I check in with my Bullet Journal everyday. Since I got into the system, I’ve benefited from having a reliable “external mind”, as the Getting Things Done methodology puts it.
The Bullet Journal, or BuJo as it’s known by its dedicated community, is a versatile way to organise our thoughts and plan for the future.
In today’s post, I’ll review my top 5 favourite use cases for the Bullet Journal – both why and how we should use it. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, it doesn’t require anything more than a pen and a spare notebook. And the result is a more organised your life.
If you are a beginner, this post should be enough to get you up-and-running with your own Bullet Journal.
So let’s dive in!
1. Daily To Do Lists
The #1 reason I check in with my Bullet Journal everyday is because it acts as my daily to-do list. I start each day by listing out everything I want to accomplish that day.
The beauty of Bullet Journal to-do lists is that we create a new one everyday. We have to intentionally set our tasks for the day each morning. Unlike to-do lists that grow into untamed beasts over time, it’s easy to stay on top of our daily actions with the BuJo daily log.
At any point in the day, it’s only been a few hours since we intentionally planned the task in our journal. That’s why it should still be fresh in our minds and relevant to our day’s actions. This differs from long-term to-do lists that may have tasks we listed out months ago and can’t seem remember what to do about them – or why they matter.
My to-do list usually involves “migrating” tasks from previous days. BuJo relies on a handy system of custom bullets to indicate whether a line is a task, note or event. Tasks, which start as bullet points, can then be completed (X) once completed or migrated (>) to future days.
It’s easy to see at a glance open tasks from previous days that have not yet been managed. These are tasks we still need to complete or migrate. Tasks that are no longer relevant or important can be, rather than completed or migrated, crossed off the list.
2. Capture Important Notes
On the flip side of daily tasks, I also use my BuJo to quickly capture pieces of information. I’ll do this using the Note bullet (-). The Bullet Journal is great for taking ad-hoc notes throughout the day.
We don’t always have time to take a break from our current task to do the thing we just thought of. Especially, when we’re in the midst of our most important task of the day, we shouldn’t be forced to switch focus to another task. Without too much pause, we can quickly write down the thing that came up and revisit it later.
For example, an idea might come to you on a different approach to a project you’re working on. In another example, you might receive an email that includes an important detail you need to keep track of. By using your BuJo, you’ll be reminded of the note at a later time when you’re in a better position to determine where it fits in your file management system.
You can think of BuJo as an organised version of taking ad-hoc notes on a stack of post-it notes. Weekly reviews are a great time to identify any notes we may need to organise into our system for later reference.
3. Planning Projects
Beyond the daily logs, BuJo is great for creating custom collections. Especially if you enjoy taking time to reflect with your journal. Custom collections are usually lists or tables that help us build out notes on a topic or plan out a project.
Whenever I have a new grand task, I try to create a new collection. Whether it’s for work, my free-time hobbies or moving to a new country, my BuJo has become a point of solace. I enjoy spending time with it and organising my thoughts into actionable roadmaps.
For example, I moved from London to Stockholm in October, yet I didn’t feel the typical aches of moving. I’m sure it was partly due to my Stoicism practice and managing anxiety. But the BuJo system definitely helped me stay on top of my game plan from the day I decided to move, which was about 3 weeks earlier!
BuJo is great for planning any project that’s too big to manage only in your mind. You can tell a project is too big when it starts causing you anxiety and making it difficult to focus on other tasks and projects. By listing out all the information you might need and all the steps you’ll need to take, your mind will feel free to rest.
“By closing open loops”, as David Allen puts it, “your mind will achieve improved mental clarity and focus, as well as a dramatic increase in productivity”.
4. Setting & Achieving Goals
Taking a longer-term approach, the Bullet Journal is also great for setting and achieving our goals. By creating a new custom collection titled ‘GOALS’, you can list one side of the spread ‘Professional’ and the other side of the goal ‘Personal’.
Taking time to brainstorm regularly on what really matters to you brings intentionality to your life. When you list everything you want to achieve, and review this list regularly, you can take small daily actions to achieve them. You might even use your BuJo to plan out your ideal week.
Stoicism and the Bullet Journal both helped me achieve my goal of starting this website.
A Goals Collection Example
For instance, many Bullet Journals start with a GOALS collection. This might include professional goals such as holding a keynote speech and starting your own business. Personal goals might include starting a family and visit Norway to see the Northern Lights.
Once all your goals are listed out, you can take an action approach by starting to reflect on how you’ll achieve these goals. By creating a new custom collection from each goal, the steps necessary to reach your goals become much clearer. You can then prioritise these steps into your monthly & daily logs.
The Bullet Journal’s beauty comes down to its 360° scope. We can list everything from the overarching goals that give our life meaning to the daily actions required to achieve our goals. And the best part, it’s all kept in one place!
Achieving our goals and living more purposefully is just another great reason to adopt the Bullet Journal system.
5. Journal: Reflection of Key Insights
The final use case in this top five list is journaling and reflection. As I mentioned in the second use case, Bullet Journals can be used to capture important notes. And what could be more important than our reflections on our life and current circumstances?
Know thyself.
Socrates
Many poor decisions come from a lack of self-awareness. When we proactively consider our current circumstances and aspirations, we refine our ambitions to what we truly want. Rather than simply adopting someone else’s goals and lifestyle, we develop our own through reflection. As a result, we get a better sense of who we are.
Journaling is a great way to develop self-awareness, a purpose for which we can use BuJo. By creating a new custom collection we can list out any thoughts that come to mind in one place.
My Bullet Journal Reflections
I titled my most recent Reflection collection: ‘THOUGHTS – 27/02’. This collection accompanied a 30 minute meditation session, where I sat comfortably and took notes of anything that came to mind that seemed important.
I used this meditation-reflection session as an opportunity to record how I felt I was living at the moment. My reflections included a review of practices I felt I should do more often, such as:
I should meditate and journal more. Everyday, if possible.
I should spend more time stretching.
I also listed things I felt would be nice to have in my life:
Some mood lighting would be nice in my room
I should sign up to Masterclass or Skillshare
My Key Insight
Ultimately, the greatest reflection from this session aimed at my core nature:
Give yourself time to rest! Free time should never feel like work, and work can always be more enjoyable.
Because of my fascination with productivity, I sometimes fall into the bad habit of never-ending action. In addition to my 9-5 job, I manage a website, a podcast and also do the occasional freelance work. At the time of starting this collection, I was thoroughly exhausted.
It was reassuring to get to the bottom of my feelings. Once I realised this was the problem, I could offer myself a solution:
Let yourself off the hook when you’re not enjoying something. You don’t need to spend your free time in dread. Most of your obligations are self-imposed anyway. Refocus the work to make it more enjoyable, and you won’t beat yourself as much. And of course, always prioritise your health and rest.
Reflection is a beautiful tool in our lives. We can use reflection to understand our current situation and any friction caused by outdated ways of thinking. The goal is to dig deeper into the mind to figure out who we are and what misguided mantras we might currently be following.
Writing down our reflections is both a meditative process and a great way to remember potentially life-changing insight. The Stoics made sure to have a daily routine for reflection.
Live a Life of Purpose
I started Bullet Journaling in June 2020 and have loved the practice ever since! It’s helped me prioritise my work and get out of my own head. I’m less stressed about work because everything’s organised into my system. This is one of the key benefits of having a productivity system, and mindfulness generally.
I also, just generally, really enjoy checking in with my BuJo. Every morning I’ll start a new daily log and plan my intended actions for the day. On special occasions, I’ll even create a custom collection to start a new project or reflect on my current circumstances.
Our lives become meaningful when we set goals and work to achieve them. Bullet Journaling is a great way to bring such meaning to our lives.
Learn to live a life of purpose with the Bullet Journal and Mind & Practice today.