University students perform a balancing act everyday – juggling essays, spending time with friends and part time jobs to name a few. Many use planners to keep on top of their daily responsibilities, but recently I’ve discovered bullet journalling and found it a much better way to plan my time.
Bullet journaling was designed by Ryder Carroll, a product designer who wanted a simple way to organise his life. It combines many different tools we use to organise our life (to do lists, monthly logs, yearly goals) and puts them into one notebook for easy access.
To get started, all you need is a basic notebook (dotted is preferred but not necessary) and some pens. The beauty of the method is that you can organise it however you want. Mine includes a yearly log on the first page detailing what’s happening this year (although the pandemic meant many events have been crossed out), and then a monthly log setting out my goals for the month and key events. The most crucial page is the weekly log, similar to the pages of a planner where I outline what’s on my to do list each day. If I’ve got a busy week I’ll use up two pages, but if nothing much is going on I’ll only use one.
Unlike a daily planner where you are constrained by the premade pages, with bullet journaling you can add in whatever spreads you want. For instance – mine includes a page of TV shows and movies I’d like to watch, things I want to bake and things to do during the Christmas period. A quick Google search gives you many different ideas- from sleep trackers to packing lists. I also love how you can choose a theme each month and decorate your pages accordingly – mine was lemons this month! Many bullet journalers share their beautiful themes on Instagram or YouTube, so you’re never short of inspiration. For those who aren’t the best at drawing (like me!), these pages can feel intimidating, but I often use collages, stencils and even stickers.
As someone who sometimes struggles with using my time efficiently, I’ve found bullet journaling super useful to help me plan not only my day, but my week. If you struggle with time management as well, bullet journaling would be a perfect tool for you.