Ever feel like you’re running as hard as you can to get things done and you’re going nowhere fast? At those times I feel like my lists are growing lists and I can’t get a clear picture of what I’m getting done. I also tend to have this nagging feeling that I’m going to miss something important, which leaves me with a vague sense something bad is going to happen when I forget it. Not a good feeling…

But writing a bunch of lists can make me feel a little crazy and overwhelmed. Everything isn’t going to get done today – but a long list sure makes it look like that’s the goal. When it doesn’t all get done, I have mild sense of failure, like I let myself down. And if I write the list for only the things to get done today, what about all the other things that pop into my head that also need to get done (at some point). What about the shopping or my ideas or plans and projects that don’t fit on today’s to-do list?

 

Enter the bullet journal!

 

 

If you don’t know what a bullet journal is, you’re not alone. Even though there seems to be twelve thousand videos on YouTube about bullet journaling, many people I’ve mentioned it to have never heard of it. A bullet journal in its purest form is your lists in a notebook. It starts out blank and you customize it to fit your own needs. I just added a blank grid notebook into one of my leather covers.

But wait! Before you close this post because you’re not about to make your own planner/journal, it really doesn’t have to be hard. If you want to be intimidated/inspired (depending on your personality and time constraints), then go on YouTube and watch some videos. I made that mistake at first. For me it was a mistake because I fell into the rabbit hole of all the fun/creative/artsy things you can do with this journal (think calligraphy and embossing powder) before I remembered that I don’t have time for all that stuff. I also got discouraged when I realized I didn’t have the artistic abilities of one of the video makers (and then I realized that she makes these pages for her online business).

Here’s why I like the bullet journal. Whenever I’ve tried to go find a planner that I can use to keep myself organized, I can’t ever seem to find one that does all the things I want. When I’ve bought planner/calendars, they always seem to have a bunch of stuff in them that I never use, and then I have a lot of blank pages that seem like a big waste of space. I need a place to write important dates, things coming up, my to-do list, inspirations, projects – a lot of stuff that doesn’t seem to all fit in a calendar. There’s something about the ability to touch and write on paper that I like too. I know electronic calendars are convenient and we actually have been using ours more these days because they help everyone coordinate and communicate. But there are more things to keep track of than events, meetings, gatherings and appointments. Let me show you what I’ve made so far…

 

The first page is an index. As you add pages, you write down what’s on which page. That way, you can go back to any list or plan you were working on without flipping through every page.

 

Then many people add a calendar. You can create any kind you like (weekly, monthly, yearly), but since I never seem to use the weekly or monthly views and those are covered on my e-calendar, I just made a yearly view. It’s not fully filled out, but I can add whenever I think of something new and get a view of how the year is developing.

 

Then I added my To-Do lists. There was a video I saw where the creator made her lists weekly and I liked it, so I decided to do mine this way. Then as I get things done, I cross them off and I can add new to-dos as they come up. If they don’t get done, I can move them to the next week. At the bottom I put a space for things that didn’t have to get done right away but I don’t want to forget to put them down. They usually end up on the next week’s list.

The cute little boxes are made of Washi tape, movable patterned paper tape. Before you get impressed by my creativity, I already had the collection of tapes in a drawer and had never used them. So when I saw the tape used on a video, I figured I might as well use it up!

 

I also had a big box of colored pencils that I probably bought for a kid as school supplies and then kept for myself. So I dumped them in a container with some markers to decorate my idea pages.

Now I have a place to organize things I want to do but can’t get done all at once. I’m hoping this will let my mind relax instead of struggling to remember all this stuff!

 

My favorite pages are the idea pages. Mostly they’re favorites because they’re pretty and that makes me smile, but I like having a place to keep ongoing lists and projects. I’m planning to use these lists to grow each project on its own page, but this way I can break things down into manageable pieces!

This is my latest organizing tool, and so far, I’m enjoying my bullet journal. I’m still trying to decide if it should live on my desk or travel in my purse. For now, it stays at home because my bag is far too heavy already and my chiropractor would frown at adding more to my load. I just add whatever thoughts I’ve jotted down on sticky notes throughout the day into the right pages in the journal when I get back to it. So far, so good!

 

How do you organize your busy life? What tool is your favorite? Please share with us so we can manage better too!