“In the journal I do not just express myself more openly than I could do to any person; I create myself.” — Susan Sontag
To keep myself organised and, because I love paper and all things stationery, I’ve been a journalist all my life. From writing in little spiral-bound notebooks and school exercise books as a child, right on through to a fancy leather-bound Midori (an expensive Japanese notebook) that was a birthday gift. I’ve been an avid note-maker since I was able to hold a pencil and write.
I’ve used all sorts of notebooks to scribble in, and even tried the made for journaling journal by Baron Fig—yes, what a great name! Never mind the journal that everyone seems to hold as sacred, the Leuchtturm1917. But amongst them all, big, small, ruled, dotted or blank, fancy, plain, expensive or cheap. The one I love the most has to be the A5 pocket size Moleskine.
I’ve noted everything from lists of movies watched, to books I want to buy, to snippets I want to remember—quotes, sayings and random thoughts—all the things I don’t want to forget. From To-Do lists to complicated weekly and monthly calendars — they’ve all been scribbled in a Moleskine at some point or other.
Whatever the notebook of the moment, I’ve found the best way of journalling, the way to make it a habit rather than a chore, has been to follow the simplistic rules guidelines of Bullet Journal Guru, Ryder Carroll, who has made journalling not only easier to stick to, but almost an art form in and of itself.
Simplicity being the key to making it work. We’re not talking the kind of journalling where each and every page is a work of art, quite the opposite, in fact. Carroll preaches the minimalist approach. His BuJo approach gives you leave to just jot down notes and ideas, thoughts and reminders, as a series of short form sentences paired with a symbol that is your visual guide, as you categorise your entries into: Tasks, Events, or Notes (in it’s basic form).
For more information, Melody Wilding writes a great introductory article about Bullet Journaling for Beginners, over on Medium, and the New Republic has Why The Humble Notebook is taking over. Even the prestigious LA Times ran an article Why Is Everyone Crazy for BuJo?
Why? Because it gives people in a digital world the freedom—and yes, permission—to go analogue when it comes to note-taking. Rest assured, a BuJo only needs a pen or pencil—nothing more, nothing less—and doesn’t need constantly charging or updating. Further more, filling a notebook and filing it away on a shelf next to its brethren after full, is an achievement.
How about you, do you obsessively note take, and do you Bullet Journal with the best of them?
NaBloPoMo: 11/30
[grey_box]This post is part of NaBloPoMo where I write 30 blog posts in November. Thank you for reading and leaving me a comment, which is encouragement for me to finish this challenge. To follow along you can subscribe using the form provided in the sidebar or use RSS.[/grey_box]
I was literally writing a post about this myself. I need a goal tracker AND a to-do list and that’s it. Most of my actually “planning” is done on a Google calendar that I share with my husband. And I don’t want anything bulky or with extraneous paper/”encouraging” quotes or whatever. I currently make my own goal tracker, but it’s sort of annoying and I have to-do lists everywhere all over the house. I’d like a more organized system, so that’s a 2025 goal.
I know what you mean about goal tracking and having to-do lists that need collating. I’ve found a journal or planner help me, some like being online with apps, but I still can’t get the hang of using my phone for stuff like that.
One day someone will come up with a system that covers everything we need in one app or planner.
I’m a fan of Bullet journaling too, it’s one of my favourite ways to keep track of time and tasks. Have you read his book? It was really helpful to me, even after keeping a bujo for years when I read it. 🙂
It can really be helpful and is so versatile to use, and no, I haven’t read his book, just a number of excerpts. But I find the concept really helpful as well for my particular needs.
I am definitely a paper-planner-kinda-gal (and I do love journals, I have a bunch)… I tried my hand at a BuJo before but creating the pages was too much for me at the time (although I liked the general format).
Paper planners are the best, in fact, all things paper. What type of BuJo journalling did you try? The Ryder Carroll version has no layouts, just bullet points. Though it’s true life is easier using an already printed planner for most things.
I have tried bullet journaling one year but it didn’t quite stick for me. However I have used some of the bullet journal techniques and included them in a planner to make it my own and enhance it to my preferences.
And I used to live with my Moleskine calendars. Loved them so much but at one point more of my appointments were in my digital calendar and the moleskin was rather white by end of the year …
I love that there are so many choices to choose from in order to find something that works for each of us. I still can’t get use to using an app though. I guess I am old school that way.
I don’t do journaling but I use a paper calendar and write down all sorts of things there. One can’t do everything but I do want to give it another try sometime.
Just do what works for you, Meike. You don’t have to stick to one thing either, you can do as much or as little as you want. Some people do works of art in their journals, others like me, just scribble stuff that needs to be done.
There’s no wrong way, and there’s no right way, there’s only what works for each of us.
I have so many little notebooks here and there, a few mindfulness journals – I just love to collect them! But I find I can’t stick to them, and end up making lists on my phone. There is something unique about old fashioned pen and paper and the process of handwriting itself is becoming a lost art! I’ve started writing notes to capture ideas for writing; thanks for providing links to bullet journaling I will need to check them out!
I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have a mild addiction to collection stationery of different forms and then, not using most of it. I think we like the idea of doing a journal, but it doesn’t always work out. I hope you get back into the handwriting it can be fun if you set aside time to indulge it as a hobby.
Yay! Yes I love my bullet journal although I’m not great about remembering to consistently use it, but it’s still the method of keeping track of my life that’s worked the best so far. Plus, I was wondering what I was going to blog about for today’s NaBloPoMo topic, and was thinking at some point during the month that bullet journals would be a good topic. So no time like the present, I guess!
I use my journal for any number of things, mostly it’s daily stuff, but also, for blog post ideas too. This is why I like little notebooks for scribbling ideas down in. The problem is making sure you don’t have 2-3 or even more notebooks on the go at once! Ha! Ha!
I used a bullet journal for many years, but have moved to a digital for most things. I use ROAM research and I love that it’s as flexible and easy as a bullet journal, but also has bi-directional linking for my notes. I still use paper for some things, though. I find taking notes and thinking things through, paper still rules.
Oh, I envy you being able to use digital. I wonder if it’s an age thing or an eye thing? As I’ve never liked screen time. I grew up doing a journal and diaries and well, never really stopped. I think maybe because I’m also a doodler, and love to scribble and you can’t really do that digitally!
I’ll have to look into Ryder Carroll! I have tried bullet journaling before but like San said, creating the layouts (when I’m not creative like that AT ALL) was very time-consuming. But I’ve yet to find a paper planner that truly meets my needs, which is the perfect reason to bullet journal!
I think the problem is there are many forms of journalling, and Bullet Journaling relies on note taking and not art or page layouts. I’ve been on Pinterest and looked as some of those people who “journal” and been in absolute awe of their creativity. I can do that, but a good paper planner or notebook for scribbling? I’m your girl.
Oh, and if you ever find that perfect planner, let me know.