Bullet Journaling is a method that has become all the rage in the last few years. It’s lauded as the best way to keep yourself organized and on-track. It’s described as “the analog method for the digital age that will help you track the past, order the present, and design your future”. The “invention” of this method is attributed to Ryder Carroll, who is the voice of the narration in the first video guide/tutorial on what a Bullet Journal is and different things that can be included in one. It can include your Year-at-a-glance, monthly calendar, weekly spreads, daily spreads, to-do lists, mood trackers, habit trackers, memories, or any other addition you feel is a good fit for your BuJo.
I have my own BuJo and I’ve found some benefits to having it. A BuJo gives you a sense of organization through structuring yourself with very few if any, formats. I do follow the basics of the method to some extent, but I made it my own. That’s the real charm of bullet journaling: you can completely tailor it to your own needs. You can play with the formatting and configure it to what best fits your style. This has been all the rage in social media, with inspiration appearing in places like Pinterest and Instagram, and people giving what is called “Bullet Journal tours” on YouTube. It implies so many creative possibilities when organizing, be that the use of pictures, artwork, lettering, pasting images, using drawn divisions, painting, drawing, coloring, etc., it really allows one the freedom to be creative. There is a wide range of beautiful Bullet Journals that people show ranging from the simplest sleek minimal aesthetic to the artsiest maximalist ones.
Bullet journaling can help a lot with being more organized and it can also be therapeutic for some. I find it very helpful since I sometimes use the mood tracker or the habit tracker method, I can keep track of how I am feeling. Since doing basically everything by hand, I can experiment with different ways of formatting it. I’ve managed to make a planner that works for me and that isn’t a hassle to work on because I made it fun, like an art project. Being able to explore and organize your daily life with this, as a space for reflection, for time management, for storing memories; it makes it enjoyable to write things down, so you don’t forget them. A good place to start is browsing around to find some inspiration and the basics and to just branch out from there.
Related: How to Start Your Bullet Journal
This is something that you do by hand, that doesn’t limit you if you want to have fun with it and that you can use for your routine in your way. It can be a space to reflect, a space to make your own and can sever you from technology for a while. Having a digital calendar as an extra tool is good and it can work for you but if you feel the need to disconnect or cut down on the time you spend on your phone, computer or any other electronic device, this is another good way to do it.