I am in a few planner groups, and bullet journaling seems to be becoming more and more popular throughout the planning and creative communities. At first I kind of ignored it- it seems like a lot of work, everyone has excessively decorated pages, stickers, washi tape, spread across multiple notebooks. I cannot commit to that level of journaling, as much as I enjoy seeing the creative spreads that everyone posts! However, my curiosity finally got the better of me and I googled Bullet Journal. It turns out that it is a whole system of journaling and notation! And the images on the official website don’t look labour intensive whatsoever. It is supposed to be good for people who have a million to-do lists and have multiple planners, which is me! So, I’m giving it a shot. I can’t promise that I won’t abandon it if it doesn’t work, or that I’m going to obsessively journal, but it might be beneficial for me.
Firstly, I spend probably an hour reading through the Bullet Journal site. I got a handle of what they typically include and had to figure out what I would include, starting with a legend/key. Some people have complicated and fairly intense legends with upwards of 50 little icons to indicate different things- I have fourteen icons thus far, and I should think that I would need too too many more. I want this to be a quick and easy system that helps me, not takes time out of my day! Straightforward and to-the-point it is.
After my legend, we have the Index! My index is currently empty, but I have dedicated six pages to it to make sure that it has enough room. Then the calendars (a half page for each month, two page spread =four months), monthly logs, and then daily! I should think the daily will be where I spend most of my time, as I make 5-7 little to-do lists per day that are scattered throughout my purse, desk, and pockets. (Yes, you could make the argument that there are apps that do that, but I just don’t seem to use them. Technology is fantastic but isn’t always the best fit for me.) I have currently not put a lot of detailing into my daily pages- a sub-par scroll at the top which will hopefully improve in time, a date in the spade provided, and a weather icon if I feel so inclined.
I have two overall hopes with this bullet journal: 1) to keep all of my to-do in one place, and 2) to possibly have a space to use the handwritten scripts I hope to learn! While the amount of time and work that some people put into their journals and planners results in a staggeringly beautiful piece of art, I don’t have the energy, nor the time, to dedicate to mine. It’s going to be all function! A lot of people will use this system to actually journal and write down general thoughts and feelings, but that’s not for me. I like having a small creative outlet that doesn’t have a huge time or material requirement.
I’m guessing that my stumbling blocks will be forwarding and migrating tasks- I am hoping that I will be dedicated enough to actually re-write things where they need to be re-written instead of just hoping that I remember. I’m curious to see what things I actually put into my daily log- sometimes I can get weirdly specific in my written schedules. To the point of “shower at X time, do two loads of laundry, update Goodreads, flat iron hair when dry”, etc. Will I put in that much effort with the icons? My other curiosity is whether or not I will eventually decide to get more creative with it. If I can actually learn a few scripts to the point where I can write freely, will I maybe put some of that extra time into other little illustrations? Maybe, maybe not. Only time will tell…. *cue ominous music*.
Have you tried a bullet journal? If yes, what are your tips and tricks? If you don’t, what organisational system do you use?
Until tomorrow,
The Historian!
Hello and Welcome!
I’m the Historian, and I am here to celebrate all things history, style, culture!
What to expect:
Sunday- Culture, including books, ballet/arts, and travel
Monday- History including book recommendations, documentaries, and interesting histories!
Wednesday- History Bite (a short bite of interesting history)
Friday- Style File Friday, including fashion history, favourite pieces, and resources.
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I don’t think I am nearly organized enough for bullet journaling though it sounds interesting. It would just be one more thing to do in my already too busy life! I admire you!
Thank you! I found that with a million different sticky note lists I just wasn’t getting anything done on time or in any sort of organised manner 🙁
This is what I’m finding now that I’m back home. I really like that I have my phone and agenda for daily stuff but for to-do lists it doesn’t work for lists of things to do. I just read your Kate Spade planner post- thinking that might work better since it has room for notes but on the other hand, I don’t carry my agenda with me.
I also started a bullet journal recently- they’re so effective!
http://www.rosieleizrowice.com
This sounds really helpful since I am constantly making lists of what to do- and then of course with essays etc don’t always look/ properly prioritize the correct thing. I’m just wondering if you can use any old notebook for this (and thus how do the months get divided up then?) or is a pre-organized agenda better? Any ideas how this way versus a more traditional student agenda would be helpful with a master’s program? I’m used to student agenda so long as they have spaces to write everything in a well-organized manner.
I am using a regular notebook- you make your own future log, calendars, etc! However, I think if you wanted to use a traditional planner with the bullet system inside, I think it would work well! I used a traditional planner in my MA, and it worked well. I found that there are far less deadlines and things to organise in your MA; I had to do readings every day, so I couldn’t really “forget” those, and there are less papers. I personally find traditional student planners limiting in space, though! I would mush them together 🙂
I’ve been bullet journalling since January 2015, and I think it’s fab that it has become a trend! However, I would say that you really don’t have to make it look super pretty all the time. My first and second ones were a complete mix of art, scribbles, to-do lists, reminders… absolutely anything that I needed. I kept the system of boxes for to-do lists and the calendar/month goals as demonstrated in the Bullet Journal ‘How To’ video, as well as a contents page, but apart from that, my bullet journals work for me, not the other way round!
So all I would say is to just adapt the system to suit you, and fill your notebook with whatever you need.
Enjoy!
https://thisstuffisgolden.com
Okay, I feel MUCH better now!! I was worried that it would be “wrong” if I went with all function. I should probably just not look on Pinterest. Thank you for the tips!! I’m going to rewatch that video!
No worries! It’s cool that people want to make theirs pretty but it’s not the only way to bullet journal 🙂 I did a little flip-through of mine on my instagram if you want to see how mine turned out!
https://instagram.com/thisstuffisgolden
🙂
I just decided that I’m going to start doing this as well, so I’m really excited that we can talk about it!! 🙂 I think it’s really great, since I’m a person with a million little to-do lists as well! I’m hoping it’ll help keep my organised and I can’t wait to see how it works for you! 🙂
Let me know if you find it helps!! So far, it is helping me 🙁
I have only recently heard of bullet journaling, so I am pleased to have come across your post explaining it! I love to try to stay organized, and I’ve always got at least two diaries/journals keeping track of my tasks in life, but I am intrigued by the bullet journal idea. Looking forward to seeing how it goes for you!
Thanks!! I will keep everyone updated to see my progress and what’s working/what’s not!
A bullet journal seems quite practical. I usually stick to writing things down in my agenda/diary, but for some reason I only write down half of the things in it, or I don’t look in the diary for a month. So this might be good for me too!
I’ve been using a bullet journal since January! I love the system though mine has slowly evolved to a weekly planner with a to do list for the week, so that I don’t have to worry about moving or re writing things I don’t get done in the day I thought I’d do it. I love how flexible and simple the system is 🙂
Okay, that is a big concern, that I won’t migrate things and get lazy. I am keeping it to bigger tasks but it would be nicer to also have smaller tasks. Do you ever find you run out of space?
Not really because I just basically put a heading of – the week of __ to ___ and then have a running list underneath. Some weeks I have things that have to happen on a specific day but I add those to my calendar that I have in the front. It sometimes goes for a page sometimes more sometimes less and I go from there. I’m not really worried about keeping things on the right pages or having multiple lists or anything. I’m thinking of doing a post on my blog on how I use my bullet journal later on. But I’m thinking mine might last 2 years because I’m not even half way through the notebook at the moment even with a full 12 month calendar and the whole year of to do lists (though I do divide the page in half long ways because I don’t like lots of blank space and I just go up and down the columns) so it’s working pretty well for me 🙂