My Bullet Journal
Why do I use one and what does mine look like?
The chill in the early morning air and the ripening blackberries tell me that my favourite time of year, autumn, is approaching. Despite leaving school thirty years ago, and having only occasional contact with schools (I mostly home educated), I still have a ‘new year’ feeling in September. I want new shoes (well, new versions of the shoes I always wear), new pens and pencils, some new books (which I have - thank you Audhd Painter and others!), maybe a nice brown leather satchel (why, oh why, do I not already have one?!).
These are always months of planning and reflection for me, perhaps because my birthday is later in the autumn. There are so many ways of marking the year and the changing seasons. Some that are more naturally on my horizon include: the school year (starting in September); the calendar year (starting in January); the UK tax year (starting on 6th April); the Anglican liturgical year (starting with Advent in late November, early December); the modern pagan new year (starting at Samhain on 31st October). Of course, other cultures and traditions have their own ways of marking the passing of time.
As we are in a ‘back to school’ season, here is a post that is full of stationery and planning - two of my favourite things! I am going to tell you all about my Bullet Journal.
What is a Bullet Journal?
Ryder Carroll, diagnosed with ADD, was struggling at university in the 1990s and, finding that the organisational tools available to him in those pre-internet days were unhelpful, set out to devise his own methods that suited the way his brain worked. Over the next twenty years he used trial and error to create a flexible and easy-to-use tool for achieving his goals and keeping organised. He called this method a ‘Bullet Journal’. In 2013 he shared his Bullet Journal method online and it quickly took off, as people around the world recognised this tool as one they could adapt to their own requirements and preferences.
Reacquainting myself with the history of the Bullet Journal for this post, I came across this TEDx Talk by Carroll. It has been a good reminder of some of my own struggles, particularly with having too many thoughts and with trying to do too many things, and of what I am trying to accomplish with my Bullet Journal, namely externalising my thoughts, feelings and ideas (as suggested by David Allen in Getting Things Done). This way, rather than using it as a short-term dumping ground for all manner of clutter, I can use my brain for what it is best at: thinking.
How does a Bullet Journal work?
I am not planning to go into too many details here, as the Bullet Journal website explains the Official Method far better than I ever would. But the idea is that a Bullet Journal is flexible to a person’s own requirements. Maybe it contains your diary and calendar, or your ‘to do’ list (or, even better, your ‘done’ list, which I am now calling my ‘ta da’ list, thanks to Han from The Orkney Outpost). Maybe you track the books you are reading, or your daily step count, or your writing streak. Perhaps it is a daily list of all the nonsense that comes into your head (is that just me?).
The core parts of the Bullet Journal are Rapid Logging (using signifiers) and Collections.
Rapid Logging means each day you write the date in your Bullet Journal and then, throughout the day, any information, idea, date or deadline, anything at all that you want or need to remember, gets jotted down as briefly as possible, using symbols to show what type of information it is. At the end of the day, you go through this list and decide what to do with this information - dates added to the calendar, information you want to keep recorded somewhere you can retrieve it later, and so forth.
Collections are, well, collections of information, of all kinds. It includes diary-type information (a Future Log, a Monthly Log and a Daily Log, for example), the Index and also any other group of information you might want to keep.
Say, for example, you had a sudden idea for an article you wanted to write, perhaps inspired by a line in a book. You would jot down that idea (and brief details of the book, hopefully) on your Rapid Logging page, and, at the end of the day, if you decided to go ahead with the project of writing that article, you would create a new Collection page in your bullet journal, and write down the idea on that page. Then, whenever you had new ideas or found new resources for that project you would add them to that page.
How long have I been using a Bullet Journal?
Well, I had to do a bit of investigation to uncover the truth. I thought I had been using a Bullet Journal since both my boys were small, but, since Ryder Carroll didn’t share his method until 2013, that clearly can’t be true. I did, however, discover that I bought my first Moleskine notebook (which was the notebook I used for Bullet Journaling) in July 2014, so I have been using the method (on and off) for the last decade.
Over the years my Bullet Journaling methods have adapted, and I have moved away from using some of the key features, such as Rapid Logging. I now record all my random thoughts in a ‘short term memory document’ in Notes on my phone (I think this is a Cal Newport/David Allen hybrid idea). However, I might, as an experiment, return to more traditional Rapid Logging for a month, and see if that works better for me…
Why do I use a Bullet Journal?
There are several factors that contribute to a Bullet Journal working well for me:
I like that it is flexible and I can tailor it to my changing needs
I enjoy creating it. It takes time for me to make it, but this is something I do when I am physically and mentally exhausted. I find doing this soothing, like colouring, or knitting
I appreciate the potential for creativity within it. My Bullet Journal isn’t particularly ‘pretty’ or artistic, but I add lots of colour to mine. An Instagram search will show you a dazzling variety of beautiful Bullet Journals. Mine is more of a workaday object…
The most important aspect for me is the combination of organisation (or attempts at it, at least), journaling and note-taking. Although I use other notebooks for some note-taking, being able to capture a wide range of thoughts and feelings and ideas and information into one notebook has been the most valuable part of using this method for me
What does my Bullet Journal look like?
This is the most exciting part (in my mind) of looking at different people’s Bullet Journals.
Although I don’t follow the method as closely as I used to, there are still plenty of elements that other Bullet Journal users would recognise:
Index (I definitely always fill this in, honest!)
Future log: notes on what is coming up in the next six months or so
Goals: 2023-2024 goals, then quarterly goals
Yes, I have to set goals to have fun. I’m an almost 50 year old woman Monthly Log: my first page looks like an official Bullet Journal Monthly Log; after that I have pages with a list of my monthly chores, my weekly chores and then my monthly habit tracking
Weekly Log: not an official Bullet Journal thing, but something I have developed myself over the years and find useful
My Weekly Log Daily Log: mine probably looks a bit different to a lot of Bullet Journals. I use a two page spread, with room for time blocking (à la Cal Newport) on one page, with the other page used for random notes and thoughts (that is where I would do the Rapid Logging, if I decided to try it again)
I then have pages at the back that detail things like my daily routines (without which I cannot function as a human), my ‘Shutdown’ (end of the work day) procedure (another Cal Newport idea), groceries/laundry/rubbish schedules, project lists, and various other lists, developed over the last decade or so.
What materials do I use?
Leuchtturn1917 (A5, dotted, in the following colours: Stone Blue; Sage; Rising Sun; Fox Red)
A fountain pen with black ink
Faber-Castell Polychromos (bought individually from Winchester Framing: Scarlet red 118; Cadmium yellow 107; Leaf green 112; Phthalo blue 110 (I need to go and buy orange, purple and black!)
Conclusion
So, that is my Bullet Journal. Despite all this effort, I am still not a terribly organised person. But I am more effective when I am using this system than when I am not. As always, like a lot of people with ADHD, it is a lot of hard work with a variable outcome.
So, over to you, my readers. Anyone else use the Bullet Journal method? How do you keep on top of everything? Are you someone who can function by just keeping information in your head, or do you need things written done?
Was this interesting, or deadly dull? I personally love reading about things like this, so I am hoping at least some of my readers enjoyed it! Let me know if there is anything else you would like to know about my Bullet Journal, or any other pictures of it that you would like to see.
Welcome to all my new readers! It is wonderful to know that so many people are reading and enjoying my writing. To learn more about me, read the Wondering Steps archives, manage your subscription and more, click the button below.
If you have enjoyed this post, please hit the heart button at the top or bottom of the page to ‘like’ it. I love reading and responding to comments, so click the little speech bubbles at the top or bottom of the page or the button below to leave me comment!
If you would like to support me and my writing further, please subscribe, if you haven’t already. And please share this post and Wondering Steps with anyone who you think would enjoy it!
Here are the links to my ‘tip jar’ and Amazon wish list, for those who wish to support me in those ways. Thank you so much if you do!
Bye for now! Emma
This post has expanded my horizons and inspired me... I use a paper journal intermittently and I greatly enjoy and benefit from the practice of using it -- when I do. When I'm writing in my journal daily I usually reflect on the previous day's activities, goals, and plans. During those times I am much more intentional with my time and attention; more mindful of my actions in general.
I've gone through a stage recently where I didn't "feel" like using pencil and paper. That was bolstered by a lot of daily tasks in my schedule which keep my nervous system on high alert. In that state I have a hard time "stopping" to do anything creative or reflective. However, stopping is just what I need to do because my state of hyper-arousal is brought about by my un-mindful over-commitment of my time and attention.
Anyway, I'm reading this post just as I've identified another cycle of adjustments to how I use my time and I was just about to return to daily journaling anyway. However, one of the big reasons I stop my daily writing and reflection is the overwhelm I experience with how to organize such disparate projects, tasks, and ideas in a single notebook over the long term.
Long story, short: This bullet journal idea is fascinating and may get me on my way to a steadier practice. Seeing how you use it and how colorful yours makes the idea all the more alluring. I've worked my way through setting up a new one according to the short intro video on bullet journal.com. I even ordered a four color erasable pen to conveniently bring color to my practice. You've gotten me excited about trying my hand at a new way to manage my writing and reflection practice! Thanks.
And here I thought that was what yellow post-it notes were for. I have a zillion on my desk. Those and stacks of trusty old 3x5 cards. Feeling overwhelmed lately by all that I have to do, I went back to my journal, which I dedicate myself to on and off, usually when I'm off. Either way, the point is similar. Write it down, whatever "it" is in whatever form works for you. Writing my anxieties, my hopes, my tasks ~ it doesn't matter what ~ helps me. Thanks for the post!