If you're new to Art Journal Every Day, there is a short introduction here. All of the previous posts can be found archived here. Remember, it's just ten minutes of nourishing your creative self every day! No need to finish anything or even like it. If you've done some art journaling this week, use the hashtag #artjournaleveryday so that we can all take a peek. Even if you're not on social media, you can see everything (from twitter, pinterest, instagram, and facebook) that uses that hashtag here.
January 1 is always a date that looms large in most people's lives. It represents the opportunity to begin anew and start new habits. And it's coming fast. This week I'm going to talk a bit about starting/committing to a Bullet Journal. Next week I'm going to talk a bit about starting/committing to an Art Journal. They're not mutually exclusive. I do both. But you may want to choose just one.
Let's begin.
Why Bullet Journal?
- To better organize your daily tasks, especially if you have a schedule with a lot of variety.
- My productivity and adherence to deadlines has gone way up since I started keeping a Bullet Journal.
- It's useful for appointments and really seeing where you have time in your schedule each week.
- To keep all project planning notes together. Whether it's notes from a phone conversation or your own mad scribblings, I find it super useful to have all of that information — notes, sketches, dates, discussion points, etc. — together in one place.
But I love electronics!
- I love electronic devices too! I still use Google Calendar — but I think of it as my long range calendar device. Unlike some Bullet Journalers, the only calendar I keep in my BuJo is a Weekly Spread, which I lay out on Sunday nights. This approach allows me the convenience of the cloud-based calendar along with the visual time planning (for tasks) of the paper calendar. If you haven't checked out my post about using a "time ladder," read it now!
- The Bullet Journal "threading" and index system has taught me how an analog paper notebook can think in a digital retrieval manner. What does that mean? One of the things we love about computers is the ability to retrieve information with a few keystrokes. A well kept index page can be those keystrokes! For example, if I'm looking for my notes on ScanNCut, I can go to the index and see a list of the pages that have ScanNCut information. Same thing if I'm looking for notes from a class I took, or the name of that restaurant I went to in Florida in February, and so on!
So, how do I get started?
- You need a notebook and a pen.
- Additional items that are nice to have: a small ruler, some additional colored pens, some markers, and a pen pouch (the one I linked to attaches to your journal).
- Determine which Bullet Journal tools interest you. The Bullet Journaling tools that I find useful are:
- The great thing about the bullet journal is that it's not a one-size-fits-all system. It's meant for you to customize. I would say that it took me about a month to find the groove that worked for me. Don't get discouraged! Keep tinkering with the system until it work for you!
And now, just for fun, a freebie to get your year of Bullet Journaling started off right! Download this free sheet of printable Bullet Journal/Planner stickers here.
I used the ScanNCut Sticker Starter Kit to create my stickers:
Here is my finished Bullet Journal Weekly Spread. You can see the time ladder in action:
My color coding system is: black (structure of the week — appointments, etc.), red (tasks), blue (diary style notes).
I don't like to worry about making my pages "pretty" but I have found that the stickers make it super easy to pull together an attractive and functional layout!
I hope you'll consider starting a Bullet Journal! I rolled my eyes the first time and even the second and third times that someone suggested it to me. But, I'm a believer now!
Thanks for stopping by!
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P.S. I am a paid spokesperson for the Brother ScanNCut. It is a machine that I love and use. All projects and opinions are my own.
Thanks for this! I won a bullet journal in your give away and I can’t wait to get it and get started. I want to be more goal oriented in my art work, fitness and diet. I’m retired and “relaxing” is way too easy to do.
Thanks for this! I won a bullet journal in your give away and I can’t wait to get it and get started. I want to be more goal oriented in my art work, fitness and diet. I’m retired and “relaxing” is way too easy to do.
Thanks for this! I won a bullet journal in your give away and I can’t wait to get it and get started. I want to be more goal oriented in my art work, fitness and diet. I’m retired and “relaxing” is way too easy to do.
Thanks for this! I won a bullet journal in your give away and I can’t wait to get it and get started. I want to be more goal oriented in my art work, fitness and diet. I’m retired and “relaxing” is way too easy to do.
Thanks for this! I won a bullet journal in your give away and I can’t wait to get it and get started. I want to be more goal oriented in my art work, fitness and diet. I’m retired and “relaxing” is way too easy to do.
Thanks for this! I won a bullet journal in your give away and I can’t wait to get it and get started. I want to be more goal oriented in my art work, fitness and diet. I’m retired and “relaxing” is way too easy to do.
I don’t think I will bullet journal a calendar, but I will use these ideas for my scrapbooking and project life books. Thanks for sharing.
I don’t think I will bullet journal a calendar, but I will use these ideas for my scrapbooking and project life books. Thanks for sharing.
I don’t think I will bullet journal a calendar, but I will use these ideas for my scrapbooking and project life books. Thanks for sharing.
I don’t think I will bullet journal a calendar, but I will use these ideas for my scrapbooking and project life books. Thanks for sharing.
I don’t think I will bullet journal a calendar, but I will use these ideas for my scrapbooking and project life books. Thanks for sharing.
I don’t think I will bullet journal a calendar, but I will use these ideas for my scrapbooking and project life books. Thanks for sharing.
I too am so excited to receive my bullet journal. Thank you for sharing how you organize your journal. It makes so much more sense to me the way you have yours organized. I first started using graph paper and researching other ways and it did not work for me. Your tips are so useful. Love the stickers too. I am amazed how versatile the scan and cut machine. Have a wonderful holiday season! Hope you get to enjoy some time off.
I too am so excited to receive my bullet journal. Thank you for sharing how you organize your journal. It makes so much more sense to me the way you have yours organized. I first started using graph paper and researching other ways and it did not work for me. Your tips are so useful. Love the stickers too. I am amazed how versatile the scan and cut machine. Have a wonderful holiday season! Hope you get to enjoy some time off.
I too am so excited to receive my bullet journal. Thank you for sharing how you organize your journal. It makes so much more sense to me the way you have yours organized. I first started using graph paper and researching other ways and it did not work for me. Your tips are so useful. Love the stickers too. I am amazed how versatile the scan and cut machine. Have a wonderful holiday season! Hope you get to enjoy some time off.
I too am so excited to receive my bullet journal. Thank you for sharing how you organize your journal. It makes so much more sense to me the way you have yours organized. I first started using graph paper and researching other ways and it did not work for me. Your tips are so useful. Love the stickers too. I am amazed how versatile the scan and cut machine. Have a wonderful holiday season! Hope you get to enjoy some time off.
I too am so excited to receive my bullet journal. Thank you for sharing how you organize your journal. It makes so much more sense to me the way you have yours organized. I first started using graph paper and researching other ways and it did not work for me. Your tips are so useful. Love the stickers too. I am amazed how versatile the scan and cut machine. Have a wonderful holiday season! Hope you get to enjoy some time off.
I too am so excited to receive my bullet journal. Thank you for sharing how you organize your journal. It makes so much more sense to me the way you have yours organized. I first started using graph paper and researching other ways and it did not work for me. Your tips are so useful. Love the stickers too. I am amazed how versatile the scan and cut machine. Have a wonderful holiday season! Hope you get to enjoy some time off.
I’ve been looking at a lot of pinterest posts on bullet journaling and they all look absolutely beautiful (and a little confusing). They don’t look real; they are very tidy and spartan and perfect. If only my life were really like that! I am so glad that you show a real-life working bullet journal so I can see what they actually look like.
I’ve been looking at a lot of pinterest posts on bullet journaling and they all look absolutely beautiful (and a little confusing). They don’t look real; they are very tidy and spartan and perfect. If only my life were really like that! I am so glad that you show a real-life working bullet journal so I can see what they actually look like.
I’ve been looking at a lot of pinterest posts on bullet journaling and they all look absolutely beautiful (and a little confusing). They don’t look real; they are very tidy and spartan and perfect. If only my life were really like that! I am so glad that you show a real-life working bullet journal so I can see what they actually look like.
I’ve been looking at a lot of pinterest posts on bullet journaling and they all look absolutely beautiful (and a little confusing). They don’t look real; they are very tidy and spartan and perfect. If only my life were really like that! I am so glad that you show a real-life working bullet journal so I can see what they actually look like.
I’ve been looking at a lot of pinterest posts on bullet journaling and they all look absolutely beautiful (and a little confusing). They don’t look real; they are very tidy and spartan and perfect. If only my life were really like that! I am so glad that you show a real-life working bullet journal so I can see what they actually look like.
I’ve been looking at a lot of pinterest posts on bullet journaling and they all look absolutely beautiful (and a little confusing). They don’t look real; they are very tidy and spartan and perfect. If only my life were really like that! I am so glad that you show a real-life working bullet journal so I can see what they actually look like.