It’s time for a pop quiz. Do you…
a. Have endless to-do lists scribbled on sticky notes around your house?
b. Use your own secret shorthand to jot down ideas and notes?
c. Thrive when you set goals?
d. Have a deep love for planners?
e. All of the above?
If you answered any of these with a resounding yes, you’re a prime candidate for life changing bullet journaling . Hello, most organized life ever.
What Is Bullet Journaling?
This inspiring (and kind of addictive) art form was created by digital project designer Ryder Carroll, and is essentially a planner-meets-diary-meets-creative-outlet.
It’s a great calendaring technique, but it’s not just for planning your days — you can also make spreads for your dream travel destinations, your bucket list, track your mood and, ultimately, live a more mindful life. All through the magic of putting your ideas on a page!
What You Need
Bullet journaling goes way beyond a pen and paper (if you want it to). Some common supplies you can play with include:
- A dot journal
- Pens, both black and colored
- Highlighters
- Markers
- Photographs
- Tape and glue
- Even watercolors and other paints!
Go-To Layouts to Get Started
We get it: looking at these intricate graphs and layouts might get a bit overwhelming. But if you’re having trouble figuring out how to take the first step into bullet journaling, we’ll break it down for you.
The Basics: Index and Future Log
Before you really dive in, take a minute to get organized by creating a one-page index of the journal, so you can easily navigate through your entries. This is your chance to think through the “big picture” of how you’d like to use your journal, and what kinds of spreads you want to include. This step is so important, and without it your tracking journal can quickly become an anxiety-inducing monster (which is quite literally the opposite of its purpose).
Another popular spread to incorporate into your journal is a future log. This is a bit different from a calendar (don’t worry, we’ll get to those in a sec), as it helps keep track of the major dates to have on your radar — birthdays, project deadlines, test dates, holidays, etc.
Dynamic Spreads
Dynamic spreads are a journaling technique created by yours truly. They have two vital elements: dynamic notes written on sticky notes (so you can swap ’em out anytime), and a permanent header. This saves space in your journal, while still providing room for those recurring lists you need in life, like to-do lists, grocery lists, and packing lists (if you’re a big traveler).
Pro Tip: Because these lists are needed frequently in our day-to-day lives, keep ‘em close to the front of your journal. That way they’ll be easier to find than if they’re buried and separated by meeting notes or other single-use entries.
Constant Collections
These are a bit like the dynamic spreads, but permanent. Use them for unchanging lists you’ll want to refer back to — contacts, a weekly yoga schedule, the times of your art class, and fun stuff like favorite books or coffee shops.
Planner Pages
We’ve reached the nitty-gritty of bullet journaling: the planner pages. There are two views you can create — the monthly overview and the weekly logs. It’s exactly what it sounds like. Make a layout of the month ahead and use it to define important events and dates.
Then follow with four weekly spreads, where you can enter the more granular events in your schedule. Essentially, you’re making your very own creative planner. To break it down even more, you can create dailies and even make an hour-by-hour schedule.
Got the basics down? Now it’s time to get rolling! Grab a journal, pick up your very best writing utensil and (most importantly) don’t overthink it. It’s not about making it perfect, but it IS about making it a habit!
Photos by Ink by Jeng.
One nice thing about being retired and getting older is that you simplify your life and you don’t need this. At least for me this is the case.
So the email from Craftsy spruiked this topic as though it is one of their courses, particularly with the big “Watch Now” button. It was almost impossible to find the link to the video on this page. It was only via tips from other responses on this page that I even found it. Then it goes to an outside page! So, the question is – was this all just advertising for another site & actually nothing to do with Craftsy or my membership here? Can’t say that I’m very impressed.
I have a bullet journal and have read Ryder’s book, but wanted to make something beautiful and less business-like. Maybe this course will offer something I can create that I really would enjoy to look back on. Thanks.
Sounds interesting!
Sounds good
Article WAY too brief. Ryder Carroll’s instruction manual:
The Bullet Journal Method
is long & at the beginning, intimidating. But he really spells out how elegant & deeply customizable the system is. For me the most important elements are the index and the page numbers. I agree the habit is life changing. I started it for organizing and archiving my days, weeks etc. What surprised me though was it enabled me to discover a pattern in the toxic arguments I had with my partner and actually FIX the underlying conflict. I honestly think we could more quickly solve world-wide problems if everyone adopted bujo as a basic life discipline.
Interested in making up a more effective journal snd date book . Because it appears that it is fine artistically I am intrigued to look into this approach . I am a visual learner and will be drawn and will remember symbols or a picture better then a number . Example yo catch my attention for example on a calendar when a birthday is due I often will draw a birthday cake and write in the body of the cake the name of the person . This cymbslidm draws my attention to an important happening on that date .
Please help
Sample pages to use as a template
Let’s get started!
Can’t wait to see how to start
Where is the “how to start””???
Would love to start but no clue how.
Craftsy sent me an email that said, “How Bullet Journaling Can Change Your Life (and How to Start!)
This inspiring (and kind of addictive) art form was created by digital project designer Ryder Carroll, and is essentially a planner-meets-diary-meets-creative-outlet.
WATCH NOW or PIN FOR LATER” Where is the video????
Hi Donna, If you click above on “digital project designer by Ryder Carroll” you will go to a video and website that allows you to learn more. I am planning to look into this as I think it could help me get past endless to-do lists! I hope this helps.
Ready to journal!
Let’s get started!!
LOL!
I would like a free day planner.
I need to get organized as I have many appointments and I don’t want to miss the important ones. I need help to get my life in order and make time to have fun.
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👨🏽🎨 i use erasable coloured pens, this takes the pressure of making mistakes, and correct/edit your entries. The set i have, even comes with erasable highlighter. How cool is that 😍
Is there a Craftsy course on creating Bullet Journals?
Here for the info
I would love to learn more about this. I love the idea of using a planner. I get them but usually end up forgetting about them after a couple of weeks.
I could use on of these journals tonight!
What is a dot journal? Is it something that is published or is it something you make? How do you make an index if you don’t know what you’ll be writing and where?
A dot journal refers to a book with a grid of dots on the pages so you can easily draw straight lines and tables. You can use blank pages and rulers or templates, or journals with grids instead of dots.
I still don’t understand how to combine a calendar with bullets. And I have no idea how to use bullets – the placement and the use. Does one start with an actual daily planner? Clearly, I need help with this! Is there a class for this or is there a more detailed written instruction?
It make me finally just do it!!!
WHERE CAN i GET THESE PAGES??????? I don’t see any place to find downloadable pages…. Help!
👨🏽🎨Hobby Lobby, Michaels or walmart, Amazon. Or i can give you one, i have many i got on clearance. 99cents store also have many selections at a good price. 🕺🏽
This is for Antonio. Can you please put it on the computer so it can be downloaded?
I would like to try it. I have many crafts.
👨🏽🎨 JUST DO IT! Nike style. You’ll love it
I am interested in finding out more. I have so many things and hobbies going on that I have to check each morning what I’m doing that day.
I would like to learn how to do this digitally . Right now I’m using about 6 different app to track everything. Its crazy. But I don’t carry a purse and thats what smart phones are for.
I HATE journaling, so how do I get around this? I have tried several different methods and they all fall apart after a week. Ugh!
I would recommend that you decide what you want to track or journal first. I use a bit of “bullet journaling” and some “planner pages” in my planner. I also use a mix of some pre-printed sheets that I designed myself (including calendar pages, weekly pages, address list, birthday list, etc) and some hand written pages (for diary-keeping, note taking, list making, recipes that I want, etc.)
I also use a disc-bound system instead of a notebook as shown above so that I can move things around as I need them. My grids and calendars can change as my mood changes too – or if I want to track something new.
I use digital scrapbook paper for backgrounds on my printed pages. I do like the dot-grids and make my own dot-grid paper on the printer too. When I first started, things looked bare – just a calendar and a few weekly pages. But now I keep a variety of information in there.
If you want to keep a diary but don’t know where/how to start, find a book of prompts (or a list of prompts from online) and commit yourself to writing just a little every day.
The other thing that might be helpful is that you can start small – I use 1/2 sheets for my page size. It’s easy to carry and easy to fill.
What is a book of prompts? Where can they be found?
Read Ryder Carroll’s book:
The Bullet Journal Method.
You will see that you make your bujo exactly what YOU need it to be.
Looking for a jump start and direction, the first step seems to be the hardest. Tools on hand and looking for the organization skills to make this journal a go to project
According to The Bullet Journal Method
by Ryder Carroll (he who designed the system) the only things you need to get started are a notebook or blank book and your favorite writing instrument. You develop your organization skills by starting with the basics of the system. You start to discover what elements work for you and how various available elements can be deeply customized for your specific needs / patterns.
But I seriously recommend you get Carroll’s book in order to understand the bones of the system.
For me personally it is the index and the page numbers that are primordial. They make it so that whatever you put in your bujo can be found again.
Looking forward to see if this works for me
I’m dreaming of getting that organized one day, and I bought tons of physical and digital planners over the years, but all are left blanks as I don’t know where or how to start !
Any suggestions, inspirations, and or ideas are very much appreciated !
Get the book:
The Bullet Journal Method
by Ryder Carroll. He knows EXACTLY what you’re talking about, he had the same problem. It took him years of trial and error to figure out this deeply customizable system.
Would like to learn more about starting a bullet journal.
I am intrigued. I have reminders, lists, and meal plans all around my desk.
Any recommendations on a digital version of this? Where I can write with an apple pen but maybe have some of the layouts already done? I’ve looked a little bit got overwhelmed.
I feel the same way you do. I have empty planners laying around making me feel bad. But I always have my phone with me. An electronic version would be great.
Preprinted planners can never work. People’s lives don’t fit in regimented, uniform rectangles. Some days/weeks/moths are fuller than others. You are left with some days nearly empty of entry, wasting paper and some days not enough room in the box to capture everything. That’s one of the amazing features of bullet Journaling. The boxes can easily be exactly the size you need for each day. As far as digital, you should read Ryder Carroll thoughts on the benefits of handwriting on paper…and the potential drawbacks of digital personal archives.
I have a Christian journal, that you would consider a regular journal, I suppose. But it has extra pages, such as vision boards, healthy habit charts broken down by daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly, yearly goals and more. I bought it for a planner but it has turned into so much more. It goes with me everywhere and I LOVE it.
The Zennia app is a great digital journal
There a lot of Facebook groups for digital planning from beginners to the experienced.
Yeah looking at the pages of practiced bullet journalers would be intimidating. Get the book by Ryder Carroll,the creator of the system:
The Bullet Journal Method.
The book is also a little bit intimidating at first, BUT read it! You’ll see that the system itself is elegant, the basics totally easy to master, and it only gets ”more complicated” when you add elements that are unique to you and your needs, they won’t be complicated for YOU at all…they’ll just look like that to anyone who’s not you.
I need to be better organized in my work and an agenda would help me a lot.
Funny this showed up. My Christmas gift from my granddaughter was a journal and the Ryder Carroll book!
How do I find this class?? I searched for ‘Bullet Journaling’ but got “no results “ for the search!
Hi Sara. Here is the article. https://www.craftsy.com/post/how-to-bullet-journal/
Thanks
Jean-Craftsy
Not helpful – circular reference to where we just started. Not enough information to determine how to start.
Get the book by the designer of the system.
The Bullet Journal Method
by Ryder Carroll
Very excited to start and do more on bullet journaling.
I am very attracted to bullet journaling but I need someone to hold my hand for a couple of months.
I need to start very simply and have all these pages in front of me so I can use options, solutions others have worked out.
Looks interesting
I also have many things to journal about now in my life that are better expressed if I take time to write them down. A lot of life changes I don’t know if I was ready for.
I need a class like this to become more organized
I look forward to trying this out, I’m just not sure if I should combine work with pleasure? Two separate journals? Or a combination?
I have been bullet journaling for about 5 years now, for work and personal. I’m sharing my experience, and I hope it helps you decide what’s best for you.
The whole practice is very personal, so it really has come down to trial and error about what works for you. For me combining work and personal was a complete disaster because I manage various work projects so my to-do lists and notes are plenty, and my personal stuff was sometimes getting lost in the midst of “send this file to client” and “quality control that.”
Also, depending on what you’re tracking or journaling about, I’d prefer not to share it publicly. I’d worry about leaving it somewhere or open at my desk, where anyone can walk by and peek at it. Not necessarily maliciously, but you know… again, it’s very personal; it can be more than a to-do list. I didn’t want “OBGYN appt” next to “Call with a client at 3 pm,” you know? lol
And now, with working from home, it has been an even bigger incentive to keep them separate. It has given me a clear line of what is HOME time and WORK time is. I know when I close the work-bujo work is done!
Good luck on your BuJo journey! I’ve loved it so far. 🙂
Thank you so much for this insight. I had started BuJo two years ago trying to find some organization in my work and home life. I was spending too much time at work and not enough time at home! But having them combined into one journal was daunting and I quit doing it because it was too overwhelming. My work life just kept creeping into home life and overshadowing all the amazing things I should be grateful for at home. I just recently this week wanted to pick it up again and you have given me the answer to my question and prayers. I hope anyway. Here’s to making BuJo work!
Great feedback, thanks for sharing
Want to try this. Need to get organized. A calendar doesn’t always give enough info.