How to Turn Your Bullet Journal into a Productivity Tool That Works For You
Hi friends! Welcome to this week’s blog! We are going to discuss how you can make your bullet journal into a super productive planner system that does what you need it to do. Keep reading to find out more!
Bullet journaling has been around for a few years now, but you may or may not have heard of it. I have a blog detailing the basics, similar to it’s origin from Ryder Carroll. You can view it here: https://dog-quillfish-g77y.squarespace.com/config/pages/607728503b740a0ec8c74a3a. I would recommend that you read Ryder Carrolls book as well, https://amzn.to/3ysm1fM, the Bullet Journal Method.
The idea of it is actually quite simple. However, the world of social media has incubated it to a whole new level. People have turned their bullet journals into works of art (which is amazing! I use it myself for that purpose). The issue is when the comparison game starts to happen. Despite that I use my own bullet journal for artistic expression, I did create a video where I bullet journaled like Ryder Carroll for an entire month. You can see that video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61Q3lR7B0xA. The point is, everyone uses their bullet journal for different things, and also, they look different because we are all different - we have different personalities and have gone through unique experiences. Your bullet journal should be an expression of who you are, and not copied from someone else. (That’s not to say that you can’t do spreads that you see on the internet, but it will still look different from the original).
1. Figure out exactly what you need from your journal
Before you start a new notebook, or buying any new products if this is your first bullet journal, sit down and have a brainstorm session with yourself. Ask yourself what you want to use this bullet journal for. Some ideas are:
journaling
habit tracker
mood tracker
content creation / ideas
schedule (future, monthly, weekly, daily) , family’s schedule
task list (business/personal/school) / grocery list
art journal / doodles
gratitude, affirmations, manifestation, daily successes
goal setting
travel log / itinerary organizer
notes (school, personal, business)
other trackers (weight, period, water, reading, traveling)
bucket list
music journal / song lyrics / poetry
family album/scrapbooking/junk journal
dream log
routines (am, pm, afternoon, planning routine, school, skin care, etc…)
You may want a journal that encompasses some or all of these things. Some advice if you are just starting out is to take baby steps. However much you might want to, DON’T buy all the things, make all the spreads or put too much pressure on yourself if your spreads don’t turn out like so-and-so’s. Just give yourself some grace and start out slow.
2. Establish “life categories”
These are parts of your life that you may want to track or plan for. Examples include:
Family (kids, school schedules, work schedules, routines)
Home (cleaning, projects, maintenance, organization)
Finance (expenses, savings, debt pay off, budget)
School (homework, class schedule, assignments, readings)
Work (schedule, content, business meeting notes, to do lists, emails) / Entrepreneurship
Personal (events, appointments, birthday, routines)
Health (Meals/food intake, grocery list, mental, physical, emotional, reflection)
Reading (To read, books read, ratings, notes about what you read)
Goals (Yearly, Quarterly, Monthly, Weekly & Daily Task breakdown)
2. Check your bullet journal twice a day - once in the morning and then again at night
This prevents you from spending too much valuable time “planning” and more time “doing” and actually being productive. This is called procrastination, and it’s something I did in every year of university, when I should have been completing my physics assignments.
I always plan out my day the night before with a cup of tea. I give myself about 15 minutes as part of my evening routine, and I write out anything I need to do for the next day. When you check the next morning, take a few minutes to look over your scheduled tasks. If you remembered something overnight, now is the time to add it. Then repeat the process. In total (not including weekly or monthly planning), I spend no more than 20 minutes every day in my bullet journal.
3. Unless art is a part of your life, keep your spreads simple.
I always hear that people either don’t start or give up their bullet journal because it’s too much work, they don’t have enough time or there is too much pressure from social media to have Instagram-worthy spreads. THERE IS NO SUCH THING!! Those are simply excuses my friends. There are no rule books saying you have to do anything anyone else does. Simple is easier to maintain. The less spreads you have, the less time it takes to maintain them and simple spreads literally take scant minutes. There is a plethora of inspiration on social media ( I really like Pinterest for this) and remember - DON’T COMPARE YOUR WORK TO OTHERS! Your work is a masterpiece because it belongs to you and it’s original.
4. You may want to have different books or planners to separate different things.
Say for instance you were to track and plan for all the things above - your bullet journal will fill up quite quickly. You may want to split your work up amongst different bullet journals, or even add a planner to the mix. I have changed my own system throughout the years to reflect what I need at the time. Currently, I have a bullet journal and two Frankenplanned Happy Planners, along with an Erin Condren Life Planner and a Cultivate What Matters Goal Planner. For 2022, I will have my Franklin Covey Planner and my bullet journal.
I find it easy to have a planner for work (I am an entrepreneur, and there is a lot of different areas I need to plan for), and my bullet journal for more personal things. However, I sometimes need to refer to my work schedule if I want to book a personal appointment for instance. It would be easier to have everything on one calendar in that respect.
5. When you complete a bullet journal, or year, reflect on your previous journal.
This is KEY! During this step, you are going to determine which spreads worked and which ones didn’t. Also, throughout the year you may have found spreads you want to incorporate into your new journal. People are scared of change because it means new and different, but you need to analyze what is not working anymore and those spreads have to go. Also, try not to feel guilty about unused spreads. If you didn’t use them, let them go and try something new. Simply switching the layout of a spread could be enough of a difference to spark your interest.
I hope you found this article enjoyable and helpful! Let me know what you think in the comments below! Until next week!
🍥 SAN 🍥
