So I decided to try to give Bullet Journaling a try. I ordered the official Bullet Journal off their website since it talks about how to use the system in the beginning of the journal. This was after hours of researching what kind of journal I should use. I was basically seeing what brand of journal would be the best. In the end, I was deciding between Rhodia (thicker paper, fewer pages) and Leuchtturm1917 (fan favorite). I figured go with the official to start, and I can always upgrade to Rhodia down the line. (Leuchtturm apparently has an issue with ghosting, I’ll see how it goes.)
I had heard about Bullet Journal before, but the video talking about the system didn’t really grab my attention. Instead what finally got my attention was seeing pictures and videos of how other people used this system to create their own journal. Even now I’m still trying to look at different ideas people have used and different layout designs.
For the past couple of years, I have used or tried to use, the Passion Planner. While I love it, and would still recommend it to some people, it isn’t quite the perfect fit for me. For one, an hourly breakdown of my weekday is pointless for me. Pretty much half of every weekday is taken up by work. (Getting up, getting ready, driving, working, driving back, decompressing.) If I had more events I had to attend or things to do based on hours of the day every week, it may have been more useful. I needed something a bit more general to write down appointments, meetings, etc. I also needed something to write down my accomplishments so I can reflect back on a week and feel like I did something and be proud of it.
A bullet journal is a way to get everything I want to remember, write it down, and track it all in one place. I am already starting a list of things that I can use the new journal for. My journal is shipping via media mail, so it’ll be a while before I can get started officially. (Update: It’ll arrive on Saturday, April 22nd. Today! Wednesday, April 19th!) I know I have the problem of being a perfectionist, and I worry about messing up a new journal. Apparently, that’s a problem some others have felt in the Bullet Journal community. 😛 So this will be a practice of embracing imperfections a bit more. I’m going to try to start slow, neat, and practical. Then as time progresses I’ll probably figure out more and more how I want to set up my journal. Hopefully, this will be the answer to getting everything I need and want to be jotted down in one place.
So it’ll be something new and interesting to try. Fingers crossed this will both work and be fun to do. Until then, I’ll be looking up various layouts and ideas other people have done.
