Bullet journaling is an organizational and personal tool that can really flourish your life for the better. For anyone that is trying to get organized during this period of chaos, I highly recommend committing to a bullet journal to set boundaries and goals for your life. Although we all know that it is easier said than done, I have laid out 3 simple steps to make the transition process much easier.
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Start very small.
If you’re new to bullet journaling, I highly recommend testing out the most simplest method of bullet journaling at first. (The more simple you get, the better.) YouTube does an excellent job of showing the most elaborate and complex spreads, but this is not what bullet journaling is about. The spreads that take the longest to decorate, are going to be the spreads that are most discouraging in the beginning.
An extreme example of this would be not going to the gym for five years, but telling yourself you’ll go to the gym tomorrow and do three hours of a HIIT class. It just isn’t realistic. Set the bar low in the beginning to ensure you will continue tomorrow. Raise the bar when necessary.
Before I fully committed to a bullet journal, I started out with a pocket size graph paper notebook to see if bullet journaling was a good fit for me. The page sizes were small enough for me not to be overwhelmed, but large enough to get everything out of my brain on to paper.
Starting small in my pocket bullet journal really helped me learn more about myself and what I need and didn’t need in a journal. One of the major points I learned in this test journal is that making a task list everyday was not working for me. After this observation, I shifted my task list on a weekly bases to get the most use out of my purchase.
Keep in mind that starting small is never a bad thing, it is a wise thing. Your commitment should be small in the beginning so that you are not overwhelmed or discouraged. Build that commitment based off your pace and understanding of the topic.
2. Don’t aim for perfection.
When starting out, don’t try to make everything in your bullet journal perfect. Nothing in life is perfect. Embrace the scribbles on the page, love your handwriting for what it is and experiment like no tomorrow. If you are a perfectionist, try to ease up on the structure of the pages, and focus on content of your pages. Work on getting things done, rather than making all your J’s look exactly the same. The things that are going to matter most down the road is what you should focus your perfection on.
Perfection is also draining. When you are in the processes of trying to start something new and commit fully, it would be in your best interest to accept failure right in the beginning. You don’t want to waste any of your creative energy on worrying about a journal that you won’t even use next year. You also don’t want to spend hours on a single page, if you have another 10 pages to fill out for that day.
3. Bullet journal everyday.
Despite this tip being a no brainer, it is so critical to take this step serious if you are looking to commit to a journal. When I say bullet journal everyday, I don’t mean make a different spread everyday or spend hours in your bullet journal. When I say bullet journal everyday, I mean look at your bullet journal everyday and do at least one thing to it. Checking something off in your bullet journal, tracking a habit, or writing a journal entry for the day are simple things you can do everyday to make bullet journaling a habit.
When you want to commit to something fully, you have to make it a habit. That is why bullet journaling everyday is so important. The power of a habit can really make a huge impact in your life. If you don’t believe me, take the advice from a Pulitzer price winner, Charles Duhigg’s, in his book “The Power of Habit.” It is a fascinating read and it really helped be think more deeply about my everyday actions.
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