How to BuJo? The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Bullet Journaling
Give 15 minutes a day to journaling and unlock your potential to self-reflect, boost productivity, organise your tasks, and keep track of your daily needs.
I find daily journaling like mashed potatoes. I tried a few times practicing it but failed miserably at maintaining this mundane daily log diary. As addicted as I am to my smartphone, I still find it insufficient to log my daily plans, tasks, and moods efficiently.
Through scrolling on Instagram, I stumbled upon a type of journal, which the gen-z names as, BuJo aka Bullet Journal. It is like adding a touch of spice in that boring mashed potatoes recipe.
So, what is a Bullet Journal?
Bullet Journal is a kind of journaling system that helps you be more productive by keeping track of and organizing your daily plans, finances, and ideas. Imagine it as your personal task manager and assistant, systematically organizing your day!
What do you need to start BuJo-ing?
Let’s start with some motivation and consistency, which will come with a flexible mindset. One also needs to figure out a personal style that works the best for you.
If minimalism is your style, all you need is a dotted, blank, or ruled book or diary and other basic stationery to start journaling. Depending upon how artsy you like your planner to look, you can additionally use washi tapes, highlighters, stickers, and stencils. Remember, it’s less about beautifying your journal but more about being productive.
Let’s start with planning the backbone collections!
Like me, if you are also looking to begin your Journaling journey, I would like to give you a glimpse of what goes into my bullet journal:
The page which sets the tone for the journal. This is a rapid logging guide that you can refer to throughout the journal. A signifier or symbol key is also included for ease of identification.
Future Log: This includes a year-at-a-glance calendar with birthdays, travel plans, future events, etc. I usually skip this as I integrate this aspect into monthly spreads.
Monthly Spreads: This includes a monthly calendar, along with a task page where you can make a note of commitments for the month.
Weekly Spreads/Daily Logs: This includes the to-do list, meetings, and reminders for each day of the week.
How to incorporate trackers in your journal?
By focusing on your daily activities, such as exercising, reading news, healthy eating, water consumption, etc., you can easily track its progress and frequency. Every night, fill in one small box for each activity you completed.
On a scale of 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest), you can rate your sleep quality, mood, and stress levels on a line graph. This would provide a bird’s view of your overall wellbeing.
By having an income, expense, savings, and budget planned and tracked under one roof will provide clarity on how your finances are managed.
Other Logs Worth having in your BuJo:
Start counting on your blessings regularly to appreciate what you have. Make it a point to note down at least one thing you are thankful for, daily or weekly. On tough days, this will become your strength and ray of hope.
You can practice positive-self talk daily by reading out a few affirmations. It can be a simple phrase like, “I welcome new ideas and perspective.”
Penning down what you want to achieve in a week, month, or in a year will help you be motivated and goal-oriented.
You can either have a monthly or yearly log list, where you can jot down, draw, or stick photographs of your memories or accomplishments. This is going to provide you with a sense of fulfillment and confidence.
Other collections you can include in your journal are Meal Planning, Master Grocery List, Bank of Recipes, Weight loss/gain planner, Books you want to read, Movies you want to watch, etc.
Can I begin bullet journaling in the middle of the year?
Definitely. Since it’s a customizable and planned journal, you can lose your journaling virginity, any day you like.
Conclusion
If you are wondering that in the world of technology, why a pen and paper is a great system? To answer the question in short, writing can help the brain process information and better remember things. It frees up the mental space and helps you concentrate better.
By giving 15 minutes a day to Bullet Journal, you can provide yourself a source to self-reflect and develop a vision for the future, thereby improving your overall well-being.
How are you taking the plunge to commit to BuJo?
Janvi Parekh
A clinical psychologist hooked to scrolling memes, having talent in tuning overthinking into writing.