Hi friends! Welcome back! To start, I almost feel pained giving this blog this title. To my consternation, there are still a lot of people that DO NOT know what a bullet journal actually is. Before I get into the meat of it, I just want to say that I have been immersed in this world - the world of journaling, bullet journaling, instagram, “before the pen” spreads for awhile now and in my mind, I feel like everyone already knows. The Instagram and Youtube world is so big and diverse that I feel like how can people NOT know what it is?

I feel like maybe this is the same concept as when you’re a kid, and you think that if you have your eyes covered and you can’t see anyone, they can’t see you either. LOL. Since I discovered bullet journaling almost 3 years ago now, that world has grown immensely, but it is still an unknown concept to some.

Maybe I should give you a background on how I discovered this “hidden gem” and I’ll try to explain where my headspace was. So I had just quit my corporate job at Sobeys in February 2018 and I was now a newly “stay-at-home” mom. I really enjoyed my summer “off” but I’m one of those people that gets bored super fast and I needed something to do. Fall rolled around and I started browsing Youtube, which until this time I had never looked at before. (Crazy, right?) I originally found Amanda RachLee. You may know her now as a Canadian Youtuber who has over 2 million subscribers, and she has made quite a successful business for herself. When I started watching her channel, she had about 60,000 subscribers and she had transitioned herself quite recently from a “lifestyle” channel to a “bullet journaling” channel.

I think I ended up watching all of her videos before I started thinking of putting pen to paper myself. At this time, I kept a journal (for my thoughts). I was going through a rough transition period and I was fighting with on-and-off again depression and I found that writing down my thoughts really helped me to cope without going on meds. My son was only 4 years old at the time, and it was super easy to look after him while I did this, since I was now home 24/7.

I started watching other Youtubers and at the time, really got into makeup and started my own Youtube Channel, and the rest is history. It did take me some time to really get brave enough to share my bullet journaling work online. I started February 2019, posting my February bullet journal setup on Instagram. I had a few really positive comments on that post which helped give me the courage to share my work more and more. Before I knew it, I was posting these videos to Youtube. Of course, starting out, the videos weren’t the best. But the important thing was that I started.

I think it was some years before, maybe in 2011 that I first heard of bullet journaling. At the time, I was attending the University of Alberta for my teaching degree and working a full time job. I was also recently separated from my then-boyfriend, and life was a bit challenging. Although the appeal was there, I wasn't ready. I was using some random planner I found at Staples and that was it.

The official “Bullet Journal Method” was created by a digital product designer named Ryder Carroll. If you are interested, I suggest you check out his book, “ The Bullet Journal Method: Track the Past, Order the Present, Design the Future”. It was one of the first things I did when I first heard about bullet journaling. It is actually more involved than you would think, and goes into quite vivid detail and provides a lot of real world experiences and examples.

I’m going to give you the simple low-down in this blog. When my husband, (who likes to be my marketing manager), hands out one of my business cards to random strangers, he always starts by asking them if they know what bullet journaling is. When they say no, he says it’s basically like creating your own agenda or planner. That, in a nutshell is it. But it is also so much more than that.

A bullet journal is a blank notebook. You can really use anything, but I prefer a book with dot-grid paper; you can create a fairly straight line using the “connect-the-dot method, vertically or horizontally. A bullet journal can be a simple calendar, or a list, and it can also be a tracker. You can use it as a sketchbook, or simply as a Daily To-Do List. I think the most important distinction between a bullet journal and a planner is that the bullet journal content is created on a need-only basis. For instance, with a planner, you already have all the days/weeks/months laid out for the entire year. A bullet journal has none of that. (Unless of course that is what you prefer, and you have the time to make your own planner).

We’re going to get into some examples here. I am going to create the most simple bullet journal spreads ever and show you how easy it can be. It can also be something very artistic. There are many spreads on Instagram, Pinterest and Youtube that are gorgeous and time-consuming. (I have some videos on my website, under “Videos from Youtube” that you can check out if you want some more artistic ideas.

At it’s most basic, Ryder Carroll described a few symbols you could use to create a type of short form notation, entitled Rapid Logging. This allows you to capture all the details of your life, and prioritize so you can become more efficient and organized.

Rapid Logging Symbols

These are the ones Ryder Carroll envisioned, but you can really use anything that works best for you.

The next step is to get everything in your head out on paper. Ryder Carroll refers to this as your mental inventory. This doesn’t have to be in your bullet journal, but it can. You can take a blank sheet of paper and write all the things that are on your mind under these three categories. This is meant to clear your head, and also to determine what is the most important and/or significant.

Next comes the index, which is really just a way for you to find your content. Some people like to use the index, especially if their content is not in order. Say you have a daily log on one page, and then you want to write a packing list or some type of tracker; this will allow you to find your pages and content easily and quickly.

Your content may skip pages and that’s ok…

Now you need to be able to write down dates, appointments or birthdays that are coming up in the future. That is what Ryder calls a Future Log. As you can see in the picture below, you simply need to write down the upcoming months and when appointments come up, simply write down the day and the description.

Now we tackle the monthly section. You can draw yourself a monthly calendar if you prefer, but Ryder describes a “list” style calendar as seen below to keep your calendar neat and very simple. It is also extremely fast to do, so for anyone short on time, this style is perfect! The page beside it can be used for your monthly tasks. If you prefer, instead of doing a monthly inventory, you could always list all the things you want to do in that month on this page and determine their importance from there.

After this comes the Daily Log section. This is where rapid logging comes into play and can be very helpful. You simply have to write down the date, and start logging your notes. This section is for ANYTHING that comes up in your day - thoughts, appointments, future events, you name it. You write it all down here throughout your day and then you can reflect on it later. We will talk about this in a moment.

Daily Log

Rapid Logging using the Symbols we established earlier.

Lastly, you can add different collections. Ryder describes this as basically anything else that helps you complete your life or helps organize what you need to get done. For instance, you can have a packing list, habit trackers, drawings, anything you can really think up. You simply open your notebook to a new page, add your title and start creating. Just remember to add it to your Index so you can find it later.

Once you have this established notebook, one of the most important parts is reflection. I think a lot of us forget about this part, or we think since everything is written down, it doesn't matter; we can always come back to it later. The problem arises when we don’t. The point of the bullet journal is for it to simplify your life and help you manage what’s most important to you. If you write things down, but don’t determine their importance or still forget about them, the system is no longer working for you.

To reflect, take 10 minutes at the end of your day and go through your rapid logged notes. Make sure to schedule any appointments that you wrote down, and move tasks not yet completed to the next day. If there is a task that ends up being not as important as you first thought, cross it out and forget it. Don’t let it take up room in your head.

So, in saying all this, the bullet journal videos and pictures that you see on Youtube, Instagram and Pinterest look nothing like the pictures above at all. And…that’s because the term “bullet journaling” is different for every single person. The main point is to make a system that is EXACTLY tailored to your needs, and the only one who knows exactly what you need is you. Even then, when people first get into it, they don’t really know where to start. I have changed my style so many times, and that is mostly because I get bored pretty easy. I love changing things and trying out new styles all the time because I don’t know how something will work for me unless I try it.

Looking at other bujo styles, collections, themes, etc. is good for inspiration. One problem that arises is that we tend to compare ourselves with others. Sometimes, this is even a deterrent. “I can’t do anything like that because I’m not that talented or artistic”, or “ Why should I even bother - it seems like so much work”. My first piece of advice is start where you are. Use the tools you have, and don’t bother buying all the extra’s like washi tape, brush pens, markers or stickers until you’re completely ready. All you need to start is a pen and notebook. Use the examples above, as in Ryder Carroll’s book and start small. Find out what works for you, and then when you’re ready to grow, add one thing at a time until you have it mastered.

I also have a Blog on “What Bullet Journal is right for you”. If you are interested in starting a bullet journal, please feel free to ask me any questions and be sure to check out the Blog I mentioned above. It truly is as easy as putting pen to paper.

Happy Bullet Journaling!

❤️ SAN

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