I’ve never been an incredibly organized person – just ask my mom, who would argue that organization and my name shouldn’t even be said in the same sentence. In high school I was constantly forgetting assignments and losing track of when tests and projects were. So when I got to college, I decided I needed to come up with an organization system and fast. And that’s when I discovered bullet journaling.
According to the official Bullet Journal website, bullet journaling is “best described as a mindfulness practice disguised as a productivity system. It’s designed to help you organize your what while you remain aware of your why.” But if you ask a bullet journaler, they’d tell you bullet journaling is like the cross-section between a planner, a diary and a journal. It’s where you keep track of your daily assignments and tasks, but you can also track your habits, your shopping lists, your reading lists, your trips to the gym. You can doodle in it and make it incredibly detailed or you can keep it minimalistic and simple. It’s so much more than just a planner, or a diary or a journal. It’s the place to keep track of your life in every aspect.
I started bullet journaling in January of 2018 and, not to be dramatic, but it kind of changed my life. It’s kept me organized and helped me develop consistent habits when it comes to my health, and my artistic skills have even improved. There are plenty of reasons for you to pick up a journal and start bullet journaling – but here’s just a few.
1. Bullet Journaling helps you develop healthy habits It may sound ridiculous to think that writing down when you brushed your teeth or washed your face could actually help make those habits more consistent, but in my experience, it has. I added a habit tracker to the calendar pages of my bullet journal and I use it to keep track of how often I’m doing things like taking my meds, meeting my step goal or drinking enough water, and I’ve found that having a visual to show me when I am or I’m not meeting my goals keeps me motivated to meet them every day.
2. It keeps you organized This is mostly what people use their bullet journals for – to keep track of assignments, projects and tasks. Like a planner, you can develop weekly and monthly spreads to have an idea of what’s going on each week and to help you remember when each assignment is due. You can dedicate spaces to what’s coming up in the future days or weeks so that you never lose track of when things are happening. Yes, a simple $8 planner from Walmart can help you track when assignments are due and whatnot, but bullet journaling – at least for me – just seems to make it fun.
3. It can help you develop your artistic skills I suck at art. This is a given to literally anyone who has seen me try to draw anything at all. But since I’ve started bullet journaling, my skills have improved like crazy. No, I’m no Da Vinci but I can draw a mean pumpkin now. I also feel more confident in my artistic abilities and bullet journaling has created an outlet for me to express myself.
Bullet journaling can be kind of intimidating at first, as there are so many ways to go about creating one. But at the end of the day, its all about what is best for you – what helps you get your life organized and healthy. Everyone does organization a little differently, but there’s no reason not to give bullet journaling a shot for yourself.