This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Albizu chapter.
We do a lot. We are young, driven, and highly productive. However, even the best of us get overwhelmed. Sometimes, the thought of EVERYTHING we have to get done haunts us. Sometimes, we just need a place to write what’s bothering us. Sometimes, we need to make lists. And sometimes, you need a little inspiration.
Imagine this: having a place on earth, BESIDES YOUR BRAIN, that holds all of your events, reminders, to dos, feelings, thoughts, and dreams. Yes, this place exists!!!! It’s called a bullet journal and it can radically improve your mental health making you happier and more productive, while also keeping you motivated and inspired.
Here are 5 ways in which your bullet journal can improve your mental health:
- Help you get and stay organized: You have schoolwork to get done, a job to get to, friends and family to see, dreams you are striving towards, and oh yeah, a ton of other things you need and want to do. Your bullet journal is the best way to get and stay organized! You can start by creating a future log and put all of the things you need to remember as the year progresses (birthdays, appointments, graduations, etc.). Then, create a monthly spread where you visually see the month ahead, set specific goals, and write things that will keep you inspired. Finally, create a weekly spread where you can easily jot down specific things you would like to do each day of your week (like homework and workouts). Don’t get too caught up in making it as Pinterest-y as possible. Be real. Be simple if you need to. And make bullet journaling a time to get in touch with your creative and gentle side. Keep it fun!
- Keep you inspired: You design your bullet journal to represent you. One of the best things about bullet journaling is that the notebook is blank and you fill it with collections (themed-lists) about things that make you happy. For example, you can have a gratitude log to write in three things you’re grateful for each day. Maybe you love to draw and you do a doodle a day. You can even have a quote bulletin where you collect quotes that inspire you. Let your imagination run wild, get creative, and watch the positive effects of working on things that light you up!
- Provide a space for healing: Your bullet journal is yours. Nobody else needs to see it. Thus, you get to fill blank pages with whatever you are dealing with that day, week, or month. The benefits of journaling have been well established: from lowering symptoms of anxiety and stress, to reducing scatter-brain and increasing focus. Journaling has been used by mental health professionals as a tool for healing – emotionally, physically, and mentally. Don’t know where to start? Put a 10min timer on your phone and start writing. No stopping, no grammar or spelling checks, just you and your words. It’ll transform you.
- Track your habits: Habit-tracking is one of the best tools for self-assessment and reflection. We often know we need to change certain things in order to feel better (like drink more water) but we don’t actually know how often we’re (or not) doing it. The habit tracker helps you visually see what habits you’re engaging in while also keeping you accountable.
- Improve your self-efficacy: Self-efficacy is the belief in our own competence or chances of doing something successfully. When we do something well, we get excited and our self-efficacy rises. People with high self-efficacy strive, achieve, and persist more than people with low self-efficacy. In your bullet journal, you have a record of everything you achieve on daily, weekly, and monthly basis. When you have a physical representation of all you have accomplished, you get proud, happy, and your self-efficacy rises. You realize that you do more than you think and you get to feel good (and proud!) about that.
Happy bullet journaling!