Bullet Journal

This is the 1st of a series of short posts on the Bullet Journal (BJ) method. There are a lot of resources about BJs on the net, but, in my opinion, they're either too brief or too long, and I wanted to write something concise enough, but still complete.

Index

Introduction
Organisation
Rapid Logging
Index Section
Future or Yearly Log
Monthly Log
Daily Log
Collections
Supplies

What and why

Bullet journals are a form of organising your schedule, tasks, plans, ideas, etc, in a single notebook. At their bare minimum, they resemble a planner with some added flexibility. But, collections add an enormous amount flexibility to BJs.

In addition, the bullet journal method uses a technique called rapid logging. This can be used in a standard planner, but it's better adapted on a BJ.

Bullet journals are popular for 2 main reasons: (i) they're simple to learn and use, (ii) they offer the perfect balance of rigidity and versatility, which means they're easily personalised without loosing they're usefulness.

That said, they are not good for anyone or everything. They do not replace a standard journal, unless you prefer to keep entries very brief. Also, standard planners are better for people with frequent appointments and meetings.

Although they're meant to be used as a single resource. There is the possibility that trying to keep everything in a single place can make finding information difficult. One solution is to keep it simple and separate: if you enjoy journalling, consider keeping a separate journal; if you have a busy work schedule, keep a separate planner. It may seem cumbersome to keep so many different "notebooks", but it can also be the best solution to keep organised.

A bullet journal is meant to be a organisational tool, but social media is full of examples of extraordinarily intricate examples of BJs which look nothing like it. On the contrary, they look like advanced artistic projects. So, what's up with that? Well, on the one hand, a BJ is not designed to be another waste of your time. On the contrary, it should be a time and even life saver. On the other hand, a lot of people, specially those with more artistic propensities, have found BJs to be a good source of artistic inspiration and self-expression. And that is great! However, remember the original purpose of a bullet journal. If you find your BJ is no longer serving its original purpose, it may make more sense to keep a separate notebook for your artwork. To conclude, if you find that beautifying your BJ is important for you, great, do it!, but keep in mind: you don't need to.

Speaking of beautification, even if you're not an artist, you may be a bit of a perfectionist. If you use non-eraseable media to write, consider the concept of Kintsugi. This is a Japanese technique of fixing broken ceramics. Instead of trying to hide the crack, you emphasise it and beautify it, making the broken object more beatiful and precious than the original. Try to find a similar way to fix mistakes. Instead of simply crossing them out, cover them with colour, draw over them, etc. You can improvise or create a standard procedure that your brain will soon learn to ignore. Another useful Japanese concept, when keeping a BJ, is Wabi sabi, which celebrates imperfections.

Finally, a simple advice for beginner's: start small. Start with the basic structure and practice keeping a BJ for a while. Once you get into the habit of keeping a BJ, you can start including more detailed entries, adding collections and even illustrations, if you so desire.

For the briefest of introductions to BJs, watch the video, it is well worth it:

References:

Little Coffee Fox offers a lot of detailed information with many ideas on creating and personalising a bullet journal.