I always loved planners and journals- basically anything that made me feel like I was organized. I mostly used planners for school to track assignments and due dates, but over time it evolved as more of a way to plan my life in all aspects, not just academically.
Like most college students, you have multiple calendars: academic, social, special events, family, etc. And even though these categories are fairly universal, each person’s needs are specific and there is no planner-fits-all (or at least not one I’ve found). I’ve had all kinds of planners from the most generic to the most customizable, and I still felt like I wasn’t able to make it work completely for me. I had heard of bullet journaling and some of my friends wanted to try it, so I figured I’d start too.
I started mine with a hard-cover Moleskine with gridded paper and some of my favorite pens (Micron 02 to be specific). I found the gridded paper helpful for straight lines and making my handwriting look neater. The great thing about a bullet journal is that you can use it in any way you want and for whatever you want. I decided mine was going to be a school/life planner and sketchbook hybrid. I’d keep track of all my assignments, social events, and art ideas all in one place. Typically bullet journals start out with a few index pages to help keep track of where you record things since there are no specified sections for anything- you create it yourself as you go.
As you add more things to your journal, you also record it in the index. This is most helpful when you start filling out more things in your journal and then you need to find a specific thing. Another thing I like to do in my bullet journal is keep running lists that I add to as I go along, such as books I would want to read or artists I need to look up. When planning academic and social things I keep a monthly and day-to-day log of everything. The monthly view tracks big things like events, due dates, and birthdays. The daily views track what needs to get done that day (particularly homework or errands). Sometimes I also add anything cool that happened that day, such as a quote I overheard, as kind of a memory tracker.
I always find that writing things down helps me figure out solutions to any problems I have. In my classes I have a lot of long-term projects that require a lot of creative and logistical planning. I have found that planning projects in my bullet journal has been a lot more effective than my previous and questionable sticky-note method. I can write and draw any ideas I have and since it’s in my bullet journal, I’ll always have it with me to work on and it is a constant reminder of when it’s due.
As I got more comfortable with my bullet journal I have also used it as a quick creative outlet to quickly sketch ideas, either for personal or project use. Always having a way to record my ideas as I get them is very convenient and I’m sure we’ve all had an idea that we said we’d remember later but then forget anyway.
Overall I’ve found a bullet journal very useful even though I haven’t had mine for very long. Bullet journaling is very popular and there are so many websites and blogs that you can turn to for inspiration when it comes to setup, hand lettering, and decoration. I feel that bullet journaling is something that everyone should at least attempt if they feel they need to become more organized.
all images c/o Veronica Germano