Intro to my Bullet Journal

Bullet journaling. It's the hot new trend in organization, note-taking, to-do lists and traditional journaling. If you haven't heard about it by now, I encourage you to start at the very beginning with creator Ryder Carroll's website: www.bulletjournal.com. Start with the basics and go from there!

I learned about bullet journaling early 2016. I immediately fell in love with the idea of an unstructured way to keep up with my daily tasks in a tangible, analog way. I took the building blocks of rapid logging (with all the signifiers), modules (the monthly log, future log and index), and just dove right in. After so many failed day planners that would frustrate me as my needs changed week to week, this fit right into my life, ebbs and flows. Some weeks are busier than others, so if there are times I don't really have a lot to plan, I simply don't write anything. I just pick up where I left off and use it when I need it... what a novel concept! No guilt of unused pages in a structured planner!

Many people feel very strongly about the journal they use. I, for one, absolutely LOVE my dotted A5 Leuttchturm1917. I wouldn't trade it for any other notebook. I love the built-in index for keeping track of everything, the numbered pages, the ribbon bookmarks and the pocket in the back cover. It is a perfect size to be able to carry around, but big enough to capture what I need. It is completely unnecessary to use this notebook, however. You can use another journal, a composition notebook, a spiral, a stack of paper stapled together... whatever you have that you can write on and keep up with is perfect.

What I found as I navigated my way through my first bullet journal (which I started during a stint of unemployment) was that I loved having a place to capture absolutely anything I wanted to, whenever I wanted to. I was keeping track of all my applications, interviews, and travel plans all in one place. It really helped me start a new chapter. As I got more comfortable, I started journaling and creating collections. More on that in a later post...

Now hundreds of pages later and into my second notebook, I've found a format that works for me and keeps me coming back to write more. I truly find the analog way of journaling so rewarding. In today's digital world, the art of pen on paper seems to be diminishing. My handwriting has improved dramatically and my creativity has been given a venue to shine.

In the next post, I'll take you through how I set up my monthly and daily spreads... until then, happy planning!