Bullet journal stuff

[dianec42]

I can't remember who I was chatting with about bullet journaling. So here you all go!

This is the monthly tracker section for January. This year's notebook is a bit larger than previous ones, and I've gone from 2 pages per month to 4. We'll see what sticks.

Similar trackers to last year, plus a bit that might get doodles or stickers. (On the layout test page it says "LOOK at all this SPACE" lol.)


New for this year, project-specific tracking and a bingo card of random shit I should do more.


I got this notebook from Cognitive Surplus and it's kinda gigantic. Also IT'S SO PRETTY. Here it is with some micron pens and what used to be the full set of Zebra Mildliner markers:

Comments

[mesozoic]

So pretty! What do you like about bullet journaling?

[dianec42]

I think it's the big picture that I find the most useful, in a couple of ways.

Not pictured of course, but I love having an index. Previously I would fill notebooks and scraps of paper but I could never find stuff again.

Also not pictured, of course: Month at a glance. Super simple, month name at the top and dates going down the side; populate with anything scheduled, and write in emergent tasks & interesting events; notes on the facing page. Then I can easily look back and see how it went, if there were any really busy or stressful times, and (on the notes page) if there are any chores I could organize a little better.

Habit trackers, I've taken a lot of inspiration from Reddit /r/BulletJournal. It's one thing to idly muse "I should exercise consistently" or "I wonder if I'm drinking too often". When I record it in a way that's easy to set up and fun to color in, then I can see trends over time. I describe it as "Tableau meets adult coloring books" and it is 100% my kind of fun activity. :)

I started keeping one in 2021, my year from hell. I set the bar really low: Get some sunshine. Get something resembling exercise most days. Track how your brain is doing to see what's affecting it (meds and supplements were all over the place that year). It gave me an anchor and kind of a mental sense of direction. It's interesting to look back and see how I've grown and become focused since then.

I also love pretty notebooks. :) I don't trust stuff on the computer - a notebook is durable, and I can always see it so it constantly exists. Much like cross stitch projects, it's satisfying to have a thing that I made that didn't exist in the world before.