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Bullet Journal: Starting one and the Benefits

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A bullet journal allows you to place all your thoughts, budgets, schedules, to-do lists, and anything you need to keep track of into a single notebook. It is a way to organize the different things you try to keep track of on a daily basis. If you are looking for a creative outlet and a way to stay organized this system is for you.
A bullet journal allows you to place all your thoughts, budgets, schedules, to-do lists, and anything you need to keep track of into a single notebook. It is a way to organize the different things you try to keep track of on a daily basis. If you are looking for a creative outlet and a way to stay organized this system is for you.
 

Starting a bullet journal can seem intimidating but there is no right or wrong way to do it. I liked the concept of a bullet journal but thought it wasn’t for me because I am not an artist. I thought I had to create beautiful pin-worthy pages to be able to have a bullet journal.  The purpose of a bullet journal is to make life easier for you, not more difficult, so don’t feel like you have to have it look like others.
 

Different Sections of a Bullet Journal

 
A bullet journal gives you the freedom to create it in any way that you want. However, it does help to have some direction for getting started.
 
Bullet journals usually consist of three different parts.
 
    1. The index and key. 
    1. Monthly log or calendar.
  1. Collections or lists.
 

Index and Key

 
Your bullet journal should start with an index. These will be the first two pages of your journal to help you keep track of where all your entries are. The index will consist of the page numbers in your journal. You’ll be able to go to a certain area of the journal knowing exactly where each section is.
 
The key will contain the different symbols. That way you can keep track of the status of different tasks.  
    • a bullet signify’s a task
    • X  a completed task
  • >  a task is migrated to a different day
 
Signifiers are symbols that you assign to different types of notes. It can be helpful when you want to use them in place of longer phrases. 

Monthly Log / Calendar

Start each month with a monthly log. This is the place where you’ll record appointments and due dates. You can use a typical calendar page layout, or use one line for each day of the month. You won’t track most of your tasks here, but the monthly log will come in handy for those times when you have a dentist appointment or you need to remember when the PTA meeting is.

Daily Logs

The daily log is where you’ll spend most of your time in the journal. Start a new section each day and record anything important for the day. Make your list of tasks and cross them off as you get them finished. Make notes of anything important you need to remember throughout the day. As well as appointments as they pop up. Everything gets logged in the daily log for speed and ease. From there you can move it as needed to the monthly or future log, or migrate it to a different day.

 

Collections or Lists

The final part of the bullet journal is collections. Collections are basically lists. This section is for anything you want to keep track of. Birthdays, a budget, cleaning schedule, or lists of books you want to read.  Make a note of the page you’re on and add this collection to your index page.

Ryder Carroll is the inventor of the bullet journal. Here is a quick rundown of the basic method he uses to start.

 A bullet journal allows you to place all your thoughts, budgets, schedules, to-do lists, and anything you need to keep track of into a single notebook. It is a way to organize the different things you try to keep track of on a daily basis. If you are looking for a creative outlet and a way to stay organized this system is for you.

The Supplies

To start a bullet journal basically all you need is a notebook and a pen. You can spend as little or as much as you want. The supplies I use are a graph paper notebook, colored pens and washi tape that I got at the Dollar Tree. A ruler would come in handy too if you don’t already have one sitting around the house.

Benefits of a bullet journal:

Everything is in one place. Your different to-do lists, schedules, and notes are in a single journal. Many people use journals or digital to-do lists. It can be inconvenient having one for meal planning, another for home chores, and another for business to-do lists.
 
You can track your regular habits. Since you are writing in the bullet journal daily, you are able to track your habits and see what needs to change. It can help you see that you spend too much money on coffee and eating out, or that you aren’t exercising enough.
 
It’s easy to do. A bullet journal is very easy to put together. You can organize it any way you like. There is no right or wrong when designing your bullet journal.
 
A bullet journal is a way of keeping track of everything you need to do or remember in one place. Are you the type of person who writes notes everywhere instead of one place? Do you often lose those notes and can’t remember what you needed to do? A bullet journal can keep you organized and stay on track. How can a bullet journal benefit you?
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