Ah, the bullet journal.
I wanted so badly to love bullet journaling. But… it ended up being an epic fail. I’ll spare you the sad, sad photos, and leave you with this. Despite having taken a shit ton of design classes as an undergrad theater major, fine arts are not my speciality. At all.
After failing miserably to get the hang of bullet journaling, I decided to figure out my own pen and paper organizational system. A system that would keep me organized and inspired, much like the bullet journal was supposed to.
✨ Start off with a daily planner.
I love my paper and pen planner. One of my biggest fears is losing my planner. Okay, that and being pushed onto the subway tracks.
It’s where I keep all the important information about future things such as phone calls, dentist appointments, weddings, and upcoming happenings 😉 I also like to notate my work out plan ~2 weeks in advanced so I remember to sign up for whatever classes I need to sign up for while also keeping my regiment balanced.
My planner is a super old, refillable, datebook I got at the Coach outlet eons ago.
✨ During crazy weeks, I take things one step further.
If my week is full of days where I have a lot going on, I like to write out my schedule for the week and block out what time I’m going to do what. I don’t love gcal, but sometimes I do use gcal during crazy weeks so I can literally see where I have gaps in my schedule to fit in things like homework or blogging.
Busy weeks stress me out, so I find writing everything out calms me down. It helps me visualize how the week is going to go down.
✨ Now comes the to-do lists.
The Weekly List
I know there are a million and one apps that can help me make fancy to-do lists. But let’s be honest, nothing beats the satisfaction of physically crossing something off your to-do list. I also just love the act of actually writing everything out and having it next to me at my computer.
Every Sunday I brain dump EVERYTHING I need to do that week into my moleskin notebook — things like write blog posts, an email I know I need to send, reminder to go to CVS at some point, etc. By writing these things down down, they’re no longer some nagging voice inside my head gnawing at my brain.
This summer I also had a Before Grad School I Will… list with BIG things I wanted to accomplish before school started, like renewing my passport (kind of a pain in the ass!) and I knew I had to update my blog media kit.
The Daily List
So, after I make my mega to-do list for the week, I make an additional to-do list for every day. Here’s where I get specific about what I’m actually going to do that day. I usually prioritize and create the list based on importance and what’s time sensitive.
I try my best to be realistic here. In a perfect world I’d be able to bang out three blog posts in one day. But that’s just not gonna happen.
I also keep a separate notebook for notes.
Okay, I’m a bit of a notebook fiend, but hear me out.
For blog and business stuff I keep a separate notebook where I can take notes during important business phone calls. This is also where I write down certain goals, i.e. metrics I want to hit in 2017.
I also sometimes write better with pen and paper. When I’m really struggling to write a blog post and can’t get the words out, I start writing in my notebook and it usually helps.
I keep a google doc to track blog content ideas (I like that I can access it from anywhere and start blog posts in there) and a spread sheet on google which tracks certain metrics over time.
Why this method works for me…
⚬ I’m not stressed about it “looking pretty”. I like keeping things neat and orderly. My to-do lists ain’t pretty, but at least they are neat.
One of my main issues with the bullet journal was the pressure to make it pretty while also keeping things orderly. The second I messed up, I felt like my bullet journal looked like a hot mess.
⚬ I don’t need to track minute things.
I’ve seen a lot of people create these cute little tracking charts for their bullet journal. Don’t get me wrong, they look adorable.
But I don’t need to track things like whether or not I worked out (surprise, I workout 5-6 days a week without fail.) how much water I drank, or if I read before bed. It’s interesting but just doesn’t matter to me and if anything creates more stress. This is why I’ll never count calories or track my macros — creates too much stress for me.
⚬ It covers [almost] all the parts of my life.
Right now I’m juggling a few things, to say the least. Between blogging, Holistic Happening, internship and school, being organized is crucial. Having these mega to-do lists help me figure out what needs to be down during my days off.
I’ll admit at internship I just use a google doc to keep track of what I need to do. My reasoning is that I’m often copy and pasting requests from my manager, so it’s easier to keep everything digital.
✨
Your turn: Have you tried bullet journaling? If not, what method do you use to stay organized.
What struck me about the bullet journal craze is that it’s how I’ve always organized myself, minus putting personal items down so when it became a “thing” I was like umm what is so revolutionary here? This year (2017), the planner that I have has a new-to-me layout with the week in 6 horizontal boxes (Sat/Sun is a split one) on the right hand side and a few sections of “to-do” type lists on the left (to call, to email, to do, to buy, etc.). I’m actually really liking this and it does mean a little less writing- i.e. if I write Kayla under “to email” I don’t have to say “email Kayla.” Honestly, when it comes to organization, the best system is the one that works for you- true of all things really.
that layout sounds so smart! I’ve thought about getting a fancier planner but I’m too hooked on the one I’ve had since sophomore year of college…
I keep lists in the Notes app on my phone for: personal to-do’s (dry cleaning, CVS etc), freelance writing to-do’s, and blogging to-do’s . I keep a paper to-do list for work-related to-do’s on my desk at work. I also put all my freelance writing and blogging deadlines in my gcal and religiously put down all my social stuff so I don’t forget!
It’s funny I use notes to like keep track of books I want to read and groceries I need to pick up but can’t get in the habit otherwise.
I just started journaling, like 2 months ago. Went crazy buying (but not that crazy buying) stuff on amazon. Then i noticed i wanted to write things down quickly but still tried to make it pretty. Markers, stickers, whatever. I still use those, only more like an afterthought. I bought these great colored ball point pens that I love- and a little stemcil to make stars and numbers, help with drawing straight lines. I don’t have designated pages gor everything (except a section to remember what to write in my book, and then church stuff- notes on services, prayer requests. ) I lile putting things as they pop into my head- and i free write my thoughts on pages as i go.
I had SO much anxiety trying to make it “pretty”! I think stencils would have helped me and not trying to make the quick notes pretty but more so the bigger goals.