The search for the perfect planner
I started my annual search for next year’s planner last fall when I found myself at Staples. Almost every planner I picked up was a variation on the theme of too little space and too much extra stuff like gratitude lists, to-do’s, meal planning, quotes, etc.
My planner is a place to track appointments, events, tasks, and notes. Especially notes. Finding a planner that only has what I need inevitably comes with a hefty price tag or requires a truck to carry it around or both!
I discovered the bullet journal website and watched the introductory videos some time ago, but it didn’t resonate with me at the time. This time, I watched the videos on BulletJournal.com and spent a couple more hours watching more videos on YouTube. I decided a bullet journal was for me.
What is a bullet journal? As designed by Ryder Carroll, the creator, a bullet journal is a minimalistic custom planner with a focus on productivity. It’s made up of an index, future log, monthly log, daily log, and collections. As with many things, others have taken the core concept and expanded it, turning their journals into pseudo art journals, creating trackers for every aspect of their lives, and more. I have NO artistic ability, so my journal is all about being organized and getting stuff done.
How is my bullet journal helping me get more done?
Handwriting my weekly tasks has meant I procrastinate less because sometimes it’s easier to take ten minutes and get it done instead of copying the task to the next page. Most of us are optimistic about what we can accomplish in a day. Handwriting a list of tasks is a good way to see how long and unrealistic your to-do list is.
I’m a note taker. The bullet journal index is helping me to structure and track my notes, projects, and more. (The draft of this was handwritten in my journal.)
Bullet journals are handwritten, which provides an opportunity to improve my handwriting. Many studies have been done documenting the benefits of writing things by hand versus typing them on a keyboard. Essentially, writing by hand engages your brain in a way typing on a keyboard does not.
I appreciate the break from technology my bullet journal provides. Much of our lives revolve around technology. There’s an app for everything and I’m not sure all those apps really help us get more done.
If you’ve been struggling to get organized and consistently get things done, I encourage you to try a bullet journal. You can get started with a notebook, pen, and a ruler.