I first heard about Bullet Journaling when reading these articles on Well&Good, but I couldn't find a clear description of what exactly it was and more importantly how to do it. I knew it was supposed to be like the Marie Kondo method of organizing your to-do list, but there seemed to be a lack of info that gave a good explanation on how to start one . So after attending a lecture at CAP Beauty on how to #bujo, I am here to give you a step by step explanation of how to start one.
But first, what is a bullet journal? It's pretty confusing because it can be whatever you want it to be. Weekly calendar, to do list, brain dump, daily journal, gratitude journal, etc. A bullet journal is an all encompassing method of keeping track of "things." Pretty vague huh? I use it for my to do list and keep my actual calendar in a different planner. Simply put, I think the best explanation is that it is a method that takes everything floating around your head or on the notes section of your phone -- shopping lists, future to-do lists, daily to-do lists, birthdays -- and provides different formats for getting this info out of your head and onto paper.
There are three items about bullet journaling that I have found that I really like versus my previous method of writing down to-do lists:
1. Though I am not particularly creative or artistic, I like that it gives you a method to acknowledge tasks that you have started, but are not necessarily completed. For example, you want to make an appointment at the dentist. You call and leave the dentist a message to call you back. This task isn't completed yet. It's in progress, and you did what you need to do, so you mark that. For some reason, that step never occurred to me before I started bullet journaling. Items were either outstanding or completed.
2. As I mentioned, I'm trying to detach from my phone a little and bullet journaling helps with that. Although, I still have to put a grocery list on my phone because I'm not bringing this book around on my Whole Foods/Trader Joes/Stop&Shop trips.
3. As one of the WellandGood.com articles stated, something about coloring in a box makes completing a task so much more satisfying! I've started writing down the little items in my day, like taking my supplements, so now I not only am holding myself accountable, but I'm checking it off the list!
Now, onto HOW to #bujo:
1. Create an index . Leave a couple pages at the beginning of your notebook which will serve as your index. This is your table of contents. Make sure you number all your subsequent pages and then add them to the index. You could also buy tabs to mark the pages you reference a lot.
2. Create a key.
3. Make sure to number all your pages and add them to the Index. Here you can be as creative as you choose to be. (I'm looking at you Savannah.) I made a future log next. Which I have to say, I have not filled up or used much.
4. You can write out more master lists - New Year's Resolutions, books to read, movies to watch, goals, etc. In my opinion, this is a nice way to detach from the Notes app on your phone.
The main format I am using is a weekly and daily to-do list. I used the format from the video explanation on www.bulletjournal.com.
There are so many different cool formats. Here is just a quick sample.
GOAL TRACKING
MORNING ROUTINE
Monthly Log
Daily Log
Once you get into bullet journaling, Pinterest is a great resource, surprise surprise. Buzzfeed also has a ton of info on Bullet Journaling. I found this article particularly helpful.
