The Bullet Journal: More than just a to-do list!
As our summer European trip comes to a close, we have 11 days to drive through 5 countries and on the way our calendar is filling up with everything we need to get done before our next trip. Our daughter is turning 3 soon, our dog needs to be spayed, every weekend is for social visits, and weekdays are going to be filled with doctor's appointments, dentist checkups, van repairs and business meetings! It’s all systems go and while we try to stay sane while walking into the chaos, I turn to my trusty Bullet Journal to find the calm in the storm.
The Bullet Journal® is a methodology. It's best described as a mindfulness practice disguised as a productivity system. It's designed to help you organize your what while you remain mindful of your why. - Ryder Carrol, the creator.
I’ve been Bullet journaling for nearly 7 years now and out of every system I’ve ever used, it’s the one I always go back to. My mornings are much more relaxing when I pull out my notebook to plan my day, than reaching for my phone where Facebook and an hour of my life are just one click away…
I began by thinking it was a cool to-do list, but its so much more. My ‘BuJo’ is my life planner, calendar, diary and anything else I want it to be... The ‘Bullet Journal’ part, is the flexible fundamentals on how to set it up.
But you start with a blank notebook and a pen.
Video Explanation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm15cmYU0IM
For a detailed description and a beautiful read into the psychology of where productivity meets mindfulness, I’d recommend ‘The Bullet Journal Method’ by Ryder Carrol.
3 things I love about this system:
1. It's infinitely customisable and unique to you
The system can be drawn out simply or artfully, in colour or black and white, messily or neatly and with clever variations the community have created to change or add to the fundamentals depending on what works best for you.
Images: helloart, @Plan.Yourself & @adagio.studies
2. Its ‘migration’ system encourages you to do less
The bullet journal system is based on you rewriting tasks each day; if that seems tedious, that’s the idea. If something isn’t really that important, and you don’t need to do it that day/week/month then the system encourages you to migrate it to the ‘future log’ to be completed another time or just let it go by crossing it out.
Image: Pageflutter
3. To embrace mistakes
With pen and paper, perfection is just not realistic. Spelling mistakes, crossed out words, smudges, unfilled-in pages or trackers. It teaches you to accept mistakes because life isn’t perfect, things don’t always go to plan and that’s okay.
Image: My own imperfect Bujo on a day where I just ate half a baguette for lunch, dinner plans changed twice and the time my daughter was meant to go to bed got obliterated by an unplanned car journey where she fell asleep. But we survived the day, and that's okay.
Anyone can start a Bullet Journal today with just 10 minutes, so if you like the sound of it, have a go!
I’m just about to move into my next notebook, so If you’d like to see how I organise my Bujo and the systems I use, join my socials.