Bullet Journals Arent Too Shabby
How do you organise your working notes?
Do you use Word docs, notepads or lots of pieces of paper? Or perhaps you use desk planners, whiteboards, wall calendars, big diaries, little diaries or the calendar on your phone or computer. There’s also the floor, the wall, the dog and anything you can stick Post-it notes to, or attack with a sharpie.
Keeping track can be a bloody nightmare.
Personally I’ve always wanted one of those clear stand-up walls that you see in those CSI type programmes – what the hell do you even call them? I Googled ‘clear stand-up perspex board for writing on like CSI’ and it came up with nothing. Nada. So I extended my search to include anywhere in the world and Google came up with instructions on how to actually make one! Yaas! It also had a link to the ACTUAL company that makes the real deal, the ones you see in the crime series … but it’s in America … and I seriously can’t afford one of those beauties.
I just don’t have the room (or the cash), or believe me, I’d have one!
Anyway, I digress. Keeping track can be a pain.
I know some of my colleagues use online trackers, or excel spreadsheets.
Some use Toggl for tracking time, but I have a spreadsheet I’ve set up that works just as well. I just open the timesheet for the job I’m working on and with one click I start tracking my billable hours and I can see how long I’ve worked on a certain part of the project at a glance.
But what I’m talking about is the time-tracking that shows you what jobs you have lined up, where you are with each job and what you need to do each day, week or month.
Some people use Trello or Evernote and they look pretty good, if you like everything on the computer. But I spend ALL DAY on the computer. Honestly, some days I can be staring at a screen from 9 am–10 pm, not always working (no-one can work for that length of time) but always plugged in.
I need something physical, that I can carry with me, that I can touch.
And that’s where my newest fad comes in.
Everyone has heard of them by now, so it will come as no surprise to you that I have made myself a bullet journal.
If you haven’t heard of them, basically a bullet journal is a notebook that you customise with months, weeks and days, a bit like a traditional diary. But you put in the details that are most useful to you. I’ve got a section to see at a glance what work I have lined up, there’s a page or two for useful websites (you know, the ones you write down on the nearest envelope, which is promptly lost when you need it), and for writing ideas.
I know, I know … you’re probably thinking what I thought – duh, it’s just a diary with room for notes. But actually, the way you customise that blank notebook makes it useful to YOU. It’s yours to do with what you will, and you can customise it to get the most out of it.
It’s a stupidly simple idea. Someone just had to put a name to it to give us the newest productivity fad. That person was Ryder Carroll, and you can check out the system on his website.
Strangely enough though, it works and although I’ve only had mine since mid-January, it’s something I’m finding incredible useful. There are pros and cons though:
Pros of a bullet journal
- Forget reaching for your laptop, your journal is right there beside you so you can quickly pick it up and see where you are, add notes, or just admire the colour (I picked a cheerful cerise for mine).
- It unplugs you, even for a little while. It grounds you in the real world.
- No more searching for bits of paper/envelopes/bills that you’ve written on. Everything can be put in your journal.
- It’s more personal than a computer app. Pick a nice journal that appeals to you and set it out in a way that works for you. Use colour, or just a ballpoint. Use tape, stickers, ribbon bookmarks, doodle in it, write randomly in it, just make it yours.
- Everything is all in one place. This, for me, is the most important. Instead of hunting for notes, to-do lists, my calendar, important things that I need to remember and work incoming and due dates, it’s all there in one little book. It organises my tired little mind.
Cons of a bullet journal
- If you are hooked up to your phone you may have everything you need right there (it’s just not as pretty or tactile).
- Forget about all the pretty bullet journal images you see on Pinterest. Seriously. Unless you are supremely arty, have a few days to play with it, or like to use lots of stickers and washi tape, you are never going to get it looking as nice as those YouTubers do.
- You need to take time at the beginning to set out your journal and write bits in there. In our times of instant gratification this could get you annoyed (I dashed mine out and you can tell. It’s not pretty).
- You start getting journal envy when you see all the lovely variations out there. If you’re a perfectionist you might want to throw it away and start again, to make it pretty, or more useful.
- Unlike a computerised to-do list, once it’s written down it’s there. If you aren’t careful it can become a messy blob of coloured pen.
Whether you have a bullet journal or not, the most important thing is to be able to keep track of your work and your time. I just like the fact that it’s a notebook. I like notebooks.
I’m forever grateful to my colleagues for showing me this new shiny way of keeping up with my world, and for this Buzzfeed article for breaking it down for me.
Now that you’ve heard how useful they can be, why not watch the video by the master, and let Ryder show you how to make one:
Have you jumped on the bullet journal fad? Do you find it better than all the computerised bits and bobs or do you find it hard to pull away from the technology?
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2 Comments on “Bullet Journals Arent Too Shabby”
Leave a Reply to hmunro Cancel reply
Why Copy Editors Matter
Northern Editorial 
Omigosh, yes, I’ve jumped on the journal bandwagon in a big way! As a newspaper reporter I acquired the habit of always having a notebook plus a couple of writing utensils on my person, and it’s a habit I’ve carried over into the magical world of corporate copywriting. I’m not quite as disciplined and methodical as you and Ryder Carroll, though: Rather than creating an index and monthly/daily pages, instead I bought the Circa notebook that allows me to reposition pages at will. Regardless of the system, though, I find writing by hand more enjoyable than using an app — and I seem to remember things better, too.
I think it’s the process of actually writing things down helps. I’ll keep an eye out for that type of notebook 😄