Why don't I just use a planner?

I was soooooooo frustrated with planners.  Have you seen how small some of those spaces can get?  What if I have more to do on Tuesdays than I do on Friday?  I do not need 15 pages for notes!  Some people can adapt but my philosophy is why do that when I can have everything I want!

Everyone is unique.  What works for me may not for others and that's what makes this a perfect system.

I suggest starting with a list based style.  Simply make a list under today's date...check off items as they are done...rewrite leftover tasks under the next day and repeat.  After a week think about your likes and dislikes of your style and change as needed.  I suggest doing this analysis periodically because as your life changes your planning needs to adapt.

Things to think about:

Do you need items categorized? Organized by times?
Do you need a tracker so you are not forgetting routine tasks?
Should you color code important/urgent to do's?
Do you need to set goals?
Is your journal focused on the most important thing to you at this moment in your life (i.e saving money, time with family, weight loss, spirituality, scheduling, etc.)

Calendars galore! Which should I choose?

So many calendar styles...which is right for you?

Month at a glance

Photo credit - https://www.foxyfix.com/

Great for noting special dates, simple to-do's with deadlines, anniversaries, birthdays, school events, sports schedules, etc.  I also find this useful when used in conjunction with a color code to determine if my schedule is heavy on certain types of events.  For example code family tasks in one color and work  in another.  You can quickly see which color is the dominant one that month.

Weekly spread

Photo Credit - https://www.pinterest.com/

Works wonders for tracking items that need to be done within the week (no specific time/date).  Minimal set up required to create the spreads.  Limited time spent migrating unfinished tasks. I love how simplistic these can look.  Not overly frilly and complicated.  Great place to start for beginners in my opinion.  If you find it getting cluttered with finished tasks consider moving to daily.

Daily Spread

Photo Credit - https://www.bohoberry.com

Simple list by day of your to-dos.  If you have a ton on your plate start here until your list dwindles and gets more manageable.  You start with a fresh clean list of things to do each day.  Easily see how much you accomplish on a daily basis.  This worked great for me after baby #2.  Struggling with figuring out where my time went and always felt like I accomplished nothing.  Also helped me to dig out of my depression and increase those feelings of worth!

Hourly Spread

Photo Credit - https://www.pinterest.com

Need a super detailed list?  Add hours to your daily schedule and create a super detailed daily plan.  If you are using this method of planning you will probably want a "future plans" section where you can list out things due in the upcoming months without cluttering or doing more rewriting than needed.


Tell me your favorite in the comments :)

Anatomy of a Bujo

Because this is YOUR journal only you can decide what pages you need and what is pointless for your life.  Anyone who Bujo's will tell you just try it.  If you hate it there is nothing lost.  Over time you develop your style.  The flexibility is AMAZING!  Here's some common pages and my personal thoughts on them...

Key - beginning of your journal; lists all the ways you will be marking or flagging items. 
Personally I like to continue to make a key even though after all these years I know what my marks mean.   These can be added to over time as you need more identifying marks for your tasks.

Index - beginning of your journal; lists the locations of your collections for future reference.
At some point we all need to look back at what we did and when so this has been useful and I do still make one (although I am very bad at keeping it up to date).

Future Plan - a page where you can list things that are upcoming for the next 6 months so you are not trying to remember or having to plan out too far.
I tried this one and used it once so it is no longer in my journal.  I pre-make monthly calendar layouts for the year and use that for my future planning.  I found this didn't work for me but you do need some place to write future events so I suggest seeing if it works and adapting if it does not.

Spreads - can be yearly, monthly, weekly or even daily; this is where you will list tasks
How you like to view your items is a completely personal choice.  What I found worked for me was starting with a monthly calendar for events and a daily running list with no set format to limit your space.  As you see how much you typically have on a given day you can adjust accordingly and decide if a weekly layout will work or if you have too many items each week and it would get cluttered.

Trackers - fitness, weight, bills, inventory, food, water, savings, etc.
These can be anything and are very useful.  I have found some I use and others that do not work so this is another that I suggest trying and tweaking to see how you like them.

Recaps - as often as you like and it is a reflection on that time.
While I can't say I do these I think it is a FANTASTIC idea!  I love the idea of reviewing the past month or year and giving an honest opinion on how you feel you did and what you can improve upon.  The nice thing is that all the information is right there at your fingertips!  This is also a great way to get that sense of accomplishment for those who feel they haven’t made a dent in their to do list!

Supplies

Fallen in love with Bujo?  Ready to go all in?

If you are like me you have fallen in love with the ease of task management that this system provides and you are dying to see what else it can help with!  Remember that you evolve your journal as you evolve and what may be working today, may not always be the best method.  That is what makes this system so amazing.  It grows with you and adapts.  You will always have a system that works!


The Journal


Truly any book will do.  Choose one that you love and make sure it's not too small to fit any layouts or trackers you may want.  Here's a couple of my favorites!


1.  A decorative journal (7 x 10, lined) - because pretty makes you happy!
2.  Lechturm 1917 (B5, dotted) - moleskin cover, band closure, lay flat

Pens, Pencils and Erasers


My favorites are sharpie pens or microns for their anti-bleed properties.  They are a daily staple!  Here's a list of the ones I love!


Sharpie Pen - hold up well, no bleed, variety of colors
Staedtler Triplus Fineliner - variety of colors and reasonably priced!
Paper-mate Flair - variety of colors, durable tip
Retractable Eraser - I got one at my childs book fair and have been hooked!  No marks on paper!
Gel Pens - great for color and adding metallic accents or glitter.
No. 2 pencil (for doodles and lines)
Color Core Colored Pencils - love the metal case to keep them together!

Ruler, Stencil, Protractor

Depending on how much you like to doodle and whether you are obsessed with straight lines consider adding any of these to your Bujo supplies

How do I even begin to start this crazy process???

Guess what??  Because this can be customized to you there are no special supplies needed!  Don't get overwhelmed with all the pretty layouts initially.  They will come (or not if that isn't your style). 


Grab a notebook that you like and begin simply by making a complete list (home AND work) of everything you have to do.  This is very important!  Do not try to keep two separate lists - it's only more to manage!

Congratulations...you just made a simple bullet journal task list!

Check off items as they are finished and rewrite the list each morning.  Add new items as they are assigned.  Do this for a few days or even a week and see how you answer these questions... 

• Are you worrying less about what you have to do? 
• Are you remembering things more easily? 
• Do you sleep better because you are not trying to hold those tasks in your head? 
• Do you feel a sense of accomplishment looking back at past days and seeing items checked off your list? 
• Have you taken time to get some of those tasks that often get overlooked but will truly take 5 minutes to do (we all have them) off the list because you just can't bear to write them one more time?

This is why I started Bujo.  This is why I have done it for the last 15 years in one form or another.  This is why I will continue to have this as a part of my life!

What is a Bullet Journal (Bujo)??

What is a Bullet Journal (Bujo)??

I find it hard to define something that can be anything you want.  In a nut shell a Bujo is a completely customizable task / note / life management system.  It will organize your life and increase your productivity while helping manage daily worry and anxiety.

Here is a list of just some of the things your Bujo can do.  Trust me when I say there is no way to list them all!

• Tracking

• Tasks (from start to finish)
• Important dates
• Appointments
• Kids sports schedules
• Parties
• Inventory tracking
• Bills/Finances
• Spending

• Keep you Accountable

• Help you feel in control of your to-do lists

• Balance your life

• Give you a sense of accomplishment

• Creative outlet

• Brainstorm

• Time Management

• Stop forgetting

• Develop healthy habits

• Focus on what is important to you

• Set and achieve goals

• Reduce stress