I get anxious easily. But thankfully, I am decently good at managing it on my own. I’m pretty organized. I know what makes me calm, it is just a matter of doing it. It is a matter of paying attention to myself. Thus, my New Year’s resolution was to do just that—listen to me.
I needed a tool to help me keep tabs on this resolution. I was determined. I was done ignoring myself and just going through the motions of life. That’s when I decided I needed to Bullet Journal. A dear friend of mine has been bullet journal-ing since August, she loves the visual aid and concept for her own stresses. I was inspired.
What is Bullet Journal-ing?
Bullet Journal-ing, also known as Bujo-ing on the internet, is a combination between keeping a planner, a diary, and a journal all at once. The beauty of it is that you can make of it what you want it to be. For me, I keep track of my mood each day, write down tasks I have to do, a highlight of the day, and acknowledge daily gratitudes.
I am a creative person who rarely creates, this was a way for me to doodle or art and feel productive while doing it.
I am a visual learner. I love the satisfaction of checking off boxes for tasks I did.
I paint in mine. I tape notes I get into it. I write favorite quotes down. I scribble.
I love it. It is not always pretty, as is life. I love that the more hectic and upsetting a week, the more cross-outs and “do later” arrows there are. It is a visual representation of how my life is going. I am not trying to be overly dramatic nor cliche, but without this new resolution, I would be lost. I would have continued going through life without really paying attention to what I wanted. Bullet Journal-ing has helped me pay attention to what I need, how I am doing, and where I want to go. It won’t let me ignore nor forget what I need because it’s all written down there in front of me.