The Magic Bullet: Bullet Journaling

2018 is off to a running start with teaching/lecturing, quilt challenges, meetings and more!!  There have been a few frantic moments where my current organization system was definitely being tested.  When I learned my local library was offering a program on Bullet Journaling, I was curious to learn more and quickly reserved a spot.  The library staff put together a great presentation on Bullet Journaling (BuJo for short), which included lots of visual examples, followed by a workshop portion where they had a fun assortment of materials for us to create our own BuJo!!  

Basic of BuJo

What is Bullet Journaling?  Bullet Journal founder, Ryder Carroll, defines it as an "analog system...designed to track the past, organize the present and plan for the future."  It is part planner, to do lists and diary all housed into one customizable notebook.  While there are some exquisitely beautiful, artistic (albeit a bit daunting) BuJo examples to be found all over Pinterest and Instagram, only a notebook and pen are required to get started.  Optional tools/notions to use with your BuJo include:  ruler, colored pencils/markers, washi tape, stickers, post it notes and rubber stamps.

My BuJo

What you choose to include inside is totally up to you.  Most BuJos start with the following basic pages:

• Index
• Key
• Year at a Glance
• Monthly/Weekly/Daily Logs
• Project/Goal Tracking

For my BuJo, I found several calendar templates online for free that I could resize as needed, print, cut and paste into my journal.  While I greatly admire the artistry of some BuJo pages, I opted to keep mine fairly simple/clean by using 1/4" washi tape to create a grid layout for a monthy list of special events, blog/newsletter content ideas, weekly tasks and daily to do lists of events, meetings, phone calls, emails, errands and projects.  This particular layout has worked surprisingly well for my first full week of using my BuJo, but I've only prepared it through early March, as I may want to modify it as I move forward.  I like seeing the week ahead as well as tracking which projects/tasks keep getting bumped.

Soon I hope to add pages to help me track other areas of both my personal and business life:

• Habit Trackers:  morning/evening walks, fitness, pet health/meds, reading...
• Logs:  finished quilts, mileage for business, social media following...

My partner, Doug, has also joined the BuJo fun.  I got his permission to include some images of his In-Progress BuJo which is part calendar, tracker, resource library and sticker book!  On his Restaurants page, he lists some of our favorite restaurants or ones we want to try out...with a special section for Desserts (he's a keeper!!!)  He also has a page where he'll list those books he wants to read for work and/or personal enjoyment and a separate page to keep track of movies & tv shows he wants to watch.  

Doug's BuJo

Some BuJo users have pages to help with meal planning, budget planning, chores and more!!  Are you a BuJo user?  I'd love to hear what is working for you and better yet--see some pictures of your pages.     

Want to learn more?  Here are some helpful resources (compliments of the Santa Clara City Library):

• www.bulletjournal.com
• Dot Journaling by Rachel Wilkerson
• Instagram (#bujo), Pinterest and Google Images

I hope you will consider giving BuJo a Go!