Getting Started With Bullet Journaling: Why and How
I love the bullet journal method! I first ran across it on Lifehacker in 2015, and have been using it ever since.
First Things First
If you go looking for bullet journal (aka BuJo) stuff online, you will probably find the super-duper-artsy side of things pretty quickly. The arty BuJo style is very social-media-friendly and I know lots of folks think that’s just how bullet journaling works. But not necessarily! BuJo can be very minimalist (mine is).
Also: there is no “correct” way to bullet journal. One of the best things about BuJo is that it is infinitely tweakable. You can try one way of doing, say, daily logs – and if it doesn’t work for you, just turn to the next blank page and try another method. So, you’ll see a lot of variations, and that’s a good thing.
Overview
Lifehacker has a great post from ages ago that gives an overview and talks about WHY you might want to try bullet journaling.
Get Started
- Grab some paper, create a mental inventory, and prune it. How-to here.
- Next, grab a blank notebook and follow along with a walkthrough:
- Watch this over on YouTube.
- Or, read this on WikiHow.
NOTE: You CAN buy the official notebook if you want (it’s what I use these days), but I recommend just grabbing a blank notebook you already own or picking a cheap one up from an office supply place or something.
Once You’ve Started
Remember that nobody, almost certainly including you, is going to sit down and read your bullet journal in order. The index holds the page numbers for everything (if you keep it updated) so you can jump right to what you need. Fuck something up? Cross it out, turn to the next blank spread, and try again, or try something else! Nobody has to see your BuJo unless you want them to.
Always always always remember that you can bullet journal however you like! Don’t like the official bullets? Don’t use ’em! Don’t like the Future Log? Ignore it! Want to try a weird habit tracker you saw online? Go for it!! Experiment and see what works for you. I’ve been at it since 2015 and my practice is still changing.
Further Reading/Watching/Stuff
The official site has a TON of blog posts that look at the practice from various viewpoints. I think they can be a little overwhelming until your setup is solid. The official blog is here
Alastair Johnson has some great posts.
The official book is also really good, and goes into using bullet journaling as a mindfulness practice, not just a productivity system. Bookshop.org will hook you up.
If you want to get a really deep dive, check out the official courses here and the official community here.