Hello friends,
This is where the few, the proud, the bullet journal mavens can geek out about layouts, printables, pen holders, and all our adventures in the land of organizational aspiration.
Some links:
The Bullet Journal in the MDK Shop.
The video that explains how the bullet journal system works in 4 minutes.
I’m very curious to see how other people use the system, so please: show us your BuJo!
I’ll post mine in January, but feel free to start whenever the mood strikes.
I have not tried this yet but will watch this thread for ideas. I remain intrigued.
I’ve been using BuJo for over 2 years. I began sticking strictly to the “rules” but found it clunky and easy to leave behind. Then I broke my ankle and was stuck to the couch for 6 weeks. I left off the index, future log, and collections in favor of a monthly calendar page at the beginning of each month, a few habit tracker graphs on the opposite page, and a list of books read. My daily log pages consist of a to-do list for the day followed by a wrap up, journal-type entry at the end of the day. Since I’m using journals that I had lying around I use washi tape to make a tab on the calendar page of each month so that I can find it to color in the habit trackers, I also washi tape in scraps of the fabric I’ve sewn clothing with, sometimes to tape in quotes, and I’ve even been known to draw on a day’s page, but not very often. I taped a pocket from the office store inside the back cover for keeping quotes, scraps, and interesting things and I sewed a cut apart hair band to the back cover to hold the whole thing closed. My daughter gave me a bamboo fountain pen with six different colors of ink last year for Christmas that I enjoy very much. It’s not the smoothest nib but it feels nice in my hand and I think of my girl when I use it.
There’s something about writing things down that just makes it stick with you. I’ve used electronic calendars, but now only for holidays and other repetitive things like keeping track of birthdays, anniversaries, choir practice, etc. I’ve pretty much gone analog all the way- even to the extent of keeping a backup analog calendar (required by my profession). I’ve tried the Bullet Journal on and off for the last three years, but have found there’s a lot of duplication between it and the calendars. I am giving this another go, because it appears to be a terrific way to close up the gaps, but would love to hear from others! Has anyone used it strictly for tasks, goals, etc. without having to rewrite one’s calendar?
Good morning! I started Bullet Journaling in October and I’m still making adjustments. The blog on the BuJo website is a great resource for getting ideas for problem-solving. The most wondermas thing about it being able to start over ANYTIME and-being a perfectly imperfect person (PPP)-this is right up my alley!
There are entries like, “dropped the bullet ball,” “daily logs not working,” “too much,” etc.
I really like this weekly layout. And your goals…
I have Christmas gifted myself (and my sister) with the Bullet Journal. I have tried many other systems over the years - we’ll see how this works. I am hopeful…
I’m in. I don’t know if I will keep it up but I like the idea.
Well, this is timely! I was going to PM you Kay, about your bullet journaling to get some deas. I’ve taken a stab a few times over the past few months, with nothing feeling natural, helpful or effective. So, I am in! Thank you for providing a forum to help us along this path!
I found bujo pins on pinterest that were beautiful, and seemed to have a purpose. That lead me to bulletjournal.com and Ryder’s much more simplistic formatting style. I tried both embellished and classic page layouts. I tried all the elements Ryder devised, and making my own. I had consistent seasons and large gaps. I sampled different pens and notebooks, rulers and washi tape.
I found the time tracker and task list works very well to organize my office days, and since my schedule varies there were no wasted pages like in a traditional planner.
As an anxiety/depression sufferer, I find the simple “Task List” and project pages help me to focus my energy, getting more done and allowing peace. The “big picture” pages are overwhelming or unfocused because I am currently unable to maintain consistency. So, the bujo method’s flexibility and simplicity allows me to improve my life one day at a time without the guilt of unfinished business.
We want to keep you intrigued, Stephanie!
I still have lots of random pages with words scrawled on them that when I look at them a week later, I can’t remember what I was thinking. Many pages are so chaotic that I’m embarrassed to even share them.
But on a day like today, I open up the book to the next page, write the date, and start making bullet points. Then things come into focus, which is really helpful.
Good ideas all. I am interested. I keep a day planner and have many separate little “to do” notebooks. I have always been a list maker but not so much a planner. Like the integration possibilities of the bullet journal.
My experience is much the same.
On a few occasions, I’ve been able to finally get something done that I’d been procrastinating about, by breaking it down into steps and relentlessly migrating it forward every month until I finally did it.
This was my cataract surgery. I could procrastinate something like that forever, in part because it involved doing tasks that were not clear-cut, like “research doctors.” But even the simple step of “make the appointment” can be delayed a long time. I just kept writing it down at the beginning of each month until I finally did it. I was so sick of writing EYES, lol.
Most of the time the feature I use the most is simply writing a list of bullets for the day. Plotting out long-range stuff is great when I’m in the mood for it, and I’d like to cultivate that habit more, but just the daily list and having a place to hold it all feels worthwhile.
I love your washi tape tabs!
I started using a Bullet Journal a couple of years ago and loved it. But my husband hated it because he never knew what the family schedules were. And so we switched to a shared Google calendar which I love and hate all at the same time. And every calendar entry had to be made twice - once in my bujo and once on the Google calendar. I like a physical calendar. But it isn’t practical at this point in our busy lives. So I dropped it.
BUT - I use a Bullet Journal (or something similar) for work and it has transformed my organization at work! Leuchtturm makes a journal that has a weekly spread on one page and a lined page on the other side. One for all 52 weeks of the year. I move my tasks forward each day/week just like the bujo system and it has been a game changer.
Love this discussion!
This is timely! I have recently become aware of bullet journaling and have been considering it. I have an ongoing to do list on my phone so it is with me (not likely to carry a book with me daily) but find myself going back to the old-fashioned, hand-written list on many days. I have some inherited journals that I think I will try this with first before investing in anything. I hadn’t thought to look on Pinterest but noticed a post here about that so I will look there.
Oh how I would love to try this. Absolutely no idea where I would start though.
Any information on what types or favourite pens to use would be helpful.
Once I decided to use it on an as-needed basis (that is, not MAKE myself use it every day), I started to love keeping a bullet journal. For me, the planning heart of it is a checklist. Otherwise I use it to plot, figure out, record, sketch . . . I have a set of watercolor brush markers that I use to gussy-up my sort-of calligraphy. I let other people draw in it if they want to. There are pages and pages of hangman in it from looooong car rides. My DIY MDK March Mayhem bracket is in there. And the index lets me find exactly what I want to keep track of along my way.
Hi @sellicki! I started a bullet journal in October and really love it. My favorite journal is the Leuchtturm 1917 that Ann recommends because the dots make it super easy to keep things lined up, and the paper is good quality so ink doesn’t bleed through. As for pens, my favorites are the Pitt Artist Pens, which are available at any good art supply store or online. I ordered most of mine from Blick.com (which has a huge selection of colors and tips) but also got some of them at a local art store. I use a black pen with an “S” tip for writing and pens with the “B” (brush) tip for adding color. You can start out with just a single black pen if you need to keep the budget down since they are about $3 each. Watch the packages for the tip size, though, because they come in a variety of sizes and each allows you to do something different. Part of what I love about these pens is that they are India Ink, which doesn’t bleed, so I can sketch something in black using my S tip pen, then layer color over it. Happy journaling!
