Education logo

What is a bullet journal and how does it work?

Spoiler: It is a tool that helps us organize ourselves better and be more productive.

By The WeroPublished about a year ago 4 min read
1
What is a bullet journal and how does it work?
Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash

The bullet journal is a creative work organization strategy, nothing more and nothing less, but its supporters are anxious to emphasize the tool's effectiveness in altering our routines. The bullet journal allows us to avoid having a thousand notebooks to organize and manage every part of our lives: jobs, grocery lists, personal resolutions, and so on. Similarly, it will no longer be required to hang colored post-it notes left and right without regard for criterion. The most essential benefit of this strategy is that it allows us to avoid accumulating tasks and, as a result, find time for everything that interests us. It brings order to our minds, aids concentration, and reduces stress and turmoil. And in a literal sense!

Ryder Carroll, a 40-year-old digital designer born in Vienna to a couple of American teachers who suffered from attention deficit disorder, invented the bullet diary. He made notes in multiple notebooks to pass his university examinations and scribbled down his opinions about himself. He discovered a technique to arrange oneself using a single notebook in 2013 when he had already begun working. Satisfied with the outcome, he decided to launch a website to explain his new approach in a video: the "bullet journal" was created, abbreviated bujo, which stems from bullet point and implies a sense of speed because bullet in English means bullet. Naturally, the video went viral.

Bujo has undoubtedly grown: it now has its terminology, multiple influencers, and 5.6 million Instagram posts. Everyone may make their notebook, and there are various theories about how it should look: hardcover? Soft? Should writing be solely useful, or should it also be decorative? " The bullet journal, which consists of a notebook, a pen, and the revival of handwriting in the digital era, aids in concentration, organization, and improvement of daily time management. Its long-term strength is that it helps us to think about ourselves. "Stopping to regroup, gather energy, and start walking is just as important as the schoolwork and work we do every day," says Mario Tascón, founder of the consulting business Prodigioso Volcán, which offers bullet journal seminars.

---

How to Create a Bullet Journal in 5 Easy Steps

How can we begin using this strategy to organize our lives? Ryder Carroll outlined the following five tips:

1. Get a notebook

By Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Preferably an exquisite and durable one because it will accompany us everywhere, and make an index on the first two pages to assist us easily discovering what we will write down. Because this is a long-term calendar, the next two pages should be named "Future Register" and separated by months. Begin by numbering the pages and creating daily, monthly, and annual activity logs, as well as lists and libraries. To catalog ideas, meetings, events, or activities, for example, it will be essential to employ a set of recognized symbols such as gender and other relevant indications to indicate that an activity has been finished or transferred to another part.

2. Determine our goals

By Aaron Burden on Unsplash

It is critical to ask yourself a question: why did we choose to view the movie above, and what are we seeking? To answer this question, we must first define our need: do we want to be more productive or creative? We must write down what we want to get out of our darkness and ensure that it is a genuine need. We can and should change our intentions whenever we feel the need to avoid having to think about it too much. It's entertaining to watch our goals shift over time, so our intentions don't have to be successful. The bullet journal philosophy is straightforward: it is based on action and emphasizes the process. "Our intentions serve as a guidepost, not a destination," Carroll observes.

3. Throughout the day, record thoughts linked to the theme of our notebook

By David Travis on Unsplash

If we were utilizing the dark to help us cope with sadness, for example, we would write down the things that made us feel happy as we experienced them. If we were attempting to be more productive, we would write down what has to be done when it is needed, rather than in preparation. "When we first start, it's crucial to get into the habit of writing down our thoughts as they occur to us." We don't need any planning, models, or imperatives; we only need to write down our thoughts. Let's keep it simple. We may feel like we are doing little at first, but in the long term, we will realize that there is a significant difference between doing something and doing nothing."

4. Use the notebook for our specific requirements

By Scott Graham on Unsplash

The bullet journal's efficacy stems from its versatility. Its architecture is flexible, allowing us to add or delete functionalities according to the situation. The number of tools accessible in this approach may appear overwhelming at first, but with practice, we learn to choose and use the correct tools for our task. We start with those that are immediately required and relevant to our purpose. After we've collected our ideas for a time, we'll start to see what's lacking, such as categorization or classification. It's time to add another tool to our arsenal, first and foremost the fast log, which will assist us in inventorying our ideas by categorizing them as tasks, events, notes, and collections.

5. Concentrate on what is important

By Stefan Cosma on Unsplash

There are numerous instances of bullet diaries, from the most creative to the most austere, that might convince us that hyper-organized lifestyles exist, but this is not the goal. "This strategy will not render us immune to life's volatility." If anything, it will help us accept and learn from the clutter a bit more. It is not about attaining perfection, but rather about having a goal. It's intended to help us spend more time on what matters and less time on what doesn't. We do this to focus more on our lives, one note at a time. "That's how it begins," Carroll concludes.

Thank you for reading.

See you next time!

Wero

courseshow tointerview
1

About the Creator

The Wero

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.