Bullet journaling, bujo, the Alastair method, spreads, Ryder Carroll, and trackers. For those that aren’t in the creative journaling community, these words have no meaning, but for the bullet journalists, this is gospel.
Bullet journaling is a method of planning, goal setting, and an outlet for creativity that has grown in popularity across social media. With massively successful Youtubers like AmandaRachLee, the growing demand for creative journaling content across all platforms, and the number of influencers breaking into the stationery shop business, you may be wondering:
What the heck is bullet journaling?
OR
Is bullet journaling for me?
- What is Bullet Journaling?
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Bullet journaling is a system of note-taking and planning! In our age of social media, lots of journalers have turned this into expressions of their visual art talent in doodling, scrapbooking, or painting mediums.
Despite all the fancy styles you will see on Instagram, really all you need for bullet journaling is a pen and a notebook.
The most simple starting place is to make a big to-do list of what you want to accomplish in a day or a week.
From there, you can either make up your own system of symbols to show that a task is started, completed, or moved to another day, or you can use the Ryder Carroll or Alastair Johnston methods.
How Do I Know if Bullet Journaling is for Me?
Personally, as a college student, this system helps keep me sane, but I know for many the system is overwhelming. That’s okay! This is only one of thousands of planning systems, and if it doesn’t work for you, don’t force yourself to do it!
- You need a sense of organization, but pre-made planners don’t cut it
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This is probably the best sign that you need to at least try a new planning system! In high school, I often had pre-made planners provided by the school, or that I purchased at the grocery store, but I never felt motivated to keep it updated. At the same time, I had SO MUCH that I needed to do and keep track of, and I always felt like I was completing tasks last minute.
With bullet journaling, your planning style is exceptionally flexible. If you like to plan day by day, week by week, or even project by project, the system allows you to do any and all of that.
Also, some weeks you don’t have much to do! With traditional planners, there’s pressure to fill out all the days, even if you’re not doing anything. With bullet journaling, there’s no space that you have to fill unless you want to.
- You like planning or journaling or goal setting, but keeping them separate feels weird
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Adding onto #1, sometimes a traditional planner just won’t cut it in terms of what you need. Maybe you want a space to set your goals for the semester, make a wish list of presents to yourself, or just write a paragraph about what you did during the day.
Before bullet journaling, I wasn’t very good at setting my goals and action steps. By writing them down and seeing them every day, I feel that I’m always one step closer to achieving them!
- If you like adding flourishes or decorations to your class notes
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If you’re one of those people who has to put a fancy header on your class notes, or can’t stand only writing in one color, bullet journaling is the perfect way to incorporate that into your planning.
Obviously, you do not need to have any type of decor on your planning, but if you’re a fan of stationery (like me) this is just another excuse to use it!
Although I don’t have the best handwriting or artistic sense (yet), bullet journaling has helped me improve drastically, and made visual art fun, rather than stressful.
Final Thoughts
My biggest piece of advice to you, if you don’t like it then don’t force it. Bullet journaling or any planning system should not add stress to your life. If just writing a to-do list on sticky notes, or keeping them in an app on your phone works for you, then keep doing it!
If you’re interested in more bullet journaling content, check out my bujo Instagram @girlwithtoomanypens. I’m by no means a professional, but having this as a creative outlet and a way to stay sane as a college student has changed the game!