• HOME
  • Planning
    • Planner Newbie
      • New to planning? Start here
    • Planning Tips & Inspiration
    • 52 Planning Systems in 52 Weeks
      • My weekly spreads
    • Planner Reviews
      • Horizontal Weekly
      • Horizontal 1 Page Weekly + Notes
      • Vertical Weekly
      • Hourly Planners
      • Categories Weekly
      • Daily Planners
      • Discbound Planners
      • Teacher Planners
      • Planner Roundups
      • Happy Planner (MAMBI)
      • Budget Planners
      • Undated Daily Planners
      • Undated Weekly
    • Planner Index
    • Planner Comparisons
    • Bullet Journal
      • Bullet Journal Reviews
      • Bullet Journal Spreads
      • Bullet Journal Tips
    • Planner pens
    • Highlighters
    • Planner Stickers
    • Digital Planning
    • Household Binder
    • Stationery Shopping
    • Rachael’s Favorites
    • Blogging & Online Business
  • Graphic Design
    • Photoshop Tutorials
    • Affinity Publisher
    • Microsoft Word
    • Microsoft Excel
    • Canva
    • Silhouette Studio
    • PicMonkey
  • SHOP
    • Shop at Etsy
    • Online Store
    • Graphic Design Resources
    • ECOURSES
    • Ebooks
      • 54 Mistakes Etsy Sellers Make (And How to Fix Them)
      • 1200 Blog Post Ideas
        • 1200 Blog Post Ideas (Exclusive Download Content)
      • 200 Blog Post Title Prompts (For Any Type of Blog)
        • 200 Blog Post Title Prompts (Exclusive Download Content)
    • Feedback & Testimonials
    • Planner Supplies (my sister’s shop!)
    • Shop my favorite planner supplies on Amazon
  • Learn
    • ECOURSES
      • Free Graphic Design Video Tutorials Library
      • Printables in Affinity Publisher
      • How to Make Planner Stickers
      • How to Make Printables in Photoshop
      • Printables in Microsoft Word
      • Printables in Microsoft Excel
      • Digital planners and notebooks in Microsoft PowerPoint
      • How to Make Labels in Photoshop
      • Make Patterns in Photoshop
      • Party Printables
      • How to Write Product Descriptions
    • Ebooks
      • 54 Mistakes Etsy Sellers Make (And How to Fix Them)
      • 200 Blog Post Title Prompts (For Any Type of Blog)
      • 1200 Blog Post Ideas
  • FREE
    • FREE Printables
    • Free Printables Library – Subscribers Login
  • Travel
    • Travel Planning
    • Europe
    • Australia & New Zealand
  • About
    • Browse All Posts
    • FAQ
      • What is a Printable? What happens when I purchase a printable from you?
      • Printing Tips
      • Printable Planner Stickers
      • Downloading Files
      • How to Open Zipped File Folders
      • What does EDITABLE mean?
      • Monogram Etiquette

All About Planners

Printable planners to organize your home, business and life!

August 11, 2020

7 Ways to use dot markers in your planner or bullet journal

If you haven’t heard of dot markers… you need them!! I’ve been experimenting with them over the past couple of weeks and they’ve quickly become one of my favorite planner supplies. Instead of spending money on dot stickers or waiting for the Silhouette Machine to cut them, now I can just dot the page with these markers (much quicker). I do wish they came in more colors though.

What are dot markers?

I did a detailed comparison of the 2 dot marker brands I’ve found so far – the Tombow Play Color dot and the Zig Kuretake Clean Color Dot Markers in this post.

tombow dot marker versus zig dot marker comparison colors ghosting bleed through favorite planning supplies stationery color coding

How to use dot markers for planning and bullet journaling

1. Color coding

Some many color coding possibilities:

  • To do lists – different colors for each priority / importance
  • Each person
  • Category of your life – work, meal planning, home, fitness

I did a list of 50 category ideas in this post: 50 Category Ideas for Color Coding Your Planner

color coded to do list bullet journal page layout ideas simple spread quick easy tombow play color k rainbow

2. Adding some color to a list

Rainbow to do lists are my favorite and these dot markers make it quick and easy 🙂

rainbow to do list tombow play color k dot markers simple minimalist quick easy useful planner supplies stationery all about planners

3. Dividing up a Page

Adding borders for each section e.g. each box for each day, or just doing something other than a straight line

dot marker divider ideas simple quick easy minimalist zig kuretake versus tombow play color k favorite planner supplies you've probably never heard of

4. Monthly calendar

If you don’t want to buy date dot stickers, dot markers with the dates written in black pen (I used the Uniball Signo Gel 0.7mm for this spread) work well instead.

dot marker monthly calendar ideas tombow play color k rainbow color coded simple quick easy alternative to date dot stickers cheap affordable moden stationery bullet journal notebook

tombow play color k dot markers monthly calendar rainbow colorful spread

tombow play color dot markers instead of date dot stickers quick tips inspiration ideas favorite planning supplies

how to use dot markers in your planner rainbow simple color coding quick easy zig kuretake rainbow list style format monthly calendar

tombow play color dot markers instead of date dot stickers quick tips inspiration ideas favorite planning supplies list monthly calendar layout zig clean color dot tombow play color

5. Monthly Habit Tracker

zig kuretake dot marker habit tracker ideas for using simple quick easy minimalist bullet journal favorite stationery supplies color coding posy paper dot grid notebook

dot markers for habit tracking in your planner simple quick easy color coded posy paper dot grid notebook rainbow

6. Dates at a glance calendar

Instead of buying transparent dot stickers, you can use dot markers to flag important dates in the mini calendars for the entire year, and on the snapshot calendars on monthly spreads

dot markers for planning tips ideas quick simple decorating color coding planning use instead of transparent dot stickers

7. Weekly spreads

rainbow weekly spread ideas dot markers tombow play color k simple quick easy favorite planner supplies

8. Highlighting

These dot markets are about the same size as highlighters:

  • The Tombow are 4 – 5mm depending how much pressure you apply
  • The Zig are 3 – 5mm depending on how much pressure you apply

Since most highlighters come in the same shades of the same colors regardless of what brand you buy (i.e. pink tends to look the same no matter the brand), you can get different shades using these.

Related post: Highlighter swatches and thickness comparison (38 brands compared)

tombow play color k dot markers pen testing rainbow favorite color coding supplies ghosting bleed through plum paper

If you’re looking for dot markers my sister has the Tombow and Zig in her planner supplies shop, Carefully Crafted.

More ideas for your planner

  • 10 Bullet Journal Daily Scheduling Layout Ideas
  • 10 Things I don’t put in my planner (and why)
  • 50 Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Planner

Found this post helpful? Pin it!

hot to use dot markers for planning spread ideas tips inspiration handy planning tools tombow play color dot zig dot marker

how to use dot markers for bullet journaling or planning tips inspiration ideas weekly spread monthly to do list simple quick easy all about planners

You may also be interested in...

  • Dot Marker Comparison: Zig Kuretake Clean Color Dot versus the Tombow Play Color DotDot Marker Comparison: Zig Kuretake Clean Color Dot versus the Tombow Play Color Dot
  • 7 Planner supplies you probably haven’t tried7 Planner supplies you probably haven’t tried
  • 6 Useful ways to efficiently plan your week using highlighters6 Useful ways to efficiently plan your week using highlighters
  • Rainbow Weekly spread using dot markersRainbow Weekly spread using dot markers
  • 7 Bullet Journal Supplies I Don’t Use7 Bullet Journal Supplies I Don’t Use
  • How I use different types of pens when planningHow I use different types of pens when planning

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Posted In: Bullet Journal, Bullet Journal Spreads, Bullet Journal Tips, Planner pens · Tagged: best bullet journal supplies, best dot marker, bullet journal planning, bullet journal stationery, dot marker brands, dot marker bujo, dot marker bullet journal, dot marker comparison, dot marker ideas, dot marker inspiration, dot marker review, dot marker uses, dot marker weekly spread, dot markers for planners, dot markers for planning, dual tip pens, favorite dot markers, favorite planner supplies, favorite planning supplies, how to use dot markers, planner supplies, planning using dot markers, play color k marker, tombow dot marker, tombow dual tip pen, tombow play color k dot marker, tombow rainbow dot marker, tombow rainbow markers, tombow versus zig dot marker, tombow versus zig kuretake dot marker, ways to use dot markers, zig dot marker, zig kuretake dot marker review

Comments

  1. LisaKate says

    August 11, 2020 at 23:45

    Love the using dots to identify who’s appointment it is. As I don’t see well the colors are assigned for the each family member. One glance and I know who has things to do.

Welcome

Welcome to All About Planners! I’m Rachael, a 20-something Aussie addicted to graphic design and all things planning. On the blog you’ll find more than 1,000 posts about all things planning including planner reviews, tips, favorite supplies and some of my past weekly spreads.

Subscribe and join 60,000+ others on the quest to find planner peace!

Follow Me

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Search

Subscribe

free printables library sign up all about planners blog image graphic subscribe

Shop At Etsy

The photos and content on this site are the property of All About Planners. They are not allowed to be used without permission from All About Planners.

Categories

Recent Posts

  • Annual review and goal planning for the year ahead (60 Questions to ask yourself)
  • How to use fonts and the text tool in Affinity Publisher
  • Converting a monthly calendar into a weekly spread using the TUL planner
  • Clever Fox Dotted Notebook Comparison: Original versus 2.0 Journal – which is better?
  • 30 Sections to include in your weekly planner

Disclaimer

All About Planners is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Popular Posts

  • 100 things to put in your habit tracker of your planner or bullet journal (plus free printable habit tracker)
  • Annual review and goal planning for the year ahead (60 Questions to ask yourself)
  • How to add digital planner stickers into Goodnotes (2 ways)
  • 130+ functional ideas to use blank notes pages of your planner or an empty notebook
  • Setting up a new planner: 70 Tasks to add

Printables

  • Learn How to Make Printables
  • How to Make Planner Stickers
  • Resources & Tools I Recommend

Follow Me

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
Privacy

Copyright © 2022 All About Planners · Theme by 17th Avenue