Peace of Mind Organizing

Curious about using a bullet journal?

15 October 2022

I’ve been using a Bullet Journal since late December 2021. I played around with it for the last couple of weeks of 2021 and then started officially on January 1, 2022. On February 15, I published a pretty robust blog post about how I bullet journal. Six months later, I thought it was time for an update.

But before I talk about how my bullet journal practice has evolved, I wanted to share a few pieces of advice for those of you who are curious about doing it yourself. It’s really easy to get tied up in perfectionism when starting out with a BuJo. (Episode 188 of the podcast I co-host, Getting to Good Enough, was all about that.) So here are some things to keep in mind:

• There’s no right way to do a bullet journal.
• The beauty of the bullet journal is that it’s entirely customizable.
• Your bullet journal doesn’t have to be beautiful (though it’s okay if it is).
• Don’t let the ultra-artistic bullet journalers on YouTube (there are many) intimidate you.
• You can start your bullet journal one way and change how you do it

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, I encourage you to check www.bulletjournal.com, the website of the originator of the concept, Ryder Carroll. It can give you a great grounding in the concept. Then go make it your own.

Here’s my update on my bullet journaling:

I still love it. I use my bullet journal virtually every day. In the 10.5 months I’ve been using it as my task and project management system, there have been probably three days that I didn’t open it and write in it. That amazes me. It’s definitely my compass for the day.

I didn’t know on January 1, 2022 how much I would need this system. 2022 turned into a year of advocating for my elderly father and aunt with many, many phone calls to people in Washington state. With my bullet journal, I’ve been able to write everything down so I don’t have to rely on my increasingly unreliable memory. It has provided a huge sense of ease and relief, which has been invaluable during this difficult year. It’s also helped me stay on track with my business and my life while living with these external pressures.

The core of my bullet journal is my daily log. At the start of each day, I write a header, usually followed by a gratitude list, and then I start in on tasks and appointments for the day. It is within this daily log that I write all my notes as thing come about. I use an index at the beginning of the journal to note on which page I took those notes so I can find them later. (This is critical.)

Here’s a photo of today’s daily log, taken at the beginning of the day before I actually had much to take notes about. This can give you an idea of how simple my system is:

As I said above, the beautiful thing about the bullet journal system is that you can make it your own. Here are some ways that I’ve customized my journal:

• I don’t use a monthly spread. I keep my calendar electronically, so I don’t see a need for one.
• I do create a monthly highlights and habit tracker page at the beginning of each month (there’s a picture of it in my February post). It’s one of my favorite features of my bullet journal.
• I don’t do a weekly spread, though I do try to create a weekly task list that I refer to throughout the week as I’m creating my daily task list in my daily log.
• I try to write a weekly reflection, and also reflections after big events (like my father’s passing). I also use my bullet journal to record the thoughts I have during my monthly floats in a flotation tank.
• I always draw a table with my rates in my journal (by session length and team size) so when I’m doing an estimate I don’t have do any math.
• I keep a log of each day’s Wordle solution, how many guesses it took me and what my start word was. I know, I’m a weirdo.
• I allow myself to be creative and make my bullet journal pretty, without creating pressure on myself to do so. I only do it when I have time and consider it enjoyable. I try hard not to let a desire to make it pretty get in the way of my actually creating a spread in my bullet journal.

Here’s a picture of my FutureLog, in which I draw a year’s worth of small monthly calendars at the beginning of the journal. I have it span four pages so each page has three months on it. I write upcoming events (and sometimes past events) there. This is about as fancy as I get. In this case, you’ll notice that I messed up the days on the calendar and had to apply a patch with the correct days. No big deal.

I’ve developed some notebook preferences. I’m just about to finish my fifth notebook of 2022. I’ve had the chance to try out a few different types, and have to come to realize that I prefer a dot grid journal, and a stiff enough cover that I can write on my lap. (I did try a journal with black pages, but that lasted only one week and 29 pages because of the front-of-the-book spreads, so I don’t even count it.) My favorite is the Quo Vadis Habana Notebook. I’ve gone through three of them. I like the size and the slightly lighter paper thickness, which makes the notebook easier to carry around. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find any for sale online right now. I do have one Habana waiting in the wings, but I think for my next journal I’m going to try the Leuchtturm1917 B5 dotted notebook I bought when I was in Walla Walla last month.

If you’re curious about using a bullet journal, I encourage you to let go of perfectionism and just give it a shot. Don’t spend a whole lot more time seeing how other people do it. Just get in touch with what’s important to you about using a paper journal, embrace good enough, and go for it. You can always refine it as you go!

Tagged with: bullet journal, ryder carrolll, task management, time management

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