I have a long and weird history with analog organizational products. Starting around age seven, I developed a mild folder fetish, spurred along by gloriously shiny document holders with The Muppets on them. Then there was that year I asked for a Trapper Keeper for Christmas. My mother simply blamed it on my Virgoness and indulged me. Throughout my working life, I’ve kept and discarded too many systems to count. Just hearing the name Franklin Covey still makes my upper lip sweat in anticipation.
A few years ago, I designed a planner myself. It never really took off, but going through that process led me down the rabbit hole of the latest in planner tech, culminating in my purchase of not one, but three Passion Planners. I was sucked in by the idea of planning my life and the gorgeously embossed covers cinched the deal.
After using them for a while, I started to notice that while I had every moment scheduled and all passions planned, I still felt a little chaotic. Something was missing. I was still writing notes and making sketches in other books or on printer paper. There wasn’t room in the little pre-designed boxes for my random shower thoughts and weird doodle ideas. I felt a little hemmed in by all those little boxes. I needed a new system.
Then I found out about Bullett Journaling. Jenni was doing it and sent me to the website. I admit that at first I wasn’t sure if it would work for me. I was still in Planner Denial. I decided to try it for a while and see what happened.
Wait. What is a Bullet Journal?
If you don’t already know, a Bullet Journal is a totally individualized system of tracking thoughts, notes, drawings, and yes, your schedule if you want.
A human named Ryder Carroll created the system.
Diagnosed with learning disabilities early in life, he was forced to figure out alternate ways to be focused and productive. Through years of trial and error, he developed a methodology that went far beyond simple organization. – BuJo website
A Bullet Journal (BuJo if you’re nasty), is more than just another glorified to-do list or boring scheduling planner. Yes, it can be that, but what I love about it is how individualized it can be. If you want to catalogue your DVD library or create a meal plan, you can do it here. There’s no end of ways you can use your Bullet Journal. You can track workout progress, keep a list of places you want to visit before you die, or just use pages for a brain dump (my favorite). I love the analog aspect of taking pen to paper, taking time to get all the things out of my head and stored somewhere I can easily find them. Sure, I can do this on my iPhone a lot faster, but it doesn’t have the same effect on my mental state.
Plus, it’s called a journal because it is one. What I also love about Bullet Journaling is the ability to look back and see what I’ve been doing over the past months or years, and see if I’m growing or still stuck in the same place.
Ryder sells a premade BuJo on his website, but you can pick up any dotted notebook at your favorite stationary store. I got mine at Michaels for under $10. I also picked up some colored pens because I’m a geek about writing instruments.
How do you use it?
There are tons of videos about how people do their BuJo. Seriously, there are endless ideas about cataloguing, listing and brain dumping. On the website, there’s a quick tutorial about getting set up and after that, it’s totally up to you to make it fit your life and your brain.
How Bullet Journaling saved my brain
I feel like I’ve finally found my system. I start every day (before email) by sitting down quietly with my Bullet Journal and planning my day. I’ll create tasks, but I also look back at my year and month to make sure that the things I might do that day are taking me in the right direction.
Throughout the day, I’ll come back to my journal, take some of the buzzing bees in my head and stick them where they belong, on paper. Getting that stuff out of my head frees me up to think other thoughts or just focus on what I’m supposed to be doing. It’s magical.
Do you use a Bullet Journal? If you do, please comment below! I would love to hear about how you use it and what it’s done for you.
Joseph says:
I use a bullet journal much in the same way you do.
When open it in the morning until I close it at night most of my day is spent “Rapid Logging” notes, tasks, to-dos.
Almost anything that I do during the day gets migrated into my BuJo.
A task via Email, Basecamp, in person conversation, Slack wherever. My Journal is my single collection point for everything I need to do. If its important it always ends up in the journal… Even if I end up placing it there after I’ve finished the task.
D.J. says:
That’s awesome, Joseph. I really love the analog feel to the whole thing. I do so much work in the computer that pen and paper is kind of a nice holiday for me. Have you made any collections?
Joseph says:
Yes, and always as spreads. If I need a third page I create another spread and if its not continuous I use the threading technique. https://bulletjournal.com/blogs/bulletjournalist/threading
My most recent collection were notes I made in preparation for submitting a talk to WordCamp Santa Clarita. It served as a way to clear my head and organize my thoughts. I frequently do the same thing with longer blog posts. hexidecimal colors I love to use.
Last year I even had one for pesky vendors who kept calling the office where I noted their behavior. 😛