Faith & FamilyGet Organized: Bullet Journaling February 1, 2017 I’ve mentioned bullet journaling a few times on Instagram and have gotten questions about how and why I do it. So I decided to put together a little post on my system and how it’s revolutionized how effective and freeing it’s been for me and our family! I’m a free spirit, no doubt, as y’all may have guessed. But I realized quite awhile ago that I do crave some type of structure to keep me and my thoughts organized. All of us busy mamas and/or working ladies have so much going through our brains all at one time. I found a long time ago that if I don’t get it down on paper, so much of that inspiration, to-do lists, or thoughts that I need to remember get lost, never to be heard from again! I’ve tried all different kinds of systems for myself. I used to keep a small notebook for all different categories of things: sermon notes and prayer journaling, recipes and menu planning, ideas for Rosie (crafts, learning time, holidays), blog business, oil business…the list seriously goes on and on! I think I got up to eight notebooks. And then I also had a planner to keep my schedule in. It was insane! Notebooks got lost and I could never find what I needed. Plus, I didn’t carry eight notebooks around with me, so I had to be home for those thoughts to get put down on paper. When I was out, I’d have ideas and be almost stressed to remember them until I got back to the appropriate notebook…the system was way too complicated. Then I went to a planner/notebook combo that had a lot of notes pages back behind the planner portion, but I didn’t like that all of these areas weren’t separated by “my categories” and let’s be honest, I’m going to go through way more than one small notebook in a calendar year. In the fall, I felt so overwhelmed and felt like I was constantly dropping balls everywhere. A lot of this goes along with my New Year’s post about needing to simplify and streamline what I take on to make sure I’m more effective in those few things that matter most. But I also realized that I needed a much better system. My mind felt constantly overwhelmed with new ideas, new items to add to the to-do list, and I literally couldn’t keep it all straight. I’d heard about bullet journaling a lot and then I saw Edie from Life in Grace (LOVE her!) talking about bullet journaling, so I went and watched her video on it. I immediately decided to give it a try. So much of what she said completely resonated with how I’d been feeling! You can check out her video on it here! But since I got so many questions, I wanted to break down how I was using it for y’all! The first key is getting a notebook. A small one you can easily stick in your purse and carry around is smart, but I prefer large pages with lots of room as much as I write in mind. So that part is totally up to personal preference. The key of this system is that EVERYTHING goes in one notebook. So for me, you’ll see a huge variety up there on that list! But it’s all in one place making it really easy to go back to. Once I’m done with this notebook and move on to others, I’ll keep these on a shelf and probably label the spine with the timeframe I wrote in it and keep them in order. That way, I can more easily go back to them to look up notes and things I want to remember. Since everything is going in one notebook, there are a few keys to making this work: 1.) CREATE A TABLE OF CONTENTS Leave the first few pages for your table of contents. I started on this first page taking up the whole line and then I realized that I’d left three pages and it was quickly filling up. So on the next two pages, I drew a line down the center to create two columns and that’s what I’d suggest (or just leave more pages up front). Then, just write YOUR TITLES for each entry with the page number out to the right. I capitalized “your” there because you want to name them whatever you’ll remember to go back and look for. This is your system, make it work for you. 2.) NUMBER YOUR PAGES In the lower corner of each page throughout the notebook, make sure you number the pages for table of contents reference. And that’s it! It couldn’t be more simple! For most planning entries (ex. monthly/weekly goals, to-do lists, etc.), I usually sit down with a couple of things. I do still keep a planner, though as I’ve started this system, I’ve realized I’m mainly using the monthly overlook to write down scheduling things. My to-do lists have found their way into the notebook instead of the daily planning sections because the notebook is what I always have on me, so it’s easier to add to the lists. I may get a smaller, pocket type planner to just keep track of appointments and schedules and leave all other planning lists to the notebook. I also use washi tape for titles, a sharpie, a regular pen, and a highlighter. Not every page gets the special treatment, but some bigger ones do. Whatever mood I’m in! After doing this now for three months, I can’t tell you what a difference it’s made! Having one place to get everything down is huge because it’s always on hand and whenever I have a thought, I jot it down on the appropriate page and move on! Once it’s down on paper, it’s out of my mind and I can focus on something else! My mind is freer and instead of playing with Rosie with a long list of what I’m trying to remember running through my mind distracting me, I can let those things go because I know they’re down on paper for me to go back to and be more present. This streamlined system is making me a lot more effective too. Less balls are being dropped with all of the work I’m trying to balance and more of what’s important is actually getting done. Plus, inspiration is a big deal for me. Prayer journals, notes from inspiring work or life videos, etc. are right at my fingertips to go back and read over again and again. I think we need those reminders! I put together a little video chat of the system and what it’s changed for me. I did want to spell out some of that above for those who read at work, etc. and may not be able to watch the video, but this video gives more details about why I love it and how it’s working! I hoped I answered all of your questions about this, but if I missed anything, leave it in the comments below and I’ll respond there for others to see! *** That’s been The White Buffalo motto for the last three years and is still what I’m striving to do each day in our home and with our family. Yes, that often means tablescapes, inspiring interiors, and fun before and after renos. But it also means family. Faith. Joy. Struggles. Laughter. Health. You’ll find a little bit of all of that here as I share how we’re choosing to live with both style and purpose. A huge part of that is our journey toward a more natural life that’s focused on enjoying each and every moment together. A huge thanks to my main blog sponsor that makes this dream of mine possible:
Haley says February 17, 2017 at 9:11 am oooh, love this! I have a planner that has the week on one side and a blank page on the other side. For the dates, I write appointments and journal with what we did that day. On the blank page I’ll do all of my doodles of funny things my daughter says, lists, ideas, favorite quotes, etc. I need to read more about the bullet journal though, so interesting. Reply
[…] the last year or so, I began hearing about bullet journaling. I read a post by another blogger about how she uses hers. I also had a friend who bullet journaled. Anytime, I saw my friend’s journal opened or […] Reply