In a previous post I wrote about organisation methods and how to become more organised, I mentioned that I use the bullet journal system to plan pretty much everything going on in my life, including university, work, extracurriculars, artistic and personal projects. My bullet journal is so important to me, and easily one of my most treasured possessions. In this post, I want to share my experience of using a bullet journal, as well as show you how the month of September is organised in my journal. Hopefully you will find this post insightful and easy to follow, especially if you’re thinking of starting a bullet journal yourself!
Note: this post contains affiliate marketing.
First of all, what is a bullet journal and how is it different from a normal journal or planner? It is a simple, fast, straight-to-the-point method of listing down tasks, events and logging your activity every day. The concept was coined and developed by Ryder Carroll, a digital product designer from New York City. Carroll himself describes the bullet journal as an ‘analog system designed to track the past, organise the present, and plan for the future’, and that’s as comprehensive of a definition as you can get. To keep a bullet journal, all you have to do is get your hands on a notebook and use it in your own freedom to organise your life. Tasks you cluster together in your to-do lists each start with a bullet, hence the name.
The bullet journaling method of organisation has taken off shortly after being created, due to an active, enthusiastic online community of people from all over the world, whose lives have been vastly improved by keeping a bullet journal. Many folks have gone as far as to develop Carroll’s initially simple method into rather complex, artistic set-ups: just search for ‘bullet journal’ on Pinterest to see what I’m talking about. In 2018, the bullet journal is widely used and an entire business has been developed around the concept. Ryder Carroll is on the brink of publishing a guide to bullet journaling, titled The Bullet Journal Method: Track Your Past, Order Your Present, Design Your Future, out October 23rd.
A walk down the memory lane: my past bullet journals.
(source: personal archive)
My first attempt to keep a bullet journal happened in the summer of 2016, roughly a month before my leave for university. I watched a video on the topic from a YouTuber I was a fan of at the time; the name ‘bullet journal’ didn’t stick with me, but the method looked very appealing. I’ve been switching from a type of planner to another for years, and it felt like the right time to try something simpler, quick to set up so to efficiently tackle the challenge that was my departure to uni. That didn’t work out as I would’ve wanted, though, and it wasn’t until the beginning of 2017 that I gave bullet journaling another chance, after having several friends and favourite YouTubers start bullet journals themselves. The bullet journal has been my go-to method of organisation since, and I'm currently on my fourth such notebook, which I started in June and I am halfway through.
I could write so much about how bullet journaling has improved my life and helped me become a more productive, methodical, self-disciplined student and worker but frankly, it would just be talk and no show. Instead, I’m more keen on explicitly sharing what my bullet journal contains and how its structure fits my daily life specifically. I will also introduce some bullet journal-related concepts throughout and use my own notebook as an example of how they can be done.
A quick, but important disclaimer before we start: I will mention several materials and items of stationery that I prefer to use for bullet journaling and chances are, if this is not the first blog post about bullet journaling that you’ve ever read, you might know that a certain trend exists among users of bullet journals who prefer certain notebooks and stationery, which can often get expensive. You don’t need a certain kind of notebook or a fancy pen to bullet journal! Anything will do, take this from a gal who used all kinds of notebooks and pens for her own bullet journal. I will share my favourite materials to use, though, purely because I love them so much and you might love them, too.
My current bullet journal.
(source: personal archive)
My current journal is a Leuchtturm 1917, model 342925 in Navy, size A5 and dotted format. It is the second Leuchtturm I’ve ever owned and my first one made me so happy that I had to repurchase: soft, elegant cover, high-quality, ink-proof paper, elastic enclosure band, a cover pocket and two page markers. Labelling and archiving stickers were also included, which made it infinitely easier for me to keep all my notebooks and past journals in order. Another reason why I’d highly recommend it is because it opens flat – it might sound like a silly, unimportant bit but it meant that I could use the entirety of the paper to my liking, and there was less of a chance for me to stain the notebook with ink. The size makes it easier to carry in my uni backpack or in my town bag, and the dotted format is discreet and it helps me write and outline my preferred planning structure without it being interrupted by printed lines.
Get your own Leuchtturm 1917 in whatever colour you want by clicking here.
Semester at a glance.
(source: personal archive)
Because I am in university, the primary purpose for which I use my bullet journal is to organise my academic year. Let it be assignments, important school reminders or just a map-out of my study sessions, everything fits just right in my notebook. Since I carry my bullet journal with me everywhere I go, I can pop it out anytime to make a note of something that’s just been announced in class or use it at the library to plan out how I’m going to spend the next few hours working on a certain assignment. The picture above shows my ‘semester at a glance’ spread, inspired by Reese Regan’s wonderful uni bullet journal organisation video which I will link in the resources list down below. The page is organised in a future log fashion – a future log is a structured view of the future, could it be the next months or the next year. I use my ‘semester at a glance’ spread to list down the most important dates, events and deadlines of my semester and make sure I remain aware of when they are happening.
For my study planning and study sessions organisation, I recreate the printables made by Emma Studies, a brilliant studying-focused Tumblr blog that you should definitely follow if you don’t already. She will be mentioned in the resources list, too.
Monthly log for September.
(source: personal archive)
As you can see next, I like keeping an analog track of the month’s events, too. My monthly log helps me focus on what is specifically happening that month and prepare in advance for these events. It goes into more specifics than my future log; for example, I make a habit out of putting down all the upcoming blog posts in the monthly log, to know which is coming before which, and these never make the future log. It’s also easier to use, especially if you run out of space in the future log.
Keeping track of things for the month.
(source: personal archive)
For each new month, I have a list of goals that I want to achieve by the end of it. I usually try and stick to a number of four goals, one for each big department that I keep track of in my bullet journal: university, work/projects, artistic endeavours and personal. I register my progress for each goal using my habits tracker and my weekly logs, which you’re going to see in a bit. After going through dozens of different designs for my habit tracker, I finally managed to keep it simple and stick to six habits that are important to me. And of course, because adulting means intense and consistent budgeting, I also like keeping a simple log of my expenses and how I generally spend my money, especially while at university. I first saw this spread at my friend Carris, @catnip0405 on Instagram! She also has a blog, Catnip’s Bookshelf, which you absolutely need to check out!
My weekly log.
(source: personal archive)
And this is how a weekly spread looks like in my bullet journal! I’ve adopted this structure only this month, mainly because coming back to university means that some things that I track change. Compared to the weekly spreads I kept throughout the summer, this one has a studying planner, a meal plan and a work tracker. My studying planner allows me to set some uni-related tasks that need to be done by the end of the week and check how I’m getting along with them throughout. My meal plan helps me organise and buy my groceries ahead, and my work tracker makes me more aware of how I use my time when I am not in classes, as well as how many shifts I take at work. In the core of my weekly log, I make brief to-do lists and set myself goals for the day. I also make sure to remind myself about the most important events of the week. Finally, whatever I haven’t organised yet, but I know that I should soon will just go into my brain dump.
I make monthly logs for other aspects of my life, as well, such as my mental health and the progress of my blog. I also really like keeping gratitude logs and making a variety of collections, for just anything I’m interested in: books, movies and albums, beauty, self-care, quotes, gym or other self-improvement bits. Collections are what you make them to be: make modules for whatever you want to keep a track of. Simple as that.
When I joined the bullet journal world, I was mesmerised by the creativity and visual appeal that people have dressed Ryder Carroll’s basic, bare-bones style in, and for long, I felt the pressure to be as artistic with my bullet journal as everybody else. As somebody who can’t drag a simple line without a ruler, I obviously struggled. It’s only with this recent notebook that I toned down with my overzealous artistic endeavours and decided to adopt a convenient rather than complex bullet journaling system. As you’ve already seen in the pictures above, I don’t bother with the specifics all that much. As long as it looks cute and neat, I really can’t be asked. My advice is: feel free to be as creative as you want, just make sure that it doesn’t become a pressure and it doesn’t interfere with the true original purpose of bullet journaling!
For my bujo-focused creative endeavours, I use a couple of pieces of stationery that I particularly love. With the Staedtler 334 Triplus Fineliner Superfine Point Pens, I love adding a bit of colour to my notebook and make a visual distinction between the types of tasks and collections that I am keeping. You can get your own pack of assorted colours by clicking here. I also love using the STABILO BOSS ORIGINAL Pastel Highlighters, which play a huge part in my studying, too – get your own pack by clicking here. And when I make mistakes in my bullet journal and can’t stand the simple sight of it, the Pentel Tip Hybrid Pastel Ink Gel Grip Pen in white comes in very handy. If you’re just as careless as yours truly, make sure you get one by clicking here.
I do take lots of inspiration for my bullet journal from social media: YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr, sometimes even Facebook. There are so many amazing, creative people out there who massively contributed to what the bullet journal is today – and apart from just having fun browsing through ideas, I sometimes find examples that would work perfectly in my journal! Hence why I’m so excited to share with you some of my own sources of inspiration and places you can go to for bullet journal-related ideas.
If you’re new to the universe of bullet journaling, this post might seem like a true mouthful. No need to worry, though! If you decide that you want to get a bullet journal yourself, bear in mind at all times that this is an analog and personalised system. There is no right way to go about it, so don’t worry too much! It’s also a journey, so expect to develop your style and find the spreads that you need in time. Also, you’re not alone! You’re part of a community of people who are just as interested in bullet journaling as you are, so make use of that. Last but not least, enjoy the ride! I sure did, and it changed my life.
What are your thoughts on bullet journaling? Have you tried it? If so, what did you think of it? Would you be interested to try it now if you haven’t? Let me know in the comments section below! I would absolutely love to carry the discussion on there!
X
INSPIRATION RESOURCES:
Bulletjournal.com – All about the bullet journal, straight from its creator
Boho Berry – a comprehensive YouTube channel about the bullet journal & other planning methods
Bullet Journal for College | Stay Organized This School Year! – a brilliant video from YouTuber Reese Regan
Emmastudies.com – blog offering studying and organisatiom inspiration & support materials
Bullet Journal Ideas – my Pinterest board dedicated to bullet journal inspiration. Also contains the inspiration between the spreads I use this month!
Photo sources: personal archive.