I need a calendar. Like, NEED. I need dates and times and lists and I need them all written down so I can find them. For most of my life, I had some type of planner or bound calendar that I carried around with me. Then I heard about BuJo, or bullet journaling, and it sounded like something I could get on board with! I like collecting notebooks and pens and I can be as detailed or general as I’d like. So why not try it?
What is a bullet journal?
Bullet journaling, or BuJo is a system of rapid logging to keep track of your life that emphasizes simplicity and ease of use. You can keep track of daily details or just log important meetings and events your have scheduled. It’s a really easy way to manage your life if you get overwhelmed. Conversely, it’s a really fun way organize your tasks if you need a creative outlet. I typically just use a black pen and keep track of my weekly events. But I have seen some beautiful journals that use many colors and washi tape, along with stickers and lots of doodles! So get ready to have fun!
Are you someone who could benefit from the BuJo?
- People who have a million little to-do lists floating around
- People who like pen and paper to-do lists
- People who are into goal-setting and habit tracking
- People who like stationery, journaling, scrapbooking, beautiful pens, etc.
- People who really love planners
- People who want to really love planners, or who want to be more organized
- People who would really like to keep a journal/diary but are having trouble sticking with the habit
Bullet journaling is simple enough but can be as detailed or tedious as you’d like it to be. All you need to start is an empty notebook and your favorite pen or pencil. The basic idea is that you use a page or two to create a week worth of space to keep track of tasks, appointments, events, notes, or other ideas and inspiration.
Here’s what a typical week looks like in my bullet journal.
Some people choose to start their journal with a table of contents or index so they can easily number their pages as they go and keep track of where everything is. Or you can dive right in! How about I give you a short list of pages that you may find useful in your own BuJo?
- Index – An index is a page of items that are in your journal. You can number your pages as you go and log them in the index.
- Future Log – A future log is a dumping ground for future dates that you need to remember, but haven’t gotten to in the timeline yet.
- Year at a Glance – Pretty straight forward.
- Birthday Log – This can be fun. I made a graph to log all my friends and families birthdays so I can easily see who has a b-day coming up.
- Key – A lot of people make up little symbols to put next to each event or appointment or task due so they can easily differentiate between items. This page allows you to see what each symbol means. In case you forget. Which I do all the time.
- Info Dump – An info dump page is the location where you log important information that you want to remember but doesn’t necessarily go with a certain date or time.
- Month at a Glance – Another straight forward page. Mine is another cute graph!
- Weekly Planner – This is the most important part! I use two pages for each week and leave space under each date for tasks and appointments and other ideas.
Using a bullet journal is awesome for moms. Because we have to-do lists and grocery lists and each kid has different appointments and sports practice and music recitals. It’s exhausting! Each kid can be assigned a different color and you can jot down practice times, homework assignments, and doctors visits. I also keep little to-do lists in the corner of each week – because some things just need to be done and it doesn’t matter on what day. I used to keep my grocery list in there too but then I was carrying this large notebook to the grocery store and that was not okay.
One thing I don’t love about bullet journaling is that you don’t have a year’s worth of months, weeks, and days to write down future events. The “Future Log” helps with that problem but it still annoys me from time to time. I wish I was gutsy enough to just write out a month at a time! But I am not. Ha ha!
So what do you think?
Would you consider starting a bullet journal? If you have one, tell me about it! Share your own tips and tricks!
