Using my Bullet Journal to track my weekly routine
I love my Bullet Journal. I’ve been using it since December 2021 and it’s helped me keep my life on track. I write everything down, so I plow through journals pretty quickly. (I fill them up and start a new one every couple of months. My current one is the thirteenth since I started.)
I write down my daily tasks every day in my journal and take notes during phone conversations. I also write notes about anything that happens that I don’t want to forget. It’s become an invaluable resource.
Another thing I do with it is write down my end-of-the week routine for my business. On Saturday or Sunday each week, I make sure that my Quickbooks is up-to-date, matches my YNAB budget and that all the accounts in my business and personal budgets are reconciled (i.e. my YNAB balances match the corresponding banks’ balances). Having this simple grid in my BuJo helps me make sure I don’t miss anything. And I get the satisfaction of checking off that I’ve done each task. Here’s a picture of my tracker. (Don’t be concerned about the number of credit cards; they’re all paid in full.)
In addition to my end-of-the-week budget/bookkeeping tasks, I have four other things I do on the weekend to keep me on track for the coming week. As you can see in the above photo, I write a weekly reflection, create my task list for the week, do payroll every other week and update my BuJo index. These are simple tasks that don’t take much time but reap dividends. And having them in front of me in my BuJo is so helpful!
I consider myself a minimalist when it comes to my Bullet Journal. You may have seen some beautiful BuJo spreads on YouTube. (AmandaRachLee is a great example.) I’m not artistic. But I do like my frequently used spreads to be nice to look at it. So I put in a tiny bit of effort on the spreads that go beyond my daily journaling. I figure if I like looking at it, I’m more likely to use it. My end-of-the-week routine page is a great example. It makes me happy.
Tagged with: bullet journal, routines, task management, time management
Comments
Terry, I keep my old journals on a shelf in my office, because I do refer to them occasionally.
As far as being consistent, I think making it as easy as possible is key. It doesn’t have to be fancy (or it can be if you want). Also, I use it to capture everything, pretty much in chronological order, so I’m referring to it all the time. That makes it easy to use consistently.
Good luck with it. I hope you love using the Bullet Journal as much as I do.
Janine Adams October 20, 2023 06:02 PM
About Janine
Hello! I’m Janine Adams — a certified professional organizer based in St. Louis, and the creator of Peace of Mind Organizing®.
I love order, harmony + beauty, but I believe that the way that you feel about yourself and your home is what truly matters.
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Janine, I’ve just begun trying to bullet journal. What do you do with your old notebooks when completed? Also, any tips to be consistent in using my journal?
Terry October 20, 2023 09:00 AM