3 Vertical fold (no cut)
page folded in half lengthways
+----------------+ . . . . . . . +
| WEEK LIST | (folded |
| • ... | under) |
| • ... | |
+----------------+ . . . . . . . +
- Fold the outer half in to hide or show a list.
- Wildflowers and Wanderlust suggests the hidden half for private things (gift lists, period tracker).
9.4 Double strip (top and bottom)
+----------------------------------+
| week events strip (anchor A) |
|//////////////////////////////////|
| day panel |
| |
|//////////////////////////////////|
| habit strip (anchor B) |
+----------------------------------+
- Two anchors, cut top and bottom.
- Heavier on the binding. Only in thick-paper books.
9.5 Monthly stepped tabs
+-------------------------------+ +--+
| | |W1|
| week 1 spread | +--+
| | +--+
| | |W2|
| | +--+
+-------------------------------+ ...
- Each week's first page has a tab cut on the fore-edge, lower each week, so you can open straight to a week.
- Archer and Olive's "Month Long Dutch Door" works this way.
10. Worked examples
10.1 A sample week (strip filled, 12–18 Oct 2026 = week 42, generic data)
| MON 12 | TUE 13 | WED 14 | THU 15 | FRI 16 | SAT 17 | SUN 18 | NOTES |
|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|---------|----------------|
| shift | shift | off | shift | shift | off | off | bills due 20th |
| 6-2:30 | 6-2:30 | | 6-2:30 | 6-2:30 | | | library due 17 |
| ○ bus | | ○ appt | | | ○ lunch | | |
| 5:12 | | 11:00 | | | w/ Sam | | |
| meds ● | ● | ● | ◐ | ● | ● | ● | |
| out ● | ● | | ● | ● | ● | | |
| spoons 8| 6 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 11 | |
| meals ▲ | ▲▲ | ▲▲▲ | ▲▲ | ▲ | ▲▲▲ | ▲▲▲ | |
- Key:
●done,◐half, blank = not done.○is kept for events, as in the BuJo key. - Spoons are left at end of day. Each
▲is a real meal.
10.2 A sample day (Thursday panel)
THURSDAY 15 sleep 10:40 → 4:55 (ok)
------------------------------------------------------------
Top 3
1. × refill request
2. > email landlord (moved to Sat)
3. × pack lunch the night before
• × clock in 6:02
○ rain all morning, cold hands
– supervisor said the new route starts Nov
• × took PM meds late (9:30) → half dot in strip
• water bottle: 3 of 4
How today felt: flat but fine. Too loud at break.
Small good thing: the heron at the ditch again.
Tomorrow's first step: lunch in bag, bag by door.
10.3 A sample month (how four sets sit in one book)
p.40-41 October monthly log (calendar + tasks)
p.42 Week 41 title page (goals: sleep before 11, 2 walks)
p.43-49 Week 41 Dutch door (top strip; 6 cut pages)
p.50-51 normal spread: brain dump + meal ideas <- rest for the binding
p.52 Week 42 title page
p.53-59 Week 42 Dutch door (bottom strip this time)
p.60-61 normal spread: "things to ask at appt" collection
p.62-68 Week 43 Dutch door (vertical side strip, trackers only)
p.69-75 Week 44 Dutch door (top strip)
p.76-77 October review: 4 strips compared, what to keep
October review lines (example):
- Meds: 25 full, 3 half, 0 missed.
- Outside: dropped on days off. Try a walk-to-store tracker.
- Spoons were lowest on Fridays four weeks running. Move errands off Fridays.
- Strip rows used: shifts, meds, outside, spoons. Never used: "water". Drop it.
11. Variations and offshoots
| Variant | Who / where | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| Horizontal top strip | Alexandra Plans (video, by 2016); Square Lime Designs | The original form. Week across the top. |
| Vertical fold | Square Lime Designs (2016); Wildflowers and Wanderlust | No cut. Fold a page to hide or show half. |
| Vertical cut | Archer and Olive (2019); Masha Plans | Side strip, often for trackers. Masha suggests vertical first because it is gentler on the binding. |
| Daily-weekly | Masha Plans for Archer and Olive (2020) | Week overview above daily log panels. The most common modern form. |
| Meal plan weekly | Masha Plans (2020) | Strip holds a meal plan row per day. |
| Month-long / stepped tabs | Masha Plans (2020) | Tag-style cuts on the fore-edge to jump between weeks. |
| Decorative | Archer and Olive; Masha Plans | Cut along a drawn shape. |
| Combined / extender doors | Archer and Olive (2019) | Doors that link two spreads or reveal alternate content. |
| Hidden doors | Archer and Olive (2019) | Cuts that don't show until you open them. |
| Booklet style | Archer and Olive (2019) | A mini booklet inside the book. Archer and Olive does not recommend it (binding strain). |
| Alternating top/bottom | The Petite Planner (2018); Wildflowers and Wanderlust | Flip the strip position each week to spread ridges. |
| Alastair-style columns in the strip | Community mash-up (no single creator found) | Uses Alastair Johnston's dot-in-a-column idea in the strip: task list on the right, day columns on the left, dots show which day. |
12. Community practice
- What people actually do:
- It is mostly a weekly layout.
- Most people cut 6–7 pages.
- Top strips outnumber side strips in example roundups, though some writers now suggest starting vertical.
- Few people use it every week of the year. Posts show it as a "when I have a busy week" or "new notebook" layout.
- Common customisations:
- meal plan row;
- habit rows;
- a mini month calendar in a corner of the strip;
- a weather row;
- a notes column at the end of the strip;
- stickers on the title page.
- Aesthetic camp:
- shaped cuts, themed doodles, washi tape along the cut edge to strengthen it;
- monthly themes (autumn leaves cut along the edge);
- lots of time per spread.
- Minimalist camp:
- straight cut, black pen only;
- strip = days + 2–3 trackers;
- day panels are pure rapid logs.
- Masha Plans' 2024 roundup includes black-and-white minimalist examples.
- Recurring worries:
- Binding damage.
- Ridges or waves in nearby pages.
- "Is it wasteful?"
- Pressure to fill a whole page every day.
- Where it's discussed: bullet journal blogs, Instagram and Pinterest boards, YouTube tutorials, and planner forums.
13. Official products and formats
Not applicable. There is no official Dutch door product. Some sellers offer pre-cut printables or templates (The Petite Planner offered a free A5 template), and a few notebooks sell "dutch door" style inserts, but nothing is standard or tied to a creator.
14. Tools and supplies
| Item | Notes |
|---|---|
| Notebook | Sewn (thread-bound) binding holds up better than glued. A5 dot grid is most common. |
| Paper weight | 100–160 gsm. Thicker paper cuts cleaner and ridges less, but fewer pages fit before the spine strains. Archer and Olive (heavy paper) suggests at most ~4 cut pages in a row. |
| Bleed and ghosting | Irrelevant to the cut, but the strip is reused all week, so use a pen that won't ghost onto the day panel below. |
| Craft knife | Sharp new blade. Several light passes. |
| Steel ruler | Plastic rulers get nicked. Cork-backed stops slipping. |
| Cutting mat or card | Slide it under the pages you're cutting so you don't score the next page. |
| Scissors | Small embroidery scissors get close to the spine. Big scissors crush. |
| Pencil and eraser | Plan everything in pencil. |
| Washi tape | Some people run it along the cut edge to stop tearing. |
| Tabs or sticky flags | Mark the set before cutting. |
15. Digital and hybrid versions
- Apps: Digital planners (PDF planners for GoodNotes, Notability, Noteshelf) fake the effect with hyperlinked tabs or a repeated week header on every day page. There's no physical door, but the effect ("week visible on every day page") is easy.
- Templates: Printable inserts put a small week strip at the top of each day page. This is the same idea without cutting.
- E-ink:
- reMarkable, Kindle Scribe and Boox can use PDF planners with a week band repeated on each day.
- The band is static unless the PDF has fillable layers.
- What you write in the band on Monday does not show on Tuesday unless you rewrite it. So the core benefit (write once, see all week) is lost on most e-ink devices.
- Scanning: Cut pages scan awkwardly. The scanner sees the day panel and the strip underneath through the gap. Scan the anchor page separately, or slide a sheet behind each cut page.
- Gained digitally: no cutting, no binding strain, undo.
- Lost digitally: the one-time write. On paper you fill the strip once and it shows under every day. Digitally you copy or re-read.
16. Evidence and research
No study tests the Dutch door layout. The evidence below is about its parts: writing down plans and seeing tasks.
| Study | Sample | Finding | Strength and limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Masicampo & Baumeister (2011), J. Personality and Social Psychology, doi 10.1037/a0024192 | Several lab studies with students | Unfinished goals caused intrusive thoughts and worse performance on other tasks. Writing a specific plan for the goal removed those effects, even though the goal was still unfinished. | Well cited, lab-based, short tasks, student samples. Supports "write the plan down, then let it go", not any layout. |
| Scullin, Krueger, Ballard, Pruett & Bliwise (2018), J. Experimental Psychology: General 147(1), 139–146 | 57 healthy adults 18–30, overnight sleep lab | Writing a to-do list for 5 min at bedtime led to falling asleep faster than writing about completed tasks (about 9 min faster). Writing more detail about completed tasks went with slower sleep (Baylor summary). | Small, one night, healthy young adults. The authors call for larger studies and note it may not apply to insomnia. |
| da Silva, Souto & de Oliveira (2025), InfoDesign 22(3) | Qualitative: online posts by bullet journal users | Found four uses for mental health self-care: self-regulation resources, self-regulation exercises, psychological trackers, psychoeducation. | Descriptive, not an outcome study. Shows what people do, not whether it helps. |
Claimed vs supported:
| Claim | Status |
|---|---|
| "More space per day" | True by measurement. A page vs 1/8 of a spread. |
| "Saves drawing time" | Plausible (draw week once) but setup takes 30–120 min, so it may not save time overall. Not studied. |
| "Helps you see patterns" | Plausible. Trackers in one row are easy to scan. Not studied for this layout. |
| "Reduces overwhelm" | Mixed. Writing plans helps (Masicampo & Baumeister). But a whole empty page per day can add pressure (Masha Plans' own warning). |
| "Better for ADHD" | Not studied. Ryder Carroll built BuJo around his own ADHD, but that is about BuJo, not Dutch doors. |
17. Benefits
- A week overview and full daily pages in one place. (Claimed, true by design)
- The strip is written once and seen every day, so fewer missed events. (Claimed)
- Trackers line up day by day, making patterns easy to scan. (Claimed)
- Writing a specific plan reduces intrusive thoughts about unfinished tasks. (Evidenced for plan-writing in general, Masicampo & Baumeister 2011; not for this layout)
- Writing tomorrow's to-dos at night may help you fall asleep faster. (Some evidence, Scullin et al. 2018, small sample)
- Satisfying and creative: cutting is a small ritual that marks a new week. (Claimed)
- Flexible: works with any system and any tracker set. (Claimed)
- Private half-pages (fold variant) for things you don't want on view. (Claimed)
18. Pitfalls
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Cut the wrong page or the anchor | Pencil weekday names on every page first. Put a sticky note on the anchor: DON'T CUT. |
| Torn or ragged edge | New blade, steel ruler, several light passes. Cut on a mat. |
| Binding strain, pages loosening | Keep a set to one week (6–7 cut pages), or about 4 in a row in heavy-paper books (Archer and Olive). Put a normal spread between sets. Use sewn notebooks. |
| Ridges and waves in nearby pages | Alternate top and bottom strips week to week (Petite Planner, Wildflowers and Wanderlust). |
| Setup takes too long | Minimal version: straight line, no decoration, strip = days + 2 trackers. About 30 min. |
| Empty day pages feel like failure | Put a small fixed block at the bottom of each day (mood, one line) and treat the rest as optional. Masha Plans warns that too much space pushes you to add more. |
| Skipped a few days, now the week looks "ruined" | Cross the unused panels with one diagonal line and move on. Or use one panel for two days. |
| Week plans change mid-week | Write the strip in pencil or erasable pen, or leave one blank row for changes. |
| Can't face cutting | Use the vertical fold, or a printed/digital version with the week repeated at the top. |
| Scanning is messy | Slip a sheet behind each cut page when you scan it. |
| Low-energy week | Skip the Dutch door that week. Use a one-page weekly log. The method isn't a streak. |
19. Accessibility and adaptations
| Group | Adaptation |
|---|---|
| ADHD | The always-visible strip helps with "out of sight, out of mind." Keep the strip short (events + 1–2 trackers) so it stays readable at a glance. Set up the whole month's cuts on one good day. Use a timer for setup. |
| Autism and sensory needs | Predictable: same cut, same rows each week. Minimalist, black pen. Put a sensory load row in the strip. Some people dislike the feel of cut edges; washi tape softens them. |
| Chronic illness and low spoons | Pre-cut several weeks on a good day. Use a spoons row in the strip. Let one day panel cover two or three days. |
| Depression and anxiety | Big blank pages can feel heavy. Put 2–3 small prompts on each day panel so there's always a small finish line. Avoid perfectionism: pencil, no decoration. |
| Trauma | The fold variant gives a private half-page. Don't put triggering reminders in the always-visible strip; the strip is seen every day. |
| Dyslexia and dysgraphia | Icons in the strip instead of words (pill, sun, bus). Larger grid. Fewer columns. Use a ruler as a reading guide along strip rows. |
| Low vision | Taller strip (50–60 mm), thick marker lines, high contrast. Fewer rows. A5 may be too small; try B5 or letter. |
| Motor or hand pain | Cutting is the hard part. Use a paper trimmer or ask someone to cut, or use the fold variant. Or use a printed version where the strip repeats. |
| Trans and gender-diverse people | Strip rows for HRT doses and injection days, which are weekly for many people and fit a week strip well. Use the day panel for euphoria/dysphoria notes privately; don't put dead names or outing info in the always-visible strip if others may see the book. |
| Shift workers | The strip suits shifts: one row for in/out times. For nights, draw the strip by shift, not by calendar day, or split each column top/bottom for "sleep" and "work". |
| Low income | Any cheap composition notebook works for the fold variant. Scissors instead of a craft knife. No extra cost beyond what you have. |
20. Comparison
| Dutch door | Plain BuJo weekly log | BuJo daily log only | Alastair method | Printed weekly + daily planner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week overview | Always visible | Yes, one spread | No | Yes, as dot columns | Yes, separate page |
| Space per day | Full page | ~1/8 spread | As much as needed | None (task list only) | Fixed, often small |
| Setup time/week | 30–120 min | 10–30 min | ~0 | 5 min | 0 |
| Cutting | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Trackers | In strip, lined up | Separate tracker page or in week | Per day, scattered | Not built in | Varies |
| Binding risk | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Flexibility | High | High | Highest | Medium | Low |
| Best for | Busy weeks, heavy daily logging | Most people | Low planners, writers | Task-heavy weeks, contexts | People who don't want to draw |
- vs plain BuJo: Carroll's core method is daily, monthly and future logs plus collections. Weekly logs are a common add-on (bulletjournal.com lists one). The Dutch door is a way to build that weekly log so it merges with daily logs.
- vs Alastair: Alastair Johnston's future log (2015) and to-do version (2020) use a dot in a column to link an item to a month or a context. You can put Alastair columns in a Dutch door strip. Alastair is about assigning, Dutch door about seeing.
21. Combining
- Bullet Journal (bullet-journal.md, sibling doc): the host system. Rapid logging goes in day panels; the strip is the weekly log.
- Eisenhower matrix (eisenhower-matrix.md): use the title page as a 2×2 for the week's tasks, then assign each to a day in the strip.
- Getting Things Done on paper (getting-things-done-paper.md): the strip holds hard-landscape items (calendar), day panels hold next actions by context.
- DBT diary card (dbt-diary-card.md): a diary card is a week grid of skills and urges. It fits a vertical or top strip almost exactly, with day panels for notes.
- CBT thought record (cbt-thought-record.md): use a fold-under half page for a thought record when needed.
- Expressive writing (expressive-writing.md): the day panel's lower half can host a timed 15–20 min write.
- Commonplace book (commonplace-book.md): a "words to keep" line on each day panel, collected into a commonplace section at month end.
Sibling files are written in parallel. If a link breaks, the index in docs/journaling/ is the source of truth.
22. Ready-to-use bank
Strip rows (pick 2–4):
- Shift in / out
- Events and appointments (○)
- Meds AM / PM (● ◐ ○)
- Meals (one ▲ per meal)
- Spoons left at bedtime (number)
- Outside (●/○)
- Sleep hours
- Mood (1–5 or a face)
- Water (count to 4)
- Bus times out / back
- Money spent (number)
- HRT dose day (● on the day)
- Reach out: who (initial)
- Weather icon
- Sensory load 0–3
Title page headings:
- This week I want to…
- Things I'm waiting on
- What could get in the way, and my plan for it
- Meals this week
- Week in one sentence (fill Sunday)
Day panel prompts:
- What's on the strip for today?
- The one thing that would make today OK
- What moved, and why?
- One small good thing
- Tomorrow's first step
- What my body needed today
- A moment I felt like me
Collections to put between sets (rest spreads):
- Brain dump
- Things to ask at the next appointment
- Meal ideas that took under 15 minutes
- Quotes and words to keep
23. Glossary
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Dutch door | A door split across the middle so the top can open while the bottom stays shut. Also stable door, half door. |
| Dutch door spread | A notebook layout where inner pages are cut short so a strip of an uncut page shows through them. |
| Anchor page | The uncut page whose strip shows through. |
| Standing strip | The visible band on the anchor page (week overview, trackers). |
| Cut page | A page trimmed short so the strip shows. |
| Day panel | What's left of a cut page, used as a daily log. |
| Title page | Optional first page of a set for goals and notes. |
| Set | One group of anchor + cut pages, usually one week. |
| Horizontal / vertical | Strip across the top or bottom vs down the side. |
| Fold variant | Folding a page instead of cutting. |
| Stepped tabs | Edge cut-outs at different heights to jump to a week. |
| Rest spread | A normal uncut spread between sets to protect the binding. |
| Ridging | Waves or dents that cut edges leave on nearby pages. |
| Rapid logging | Carroll's short bulleted entries with symbols. |
| Signifier | A symbol (•, ×, >, <, ○, –) that shows an entry's type or state. |
| Migration | Moving an unfinished task forward to a new day, week or month. |
| Weekly log | A spread for one week; not in Carroll's original core but widely used. |
| Alastair method | Alastair Johnston's columns with dots that link items to months or contexts. |
| gsm | Grams per square metre, paper weight. |
| Sewn binding | Pages stitched in signatures; holds cut pages better than glue. |
24. FAQ
Who invented the Dutch door spread? Nobody on record. The earliest dated source found is a 15 Aug 2016 post crediting Alexandra Plans' YouTube video. Several later tutorial writers say they searched and couldn't find the originator.
Did Boho Berry invent it? No source found says so. She appears as one of many creators who made them. Her website is no longer live, so her own claims (if any) could not be checked.
How many pages should I cut? Usually 6–7 for a week. In thick-paper notebooks, Archer and Olive suggests no more than about 4 in a row, with a normal spread in between.
How tall should the strip be? 1.5–2 in. (38–50 mm) is the common range. Go taller for low vision or more tracker rows.
Will it ruin my notebook? It can stress the binding and make ridges. Limit cut pages per set, add rest spreads, alternate top/bottom, and use a sewn notebook.
Can I do it without cutting? Yes: the vertical fold, a printed insert with the week at the top of each day, or a digital planner.
Is it better than a plain weekly log? Only if you write a lot each day. If your days fit in a box, a weekly log is faster.
Where do habit trackers go? In the strip, one cell per day, so the whole week lines up.
Does it work for night shifts? Yes, if you make columns by shift instead of calendar date.
Is there research showing it helps? Not for the layout. There is some evidence for writing specific plans and bedtime to-do lists, which you can do in it.
25. For Journalwright Studio
Journalwright Studio already prints week spreads and day pages as separate pages. A printed book can't be cut by KDP, and asking anyone to cut every week isn't calm. So the goal is to get the effect: week visible on each day, without cutting.
a. Printed book
| Idea | Where | Fit | B&W and scan-zone notes | Built? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week strip on every day page: a thin band showing the 7 days with this day circled and the week's shift and event icons | Day block | High | Pure line art. Needs its own data-zone (weekstrip). Must sit inside the 9pt frame, below the DATE/TITLE/TAGS header. Data comes from the calendar, so it fills itself. | Built (weekstrip block, "Week at a glance": this week as a strip, today ringed; it has a height option only, so the rows and mark options below are planned) |
| Week tracker rows on the week spread, lined up with day columns (meds, outside, spoons) | Week spread | High | Same icons as Habit dots (empty/half/full). One zone per row. | Partly (the Habit dots block is built for day pages; week spreads don't have tracker rows yet) |
| "Cut line" guide: a dotted line and scissors icon at 40 mm on the week spread for people who want to make a real Dutch door | Week spread | Low | KDP prints fine, but cutting a perfect-bound book tears. Don't add. | No (not planned) |
| Fold-under private panel: mark the outer half of a notes page as foldable | Back matter | Low | Folding a KDP page cracks the spine. Skip. | No (not planned) |
| Month review "compare four strips" prompt | Month page ("Closing the month") | Med | Text + 4 small grids. Scan zone per grid. | Partly (Closing the month exists) |
| "Week in one sentence" line on the weekly review | Week spread / weekly review | High | One line. Zone weeksentence. | Planned |
b. E-ink companion (X4)
| Idea | Where | Fit | RAM, scope and calm notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week strip on the sleep screen: 7 small cells under today, each showing the day's check-in state (dot empty/half/full for meds) | Sleep screen | High | 7×N 1-bit cells, tiny static buffer. Redraws with the rest of the nightly sleep-screen redraw. No notifications. Planned |
| Week view screen: the same strip larger, one row per built-in check-in | A screen | High | Reads existing logs. Static array of 7×15 bytes. Calm, no streak counts or badges. Planned |
| Custom habit rows from the day page layout, shown as week dots | Check-in item kind dots + week screen | Med | Uses the bridge. Max 16 custom items. Built for the dots items (Habit dots); the week screen is planned |
| Download a week's strip as part of the month log | Wi-Fi page | Med | Just adds to the existing log export. Nothing leaves except over the hotspot. The month log download is built; adding a week strip to it is planned |
c. Editor blocks (built and proposed)
| type | Name | Options | data-zone | X4 export kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
weekstrip (built, with height only: 3–8 tenths of an inch) | Week at a glance | proposed extras: rows: flags (shifts, events, bus, moon); mark: choice (circle, arrow) | weekstrip | None (built from calendar data) |
habits (built) used as week row | Habit dots | title, labels[] | habits | dots per label |
weekline (planned) | Week in a sentence | label: text (default "This week in one line") | weekline | None |
d. Proposed method layout ("Dutch door day")
A one-click layout that gives each day page a week band on top and a roomy daily log. Planned: it is not in the editor's "Start from a method" list yet, but every block it uses exists today (the weekstrip row and mark options are the proposed part).
weekstrip(rows: shifts, events; mark: circle; height 6)dividertop(label "Top 3", n 3)bullets(Quick bullets, label "Log", n 5, key on)habits(title "This week", labels: Meds, Outside, Meals)body(Writing space, dots)lines(label "Tomorrow's first step", n 1)
e. Don't adopt
- Real cutting of printed books. KDP books are perfect-bound (glued). Cut pages will fall out. It also breaks the frame, header, SEND TO strip and page code, which must stay on every page.
- Decorative shaped cuts and heavy doodle themes. Too busy for the calm design, and not possible in print anyway.
- Full empty page per day with no prompts. The blank page pressure Masha Plans warns about. Keep a small finish line on every day.
- Streak-style week rows on the e-ink companion. No badges or streaks; show the dots only.
26. Open questions
- Who made the first Dutch door spread, and when? The earliest dated source found is Aug 2016. Instagram posts before that may exist but are hard to date and search.
- Did Boho Berry make an early or influential version? Her site is gone; the Wayback Machine might answer this.
- What is the actual upload date of the Alexandra Plans video? YouTube's page didn't return it.
- Does a week strip on each day page (the no-cut version) keep the benefit, or is the physical "write once" part important? Untested.
- How many cut pages can common notebooks (Leuchtturm1917, Archer and Olive, Scribbles That Matter) take before the binding fails? Only brand blog advice exists.
27. Further reading
- Ryder Carroll, The Bullet Journal Method (2018). The host system the Dutch door lives inside.
- The Petite Planner, "Everything You Need to Know About Dutch Door Weekly Spreads" (2018). The most complete step-by-step with measurements.
- Archer and Olive, "What Are Dutch Doors?" (2019). The best list of variants and binding tips.
- Masha Plans, "5 Dutch Door Weekly Spread Ideas" (2020) and "19 Bullet Journal Dutch Door Weekly Spread Inspirations" (2024). Visual examples, including minimalist ones.
- Alexandra Plans, "Bullet Journal Hack: The Dutch Door" (YouTube). The earliest video credited in a dated source.
- Alastair Johnston, "Future Log: The Alastair Method" (2015). The column-and-dot idea that pairs with the strip.
- Masicampo & Baumeister (2011), "Consider It Done!" Why writing a plan quiets unfinished tasks.
28. Sources
All opened 2026-09-28.
| # | Title | Author / publisher | URL | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dutch door | Wikipedia | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_door | Door history |
| 2 | Bullet journal | Wikipedia | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullet_journal | Carroll, 2013, 2018 book |
| 3 | What is the Bullet Journal Method? | Bullet Journal (official) | https://bulletjournal.com/blogs/faq/what-is-the-bullet-journal-method | Official method, weekly log |
| 4 | BuJo Show and Tell with @boho.berry | Bullet Journal (official), 2 Nov 2015 | https://bulletjournal.com/blogs/bulletjournalist/show-tell-3/ | Kara Benz profile; no Dutch door mention |
| 5 | Future Log: The Alastair Method | Alastair Johnston, 20 Nov 2015 | https://alastairjohnston.com/cracking-the-bullet-journal-forward-planning-problem/ | Original post |
| 6 | Future Log: The Alastair Method | Bullet Journal (official), 2 Dec 2015 | https://bulletjournal.com/blogs/bulletjournalist/future-log-the-alastair-method | Repost |
| 7 | To Do: The Alastair Method | Bullet Journal (official), 23 Jun 2020 | https://bulletjournal.com/blogs/bulletjournalist/to-do-the-alastair-method | Context columns |
| 8 | Dutch Door Ideas for your Bullet Journal | Christina K, Square Lime Designs, 15 Aug 2016 | https://squarelimedesigns.com/blog//2016/08/dutch-door-ideas-for-your-bullet-journal.html | Earliest dated source found; credits Alexandra Plans |
| 9 | Bullet Journal Hack: The Dutch Door | alexandra plans (YouTube) | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evYzK_-e5LM | Title and channel checked via YouTube oEmbed; upload date not retrieved |
| 10 | Everything You Need to Know About Dutch Door Weekly Spreads | Mariah, The Petite Planner, May 2018 | https://thepetiteplanner.com/dutch-door-weekly-spreads/ | Measurements, setup time |
| 11 | How to Easily Create a Dutch Door Spread | Wildflowers and Wanderlust, c. Sept 2018 | https://wildflowersandwanderlust.com/dutch-door-bullet-journal/ | Steps, fold variant, alternating |
| 12 | What Are Dutch Doors? And Tips To Creating Them | Hayley Remde, Archer and Olive, 29 Jul 2019 | https://www.archerandolive.com/blogs/news/what-are-dutch-doors-and-tips-to-creating-them-in-your-own-bullet-journal | Variants, binding tips |
| 13 | 5 Dutch Door Weekly Spread Ideas | Masha Plans for Archer and Olive, 26 Feb 2020 | https://www.archerandolive.com/blogs/news/5-dutch-door-weekly-spread-ideas | Daily-weekly, month tabs |
| 14 | 19 Bullet Journal Dutch Door Weekly Spread Inspirations | Masha Plans, 7 Oct 2024 | https://mashaplans.com/bullet-journal-dutch-door-weekly-spread-inspirations/ | Minimalist examples, pressure warning |
| 15 | Create More Space Using a Dutch Door | BuJoing (undated) | https://bujoing.com/the-dutch-door/ | Uses, "not for everyone" |
| 16 | A Dutch Door in Your Journal | BuJoing (undated) | https://bujoing.com/dutch-door/ | Shows @boho.berry as example creator |
| 17 | Consider It Done! Plan Making Can Eliminate the Cognitive Effects of Unfulfilled Goals | Masicampo & Baumeister, JPSP 2011 | https://users.wfu.edu/masicaej/MasicampoBaumeister2011JPSP.pdf | Author PDF |
| 18 | Can writing your 'to-do's' help you to doze? | ScienceDaily (Baylor University), 11 Jan 2018 | https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/01/180111224021.htm | Scullin et al. 2018 summary, limits |
| 19 | Bullet Journal for mental health self-care: the role of Information Design | da Silva, Souto & de Oliveira, InfoDesign 22(3), 2025 | https://infodesign.org.br/infodesign/article/view/1254 | Qualitative study |
| 20 | The Effects of Bedtime Writing | Keller Center, Baylor University, 2018 | https://kellercenter.hankamer.baylor.edu/news/story/2018/effects-bedtime-writing | Study summary |