Bullet Journals?

[tailrustedtealeaf]

Anyone else like them? I'm bad at sticking to them, but with the semester coming rapidly I imagine I'll get some more use out of it come the end of the month. I do like looking at all of the cute spreads people come up with!!
I have a reusable one, but I think I want a bound one instead...I'm a sucker for cute stationary and journals.
Does anyone keep one? Any favorite spreads?

[Loa]

Tell me more!

[tailrustedtealeaf]

Well, I did just end up buying a bound journal because it was only $10.  If I can get into using it more strictly, it'll help me out a lot what with me going to a nutritionist now...
My two favorite journalists are Amanda Rach Lee and Jenny Journals. Here's one of my favorite spreads she's done! I'm trying to plan ahead by watching videos to see what spreads I would personally use but there's so many! I'll skip the mood tracker though. I like that Jenny incorporates some scrapbooking into her journal, and the end of year flip-throughs are very lovely to watch, although for someone who doesn't travel all that much it's just mostly just wishing I could. 

[brightberry]

I just watched the video for them.  It's a lot.  I don't think that's really necessary in my life right now.  But it would had been awesome in college.

[Griffin]

Me me me! I've been keeping a bullet journal for over two years now. I was introduced to it by my colleagues and I think that has very much influenced the way I approach bullet journals - my friends and I all like stationery and artistic touches but for all of us, bujoing is, first and foremost, about function. It has been so helpful to me, as I often struggle with time management and project planning. I can be a bit of a dreamer and I tend to procrastinate a lot. I love how my bullet journal allows me to have everything important in one place - no more scattered post-its and lost notes!

I just watched the video for them.  It's a lot.  I don't think that's really necessary in my life right now.  But it would had been awesome in college.

The original bullet journal system developed by Ryder Carroll is actually very simple and easy to maintain. There are no complex layouts or artwork, the core of the system is what he calls "rapid logging" - recording his tasks, appointments, stray thoughts etc. throughout the day in a bulleted list. Entries in different categories are distinguished by different "bullets", hence the name bullet journal. Each evening the daily log is reviewed and things moved to relevant places if needed - for example, appointments can be transferred to a calendar, the monthly log or the "future log" (a place to record things beyond the current month). The system relies a lot on review and reflection, which for me has been lifesaving - no more missed appointments! For me, the problem with regular planners or calendars was that I would jot down appointments but forget to look at the calendar often enough to be aware of upcoming deadlines and events. Because of rapid logging I use my journal all the time, so these days I am pretty much constantly aware of what's happening tomorrow, next week, next month... Pre-printed planners also don't usually have much space for notes. I don't use a regular calendar at all anymore, but it's entirely possible to use both bujo and a calendar side by side (Carroll himself uses Google calendar, I believe). Beside rapid logging, the most groundbreaking thing for me has been the idea that you can have a notebook with mixed contents - numbering the pages and compiling an index that allows you to find the notes you need later is such a simple yet genius idea!
This is not to say I don't enjoy the more artistic type of journals. My own journal isn't completely minimalistic as I do love washi tape, stickers and other embellishments, and will use these to brighten up my journal. But as I already have other artsy and craftsy hobbies, I don't need to use my journal as a creative outlet. If it requires a lot of preparation before I can use it, I don't think it's worth my time! For this reason, I also try to steer away from functional but complex layouts you see in some journals. I've noticed the less lines and boxes there are to draw, the quicker the spreads are to set up. My weekly layout only takes a few minutes to do, plus a few additional minutes to embellish if I feel like it. The rest of the contents in my journal are mostly lists (like a wish list, "when did I last...", etc.) and pages of notes, and I fill the pages as I go. No planning or preparation required beforehand!

About 70-80% of my journal is work related (I'm a PhD student in the humanities, so even notes regarding my own data are not sensitive information, and most of it is project planning type of things anyway, like reading lists, funding trackers, etc.) but I have personal stuff mixed in and that seems to be working fine for me. Others may prefer to have separate journals.

[Taffeta]

About 70-80% of my journal is work related (I'm a PhD student in the humanities, so even notes regarding my own data are not sensitive information, and most of it is project planning type of things anyway, like reading lists, funding trackers, etc.) but I have personal stuff mixed in and that seems to be working fine for me. Others may prefer to have separate journals.

So I know nothing about these and had never heard of them before this post, but I just wanted to wish you luck with the PhD. I literally just finished mine (also in humanities) and there is a lot of stuff to organise to keep on top of it all.

I have a folder of stuff for each chapter of my thesis, but I guess I did the equivalent with ongoing notebooks of stuff to do, notes, things I found in the library...translations, book references etc. And then when one ran out I'd get another one and start on that. It's not as organised as what you're describing but I guess I was doing something a bit similar.

I have actual to do lists though. Weirdly I find that the scrappy bits of paper constantly lying on my unit actually motivate me to do stuff, whereas inside a book I tend to forget about them.

That linked video from the OP looked amazingly pretty but entirely impractical for real life anything. I guess if you're art-inclined then it's a hobby project and that's fine, but for organising your life...if it takes you half a day to create the organisation pages, then it doesn't seem to be great time managementwise.

The way you describe it, Griffin, is much more logical. If I had been starting my PhD again now I might have tried to incorporate some of those ideas in a more organised way, though my system mostly worked.

[pawpatrolbab]

I use the Happy Notes as a bullet journal. The Happy Planner makes special ones for students that might be worth looking into

[tailrustedtealeaf]

I'd loose interest if it weren't prettied up, and I find the artistic layout is fun when I'm off for a day and I can jazz it up. It does take a while, though! Its a wonderful outlet for all the stickers I've acquired. Taking all that time on it drives me to use it because I'd be like "oh I spent all this time on it.."
Griffin explained everything way better than I could. That planners aren't very personalized for what I need my journal for is definitely a reason to opt for it rather than buying a new one every year.

[Loa]

So, my cousin does this and she has the most amazing layouts and decorations.
She uses it to relax as well as plan.

[Ragamuffin]

Not a bullet journal (I have nothing to journal about!), but I keep a notebook for my passwords. I love using gel pens and markers! I always need to have things colour-coded and stickers could help too.

I'd always bust out my markers during high school in Government class to divide the pages and make bullet points, make headers, etc. It was extremely organized and made the class so easy! Like on a test or something I'd remember: "What's the answer to this question? I think I wrote something like that down in the Purple Area... what else was in the Purple Area? Oh, right! That!"

I would probably need a bullet journal if my life got busier... I have terrible short-term memory and writing stuff down helps a ton. Especially if it's colour-coded!

[CharmingBirthday]

I totally understand how the really artsy decorative ones can be motivating!
 
Personally I use a really simple version, but in A5 plain graph paper books. I just split each page in half and put each hour of the day I'll be awake in a column and write what I'll be doing during that time, and also a "Top Priority" and "To Do" box for the day.

I do headings in different colours and draw little things when I feel like it but it doesn't match all the popular styles you see online. I also use the future log! I've just started university so hopefully it will help me a lot.

[Thimble]

I love the way the fancy ones look, but dont want to set it up, lol.  I go the other way, and carry a blank, unlined journal/sketchbook, and have a calendar planner for work stuff.  Blank pages mean i can draw or just scribble down an impression. Its a place to put stickers, it holds postcards and receipts, i can fold pages to make a pocket,etc....
  So i guess it's kind of a disorganized lazy persons bullet journal, lol.
The trick for me is make sure it has enough pages that i dont feel pressured "not to waste them" on silly stuff.  The silly stuff is the point, brain!

When i have access to my art supplies, i like to
get fancy, but it's not really practical for crowded trains and train stations, which is where i have the most time for writing. So i usually go simple at first, leaving a bit of space for later, and then when i have my pencils and such, i go back over  the plain black and white to decorate.

I do admire the people who do those fancy pages though.