How To Start A Bullet Journal

By now, you understand more about what a bullet journal is and are ready to get started. It is imperative that you put in the right amount of planning. Instead of just using the first journal you can find and making an index, it helps to start with a little more insight. This chapter is going to help give you a little more information about the different sections and components of your bullet journal, before delving into the physical supplies needed in the next chapter.

Basics of Starting Your Bullet Journal

At its core, the bullet journaling system was designed to work so that even a minimal amount of effort could result in a consistent and effective log of tasks and routines. Creator Ryder Carroll studied his own workflow habits before sharing the most essential elements of this uniquely adaptable method of record-keeping and scheduling. Every bullet journal varies from person to person, but identifying the first steps in making one starts with choosing basic materials and a few simple layouts for planning and tracking on a monthly, weekly and daily basis.

Two Things Every Bullet Journal Needs

Something to write with and something to write on are the most obvious and important materials anyone needs before they begin their journal. While this can mean any kind of paper, it’s best to make sure pages are bound together securely so that it can withstand regular use and any potential travel without losing pieces or becoming easily damaged. Pens, markers or pencils can all be suitable choices for use individually or together for a layout’s design.

Many bullet journal enthusiasts refine their own specifications based on how much detail or design their pages need. The weight of a piece of paper, measured by grams per square meter (gsm), determines how durable it will be for usage and storage over time. This affects how well any writing tool works on its surface, which can be an important detail for people who use heavily pigmented pens or markers and want to avoid staining between the pages. For others, making sure the inks they use are water-resistant or of archival quality is a necessary factor if they intend to refer back to journals after they’re completed and stored away.

Three Common Components to Include

Because the spirit of the bullet journaling system lies in personal adaptation, there are very few rules to how it all works together. Most journals are a mix of chronological or categorical pieces. However, the single most important element is the use of what Ryder Carroll terms as rapid-logging. By fixing a dot before every single entry on a page, each task or note has an easy starting point for more detail. That can be as simple as checking the dot off when done or migrating it forward to the next list with an arrow, instead. Technically, a bullet journal doesn’t need anything else to start in order to function at its most basic level of use, but the key and the index can become indispensable tools over time.

Even when the task markers are as simple as that example, creating a key for what each symbol means is just as necessary as it would be for more detailed methods that might track progress and completion with other icons or color-coding. This is often kept at the front of the journal for quick reference, as well as the next common section for most bullet journals, the index. An index serves as a table of contents for a journal and is typically written according to page order, though some may choose to organize by date or other themes depending on what their materials and layouts may be.

How to Choose Designs That Work Best

Though the original design for the bullet journal began as a way to make the most effective tool with the least amount of steps and effort, the intention was more about adaptability for each person as they used it over time rather than minimalism for simplicity’s sake. Speed and ease of use are still important considerations for many people interested in the bullet journal system, but the ability to personalize the basic elements opens up so many opportunities for creative and conceptual layouts.

Pages built around scheduling or tracking tasks and goals typically feature a six-month spread often named as the future log, plus monthly or weekly layouts that offer a more detailed glimpse of the most immediate deadlines or important dates. Dailies, pages that are used each day, can be formatted ahead of time but are most commonly made on the day itself to leave as much room as possible on the page for whatever might need recording.

This comes from the first steps in the bullet journal method, which is to maintain scheduled tasks and useful itemized lists that adapt easily to change. As each journal develops, patterns develop that reveal important themes which can then be pulled together as collections each person can curate through the course of keeping their journal.

Using Pre-Formatted Pages and Accessories

At any point when a personalized style or system becomes difficult to use, reverting back to the simplest elements can keep a journal going. By encouraging handwritten and personally designed pages, the bullet journal system can be daunting for those who may not enjoy or are not able to create pages that work for their needs. An easy way to bridge the gap between creating detailed or stylized design elements and maintaining ease-of-use from day to day is using journals or pages that are premade specifically for the bullet journaling method. Some designers may specialize in one brand’s manufacturing specifications for printouts or inserts, but other available formats can be altered to many unique measurements for those who use blank or unformatted journals to start.

Stickers, decals, stamps and stencils can also provide accessible and affordable ways to add design without taking up time or requiring any particular set of skills or abilities. Bullet journaling is often used as a way to increase everyday mindfulness, so adding elements that make a journal a personal page-turner is an important consideration for everyone interested in the process. With a huge social media community now sharing the ways they’ve used their journal throughout evolving trends, it’s even easier to learn how to make a bullet journal that suits any personal preferences and any number of priorities.