Begin your journey of self-management from a notebook

Have you ever heard of Bullet Journal? Let's see how it helps in our daily life.

I just moved my old BuJo to a new book

You probably have friends who always bring their planner that they crafted on their own. And when you ask them what’s so special about the notebook? They’ll probably say it is not an ordinary notebook, it is a Bullet Journal (BuJo).

You might start to question, why they want to have a blank notebook and draw a planner on their own instead of buying a printed planner from a bookstore.

Whatever you call it, a planner, a diary, a journal or otherwise, the creator of Bullet Journal Ryder Carroll said it is a method that will help you live a more productive and meaningful life.

“When I was young, I was diagnosed with ADD and there weren’t a lot of tools or resources available, so I had to design my own,” he explains.

“Rather than keep notes like other people, I figured out how to organise and sort information the way that my mind works.”

Thanks to the social media nowadays, Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok and so on, millions of people consider this BuJo as the best way for them to plan their day, reflect themselves, manage their time, self-management, self-improvement and meditate.

What is a bullet journal?

Similar to a diary/daily planner, BuJo turns the chaos of coordinating your life into a system that helps you be more productive and self-management also self-improvement. With sections to log your monthly calendar, daily to-do-list, notes, habit tracker, savings/expenses tracker and more, it is customised to your life. (I will share more on this in my next article).

Last week weekly planner.

According to Mr Ryder, the only thing that the BuJo needs to be is effective, and how it can best serve its author is entirely up to them.

To be effective, you may customise your Bullet Journal according to your needs. I normally will refer to Pinterest, Youtube and Instagram for inspiration. Then, I will customise my monthly Bullet Journal setup. (I will also share about my experience on how to set up a Bullet Journal soon)

A bullet journal is good for…

A bullet journal is good for those who have a million little to-do lists floating around and they always forget on what they need to do next. Bullet Journal helps a lot on this. Whenever you want to kick-start a day, just take a 5-mins and think of your today to-do list. By following this to-do list, you will feel yourself being more productive.

Besides, a bullet journal is good for those who are into goal-setting and habit tracking or savings tracking, etc. You may have a page set up for monthly goal, monthly event, and this helps you to keep track on whether you achieve your little monthly goal or not. There are people like me who have some good habits to practice. By having a habit tracker in your bullet journal, this helps to keep an eye on yourself, whether you practice the habit every day or not.

My 2019 Jan Habit Tracker and Mood Tracker spreads

Of course, some Bullet Journalists practice Bullet Journal lifestyle because they are a stationery lover, they like journaling, scrapbooking, drawing, etc. I have a habit, which I always like to buy stationery. To make use of all the stationery I’ve bought, I started Bullet Journaling. And so, I found that Bullet Journal helps to improve my daily life.

It doesn’t have to be perfect

If you are interested in starting a Bullet Journal, first you need to think about the reason you want to do it.

It is a matter of trial and error. You need time to explore what suits you the most, and remember, what works the best for someone else might not work against you.

You may refer to some Bullet Journal Youtuber, some pins on Pinterest of Bullet Journal or follow some Buller Journalist on Instagram for exploration and inspiration.

The most important thing to remember before you start your Bullet Journal after referring to what others did, “don’t feel pressure to do the same as others”.

If you are not talented in drawing or you don’t have cute handwriting, it is totally an OK. You can still fully appreciate the value and the benefits of a Bullet Journal – to be more productive in your daily life and self-improvement.

This article has a Chinese version.

Thank you. 谢谢。Terima Kasih. Gracias. ขอบคุณค่ะ 감사합니다 ありがとうございました