Meet my new love, my Bullet Journal.
I’m so excited to share with you my new obsession! I literally feel like I can accomplish anything when I have my Bullet Journal in hand (yes, I realize that I sound crazy).
My cousin told me about Bullet Journaling over the Christmas holidays and I was INSTANTLY hooked! I was sitting on the beach in Jamaica, on my phone, pinning images on Pinterest and saving images on Instagram…instead of enjoying the beautiful beach… oups
If you’re not familiar with Bullet Journaling, the best way that I can describe it is that it’s a way to organize your brain. I’m the type of person that has so many ideas and projects and things that are running through my head all the time, and I needed an organized way to put it on paper. Bullet Journaling is the perfect solution.
The concept of Bullet Journaling is pretty simple. You need a journal and just a few basic guidelines to follow when filling it out:
– Number each page in your notebook.
– An index page where you put the titles of your entries and the page number, so that you can refer to it whenever you are looking for something.
– A key with codes and colouring coding (i.e. ‘notes’, ‘task’, ‘event’ etc.)
– Then it’s a free for all: you choose what entries you want – weekly and/or monthly calendars, grocery lists, project ideas, inspiring quotes, a list of books that you want to read
Here are some tips from beginners in bullet journaling that I wish I would have known before starting:
– Buy a notebook that’s big enough – mine is too narrow so I cant always fit everything that I want to add. I wish I had bought an actual bullet journal from the beginning because the book opens wide enough so that it’s easy to write, there are light dots all over the page that makes it easier to doodle, do faux-calligraphy, draw tables etc.
– Leave a couple of pages at the beginning of your journal for the index. Mine got filled up really fast. When you are writing the index, write the title first and the page number after, because if you add pages to a title (i.e. if you have a list and it takes more than one page), you run out of space if you put the page number first (refer to the picture below if you want to see what I’m talking about).
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– Fill out your key as you go. You will find that you might not use all of them from the get-go.
– I don’t always have time to do fancy decorations, and that’s okay! I like the fact that I can stay organized with everything in one spot, don’t worry about making it look perfect and pretty all the time.
– Use tabs that stick out of your notebook for the pages that you use often. I personally refer to my weekly to-do list every day, including my weekly tracker (where I track my exercise, my mood, meditation practice etc.). Having a tab that sticks out makes it easy to refer to those pages.
– Get inspired on Pinterest and Instagram before getting started so that you can organize what you want and don’t want, and then start your journal!
And that’s it!! The beauty of a Bullet Journal is that you make of it what you want! You can be as detailed or as simple as you want. I am still learning how to use mine and I will probably do an update in a few months with more things that I learned.
To get you started, here are a few of my favourite list ideas that I encourage you to have in your journal if you start one!
– Monthly memories: each month, I dedicate two pages to any special moments that from the month so that at the end of the year, I can look back and remember smaller things that happened.
– Organizing your week: Two pages with a weekly to-do list on the right, a blog to-do list below it, a habit tracker on the left hand page, and emotions tracker below it.
– Meal plan: I love sitting down before doing my groceries to organize what I want to eat during the week so that I can make sure that I am respecting my meal plan given by my nutritionist and I can also prepare my grocery list.
I can’t tell you enough how much my Bullet Journal has changed how I organize and plan my life. Yes, my life. It really helps me to clear my brain but also to feel like I am keeping track of important things.
Have you tried Bullet Journaling? Do you like it? What are some tips that you have learned along the way? Please share your BuJo pictures by tagging @ElleisforLove!
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Belle says
I really adore this idea. I always have a notebook (or two!) in my bag… I can’t convert fully to devices… I need to write things down. But I do find that my notes are often disorganized and I lose track of things and forgot about ideas… I need to start something like this. Do keep us in the loop regarding what works and what doesn’t. I imagine bullet journaling takes some learning to really optimize it. Awesome post. Your self love bullets are wonderful. We all need to be a little kinder to ourselves! You go girl. x x x x
http://www.thislifeisbelle.com
Sepideh says
Thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words sweetie! I’m glad I sparked your interest because it’s truly been amazing to have a journal where I have everything in it.
And you’re totally right, I am still learning what works and what doesn’t so I’ll definitely do an updated blog post when I feel I have more advice to share!!
The self-love entry is an important one that I should refer back to more often honestly.. I’m glad you like it, hope it gave you some ideas, especially as a mommy, I’m sure you can forget even more easily to take care of YOU!!
Cristina - Memories of the Pacific says
This is a great idea! It looks really organized and you get a general idea easily just skimming through the page.
http://www.memoriesofthepacific.com
Sepideh says
Thanks sweetie! It’s such a great way to organize everything, especially for someone like me that loves to stay organized but also to write things out and also use a bit of creativity to spruce the pages up! You should give it a try!
Elizabeth says
I absolutely love my bullet journal! I don’t know about you but I just find it so therapeutic! Thanks for sharing all your ideas
xx
Lizzie | Takeoffs & Landings
Sepideh says
It TOTALLY is therapeutic!! I spend at least 10 minutes every day looking through my weekly tasks and reflecting on my habits and emotions and it’s so great because it’s a constant reminder of what I want to be working on. I love it so much!
Do you have any advice/tips that you’ve picked up on the way?
PrincesssMiiaa says
I am soooo excited to start mine, I really want to track some things and be more organized. I also have a bunch of pictures pinned on Pinterest and I even started a collection on IG lol. Check @inkbyjeng on IG @amandarachdoodles and @missjlouie, they’re my favorite and the last two have youtube channels and videos on bullet journaling. You’ll love them. Let me know what you think.
http://www.dearmakeup.org
Sepideh says
I LOVE my BuJo I can’t even tell you…I got my sister hooked too and we have Bullet Journaling sessions haha #nerds
Thanks for the suggestions I’ll definitely check them out!!!