Go ahead, roll your eyes.
But bullet journals are an amazing productivity tool, if you could learn to adapt them to your life.
No colored pens required.
What Is a Bullet Journal?
A bullet journal is just a notebook that accommodates a huge variety of planning schemes.
(Many bullet journalers also do a spread for each week.)
Then, you write down each days plans and events in the form of bulleted listshence the name.
As described in that video, most of a bullet journal is just a calendar.
Why the Bullet Journal Works So Well
Heres how that flexibility pays off.
The bullet journal approach keeps all my thoughts in one place.
The index ties everything together, so you might easily find those notes later.
Yes, this may mean hand-numbering the pages, but thats not a hassle.
Adaptability is another perk to the system: each day doesnt have to be the same.
For some people, making the journal beautiful is a hobby.
It doesnt have to be you, either.
I use a single, black pen.
I dont take more than about two minutes to set up my page for the day.
I sometimes skip a day and dont feel any guilt about it.
And when I asked around, tons of bullet journalers told me that their books are ugly or messy.
But many, like me, just have pages of scribbles.
What matters is that the scribbles arewherewe need them,whenwe need them.
I dont use the yearly calendar from the official instructions.
I also forgot to make monthly pages for July and August.
Change the system enough, and some doubters say youarent really bullet journaling.
If you collect thoughts and memories, maybe its really ajournalor acommonplace book.
Use any terms that help you find (and, optionally, share) the ideas you like.
In that case, you may wonder what the point of a physical notebook is.
In fact, there are tons of reasons why I stillswear by a paper journal.
First, a paper notebook minimizes distractions.
Electronic and paper systems actually complement each other really well.
Both of these are $20+ notebooks, though.
Fancy pens, like myLamy fountain pen, are nice if youre into that sort of thing.
But any old pen will do.
it’s possible for you to bullet journal just fine with a single color of pen.
If youre still itching for rainbow-colored habit trackers, try using a different colored pen each day.
If Monday is red, for example, you only have to carry your black and your red pen.
Washi tape, a bang out of decorative paper tape, can make your pages pretty.
Adding washi tape to the edge of a page also makes it easy to find when youre flipping through.
A bullet journal doesnt have to be an art project to be a functional system.
That said, itstotally okayif pretty things motivate you.
And if that means that its ugly, enjoy: it works, and its all yours.
Illustration by Sam Woolley.
