Bullet Journaling is a new way of planning that has spread around the world over the last few years. If you’ve never heard of it, a quick Google search will show you all kinds of colorful layouts. Bullet journaling also goes by the shortened name Bujo. But what exactly is bullet journaling?
Bullet Journaling is a mixture of a planner and a tracking system with an artistic flair. Bullet Journaling started with a book called The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll. Each bullet journal is similar to a planner but is completely customized by you.
Why Not Just Use a Planner?
Many people buy new planners every year with great intentions. Everything seems to be going great for a while and then suddenly you start missing days and days turn into weeks and pretty soon the planner is lying underneath a pile of clothes in the closet.
And then you revert back to trying to remember everything in your head. Or writing things down on a notepad here or a post-it there and then scrambling to remember which piece of paper you wrote it down on.
I’ve always loved pretty planners and every time I saw one at the store, I’d have to buy it. I’d have 3 or 4 for any given year because I’d see a new one and say “oh that one has stickers” or “that one has pockets” and I’d get it. But they all ended up discarded shortly after just getting started.
The truth is they just weren’t the “whole package”. I needed calendars and schedules but I also needed places for random thoughts, notes, and lists.
I also needed a way to keep myself accountable for the things I wanted to accomplish in life. Not just goals but habits. This meant both breaking bad ones and starting good ones.
Why a Bullet Journal is Different
Planners are great for keeping track of your calendar or your weekly tasks. But if you’re a list maker, there’s really not enough room to write down your lists in a planner.
And if you’re into making goals for yourself, there’s really nothing to help you keep track of your goals unless you write it down on your calendar.
But a bullet journal is customized exactly the way you want it and exactly the way you need it to be. Because you’re the one designing it.
If you want to keep track of what books you’ve read, you can make a list for it. If you want to track how often you exercise so that you keep that New Year’s resolution, you can track it in your bullet journal.
And if you tend to be more on the creative side, a bullet journal allows you to add as little or as much art as you want. Lots of planners come with stickers, and you can still use stickers with a bullet journal too, but there are so many more ways you can express yourself with washi tape, markers, colored pencils, or other types of embellishments.
Bullet Journals can help you feel more organized and less stressed. They help by taming the chaos in your head. They can help you break bad habits and achieve your goals.
But First…..Supplies
All you need to get started with your first bullet journal is a notebook, some pens, and possibly markers or colored pencils.
My favorite basic supplies include:
- Leuchtturm 1917 A4 Dotted Notebook
- Micron Pens 03
- Tombow Dual Brush Pen Markers
Starting With The Basics
If you follow The Bullet Journal Method, the first thing that you will need to add to your bullet journal is a key.
In this key, you’ll keep track of all the symbols you’ll use throughout your bullet journal. You can use different symbols for moving tasks, marking completed tasks, or marking an item as an event or a reminder.
After you complete your key, you’ll add your index. Your index will be like the table of contents for your bullet journal. You’ll write down the title of each page with the corresponding page number.
This index will help you locate the pages of your bullet journal faster. Since bullet journals can easily be over a hundred pages, this is really important.
Once you complete your index, you’ll create a future log. This log will break the year down to individual months. You can assign tasks or events to a certain month in the future. For instance, if you have a trip planned for June, you can go ahead and add that under that month.
Create Your Lists
After the future log, you can fill your bullet journal with any lists that you wish to create. These can be goal lists, collections, or schedules.
You can also create a blank page to use as a “brain dump.” A brain dump is exactly what it sounds like. You just write down the random stuff that happens to be on your mind that you don’t want to forget.
This can be something like that perfect paint color that you found to paint your bedroom walls or writing down the name of the new Netflix show that you just saw a commercial for. You can also use the brain dump to write down where you put something. If you are constantly putting things up and then forgetting where you put them, this is a perfect spot to help you remember.
Planner Style Pages
Finally, after you have your lists, you can create your planner style pages. These can include your monthly calendar and weekly spreads. You can add all your monthly birthdays and events on your calendar and continue adding as things come up throughout the month. In your weekly spreads, you’ll add all your daily tasks, meetings, and events.
Trackers
If you’re wanting to include any trackers, a good place to add them is right after each monthly calendar page. Trackers are pages that help you keep track of different things on a daily basis. You can use trackers to keep track of symptoms that you may be monitoring in order to tell your doctor.
You can also use trackers to keep track of the days you exercise. They can be used for goal setting also. For instance, if you want to read 20 books a year, you may want to read 20 pages a day and you can use a tracker to make sure that you stay on target.
Add Your Artistic Personality
After you’ve added the basics, your calendars, schedules, lists, and trackers, it’s time to start adding in your own creative touch. Want to add planner stickers to your calendar? Add them! Want to add washi tape to the edges of your pages? Do it! You can add simple doodles to your pages or do full artistic drawings. You can add as little or as much to your pages as you want. Some weeks, I get a little creative burst and go all in and other weeks I just don’t have the time and I keep it simple. That’s what makes this customized to you!
Don’t Give Up
If planners haven’t worked for you in the past, it’s time to give bullet journaling a try. Yes, there will be times when you forget to keep up with it. And yes, some weeks will be busier than others. But stick with it. If you forget about keeping up with it and weeks go by, don’t give up on it.
Just pick up where you left off. Over time, you’ll know what parts of it work for you and what parts of it don’t, and you’ll tweak it to what fits your personality.
And if you keep at it, I promise that you’ll feel more organized and focused that you were before you tried it!
Want to start getting organized with your first bullet journal? Join my FREE 7-Day Bullet Journal Challenge now!
