The Simple Bullet Journal System That Keeps Me Always Focused On My Goals

If you haven’t been living under a rock it’s likely you’ve stumbled upon the idea of bullet journaling. Ryder Caroll, the creator, wanted a place to organize all his thoughts and to-dos, and the bullet journal system was born.

A simple bullet journal system works for the following reason: It lets you design how YOU want to create your own planner. This means you aren’t confined to spaces and sections you don’t use if you were to buy a conventional planner (which are honestly SO frigging expensive, like what the hey!). A simple YouTube search on setting up a bullet journal can help you get started if you’d like to try the system. Here’s why I love it so much:

Nothing Ever Falls Off My Long Term To-Do List

Every time I don’t end up getting to one of my tasks, it’s still written down and not forgotten. When I’m ready to create my schedule for next week, I can just migrate the task. The bullet journal system makes it so that at the end of each week or month, when you’re revising what you got done for that time period, you can pick out what you didn’t do and migrate the task to a “future log” section so you never forget it going forward. Easy, right? Again, since it’s a planner you get to design, you get to call the shots on how it’s organized.

And you can get as creative or as simple as possible with it. Some people like to keep a minimalist journal with a simple index and bullet journal signifiers, while others like to go all out and make it a piece of art. All it takes is a quick Google search of ‘bullet journal ideas’ to find out exactly what I mean if you haven’t already.

It’s Therapeutic And Organizes You Simultaneously

Bullet journals are relaxing to me because, personally, I like to get a little crafty with it here and there. Sometimes I do keep it as simple as possible, while others I keep it to a simple list. But there’s something about knowing that everything you have to do in your life to stay on top of things is in one organized system that you created in your own journal that is comforting.

And you get some instant gratification once you see all your tasks crossed off and you visually see the progress you’re making. While it’s true that you can just keep a quick to-do list in your head of everything you need to get done, whether that’s appointments or work-related tasks, writing them down in a nice setup can guarantee you don’t forget them and it helps you see how you can get things done faster.

For instance, maybe some tasks take longer than others, or maybe some tasks take higher priority than others and should be done first. Once you take control of your life tasks through organization, with some dedication, there’s no telling how much you can get done.

I Get To Design The Look

I love being able to create a weekly spread the way I want it to look and not be confined to something I bought predefined. This is why the dot grid paper design works so well for me. Because I can create categories and subcategories for everything I want to organize during the week.

Besides that, if you’re artistic, you can even get artsy with calligraphy pens and colored markers. There are tons of bullet journal page ideas out there for plenty of inspiration if you want to go that route. But remember, you don’t have to. Bottom line is, with a bullet journal, you’re in control of your organization.

I Save Paper

Sans journal, I’d literally grab any piece of paper I could find when I felt inspired to create a to-do list on a whim (which was A LOT)…and this is how I’d waste a lot of paper and grow even more disorganized without realizing it. More often than not I’d lose that list and have to write it over.

Everything Is In One Place

Besides not wasting paper on the daily, everything is guaranteed to always be in one place. I don’t have to go looking for that piece of paper where I wrote my most important ideas and my other pieces of paper that had my to-do list for next Friday.

It’s great to know that you can grab your ONE notebook and all your dreams, hopes, goals, and ideas are outlined in an organized way that makes sense to you and that helps you draw out a realistic roadmap to your goals.

Success Takes Some Planning

And I’ve personally found that with bullet journaling. You can find it with the simplest dollar store notebook and a pencil. It doesn’t matter. The gist of this is that you write down your goals and a daily roadmap for how to get there. It’s all about setting yourself up for success as best as possible. Because in the end, you get to reap the rewards of going out of your way to take care of yourself and ensuring your life’s journey is a fruitful one.

Vivian blogs a lot over at her lifestyle site Tealnotes.com. She enjoys reading, creating free planners and printables and challenging herself to keep a morning routine without fault (something she’s not yet very good at). If she isn’t frying her eyes on a laptop, she’s out jogging, or getting sushi with her friends!

Image via Unsplash

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