How to Start a Bullet Journal

All over Pinterest, I was seeing pins about bullet journals, and I wondered what they were. After figuring out that it was pretty much a notebook with dots instead of lines, I was instantly interested. But the thing that made me confused was “where do I start?” I had seen so many ideas all over the internet that I wasn’t sure how to start designing my bullet journal, which can be a turn-off for some people who consider starting one.

If you’re interested in starting a bullet journal, it can seem very overwhelming to try and start from scratch. There are thousands of designs and ideas out there, so it’s pretty hard to figure out where to start. I remember trying to start mine a while back and being frustrated that I couldn’t stick with a solid theme because I wanted to try so many different styles and ideas. Here, I’ll be explaining the process I went through to start my bullet journal and some ideas on how you can start your own.

What I suggest first is to find ideas, as many as you can. I highly recommend Pinterest to get you inspired. Unimaginable amounts of people have pinned and created bullet journal pins, and it’s super easy to find so many different ideas in one place. I made one board for “Journal Inspiration,” then I added sections like “covers,” “travel,” and “trackers” to help organize the pins.

After finding some ideas you like, try and decide what kind of journal you’ll be creating, whether it’s an organizational, artistic, or a travel journal (or anything else you can think of, including a combination.) Then, decide which aspects of the bullet journal you like. I realized while starting mine I enjoy lots of trackers and weekly spreads. Some people enjoy sticking to a theme every month. However, others may find this too much of a hassle and want just a simple calendar for every month. That’s the best thing about bullet journals: you can design them however you like!

After figuring out the general idea and aspects of your bullet journal, it’s time to start experimenting. Pick out some of the aspects you liked, such as a sleep tracker or a monthly calendar. Then, start drawing! There’s no wrong way to do this part: just keep trying out ideas and styles until you find which you like best! For my first couple of months in my bullet journal, I never stuck to a theme except for each weekly spread. I tried out so many different styles and aspects in the those months, and I’m extremely glad that I did. Even still, I continue to try out new ideas every now and then to keep things interesting.

After a couple months, you’ll be able to figure out what designs you like and how artistic you can be. It seems super overwhelming at the beginning, but after trying out some ideas on the pages, bullet journaling becomes a lot easier than it seems. The most important part about bullet journaling is that it’s all up to you. Your bullet journal can be as complicated or as simple as you want. You could include ultra-organized trackers and weekly spreads, or you could maybe make a weekly spread for one week a month. You might just want to try new styles and aspects every month to try out all the ideas you love. As long as it helps you reach a goal, be it staying organized, being artistic, or tracking memories, it’s a win for you!

Also, if you’re a perfectionist like me, you might be really upset the first time you make a big smear across the page or spell a title wrong, but don’t freak out! Worst case scenario, if you hate it so much that you need to start over, glue the pages together or cut them out! Don’t worry over little mistakes in your bullet journal. Bullet journaling is supposed to be fun, not stressful!

I recommend bullet journaling at least once in a while for everyone. Even if you don’t want to keep up with it every single day, doing something in a bullet journal even once a month, like a calendar, can help you feel more organized. Bullet journaling is so helpful to me because it helps me stay organized and track my habits. Others may find bullet journaling useful for organizing events or creating a budget. Like I’ve said, bullet journals can be used by anyone for anything!

If you’re still feeling overwhelmed over starting from scratch, I suggest trying out a little at first, and then later you can always try more. If you never try out ideas, how will you be able to figure out what you like? And remember, there are no wrong ideas or designs in a bullet journal, and there’s always another page to come. Happy bullet journaling!