Long before the bullet journalling trend exploded, I ran across the founder’s site and had a read. At the time, it looked like far too much work remembering symbols and such, so I clicked out and that was that.
Then everyone online started bullet journalling!
(As you can tell, I am not an early adopter; I am more a wait-and-see-er)
I’m still not convinced that the bullet journal is for me, but I thought I should at least explore it properly and I’d get a blog post or two out of it, and then be able to articulately express why it is or isn’t for me 🙂
Some background
My “system” has always been to use both a diary and a notebook to organise my life. I’ve written many times on this blog about keeping a notebook next to your computer at work, and definitely at home too.
The diary is for scheduling and some to-dos, and the notebook is for everything else.
See this post for full details
I like a thin notebook because I carry it around in my handbag. The craft/ blue notebook came in a set of 3 different designs (blue/ red/ green) from Woolworths for R36,95. I’ll take a pic for you soon of all of them because I bought more than one set since I liked them so much.
So, here are my initial thoughts about why you should consider trying out a Bullet Journal:
- will capture all your thoughts and lists in one place
I’m a big fan of a notebook catching all the bits and pieces, so this is awesome. If you’re someone with a list here, and a post-it note there, or a scrap of paper shoved into your bag, this is a great way to contain everything.
2. can be used for daily, weekly or even occasional planning
I’m a weekly planner myself, my husband is a daily planner and I know many Ps on Myers Briggs who are occasional planners. They only plan thoroughly for holidays, trips, etc.
You can make this system what you want it to be.
3. can be customised and personalised
This is where I see the real beauty of the Bullet Journal. I’ve written before about Finding the Perfect Planner for you, and this is one way to create your perfect planner especially if you don’t see something that suits your style and makes you want to use it.
Even the size can be personalised. If you want a big A4 journal, go for it. If you only need a tiny A6 journal, that’s also fine.
4. can feed your creativity
My diary/ notebook combo are purely a means to an end (getting organised) but I see so many people using calligraphy, colouring pencils, washi tape, etc. in their journals as a means of creativity. If you need a creative outlet, this could work really well for you.
Turns our Ryder prefers a minimalist BuJo too.
5. you don’t need to wait for the stores to start selling 2017 diaries
or use an on-sale 2016 diary with all that blank paper for Jan – April. This system will appeal to all those frugalistas 🙂
Grab any old notebook you have laying around, but make it a pretty-ish one so you’ll want to use it.
So what about my old-fashioned notebook?
Well, you’ll have to stay tuned. I’ll write more about that next time.
Are you bullet journalling?
If not, have I convinced you to just try it for a month?
The photo at the top is of my bullet journal. I bought that notebook at Exclusive Books for about R20 a few years ago!
