6 reasons I keep a Bullet Journal

Need a new way to organise your year, diary and thoughts? A bullet journal could be just the thing.

A couple of weeks into 2017, I came across a magazine article about an organisational tool that I hadn’t heard of before – a bullet journal. It sounded ideal so I turned to my best friend online, Google to find out more.

Whoa! The internet was teeming with entries on bullet journals – how to start one, how to organise one, where to buy one, and how to make your bullet journal look adorably stylish. How had I not come across this before?

If you’re a bullet journal virgin like I was, then let me explain.

A bullet journal is an organisational tool that captures your to-do-list, diary, thoughts and really anything else you need to capture, in a written format, i.e. a notebook, not a computer file.

How to Bullet Journal from bulletjournal.com

“A notebook?” I hear you say. “Isn’t that, well, old-fashioned and time-consuming? I can keep all that information on my phone and computer.”

Maybe you can. I know I can but I also know what a difference keeping a bullet journal has made to my life. Let me explain.

6 reasons I keep a Bullet Journal

1.       I can keep all my thoughts in one place

My mind is a natural nesting ground for inspiration and ideas. These thoughts, that generally pop up while I’m driving or in the shower, range from story ideas, to blog posts, to realisations such as “Darn, I must write to Great Aunt Gardenia”.

The variation in these thoughts led, in the past, to the creation of multiple places to store them. There’s the diary function on my phone for appointments and reminders, the note function, also on my phone, for creative ideas, shelves of writing journals and files on my computer too.

Those are all efficient enough on their own but once they’re filed, I often forget about them, and I definitely don’t cross check them.

My bullet journal includes a yearly overview, monthly to-do-lists (which can be altered as the month proceeds and uncompleted tasks carried on to the next month), creative ideas, blog posts, plans for my website and so much more.

I can tuck relevant letters into it (including the Christmas card from Gardenia), pages taken from magazines, or any other paperwork I need to keep to hand.

It’s easy to cross reference to-do-lists with appointments made, letters written and tasks carried out.

There’s no need to go searching for the relevant writing journal or file on my computer. Everything is captured in my bullet journal.

2.       It’s easy

It really is. Once I’d set up the diary pages, index and key (symbols that stand for task to do, task completed, appointment, etc) then I was away and filling it all in at speed.

There’s no logging-in or filing systems to tackle. It’s a pad and a pen. What could be simpler?

3.       It’s cheap

Like I said above, all I need for my bullet journal is a pad and a pen, and perhaps a ruler.

I use an A4 Pukka Pad and whichever pen is to hand.

4.       It’s a physical book

Some people might see this as a disadvantage but I spend so much time online for work purposes already that it’s great to take a break.

I’m not tied to a desk to use my bullet journal. I can curl up on the couch, take it with me to my favourite café or even fill it in while I’m in bed.

Add to this the fact that I’m a stationery freak and keeping a bullet journal gives me a perfect excuse to buy more Pukka Pads and pens.

I already have a pad ready for my 2018 bullet journal.

5.       It’s private

Only I will ever see my bullet journal. I don’t have to worry about my computer being hacked. I’m never going to share it with a colleague. It is truly ‘for my eyes only’.

This means that there’s no problem if it’s messy, with scribblings and scored through notes.

I can add items to my to-do-list and only I will know if I never got round to completing them.

I can pen a rant about [fill in whoever or whatever you imagine I would rant over] and nobody will see it, except me.

In today’s world, privacy is becoming more and more rare. My bullet journal is my own little private corner.

6.       It’s personal

Some of the bullet journals I’ve seen online are much more decorative and ornate than mine but that’s the brilliant thing about keeping a bullet journal – you design it to suit you, and you alone.

Images borrowed from bulletjournal.com and mikaelahunt.com

I design my bullet journal around what I need from it. I use it in a way that makes my life easier.

I don’t worry about what anyone else does in theirs. I don’t shape it to anyone else’s design.

This is my bullet journal. It suits me. It serves me.

I can honestly say that I love my bullet journal. Keeping one won’t suit everyone but it’s ideal for me, and with all the change that 2017 has brought into my life, my bullet journal is a tool I’ll be using again next year.