DIY: How To Create and Use a Bullet Journal

While some may argue whether it is a planner or a journal, there is no denying the fact that the "bullet journal" can help you live life in a more efficient and productive manner from planning your meals and workouts to planning your schedule - all-in-one.

Created by Ryder Carroll as a way to help him cope with attention deficit disorder (ADD), it is basically a kind of journal that has numerous sections in order that will help you monitor different aspects of your life, like for example, your meal planning or calorie counting.

Rather than have a journal for wellness tracking or gym exercises and a separate one for finances, a bullet journal allows you the convenience of having all of these in just one journal.

Another element that sets a bullet journal apart from the common journal is that you are not usually writing lengthy entries but rather, you are abridging your notes using short words, phrases, and even symbols. This method lets you easily understand your purpose on different pages. In addition, you also save space and putting in entries will not eat up a lot of your time.

So, how will going with a bullet journal help you out better than a traditional one? We have listed down some of the many ways that it can:

1. It can help you stay organized

Having a bullet journal provides you with one place to write everything down. Whether it’s something mundane like your tasks for the day or even something intimate and personal like the state of your mental health, a bullet journal will help you consolidate everything that matters in one single journal. Rather than look in different places — your smartphone, your laptop or even your desktop calendar — for various notes, you’ll be more productive just placing and reviewing them all in one place.

2. It can give you peace of mind

There is nothing more perplexing than feeling like you’re forgetting something but just not knowing what it is. You can elude distressing situations like that by using a bullet journal as it helps keep everything important in one place. From work-related deadlines and medications to can’t-miss events like anniversaries and birthdays, you’ll have access to all these at a moment’s notice when you have a bullet journal.

3. It helps promote work efficiency

Ticking things off of a checklist is a satisfying task and one that you can do when you have a bullet journal. With one, you can go through your daily tasks — whether it’s something as mundane as making your bed and buying groceries or completing a complex, multi-stage project at work. Having a tangible place where you can check things off can feel very rewarding, thus giving you more incentive to move forward.

4. It can help you come up with new ideas

Writing on a bullet journal can help your brain flow and inspire you to explore and discover new ideas. You can jot down how your body is responding to a new diet or take note of an idea that came to your mind while on a commute to work. With a bullet journal, it becomes easier to promote your mind to wander and explore the endless possibilities of new concepts.

If you are wondering what the best way to get started is, one solid tip to never get too far ahead of yourself. You can try asking yourself first what the challenges are and how you want a bullet journal to address these concerns. Once you are able to figure out a general idea, you can then start establishing a system that fulfills your needs.

For bullet journal templates and ideas, you can check out these worthwhile examples here and here.