I would never do a bullet journal
Or so I said to myself. Why? Because of all the fancy art projects I’ve seen that people call bullet journals. So many of the ones I’ve seen online are elaborate, colorful, artful, and clearly took an enormous amount of time to create and maintain. In some cases, they appear to be an end in themselves, And that, to me, is precisely what I don’t want in a planner. A good planner (and a bullet journal is really mostly a planner) should serve me, not the other way around. And so, I discounted bullet journals entirely. (Though, let me add, you do you. If you want your bullet journal to be an elaborate art project, have at it. This is aimed at people who’ve ignored them, as I had, because of that side of bullet journals.)
But then, during the early stages of the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, I watched a video purportedly about productivity but that was mostly about bullet journals, and what I saw surprised and intrigued me. The bullet journal method was originally designed by a graphic designer named Ryder Carroll, who wrote this book. I confess, I haven’t read the book (though I did just buy it). Instead, I’ve been learning my way around bullet journals through the YouTube channel of Matt Ragland, who made the video I mentioned at the start of this exciting paragraph. I use Matt’s videos because he’s very straightforward and very likable, and his work was my entry point, but you might also want to check out Ryder Carroll’s videos. Also, bonus video link! Matt posted this one recently about his morning routine and I really like it.
I’m not going to explain to you how to do a bullet journal (the videos do a great job of explaining that, along with the essential visuals), but I am going to tell you why I see them as valuable. First, I’ve always had trouble with regular planners. One major reason is that there are stretches of time where I just don’t need them. Like, during the semester, I teach two days a week, have office hours another, and sometimes those three days are just very straightforward. And over the weekend, I might (or might have, in the olden days) just be out doing something with my family or my husband. And then there are trips, whether for vacation or work. Do I need a planner for those days? I mean, maybe—but often I don’t. Even today, I have just one meeting, and a vague intention to do laundry (didn’t happen) and do some writing (check it out—I’m writing right now!). I don’t necessarily feel the need to write that down in a planner. What that means, when I’m using a “normal planner,” is that I have a ton of blank pages. And blank pages mean failure and guilt. And then, at some point, I never pick it up again. Sigh.
With a bullet journal, though, there’s more flexibility. I can start and stop whenever I want. If I skip a day or a few days, or even a few months, I can just start the next day right where I left off. Not that that’s an ideal approach, mind you, but it’s efficient, welcoming, and easy, and I like all of those things. It also means I don’t have to start in January or, with an academic year planner, in August. Perfect!
There are two other benefits I will mention before I stop talking and (I hope) you go check out those videos, if you haven’t yet. One is that you can use almost anything for bullet journaling. The dot grid format is standard, but not in any way required. If you elect to get fancy as I did (total notebook and pen fan!), you can find lots of nifty notebooks on Amazon or elsewhere. There’s one made by Ryder Carroll, one made by Leuchtturm, and (among many others) the lovely book I got, by Tumbitri Meri. That last one has the benefit of being relatively inexpensive, as well as having lots of bells and whistles, like three ribbons for marking your place, page numbers (which are super useful), and a pen loop.
And finally—and this is actually pretty key for me—bullet journals are fantastic for habit tracking. On the right-hand page of my full month spread, I note when I’ve gotten exercise, when I’ve written, and when I’ve eaten my fruits and veggies. All three of those are more likely to get done if I record my progress, so I’m hoping this will work.
There are other benefits—lots of them—so if you haven’t found a planner that’s just right for you, give the minimalist bullet journal style a try and let me know how it goes. I will, meanwhile, keep at it and post an update down the line.
Stay safe and be well!