By now, you’ve probably heard of bullet journaling, but if you haven’t, bullet journaling is the practice of setting up a notebook with dots (instead of lines or blank pages) to be a planner, journal, and tracker for long and short term goals. I’ve never actually kept up with a bullet journal before COVID-19, but now that my life’s rhythm has changed, I’m finding my bullet journal to be very useful, especially since I’ve been learning remotely this semester. I have so many responsibilities and goals this semester, but like many others, I’ve had my fair share of days where I felt unmotivated. I’ve found that my bullet journal is helping me stay on track. Here are some ideas for bullet journals for remote learners!
- Habit Tracker
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Staying in a routine is so important when you’re at home, especially when you have responsibilities such as college classes, clubs, and remote jobs and internships. It can be easy to let things pile up when you’re spending so much time at home, and then suddenly, you look up, and you haven’t done laundry or worked out in three weeks. Making habit tracker pages in your bullet journal can help you remember which tasks you need to do daily, weekly, or monthly, and it’s a reminder for you to stay on top of what you need to do.
- Mood Tracker
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I don’t know about you, but my moods have been different these last few months. With everything going on in the world on top of all my normal responsibilities, I’ve experienced stress, worry, and sadness. But that doesn’t mean that everything good in my life has stopped, too. For example, when I spend time outside, my moods are much better! Having a way to track my mood fluctuations helps me connect my emotions with the things I’m experiencing in my life. Then I know which situations to avoid, and which to try to create more of. This is a great tool to use right now, because many of us are not living our normal lives. Knowing what’s good for us and what’s not good for us in this remote learning situation is crucial.
- Health Trackers
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Keeping track of your health is also crucial right now, for many reasons! For me, I have trouble drinking enough water and working out frequently when I’m home. Having a daily reminder in my bullet journal where I’ve made space to track how much water I drank throughout the day and how often I’m working out has been really helpful for me. But bullet journals can be so much more than that— they can also be a place for you to track symptoms, such as daily temperature reads and more (if that’s something you need to/want to be doing right now).
- Keeping Up With Schoolwork
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Many people use their bullet journals to keep track of their daily to-do lists and appointments, as well. Personally, I use a planner for this part, but I can imagine that the freedom to create a “planner” in any layout you want is very nice! Keeping track of assignments, meetings, and due dates are so important anytime you’re in school, but I feel as though writing things like this down helps me even more right now when I feel a little overwhelmed and slightly less focused.
- Calendars and Countdowns
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Bullet journals are also great places to keep monthly calendars, and countdowns to big events (the last day of the semester, for example!). Crossing off days and moving closer to things I’m excited about, such as the end of the semester, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, are great ways to help me see that time is passing, and good things are coming my way.