Why Do I Bullet Journal?

Bullet Journaling is an organisational system created by Ryder Carroll.

You can find full details of the system and more information/ inspiration at the official Bullet Journal website – www.bulletjournal.com.

In this post I’ll give an overview of why I love Bullet Journaling, how I use the system and how I make specific pages work for me.

 

The begining of my journaling journey…

I have been Bullet Journaling since the end of December 2017 after one day accidentally stumbling across it on Instagram. Immediately I knew it was something I wanted to try and after scrolling through a number of beautiful Instagram accounts showcasing this incredible planning technique I soon found myself at the official Bullet Journal website discovering the details of how to use the system.

All you need to Bullet Journal (or bujo for short) is literally a notebook and a pen. It’s that simple! It is suggested on the Bullet Journal website that it’s practical to use a journal with dot grid pages and this definitely works best for me. The dot grid is extremely versatile, easily allowing dates to be plotted or tables drawn but is discrete enough to allow for drawings and minimal distraction when reading the pages.

Over the last six months my Bullet Journal style has evolved and I currently keep my bujo very simple as I’ve found this works best for me. I prefer not to create pages too far in advance and instead to go with how I am feeling at the time that I’m using my journal.

 

Calendar/ Monthly Log

For the last few months I’ve been using the same layout for my monthly overview and I find it really workable. I like to draw a calendar page which allows me to visualise the month in addition to a monthly log and task list which are true to the origin of Bullet Journaling.

 

 

So on the first of my monthly overview pages I’ll draw a calendar (usually on the left hand page) and then write the month along with anything that is important to me at that time on the right hand page. If I have time/ space I’ll add some illustrations.

Then the next pages are for my monthly log (which I label appointments), important things I need to or may like to remember and a list tasks needing completed that month. I like using a Dutch Door design for these pages as I like how it looks and again, if I have time/ feel like it I can add some illustrations to this page.

 

Daily Logs

I love, love, love my daily log pages! I keep my pages simple and the amount of information I add to each page just depends on how busy I am or how I am feeling that day. In addition to my daily tasks and any events I like to note down things I’m thinking about, things I learn or things that happen during that day. Sometimes I include illustrations or line drawings.

 

 

I’ve found I never complete monthly trackers and so I just keep a simple note of the things I want to track on my daily log pages.

 

My trackers explained…

Each day I like to make a note of the weather including the high and low temperature, humidity and pressure. I also track my mood. I had thought my mood related to the weather but there doesn’t seem to be any correlation between the two…

Finally I track three things I need to remember to do each day – take medication and vitamins and check/ water the plants. This is what the M, V, P on my pages stand for.

 

Artwork

I love drawing in my Bullet Journal. I usually draw leaves or plants/ flowers and recently I started using watercolours in my journal. A lot of my recent works have derived from illustrations in my Bullet Journal.

 

 

My essential stationary supplies…

Journal – Leuchttrum1917 Dot Grid ‘Bullet Journal’ (colour Nordic Blue)
Pens – Staedtler Pigment Liners (sizes 0.05. 0.2 and 0.3)
Other – Leuchttrum1917 HB Pencil (colour Nordic Blue); Ruler; Eraser; White-Out Tape
Watercolour paints or pencils (occasionally)

 

Why do I Bullet Journal?

Other than the organisational reasons noted above, Bullet Journaling brings me so much joy! I look forward to writing/ creating in my journal and enjoy looking back at the memories it captures. It is also an excellent mindfulness tool and I’m so grateful to Ryder Carroll for sharing this system with us all!

 

Feature blog post image is of Daily Log pages in my Bullet Journal

 

Do you Bullet Journal? How does your bujo work for you? Let me know in the comments below!