Bullet Journaling

[Sweet Home Alabama]

Does anyone here bullet journal?  I'm going to start my first one in January, and I'm using this time until then to decide how I want to set mine up.  I am most definitely a minimalist.  Most use an A5 journal, but I know I want to use the B5 size. I also want to keep cost low. I am watching prices at Amazon for B5 dotted-grid  journals hoping they will come down with the holiday season approaching. 

I like the Scribbles That Matter journal at 120 gsm and 200+ pages.  I hope to use this journal for the entire year which is unusual for most.  I have the basics otherwise...plenty of pens, etc.  I have a list of several other B5 sizes that would work that Amazon sells; the STM one just happens to be my favorite.

https://us.amazon.com/Dotted-Journal-120gsm-Scribbles-Matter/dp/B097J8Y5Y3/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8&th=1

I will use this journal for calendar purposes as well as Scriptural reflections and scheduling housework. I don't have to plan for homeschool or keep up with children's appointments.  This journal is truly for my pleasure, and I'm looking forward to using it to help me keep things that matter to me in order.

Have you ever known the STM journal to go on sale?

Do you recommend any other B5 dotted-grid journal? (At least 120 gsm)

Do you have helpful comments about getting started?

 

If you've never heard of bullet journaling I'm linking a couple of YouTube videos.  I stumbled on this quite by accident several months ago, and it seems to be very popular.  Ryder Carrol created this method. 

 

Edited November 1, 2022 by Sweet Home Alabama
Added a link.

[happi duck]

(I currently use a Clever Fox planner just for a change)

I think the Bullet Journal is a great system!  I just follow the basic guidelines with no colors and just the minimal set up at each new month.

I've only ever used random notebooks.  Having a grid and pages already numbered always seemed worthwhile but I never tried them.

I'm terrible at searching the boards but I know there's been other BuJo threads over the years if anyone can find them!

 

[marbel]

Here is a thread from last year that was of great help to me. @happi duck gave me a great "aha moment" early on and I've been running with it ever since. Also @Slacheshould probably update as she started that one. 

 

 

[Slache]

I've been bullet journaling for 7 years. I'm finally reading the book now, I wish I had sooner. STM has a black Friday sale. I've never used a B5 because I'm not a heretic.  There are lots of bullet journalers here.

Mine is very customized with monthly spreads and weekly dutch doors, quarterly goal setting, a post its page, rolling weeklies, yada yada yada. 

Go read Ryder's blog and this.

[Clarita]

Mine is just lists of stuff really. It's not pretty. It's not Pinterest worthy. I like light grey grid notebook. I number the ones I used for work, ideas/personal and school scheduling. For school scheduling, washi tape has been more useful compared to the table of contents, because I might need to refer to things for a month but after that month I never need it again.  

[JennyD]

Bullet journaling -- or least my half-baked version of it -- has been a great system for me.  I use A5 notebooks, usually the dotted ones from Leuchtturm, and I just fill them up with everything in my life: daily to-do lists, weekly lists, meal plans, long-term planning, meeting notes, random thoughts, etc.  Not at all pretty and barely anything in there would make any sense to anyone other than me, but I love having all of that stuff in one place and indexed.

[marbel]

48 minutes ago, Slache said:

Go read Ryder's blog and this.

Well that's a fun little rabbit hole!  💗

[Sweet Home Alabama]

9 hours ago, happi duck said:

(I currently use a Clever Fox planner just for a change)

I think the Bullet Journal is a great system!  I just follow the basic guidelines with no colors and just the minimal set up at each new month.

I've only ever used random notebooks.  Having a grid and pages already numbered always seemed worthwhile but I never tried them.

I'm terrible at searching the boards but I know there's been other BuJo threads over the years if anyone can find them!

 

Happi Duck, I've seen a Clever Fox journal that is already set up. It looked really nice.  They also carry the plain kind like you are using.  I'm betting dot-grid journals used to be cheap, but they are expensive now that bullet journaling is a thing.  I was shocked when I went to Amazon to copy the URL to post in my thread....the price for the STM journal increased by $5 to a whopping $30! No way. That is crazy!  🙂

I will follow basic guidelines to get started as well. When I tried Sidetracked Home Executives years ago, I learned  that it is much better to start with minimal ideas to learn the system.  I didn't do that, and I ended up feeling overwhelmed which crushed the desire to continue. I know better now, and I will take bullet journaling slowly and let it evolve naturally so that it works for me instead of me working for it.

9 hours ago, marbel said:

Here is a thread from last year that was of great help to me. @happi duck gave me a great "aha moment" early on and I've been running with it ever since. Also @Slacheshould probably update as she started that one. 

 

 

Marbel, thanks so much for posting this other thread.  I enjoyed reading the replies. I sort of felt like bullet journaling would be a hit here.  I had not seen the Go Girl journal before seeing it here.  I kind of like it, yet I'm mostly sure I want to draw my own spreads just for the sake of control.  Honestly, I hope to keep my spreads minimal because I don't want to dread drawing new spreads for each month.  

For anyone new to bullet journaling, the STM journal has a new version now...the Dot Cross journal, I think.  It has some pre-printed pages as well as plenty of blank pages to personalize.  The pre-printed pages do sort of tempt me.

 

8 hours ago, Slache said:

I've been bullet journaling for 7 years. I'm finally reading the book now, I wish I had sooner. STM has a black Friday sale. I've never used a B5 because I'm not a heretic.  There are lots of bullet journalers here.

Mine is very customized with monthly spreads and weekly dutch doors, quarterly goal setting, a post its page, rolling weeklies, yada yada yada. 

Go read Ryder's blog and this.

Slache, thank you so much for letting me know that STM has a black Friday sale! I will certainly check the deals for the STM journal and the other B5 journals I'm watching.

You've been bullet journaling long enough to have your routine solid! I bet it is fun to add the creative touches.  I gravitate toward the minimalist look, but I do want to add simple, hand-drawn botanical elements.  Honestly, this is one element that I will intentionally add.  I love sketched or colored floral drawings.  I love the watercolor florals too!  

I've watched several videos about making dutch doors and other creative cut outs/design styles.  As long as I can keep them simple.....minimal..... I think the botanical sketches will add a lot to my journal.

8 hours ago, Clarita said:

Mine is just lists of stuff really. It's not pretty. It's not Pinterest worthy. I like light grey grid notebook. I number the ones I used for work, ideas/personal and school scheduling. For school scheduling, washi tape has been more useful compared to the table of contents, because I might need to refer to things for a month but after that month I never need it again.  

Clarita, it has been amazing to look at so many different kinds of spreads to see how so many personalize these journals. I just can't imagine mine looking like these.  I'm more practical.  Bullet Journaling has to work, or what is the point?  I'm with you.

8 hours ago, JennyD said:

Bullet journaling -- or least my half-baked version of it -- has been a great system for me.  I use A5 notebooks, usually the dotted ones from Leuchtturm, and I just fill them up with everything in my life: daily to-do lists, weekly lists, meal plans, long-term planning, meeting notes, random thoughts, etc.  Not at all pretty and barely anything in there would make any sense to anyone other than me, but I love having all of that stuff in one place and indexed.

JennyD, most of the people I've read about use the A5 size journal.  That just seems too small for me.  It would more easily fit in a purse and kept discrete compared to the B5.  Since I really want to use ONE journal for the entire year, I'm thinking the B5 has the most bang-for-the-buck.  I also love the extra room the B5 offers.

 

 

Thanks all of you for replying!  

[Resilient]

The most important part of the bullet journal is the INDEX.  You can use the thing 497,862 ways, but if you can't find what you are looking for...well oh well.  

I use a journal that is impossible to find in the US. The paper is beautiful - fountain-pen-proof - and the size works for me. And it is $6 for a refill, $14 for the cover and refill, and you can use dot-grid, lines, or grid refills. I just numbered all the pages (a very good use of TV time when it is a show you don't care for), and creating the index.  

I've used the system I have for years now, and it would take me very little time to find an entry from years past, thanks to the index.  

Sometimes it is pretty but mostly it is practical. I use it more for thinking through than tracking or for appts.  I use my phone for appts, but I use my bullet journal to think through what I want to accomplish at an appointment.  And 40skillion other things.