Don’t you wish there was an all-encompassing way to keep track of everything in your life? Well, lucky for you, there is a way — it’s called bullet journaling! Bullet journaling helps you document the past and plan for the future in a customized way; it’s everything from creating to-do lists to tracking habits to storing your favourite polaroid photos. If you search up “bullet journal” on Instagram or YouTube, you’ll find tons of inspiration to start your own bullet journal. Read on to learn more about how to get started.
Don’t be intimidated by the artistic content you see online.
The main purpose of a bullet journal is to keep you organized, but some people use it as a form of artistic expression. Unless you enjoy creating art, don’t feel the need to make your bullet journal artistic in any way. Keep in mind that the content you see online is created by people that are displaying their bullet journal for the whole world to see, so they likely spend extra time on aesthetics.
Tailor your bullet journal to your needs.
Before starting a bullet journal, think about why you need one. The beauty of bullet journaling is that no two bullet journals will ever look the same, so you can really make it your own. Make a list of everything you want to keep track of using your bullet journal, such as:
- Weekly to-do lists
- Habit trackers
- Book TBR list
- Special memories
- Yearly goals
Don’t be afraid to experiment with your bullet journal, even if you try something you may not like. If you don’t like something, you can simply flip the page and start over.
Don’t buy too many supplies at once.
There are lots of cute supplies out there that may tempt you to spend all your money as an excuse to stay organized, but don’t fall into this trap! All you need to start bullet journaling is a pen and a notebook; everything else is secondary. If you’d like to invest in more supplies, feel free to do so, but don’t ever feel that you need 100 pens and 200 stickers to start bullet journaling. The original bullet journal was actually created using only a black pen and a dotted journal, but people have since then adapted it to their needs.
As someone who has been bullet journaling for years, I encourage everyone to try it at least once. Bullet journaling has provided me with a fun and relaxing way to stay organized, and it can do the same for you.