Bullet Journaling
Ryder Carrol developed the Bullet Journal (shortened as BuJo by its dedicated community) as a productivity system. It’s designed as a sort of external mind to organise your thoughts and actions to get the most out of your life.
The system blends the functionality of a planner, daily to-do list and general notes in a way that reduces stress and helps you be mindful of your current priorities.
I’ve used my Bullet Journal nearly everyday for over a year now. That’s why I want to share my experience with others who are interested in adopting a productivity note-taking system.
My Bullet Journal Experience
I started Bullet Journaling as my interest in productivity techniques eventually led me to believe I needed an organised notebook. I never considered myself inherently organised, so I thought I’d save time (and effort) by adapting an existing system. After some Googling, I soon came across the Bullet Journal system.
Since June 2020, I’ve checked in with my Bullet Journal nearly every morning. At the very least, I plan my main actions for the day. I can also add new action points and notes that come up throughout the day.
I also find it useful to log interesting ideas I have throughout the day. Evening reflection becomes much easier when I have these notes in front of me.
Some days I might even feel it’s time to create a new collection. This might include planning a specific project or compiling some sort of list. Custom collections allow us to dive into new projects that matter to us and ultimately reach our goals.
The beauty of organising things in my Bullet Journal is that I regularly review all the pages. I really enjoy flipping through the pages. It’s almost like a story of my priorities in life. Custom collections stand out from the other days, because they’re usually more organised than my daily and monthly logs.
If you’re interested in learning more, here are my favourite Bullet Journal use cases.
Before discovering the Bullet Journal, I had no idea how flexible a notebook method would be. I still find it amazing how flexible it is. I can literally make it into whatever I need it to be.
The Benefits of Bullet Journaling
Besides helping me plan my life, the Bullet Journal helps me get everything in my mind out on paper. The original reason I wanted a notebook system was to create an “extension of the mind”, as described in David Allen’s Getting Things Done.
David Allen actually called the Bullet Journal system a “comprehensive and hands-on methodology” for externalising our thinking. Learn more about GTD in our Mindful Guide to Getting Things Done. BuJo can also become a useful component of our weekly review.
By getting all the important thoughts out of our minds and onto paper, we’re free to think clearly and be creative. That’s the idea behind flow and deep work. We free our minds to focus on the tasks we’ve prioritised each day.
This extension of the mind helps us be mindful by organising our priorities into a system. If you follow the method correctly, you’re sure to stay on track of everything you need (and want) to do.
Now that we’ve run through the core benefits, I bet you can’t wait to set up your own Bullet Journal. Read on as we discuss the functionality of the Bullet Journal before running you through how to set up your own BuJo today.
Bullet Journal Functionality
Though taking the form of a paper notebook, the Bullet Journal is designed to work like an app. Ryder is a digital product designer after all.
The system comes down to six key components:
- Rapid logging
- The index
- Future, monthly and daily logs
- Custom bullets
- Migration
- Custom Collections
These parts create a whole system that helps us reach our goals.
Rapid Logging
Rather than long-form writing, rapid logging comes down to bullet point notes. The idea is to limit your bullet points to a few keywords for optimal use of space in your BuJo notebook.
Rapid logging is the language of the Bullet Journal.
Index
The index takes up the first 4 pages (2 spreads) of your journal and lists out page numbers of your BuJo content.
This section helps you find other content in your notebook quickly, without flicking through every page, just guessing where it might be.
Future Logs
The Future log takes up the next 4 pages of your journal, splitting each page into 3 months. You can list out anything important to remember (tasks, events, notes) to remember in the upcoming months.
This provides a year’s worth of planning at a glance for important tasks and events for later in the year.
The future log is the first entry in the index on pages 5 to 8.
Monthly Logs
Each month gets its own monthly log, 2 pages that list out a calendar and task list. With the monthly log, you can see big events as well as tasks and projects from the month at a glance.
Monthly logs help you stay on top of things throughout the month and record your monthly activities.
Each month’s page numbers will be annotated in the index – starting from the monthly log ending with the month’s final daily log.
Daily Logs
Daily logs are created each morning, allowing you to plan the day ahead and take notes throughout. I like to use it as a daily to-do list with my core tasks and events for the day.
I’ll add any important tasks or notes that come up throughout the day, so I don’t lose track of anything. Any notes can be added to the daily log in the moment without ruining your flow. Remember, multi-tasking is a myth.
Once written down, you can decide what you want to do with the daily log notes at a later time. These logs also offer a chance for reflection at the end of the day.
Custom Bullets
Rapid logging uses custom bullets to determine whether an entry is a task, event or a note. These three entry types quickly show what you need to do, as well as thoughts that you had and don’t want to forget.
In addition to the three custom bullets, each task will change over time. You get a quick view of tasks that have been completed, migrated, abandoned and remain open. You may even choose to remove some tasks by crossing them out.
Migration
Migration occurs daily, monthly and yearly. The idea is that each day, we may carry over tasks from the previous day. Each month, we carry over tasks from the previous month, and each year we carry over tasks from the previous year.
Due to the nature of rapid logging and custom bullets it’s easy to see which tasks have not been completed. Migration is an opportunity to determine why you didn’t complete a task. You might consider whether it’s even worth completing at all.
Is this really worth our time and effort?
We often give ourselves tasks that seem worth our time and effort in the moment, though at a later time we realise these projects are not actually our priorities.
As time and energy are limited resources, it’s important to save them for the actions that matter most to us.
Sometimes, future reflection tells us that we need to remove a task from our never-ending to-do list. Migration is an opportunity to do so.
Custom Collections
Custom collections are notes on a specific topic.
For example, I created a custom collection on writing tips, where I collect tips from across the internet on how to write. Rather than trying to remember what I learned or taking notes in a million different places, I created a collection to help me pick up the writing habit. We can reinforce any habit with the Bullet Journal system.
I now refer to this collection whenever I feel stuck. I also constantly build out this collection, whenever I come across a new tip or technique.
Custom collections take many forms such as goal lists, challenges and habit trackers – really anything you want to keep track of. You may even want to express your core values and keep it wherever you go with the Bullet Journal.
This custom element makes the BuJo incredibly flexible.
Set up your own Bullet Journal
Now that we’ve gone through how the Bullet Journal works, here’s a simple checklist before you set up your own BuJo.
Checklist
- A5 Notebook (Bulleted, Lined or Blank)
- Comfortable Pen
Mental Inventory
Before you start writing in your notebook, try putting together a mental inventory. That way, you’ll have things to migrate into your Bullet Journal, once it’s up and functional.
Here’s how you put together a simple mental inventory:
- Create 3 columns on a piece of paper
- In the first column, list what you’re currently working on
- Next, list what you should be working on
- In the final column, list what you’d like to be working on
Give this exercise some time, just to empty all the stressful thoughts from your mind. A comprehensive list of current and upcoming tasks is fuel for your Bullet Journal fire.
Quick Start
Now that you have everything you need, it’s time to set up your BuJo.
Now that we have a mental inventory and know how it all works, it’s time to get started. Below we’ll run through a step-by-step process to start a new bullet journal. But first you might be interested in what its creator has to say.
A quick start comes down to the following five steps:
1. Set up the index on the first two spreads (p. 1 – 4)
a. Write “INDEX” at the top of each page
2. Set up your future log on the next two spreads (p. 5 – 8)
a. Write “FUTURE LOG” at the top of each page
b. Divide each page into 3 sections with horizontal lines
3. Set up your monthly log on the next spread (p. 9 – 10)
a. Write the name of the month at the top of each page, e.g. “MAY”
b. On the left: List out each day of the month with a letter for the day of the week next to the number. This is your calendar.
c. On the right: list out any important tasks or events for the month.
4. Set up your daily log on the next page (p 11 – 12)
a. At the top of the page, note the date and day, e.g. “26.08.We”
b. Write down any relevant tasks, events or notes for the day
5. Fill your BuJo with content
a. Migrate your mental inventory into your BuJo
b. Add any other priority items into your BuJo
The Bullet Journal Method
The Bullet Journal is a great way to reduce anxiety and plan our ideal week.
Ryder Carrol reviews the system in more detail and explains how it aligns with various mindfulness concepts. You can read more on the Bullet Journal blog or in his book, The Bullet Journal Method.
Learn how to track your past, order your present and plan your future with the Bullet Journal and Mind & Practice today.