trying a bullet journal

I must be one of the last people who has ever looked up productivity on Youtube and not tried bullet journalling.

I remember it being a big thing a few years back, but it never struck a chord with me at the time. I think I was put off by all the images and videos of complex and over-decorated notebooks that seemed to be more about artistic prowess (of which I have none).

My interest was reignited when I saw Ryder Carroll’s book The Bullet Journal Method available to read for free on Amazon’s Prime reading. My interest was confirmed when deciding to use a bullet journal meant purchasing new stationery. 😃

So what attracted me this time round?

• Simple approach My misconceptions around the artist aspect have been firmly put to bed. This can be a simple and quick, it doesn’t need to involve multiple pens, stickers and a flair for drawing.

• Rapid note taking. The technique using symbols looks to be useful, I’ve already started using this in my work notebook.

• Seeing the bigger picture. The future and monthly logs seem to provide something I just can’t get from my electronic devices, the ability to zoom out a bit and look at the overall ‘picture’ of my time.

• Friction to help planning. I am a great believer that slow is sometimes faster, the bullet journal approach adds in enough friction to stop and think, creating more clarity and helping filter out some of the dross. 🤞

It will be interesting to see how the journal relates to a more online based calendar approach, my life is planned online like most others - I am hoping the online vs paper argument becomes more of a complementary approach with each providing their ’lenses’ on my life.

I will also be interested to see how much of the bullet journal system I bring into my work life. I have already started rapid logging, I may try some of the other aspects to see how they fit.

I’ll be posting about my progress, good or bad.

Wish me luck!