I have been looking for the best way for me to stay organized, keep on top of everything and make my every-day life easier from organization perspective for a long time. Recently, while listening to a work-related conference session, I came across the idea of bullet journaling, and starting to look more into it. What I found is that this may be the answer to my search.
What Is a Bullet Journal?
A bullet journal is a hand-written (or analog vs. electronic) system or method that keeps track of everything you need to stay organized in one spot – the journal. So instead of having 5 separate to-do-lists, goal sheets, habit trackers, etc., everything is kept in this one notebook. You can include anything you find useful and make it whatever you want and need it to be to serve your needs.
The original Bullet Journal system was a system created by a designer Ryder Carroll. He said it is meant “to help you track the past, organize the present, and plan for the future.”
What Do You Need to Start a Bullet Journal?
Bullet Journaling ranges from minimalist to very involved, creating outlets. Again, think about what you need and what would make the most sense for your. Once you decide on that, you can figure out what kind of journal you want. You can get a little notebook that you already have laying around at home, or a fancy bullet journal sold on Amazon or other sites or in stores – and anything in between. The original bullet journals are dotted (which helps draw straight lines and measure out spaces when what you’re doing calls for that) but a ruled notebook or even a blank one can work just as well.
Things to think about before choose your journal are what is the purpose of it in your life, and what do you want it to hold. If you are super busy and the last thing you want to do is stress about making the journal pretty and fun, forego that (choose another creative outlet) and just have it be very basic and straight forward. It should work for you, not give you more stress. All you need in that case would be the journal/notebook of your choice, 2-3 pens, a ruler and that’s about it.
If, on the other hand, you want it to be a very creative fun thing that you do, then you can certainly make it that. For that, you may want to have different color pens and pencils, markers, watercolors, stencils, stickers, washi tape, etc. You get the point. The sky is the limit here.
Something else to think about – are you going to be carrying your bullet journal with you everywhere or only use it when you’re in the house or at work or another location. I decided to go for a tiny moleskin notebook I had laying around for a while because I knew I wanted to carry it around with me everywhere and didn’t want it to add the weight to my already crazy heavy work bag. Going forward, I may get a journal that’s a little bigger, which allows me to make my spreads nicer, but will still keep the size and weight of it in mind. I’ve seen some large beautiful journals out there, however, that allow for much more expression and creativity than my tiny notebook allowed for, and they can work great if that’s what you’re looking to do. I have even seen bullet journals done in binders with separate sections – a great idea if you think you’ll be adding more and more stuff and want the convenience of easily removing and adding spreads and lists you want to see.
What Do You Put Into a Bullet Journal?
Again, that is entirely up to you, but generally speaking the minimum should be:
Index -an index of what you have on which page, so it’s easy to find anything
Long term and short term goals
Next steps you need to take to move those goals forward
Monthly calendar/spread – to give you a view of your month (major events, deadlines, etc.)
Weekly spread – To Do’s, tasks, events, etc. for the week
Daily spread – To Do’s, tasks, etc. for the day
However, the beauty of a bullet journal is that it can, and should contain, other things that you need to put down on paper or remember. Some of these include:
Brain dumps – pick a problem, issue or a goal and write down anything and everything that comes to mind in regards to it. It will allow you to connect things, come up with ideas that you may not have thought of before and more
Lists or Collections – this can include everything from books you want to read, movies you want to see, songs you like, supplements you’re taking or want to try, exercises you want to do, etc. etc.
Habit Trackers – you can weekly or monthly spreads to keep track of habits that you want to develop (or get ride of)
I Prefer Technology, Is There Anything I Can Use?
I tried using technology for my needs – reminders, calendars, etc, but I definitely prefer to write on paper. However, many people are very successful using their phones and tablets to organize themselves. I have found one bullet journal app for iphone that has a lot of components of an analog one: Elisi.
There’s also an app called: Bullet Journal Companion (I haven’t tried it yet).
If you try any of these apps, I would love to hear how they are working out for you.
Helpful Links
Some of great bullet journals you can get on Amazon:
Other supplies for your bullet journaling:
You can get many great ideas for bullet journal spreads and set ups just by doing a Google search or searching via Pinterest!
If you’re already bullet journaling, I’d love to see your spreads. If not, are you thinking of giving it a chance? What are your creative ideas for it?
