Want to organise your life, thoughts and emotions better? Maybe it’s time to try Bullet Journaling.
My easy guide will show you how to get started, what to include, and the some of the many benefits of getting started with a Bullet Journal.
Your bullet journal can be anything you want it to be. You customise it to fit your life as it will evolve along with you.
It might start out just as simple daily and monthly to-do list then evolve into other sections like keeping a short diary, daily affirmations or even inspirational quotes.
By turning chaotic thoughts and mental lists into visual reality it will help you to become more confident and productive. Oh, and a lot happier too !
So if you’ve been struggling to keep track of your tasks and appointments for a while now. You’ve tried every organisational method out there, but nothing seems to work.
Why You should start a bullet journal?
It’s a perfect tool for people who have a lot going on in their lives and are maybe getting a little overwhelmed by things. It helps reduce stress levels because it allows you to keep track of your goals and to-dos in a visually pleasing way.
Bullet Journals are customisable, and can be easily expanded out and used for a variety of purposes, like tracking your workouts, creating a daily or monthly meal plan, or plotting your business ideas.
What I love about this type of journaling is that it can be a be used as a kind of personal diary to document your thoughts and feelings as well.
3 Benefits of Bullet journaling
Bullet journaling has a ton of benefits, here’s just three that I’ve found most useful.
What supplies do you need to start a bullet journal?
You don’t need much to get started Bullet Journaling, in fact you may have everything you need close to hand in your home already.
OK let’s start at the beginning with the basics.
Just a notebook and some pens!
I find a notebook that has a grid or dot-grid layout works best for me. I also like to have a good range of pens to give color and textures on the my pages and cover,
So over the years I’ve built up a good variety of pens to create my Bullet Journals. It was actually a bit of an enjoyable, organic process and a great creative outlet.
Here’s what I think is a basic array of pens I think you’ll need to get up and running making beautiful and creative journals.
Pens & Pencils
I tend to use mostly medium and bold for writing. .They give a nice rich color and are super smooth to write with.
Most folks think of these as just marker pens but they also come as writing and sketching pens too.
Of course I have markers but also a couple of 1 and 2mm felt tipped pens too. I often use them to create feature color to my pages.
I do have two of these with different nibs and ink colors. They are not necessary to get started though but do give a beautiful finish on any page.
Of course everyone has a ball point pen at home but personally I don’t really use them when I journal, but hey that’s just me!
What type of Journaling Book to buy ?
There’s a lot of purpose made journaling books on the market. and some are pretty fancy things.
You don’t need to buy any thing special though, in fact I encourage you not to, at least when you first set out Bullet Journaling.
I think it’s better to just buy a simple hard backed text-book and customise it yourself. It’s simple enough to do and much cheaper !
If you think you’ll be carrying your journal with you outside your home then a portable pocket size book is perfect. The drawback with smaller books is that they can limit your creative style a bit.
Best to start with something around 6 x 9 or 7 x 10 inches, that will give room for your lists, thought and inspirations to breathe on the page.
As I mentioned above I like a grid or dot-grid layout because it helps me with layouts. If you are are creative or a craft type then a simple plain page might be best for you bullet journal.
Let’s get started bullet journaling
The whole point of bullet journaling is to organise your thought and tasks, so it’s best to start off by organising your journal into sections.
Here’s a basic journal layout to get things rolling.
CONTENTS PAGE
This is the first page of course but usually completed last. Leave plenty of space on the page to add sections as your journal grows. Add your shorthand symbol key at the bottom of the page. .
DAILY LISTS
Separate out lists. You may include anything of course. I often use a priority “must do ” list as well as appointments and shopping as well.
MONTHLY LIST
Use a two page spread for your monthly tasks and objectives. Lots of layout options here. Get creative and find your inner artist.
GOALS
Setting out a bullet list of family, work and social objectives are handy monthly anchor points. Diet and wellness goals should be included too.
Bullet journaling ideas
Start off with the basic sections above but your bullet journal can quickly expand out as far as you need it to.
Here’s just a few topics you might consider adding in as you go.
Personal Statement
Think about your values and ambitions to craft your personal statement. Just a sentence or two is plenty. You can make a global statement or some folks even write a weekly mission statement.
Budgeting Section
Creating a budgeting section definitely helps you keep your outgoings in perspective. Whether you are balancing personal or household expenses looking at the numbers adds clarity and allows simple goal setting.
Diet Planner
This could be a weight loss planner or a weekly family meal planner. Planning ahead like this helps you fill out and budget your food shopping bullet lists..
Weight Loss Goals
If you are on a weight loss journey it always best to have a starting point and an end point. Along the way creating achievable “way points ” gives you a weekly objective to aim for.
Family Chore List
This is a great way to clarify what needs taking care of around your home and who’s going to take responsibility for it. It will help you to become the Captain of your ship instead of the deck hand !!
Shopping
Many of us have a food shopping list pinned somewhere in our kitchen. You can include one in your Bullet Journal, but generally these lists are for things other than you find down at the grocery store.
Books to Read
Reading books unfortunately is not as popular these days as it should be. People just don’t have the time. Still make a list that either interests you, or will educate you, and look for an audio version to listen to. Listen to it on your daily commute for example.
Inspirational Quotes
This section is my favourite of my Bullet Journal. Reading inspirational quotes from great thinkers like the stoic philosophers of the past grounds me, and helps me to navigate through some important moments in my life.
Positive Affirmations
Closely connected to inspirational quotes. I use these to motivate myself and direct areas of my life where I need to make positive changes. They pull away from negative thoughts help to increase my self esteem. I will often start my daily pages with writing an affirmation first.
That’s just nine ideas you might find useful in your bullet journal. I’ve used pretty much all of them over the years.
let’s get writing
So let’s set some goals first. Here are a few startup questions questions.
I find the most effective way to start is with setting out monthly goals. Just jot them down and they will give you somewhere to build off of.
Heres’s what i do
Each day, I start by writing down the date at the top of the page. Next, I’ll list my top 3 priorities for the day.
These can be anything from work tasks to personal goals. Underneath my priorities, list the to-dos I need to accomplish that day.
I have a format that I use, but you don’t have to worry about formatting too much, or making it look pretty. Just get everything down on paper. Your formatting style will evolve over time.
One thing that makes Bullet Journaling even more useful is the use of abbreviations and symbols.
This helps to keep track of different types of information in a concise manner.
Bullet Journaling Short Codes
It’s helpful to use abbreviations and symbols throughout your journal
Here’s a list of some common abbreviations and symbols that I use in my Bullet Journal.
ABREVIATIONS
wo = Without
do = Day
mo = Month
yo = Year
SYMBOLS
⧖
reminder
•
Bullet Point
✔
Completed Task
x
Crossed Out Item
Have you started bullet journaling? And have you found it has helped to structure your daily and weekly tasks?
Would love to know in the comments below !