Why do a bullet journal?īullet journals are a wonderful tool for anyone who feels like their days are filled to the brim with thoughts, tasks, appointments, and ideas - especially if you often find yourself forgetting or losing certain notes or thoughts. If super short notes aren’t working for your diary collection, for example, you can design your pages to make space for longer pieces of writing. That said, the great part about bullet journaling is you can (and should) customize the entire experience to your needs. This is because the philosophy behind bullet journaling is all about putting your thoughts on the page so you can remember them later - not fleshing out your ideas for long periods of time. Your bullet journal entries will often be short, simple, and perhaps more reductive than you’re used to. (More on that later.) A bullet journal can be any size and you can still use the methodology without a dot grid notebook, but it helps get you in the headspace for bullet journaling.īullet journals are also different because they aren’t meant to be filled to the brim. They also commonly feature dot grids rather than lines, which make it easier to customize your collections to your personal needs. They can be used as a calendar, diary, task list, grocery list, mood tracker, habit tracker, and more - in fact, they’re designed to be used for many purposes at once. How is it different from other journals?īullet journals are not like other journals because they aren’t meant to serve one purpose. Carroll has kept the methodology open even for people who haven’t bought an official Bullet Journal, which he calls BuJo, but his book can help journalers push further into the mindfulness and intentional living promoted by bullet journaling.

His method has become one of the most popular organizational tools of the last decade, with a strong community of bullet journalers there to give each other tips and support. The original bullet journal method was created and popularized by Ryder Carroll, a digital product designer who used bullet journal methodology to cope with his learning disability. Rather than a host of notebooks, sticky notes, and calendars that scatter your mind more than organize it, a bullet journal can help you feel more in control of your days, weeks, and months, all the while calming your busy mind. The process is meant to lead you to a more mindful existence, where the thoughts that interrupt you throughout the day can be held, examined, and denoted without derailing your afternoon or being lost in the ether of forgotten ideas. In fact, that’s counter to the simplicity of bullet journaling. With bullet journaling, there’s no need to separate your notes into different books and notebooks. It’s a streamlined system where your collections - essentially “chapters” of your journal - can vary from your work life to your personal thoughts and aspirations to your kids’ soccer schedules to a gratitude journal.

As you start bullet journaling, you’ll learn the methodology of symbols and systems that make it an effective, pleasing, mindful way to store your thoughts, ideas, goals, and to-do lists.Ī bullet journal notebook can encompass every type of notebook, calendar, diary, and journal you own. You don’t need to buy anything special to start bullet journaling, but a notebook with dot grid paper makes things a little easier. Based on mindfulness practices, this system of notetaking and calendar organization is designed to quiet the constant stream of thoughts in your mind and help you bring your ideas into the real world.Ī bullet journal notebook can really be any notebook. The bullet journal method is a rapid logging system that can increase your productivity and help you organize your busy mind. What is a bullet journal and what is the bullet journal method? But there’s an alternative that can help you organize your thoughts across work, life, social, and more, all in one convenient place: a bullet journal. It’s an inefficient way to work and leads to frustration and wasted time. It isn’t until the end of the day when you lift up your keyboard and find your sticky note that you remember to respond to the important email.ĭoes this sound familiar to you? Entrepreneurs, creatives, and busy people often find themselves in this situation, where the thoughts in their heads are scattered about the physical world in front of them. You finish your task, get a few other things done, and now you’re left with a nagging feeling that you have something to do…but you can’t remember what it is. You’re in the middle of something, so you write yourself a quick sticky note so you don’t forget to respond. You’re sitting at your desk and you receive an important email.

Work journal as bullet journal