Bullet journaling is a hobby that has gained momentum in the past year. It’s a beautiful, fun, and creative way to express yourself. It’s also completely confusing if you’re just starting out. Well, we at the CCJ Social Newsdesk are here to break it down for you.

What is bullet journaling?

• It’s a different and personalized way of organizing your life. A customized planner, if you will. The whole idea is to increase productivity and reduce stress. You design your own yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily logs, and keep track of what you want to keep track of. And you fill it out as you go. No certain number of pages or lines are set in stone. There’s no one way to bullet journal. It can also be a fun way to reflect on your life.

• Now, if you find yourself stressing over making your journal perfect and the most aesthetically pleasing it can be, this may not be for you. Filling the pages and being creative is supposed to be relaxing, meditative even. So if you find it being the opposite or becoming a chore, it may be time to set it aside.

Materials…

• A journal: A popular journal used among bullet journalists is the Leuchtturm1917 A5 Dotted journal. It is complete with an index, page numbers, and dotted pages for straight lines. It is a good start if you’re just beginning, but if it seems like it’s not your thing, don’t hesitate to pick up another journal. Make it your own.

• Pens: This is self-explanatory. You’ll be writing a lot! Pick up some of your favorite pens, colorful ones, ink ones, broad-tipped, or fine-tipped. It’s all up to you.

• Markers, stickers, etc.: For personalizing and decorating your journal. The great thing about bullet journals is that no two are alike. It’s completely unique to the person. Some people even decorate using watercolors. Whatever floats your boat.

Make a key…

• Here’s an example of a basic bullet journal key, but you can personalize it any way you want to. This helps you stay uniform, and keep track of things you have completed, things you have not, and things you’ve rescheduled.

Logs–not the math kind…

• There are four main logs that your bullet journal will include: a yearly log, monthly logs, weekly logs, and finally daily logs.The purpose behind all of these logs is to create a funneling effect of tasks and events.

• You’ll first fill out a yearly log, and mark off important dates. Then, when you’re filling out a monthly log, you can refer back up to the yearly log to see what things you had planned for that month. When you’re filling out a weekly log, you can refer back up to the monthly log to see what things you planned for that week. And when you’re filling out a daily log, you can refer back up to the weekly log.

Add trackers and goals…

• When you’re filling out your monthly log you can also leave spaces for tracking certain habits like working out, drinking water, spending, your mood, etc. Anything you like. Then you can see how you’ve done over the course of the month and where you need to improve.

• You can also add yearly goals to the yearly log, monthly goals, weekly goals, etc. This will help with prioritizing.

That’s the basic run-down!

Remember, this is a trial and error process. You’re discovering what works for you in planning. Your journal could change from month to month, even week to week, depending on which formats you liked and which ones you didn’t. If you make a mistake, no worries, just cover it up and keep on going. Keep tweaking until you get it exactly the way you want it!

Let’s get a hooray for adulting and getting organized! 

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