What Is A Bullet Journal?

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What Is A Bullet Journal And How Can It Help You
I’m sure you’ve heard at least a little bit about bullet journaling and how it’s changed the lives of some of the people who use them. You may be asking yourself, what is a bullet journal? The simple answer is, a bullet journal is whatever you make of it. Bullet journaling was created by Ryder Carroll as a way to boost productivity. The actual concept behind it is extremely easy. The fancy designs and layouts that you see are all extras that you can add to personalize it. Archer & Olive August Bullet Journal Monthly Spread Spread by Archer & Olive Bullet journals are a combination of trackers, journals, and planners. They are unique to the journaler based on what they need to track and plan. While I prefer to use my own personal bullet journal as a combination journal and planner, another journaler may solely use it as a planner. There is a wide range of things you can do with it. They can be sources of relaxation when drawing or a quick way to plan the next day. Regardless bullet journals are the ultimate form of personal organizers.

Bullet Journal Basics: Supplies

With a bullet journal, there are several supplies you will need or want. Ultimately it doesn’t take much to start a one, but if you are artistically inclined and want to add some flare to your bullet journal there are a few tools you will need. The basic minimum supplies you will need are a pen and a notebook. I prefer this notebook because it has a hardcover and dotted paper. The dotted paper makes it easier to create straight lines for layouts and designs. If you want to add more flare there are a few things that you will need. Recommended Products

From time to time the Scribbles that Matter Journal is sold out on Amazon. When this happens third party sellers will try to sell the journal for an insane amount of money. DO NOT BUY THAT! Scribbles that Matter should be back in stock soon. My second favorite journal is the Essentials Dot Matrix, though I warn you the pages on this one are thinner and bleeding and shadows show up on opposite sides. However, it's a decent cheap journal if you are in a pinch and just want to get started.

The supplies will not make or break your bullet journal experience. Start off with a minimalist approach while you get used to and get in the habit of using it. Start small and build yourself up to using it.

Bullet Journal 101: What Is A Bullet Journal?

A bullet journal is a tool you can use to keep you on track to complete tasks, build healthy habits, and finish projects. Each one is unique to the person creating it. There are a million different ways to set up your bullet journal so let’s get started on the three main areas.

A Tracker

Using your bullet journal to track different aspects of your life is extremely popular. There are several different types of trackers to use in it. BujoBeyond Habit Tracker Spread by BuJoBeyond Habit Tracker Habit trackers can be used individually or in a grid. You can track positive habits for a month in order to create healthy habits or stop bad habits. Check out these posts for ideas on habit tracking: Health Trackers Health trackers help you track your physical and mental health. You can track your mood in order to better determine swings and hormonal issues that may affect your mood. You can also track triggers and your sleep. For physical fitness, you can track activity to keep you on track for fitness goals. More than just tracking your fitness you can track your weight, healthy eating habits, and water intake.  Check out these posts for ideas on health trackers: Money Trackers Use your journal to track your bills, spending, saving, and investments. By tracking where your money goes you can start setting money goals. The best part about tracking your expenditures is you can see if there are any bills you can lower. You can add trackers to track short term savings goals for vacations or shopping sprees. Money trackers help you reach your goals and get on track for future life. Check out these posts for ideas on money trackers: Entertainment Trackers These trackers are great for keeping track of movies, books, or tv shows that you enjoy. These are good for making sure that you are taking time for yourself. Entertainment trackers can be extremely useful for self-care reasons. Check out these posts for ideas on entertainment trackers:

A Journal

Part of the appeal of a bullet journal is the journal portion of it. While it can easily be used as a planner, the journal aspect is where they shine. This method allows you to write about your day and experiences. Keep memorable events, feelings, and daily activities logs to help you remember what you did each day. In our hectic busy lives, we could all use a way to track the events that happened and when. Journaling is great for mental health as well because it allows you to examine your thoughts and feelings in a safe way. Using your bullet journal in this way can help a lot with anxiety. You can track and be aware of the triggers that cause your anxiety. Spreads The wonderful thing about the bullet journal is the spreads you can use. My favorite spread by far is the gratitude spread. Every day you write about something you are grateful for. It helps to encourage your mind to focus solely on the positive. Other spreads that are fantastic are spreads focused on goals. You can create a one year from today spread where you write a detailed description of what your life will be like once you reach a certain goal. This spread really helps you to keep your eyes on the prize when chasing goals. Creating goal spreads can help you to plan out the steps you need to take to reach certain goals. You can create simple spreads that you can use to stay on track with your goals.

A Planner

One of the most popular ways to use a bullet journal is as a creative handmade planner. You can create different pages to help plan out your life. PetiteMelanie Minimalist Weekly Spread Spread By PetiteMelanie Yearly Spreads You can create a yearly planner to keep track of birthdays, holidays, or events that are in the distant future. This can be a simple one page spread with little stars on important days or a couple of pages with boxes filled with events for each month. Check out this post for ideas on yearly spreads: Monthly Spreads The monthly planner is great to see what is going on each day for a month. You can track what day each date falls on or you can create a typical calendar month for tracking your upcoming events. Check out these posts for ideas on monthly spreads: Weekly Spreads A weekly spread will help you to plan out your week and all the tasks you need to accomplish. The weekly spreads are great for making sure you remember everything you need to do in a week. Plus you can more easily track weekly goals you need to accomplish. Check out these posts for ideas on weekly spreads: Daily Spreads The daily spreads are usually created either the night before or the day of. They can be as large or as small as you want them but you can track everything that you need to do in a day. The daily spreads are extremely useful for those who have unique schedules or plan their days based on their motivations. Check out these posts for ideas on daily spreads:

Bullet Journal For Beginners

When you first start utilizing your bullet journal it’s going to feel like a bit much. Setting it up with different spreads and layouts can feel time-consuming. Don’t dive in quickly to try to utilize all the different options at once. Try to take it slow. Start off with the bare minimum of what you actually need before you start trying to track everything. Try getting into the habit of planning out your days and slowly decide which spreads you want to take advantage of. You may find that you only really need it for planning. However, don’t be surprised if you find a new life long hobby that you love. Remember a bullet journal is whatever you make of it. Recommended Products

From time to time the Scribbles that Matter Journal is sold out on Amazon. When this happens third party sellers will try to sell the journal for an insane amount of money. DO NOT BUY THAT! Scribbles that Matter should be back in stock soon. My second favorite journal is the Essentials Dot Matrix, though I warn you the pages on this one are thinner and bleeding and shadows show up on opposite sides. However, it's a decent cheap journal if you are in a pinch and just want to get started.

Do you have any spreads you would like shared? Follow me on Pinterest for more like this and pin this to your Bullet Journal boards. Related Posts:  
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