Bullet Journal: what is it and how can it help you?

Do you know the Bullet Journal? It is a system that will allow you to organize and plan your day to day in an easy, comfortable and totally personalized way. You will only need a blank notebook, a pen and many plans or ideas.

In this article we will learn how the Bullet Journal originated, what it consists of, how it is structured, how it works and how it can help us clear our minds and focus only on what is really important.

Bullet Journal: what is it and what is it for?

The Bullet Journal, also called BuJo method, consists of a day-to-day organization and planning system. To use a Bullet Journal correctly you need a certain perseverance and organization. But what does it consist of? It is a blank notebook that fulfills two main functions: the agenda and the diary.

The Bullet Journal would allow you to organize and plan various aspects of your life; from events, meetings, negotiations, errands, etc., to thoughts, ideas, etc. In other words, it is a tool that goes beyond mere planning, and will help you define your aspirations, plan your future and meet your goals.

Throughout this article we will learn how this planning method works. This method can help us to have a clearer and calmer mind, to attend to the things that really matter to us and to relegate to the background the interferences or distractions that only cause us discomfort.

In other words, the Bullet Journal will help us organize ourselves on the outside to organize ourselves on the inside, while increasing our serenity. This is achieved through good time management and good planning of the present.

Characteristics of this notebook

The Bullet Journal, as we said, is a blank notebook; that is, it is designed so that you can design it yourself and build it to suit you.

This means that it is designed so that you can organize yourself the hours, days and weeks, depending on your needs, preferences, expectations, desires, etc. This is the main feature that differentiates the Bullet Journal from an agenda.

What is the origin of the Bullet Journal?

It was designer Ryder Carroll who created the Bullet Journal. It is said that Carroll suffered from attention deficit disorder (ADHD), and as a result, as he felt that his world was so "chaotic" that he decided to put a bit of order in your daily life, through this system.So Carroll first showed his idea to his closest friends, and later his method went viral on social media. Currently the Bullet Journal is one of the fashion trends to plan your day to day.

One of the objectives of the Bullet Journal, and that was considered by Ryder Carroll, was that this system allowed the person who used it to clear their mindand focus on what is really important to her. This attention to what is important would help the person not to be distracted by trivial or unimportant things.

Subsections

As we have seen, the creator of the Bullet Journal method was Ryder Carroll, who opted for the following structure of the Bullet:

Similarities with a diary

Another function of the Bullet Journal is that it also serves as a journalThis means that, in addition to being able to add your pending tasks, meetings, events, etc., you can also write everything that comes to mind; thoughts, ideas, dreams, etc.

On the other hand, you can use the Bullet Journal to write down things that have happened to you, things that inspire you, as well as to draw, create, etc.

How does it work?

How does the Bullet Journal work? Basically it is a fairly free system; in it you can write “everything you want”, from thoughts to activities, events, etc. Once you write down everything, you must categorize each element (adding a symbol, which we will now see), which will help you locate and organize yourself.

The symbol legend proposed by its creator, Ryder Carroll, would be the following:

On the other hand, once you finish each task, activity, event, etc., you must add an X next to it. To emphasize certain notes or give them urgency, add an asterisk.

We must emphasize that these notes/recommendations are indicative and proposed by Carroll, the creator of the Bullet Journal, but that they can always be chosen, deleted, added, etc., depending on the taste of each one /a, since “there is nothing right or wrong” (nothing “stipulated”).

Thus, you can add whatever you want: colors, shapes, drawings, etc. The important thing is that the Bullet Journal acquires a personal and unique meaning for each person. Another important aspect is that the person understands her notes and that they can do it with the naked eye, without having to think too much.

Useful Tips on Operation

On the other hand, it is recommended to number the pages of the Bullet Journal, in addition to creating an index at the beginning of it; This index will allow you to get an idea of the general outline of its contents (and also, at a glance). This index, in turn, is a simple and useful form of organization.

How to start?

Now that we have seen, in summary, what a Bullet Journal consists of and how it works, we are going to specify some ideas to start using it.

First of all, logically we will need a white notebook (or notebook), as well as a pen. As for the material, this depends on taste, but you can also use colored markers, stickers, post its notes, etc.

Now we can start writing down, annotating, registering, coloring... our notebook. It is important that we try to be organized in our notes; we can write what we want and when we want, but if it has a certain sense and a certain order, better for our mental (and practical) organization.

Structure

Remember that the Bullet Journal is fully customizable; this means that its structure depends on you ( although Ryder Carroll has proposed some basic ideas).Some advice regarding its structure is that you can register by days, weeks and months.

Ideally, you should start with the current month and gradually fill in the Bullet. Thus, you can opt for daily, weekly, monthly records... It is important that the information is understood at a glance, that it be visual.

What did I write down?

What topics to record in the Bullet Journal? The ones you want. The topics can be various and numerous, depending on your life and your needs; You can develop lists of things to do, shopping lists, a list of expenses, as well as savings, thoughts, purposes, plans, birthdays and celebrations, etc.

The lists can also be of favorite songs, movies and/or books, for example. A good idea is to put a title for your idea, subject, phrase or list, at the top. Once you have the title, you can start writing and organizing.Don't forget to add the symbols mentioned (or ones invented by you).

Once the subject in question has been written down, it is recommended that you go to the index (also created by you) and write down what you have just developed or written down, so as not to forget that it is "there" and to that you can consult it when you need it.