Dodging a bullet

I have been here before.

I tried bullet journaling 18 months ago. I found that most of it did not stick. That said, I took elements of the system into my own personalised methodology. 

Prompted by the release of The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll (RC), I decided to try again. I’ll record my experiences here on the blog.

Why try again? 

Honestly?

Adulting is hard. There are multiple demands on my time and despite my best efforts, I struggle to keep on top of everything. Could #Bujo help me? Had I missed something first time around?

Setup

I spoke to Clare about my intention and asked her to bring me a Bullet Journal. (She and her family recently came to visit the warm weather quarters.) She arrived with a LT1917 A5 in Copper. Not only was it not a Bullet Journal, it had plain pages. Foiled at the first hurdle.

I had started reading “The Bullet Journaling Method”. RC is very clear that to start, all that is required a notebook, a pen and a piece of paper. The secret is in the process, not in the hardware.

I was the productivity geurrilla. Plain paper, a black rollerball and intention. (Sorry, I’m not convinced by the word “intentionality”.)

The rollerball is a Brand’s Hall from Field Notes. 

First Steps

The LT has a couple of index pages and page numbers pre-printed. There’s nothing wrong with numbering pages by hand, but honestly, I have better things to do.

I started with an index, a future log, a monthly log and daily log. The core ‘collections’. Then I have added one or two more.

The journal will serve as my daily driver and will travel with me. I maintain my pocket notebook as an extension of the BuJo when I am out and about.

Building in some custom collections will allow me to keep working in one book rather than maintaining too many. This is more efficient, and somehow easier. I get through the book faster (keeps momentum going) and archiving is much more straightforward.

The first daily log is more of a to-do list than I would like. This is a  continuation of my previous system. Also, I am very much in a state of ‘overwhelm’ at the moment and things are tumbling out of my head.

This is where intention comes in and what didn’t stick last time. A key element of the method is taking some time at the beginning and end of each day. Tonight, I will review my day and my daily log. I’ll consider all the bullets, and either mark them complete, strike them out or migrate them. I’ll take a minute to consider what went well, what didn’t, what I can learn from the day and what I enjoyed. Perhaps, I’ll jot a note or two.  

I have just taken a note to reread a couple of sections of the book.

I'll report back in a week or two.

Meanwhile, any journalers out there, leave a tip in the comments or on social media. I'd love to hear them.