It's Friday! Thank goodness!

In case anyone doesn't follow my Youtube channel, I started a short series about bullet journaling, and decided to share some quick tips for anyone who's heard of the planning craze, but are either unsure or (more likely) overwhelmed by it all. These are less specific tips, and more general mindset things.

This post is adapted from my personal blog for Steemit for your viewing leisure! This will be really text heavy, but if you make it all the way to the end, there'll be a video waiting for you where I migrate into my new bullet journal, so you can see me go through the entire process of setting one up.

Quick Intro

By now the bullet journal has taken the world by storm, so chances are you probably have a small idea of what it is. If not, at it’s core it’s basically a series of lists kept in a notebook. These can range from to-do lists to lists of movies you want to see. If we’re talking pragmatically, then it’s a planner you create as you go. Like Build-a-Bear, but Build-a-Bullet-Journal. If you want the official instructions, you can visit the official bullet journal site here.

Now let’s get to the tips!

#1 – Make it Work for You, aka The Rules are Optional

My biggest takeaways, and what attracted me the most to the system, was it being a one-stop shop for everything you could possibly write down in your life, made organized by the simple addition of page numbers and an index. So whatever it is about the system that attracts you to it, use that to your advantage and cut the extraneous stuff!

I know that it can be overwhelming with the symbols, and even just the vernacular used to describe the system. For me those were concepts difficult for me to grasp. I recall actually looking up the system when I was in college, but I didn’t adopt it until years later because it just seemed too confusing and restrictive. But when I focused more on what I wanted, and how I wanted to use the system, it became so much more freeing.

Don’t want the index? Get rid of it. Not sure if drawing out your entire year at a glance is worth it? Don’t do it. You can always draw it in later on in the journal if you change your mind. Want to change up the symbols entirely? Absolutely. What the heck is a Calendex anyways? No one is grading your journal. Don’t let the masses of bujo youtubers and instagrammers fool you. Literally no one has to even look at your bullet journal, haha. Make it work for you. Which leads to my next point…

#2 – Don’t Try to be Perfect aka It’s Okay if your Spreads are Ugly

So let’s say you’ve looked over the website. You’ve watched the tutorial there. You think the system works for you, and you’re excited. You decide to look up inspiration for your spreads. You go to YouTube, and…oh no. Are those markers? Is she drawing?? I thought this was just bullet points! Why are there so many flowers and banners and calligraphy hand lettering???

While there are a ton of inspiring spreads and very pretty, #aesthetic journals out there…it is also incredibly easy to feel overwhelmed and pressured into making yours also look very pretty. And my advice here echoes the previous one: literally no one has to look at your bullet journal except you. If you want to make the effort to make yours look nice, go for it! But if you just want to use it for bullet points and to do lists and the occasional calendar layout, then that is totally fine as well. To quote Paul Hollywood from Great British Bake Off, “Substance over Style.”

This was the biggest reason why I made the first video in my series. I wanted to show that, even if now I’m trying to be more artistic, in the beginning I literally just. Did not care about the aesthetic all that much haha. I needed a central place to keep my ideas, notes, and to do lists, and a calendar I could refer to quickly, and that was exactly what I made. Mistakes will be made. Things will look ugly. They might look ugly even if you are trying for that pretty look. But with time and practice and the more you get used to the system and what you like and don’t like, then your journal will improve aesthetically as well. Or you can keep tearing out pages until you get the spread you like, hahaha.

Plus, the upkeep for that pretty look can get pretty time consuming, and if you’re pressed for minutes, it’s just going to descend into a really basic set up anyways. Again, if you want that pretty look? Go for it. Just don’t tear out your hair or get too stressed out about it. This is supposed to make your life easier, not harder!

#3 – Plan Ahead for your Planner

With all that said about not caring about mistakes or aesthetic, let’s talk about trying to minimize mistakes. Or rather, setting up your bullet journal in the order you want and not going “oh no my 2 page spread starts on the wrong page!”

So we’re onboard with the method. We’ve made our bullet journal pinterest board but we’re mentally at peace and have already gauged our expectations for our first bujo. You’ve ordered that 1917 Leuchturmm notebook that everyone is using, you open it up, and….

Oh shit, what’s that first spread going to look like?? Do I put my future log before or after my year at a glance??? Or do I jump straight into January?!?

Unless you’re 100% okay with things not being in any order and you use that index like a boss, you’re going to want to plan ahead. When I was first starting out, I went in the order that the bullet journal website recommended. Large scale to small scale. Year to month to day. When I moved into my first Leuchturmm after about 5 months of journaling, I made a list of things that I wanted to migrate over, as well as other spreads I had seen other bullet journal youtubers make. And migrating into my most recent journal, I made a list as well as a couple sketches of different spreads I wanted to use and how I would draw them. That way when I got to actually prepping the journal, I could spend less brain time on the logistics and more on actually drawing it out.

My advice to you, before you even make your list, is to do your research. Beyond the aesthetic, you need to think about what spreads would work for you and make sense for you. Not every spread will be a winner, but finding out what actually works is something you’ll discover as you use the journal. In the beginning, everything is game. For my most recent bullet journal, I specifically looked up artists using the system, especially self-employed artists, because I wanted to see how they meshed their art and business together with their daily planning. If you’re a writer, look up writer-specific bujo vids. Same if you’re a student, or a mom, or an entrepreneur. Those people will tend to have spreads specific to those needs, and thus may also be applicable to you. Or, if the traditional bullet journal method is what you like, then stick with that. You can always expand on it the more comfortable you get, or maybe that simple method is exactly what you need.

Once you’ve done your research, compile a list of what you want. Then think about the order that would work best for you, and rewrite that list in the order of page number for each spread. Keep in mind 2 pages for double spreads, and take a look at your notebook to make sure your spreads land how you want them. When in doubt, just put in a blank page. You will use it eventually, I guarantee it.

Bonus point – use one of the pages in the back of your notebook to test out your pens! That way you can see how bad the bleedthrough or smudging is BEFORE you start writing! Saved a life right there. Plus, the back pages are usually perforated, so you can tear it out and transfer it to your new journal, or tape it to your wall if that works better for you.

#4 – Don’t be Afraid to Try New Things

So you’ve drawn out your planner. Everything is set up. You’ve been bujoing for a week and you love it. Except, oh…you’re not a fan of the weekly spread you chose.

The solution is simple. Change it! Consistency who? Structure what? I don’t know her. The biggest advantage to a bullet journal is that it evolves with you. You never have to worry about weeks or months of wasted pages that you can never reuse because it has a specific date stamped on it. The worst you may have to deal with is a spread you didn’t use, but that’s 1 or 2 pages, which you can always repurpose if you wanted. If something doesn’t work, change it. Everyone does it.

On that vein, I would recommend against planning out your spreads too far out in advance. For example, I wouldn’t make 4 weeks of weekly spreads in one go, for the precise reason that you don’t know if it’ll work for you, and that it kind of goes against the malleability of the bullet journal concept. If you do that and it works for you, then great! But if that’s the case, I’d recommend just using a fancy structured planner so you don’t have to go through all the trouble of drawing it (unless you really like doing that.)

#5 – Set aside 10 minutes a day

Okay. So everything is set up. You’re using it. It’s great. You like it. You changed up today’s daily log just for the heck of it. But now you’re running into a problem. That initial excitement has died off. And now you barely use it. Why??

This is a trickier one, because everyone plans and schedules their day differently. For some people, using the bullet journal will be natural because they’re already used to writing in notebooks or having a planner. For others, it’ll be completely foreign.

For me, with traditional planners it was very difficult for me to keep using daily. Bullet journals were easier–and maybe it’s because it looks like a regular notebook–but even as I write, I know I have to be conscious of my journal and remind myself to check things off. Although oftentimes, the act of checking something off a to-do list is so satisfying that it is motivation enough to use the journal.

Something that might help you if you’re someone having a hard time actually using the amazing planner you spent 4 hours drawing, is to create a reminder or an alarm specifically set to check it. Either in the morning when you wake up, or before you go to sleep. Or both! You can use that time to write down your to do list, or check off tasks or habits you kept up with. If this is difficult to stick with, maybe brew your coffee or tea around the same time so there’s a reward tagged on with it. Or a habit stacked with it, depending on what vein of productivity philosophy you prescribe to. If you’re a Miracle Morning person, or even someone who has a pre-existing morning and evening routine, try to incorporate it into that.

Another thing to do is to just. Take that journal with you everywhere. Put it on your desk. At your dinner table. Carry it with you to the bathroom. Have it opened to your current day. It’s harder to ignore if it’s right there in your eyeline. You could also post visual reminders to use your bullet journal. Like post it notes saying “DON’T FORGET TO CHECK OFF TASKS” plastered on your computer.

And finally, the last thing you could do is to just keep track of things on a post-it note, and then transfer it to the journal later. It’s kind of a redundant way of doing things, but hey, to each their own.

Essentially, if you’re someone who enjoys physically writing to do lists in the first place, I think forcing yourself into the habit of using the bullet journal will be easier, since you’re just transferring from loose-leaf paper and post-it notes to a hardbound book.

Plus, if you find you’re not really using it to plan, but you still have a ton of ideas that you’re scribbling on other sheets of paper because you don’t want to “ruin” the planner, stop it! Write those ideas into the bullet journal! Remember #1? Make it work for you! If you find that using it as a day planner or even to-do list holder isn’t working, but using it to plan out your book or keep track of your sales or just jot down random ideas or grocery lists is, then do that! Some may argue that it’s just a notebook at that point, but you can curtail that by just using the index 😉 Besides, a bullet journal at its core is…also just a notebook lol.

Conclusion

So those are my 5 tips! I hope you got something out of them, and that they help you on your bullet journal journey, if you so choose to take it. And as promised, you can see my new bullet journal migration/September Plan with Me down below! If you have any other bullet journal questions, or want to see more bullet journal-related content, just drop me a comment below! Thanks for reading!

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P.S. if you’re hard-pressed for inspiration, here’s a quick list of bullet-journal youtubers that inspired me! Many of these are artist-specific, but you may find it applicable, or at least relaxing to watch! In no particular order:

Boho Berry (lately she has been doing more digital planning, but I’ve linked her older bujo vids)
Happy D. Artist
HulloAlice
PearFleur (this is more of the artsy aesthetic for a student, but I liked some of her ideas)
LittleSqueesh
Kara Linkonis
Jennifer Charlee Art
Amanda Rach Lee
Minnie Small

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