They’re everywhere.
They’re in the stationary section of Target, they have their own display at Barnes and Noble, and you’ve probably seen someone posting a beautiful photo of theirs on Instagram. What are they? Bullet journals, and now since we’re all going to be at home for a while, it’s the perfect time to start one.
Bullet journaling is an analog planning system devised by Ryder Carroll, author of The Bullet Journal Method. It’s a great way to keep track of your daily life, major events, and future endeavours. Carroll has his own proper method to bullet journaling that you are welcome to follow, which he explains here, but a big emphasis among the bullet journaling community is to make it your own. The main purpose of the bullet journal is to keep track of your life. I’ve written five page journal entries over my existential crisis, thirteen different entries about my travels, and used multiple spreads as doodling pages. It’s helped me become more organized and has given me space to express my creativity. My favorite part about my bujo is the setup. I love to get my pencils, pens, erasers, markers, washi tape, etc. out and go to town on creating spreads. If you like planning and being creative, bujoing is a great thing to try out this summer. Think you want to give it a shot? Let’s get started with the basics of how to start a bullet journal.
Find the Journal
Some journals can be as expensive as $35, but you may try it and not even like it, so I suggest saving a few bucks and getting a cheaper journal. The most popular style is an A5 dotted notebook. I purchased my first journal on Amazon for $10. It got the job done, looked cute, and had a convenient pocket and bookmark. You can find it here!
Gather Your Supplies
A huge part of what got me to pick up my journal everyday is the fun in using it. Buying beautiful colors and seeing what you can create on the page is like being a kid in a candy store to me. For coloring/highlighting, I love the Zebra Midliner Highlighters. They’re great for your journal, but they also got me through my terrible Intro to Accounting class. Your supplies don’t need to be exclusively for your journal! Get your money’s worth!
For writing, I use different pens for different things. For headings/titles, I use Sharpie Fine Point Pens. When I want to give a shot at calligraphy, I reach for my Sharpie Brush Pen. For body text, details, and doodles, I use Molotow Blackliners. These are a bit pricey, but they do a great job.
For drawing/outlining/anything really, I prefer wooden pencils over mechanical. It is so important to do everything in pencil first. Nothing hurts more than messing up your beautiful spread because you rushed to do everything in pen. I think the lead in wood pencils is easier to work with, and you can get different thicknesses by adjusting the angle of the pencil. My favorite pencils are the Ticonderoga Black Pencils, but any pencil will do!
Probably one of the most important bujo supplies to me is a good eraser. I recommend the Pentel Hi-Polymer eraser for everything.
Find Inspiration
Find inspiration through anything! If you see a picture of a tree with leaves changing color, take a photo of it. Like some art you saw at Starbucks? Create a theme out of it. The world is a giant work of art and it’s not appreciated enough. Show your appreciation in your journal.
Have an idea but don’t know where to start in your journal? No problem. I love to watch bullet journaling queen, Amanda Rach Lee’s, videos on YouTube. She always has beautiful spreads and great tips.
Make an Index
My first journal was all over the place since I didn’t really know what I was doing. Things were all over the place, trapped between weekly spreads and journal entries. I didn’t have an index so I had to flip around a lot to look for spreads, which isn’t the end of the world but it’s a bit inconvenient. I suggest you save about two to three pages for an index at the beginning of your journal, and you should also number your pages if they aren’t already.
Go Month-by-Month
I actually write journal entries in my journal, so I found that it’s easier to go month-by-month. First, I make my cover page. It usually consists of the month name and the monthly calendar layout, but I sometimes choose to opt out of the monthly calendar simply because I don’t find myself looking at it too often. I mainly put it there to take up space, but I know others like to highlight important dates of the month. Second, I create my weekly layouts. I use two pages for one week, giving each day about seven to ten lines to write anything important. I write my homework assignments, exam dates, birthdays, and other events for each day. I also like to include a “focus” box. There’s seven days, but the way I set up my spreads, I have eight spaces for days. On the extra space, I title it “focus” and write down anything important for that week or the upcoming week. It’s usually exams and projects that take more than a single day’s attention. Third, you can make your trackers. I used to track my mood and habits (you can find great examples on Pinterest), but I forgot to do this a lot and didn’t really find much benefit in tracking them. The habit tracker was nice because it motivated me to do that task so I could color in my little box, but it didn’t help too much. Some people really like them, though. It’s up to you. After my monthly and weekly spread, I’ll add important information pertaining to that month. If I’m traveling, I’ll add my flight and lodging details. If it’s the beginning of a semester, I’ll make syllabi summary pages and draw my schedule. If there’s nothing too important, I’ll save the rest of my pages for my entries!
Have Fun
Don’t be too strict with your journal. Sure, it’s nice to be organized, but if you’re stressing yourself out over it, then what’s the point of the journal? Have fun! Scribble! Doodle! Rant! Deface your journal! It’s okay! I love to use pages and pages just to mess around and express myself. There’s no need to stress about your journal. No one has to see it if you don’t want them to, so don’t try to make it perfect.
I hope you decide to pick up this wonderful tool this quarantine and love it as much as I do!