Bullet Journaling: Organize Your Chaos

Welcome to the #bujo community!

Test dates, game days and college visits — oh my! As each day of high school passes, the road ahead seems more filled with more twists, turns and unexpected detours. It’s completely understandable to feel overwhelmed and out of control when you have so many different mental filing systems open in your brain at once.

How many times have you looked up upcoming ACT and SAT dates and deadlines only to forget and search them again? How often do you have to look through your phone to find who your next football game is against and whether you are the home team or visitor?

How many half-filled planners do you have at home because you haven’t found the one that works just right for you? Your life, sanity and outlook are about to change. Let us introduce you to a system that can change your everyday approach: bullet journaling! #bujo

What is bullet journaling?

Bullet journaling is a personalized pen-to-paper organization system created by Ryder Carroll, but has since been modified by many others. I tend to remember things best when I write them down. This system can help organize schoolwork, game-day plans, cheer/dance/band schedules, SAT and ACT registration, and can even act as a journal if you’d like. It really is up to you–that’s the beauty of this system! Your planner can be as simple or elaborate as you wish.

How do you get started?

Grab a notebook. It can be a simple lined notebook you already have laying around the house, or you can buy one with graphed or dotted lines. We love the dotted and graphed lines–they make drawing horizontal and vertical lines much easier! You’ll see this come into play when we start getting into our pages below. The key is to start, and not be afraid of making mistakes. If you mess up, no worries! You aren’t putting your bullet journal on display. This planner is just for you!

INDEX PAGE:

You can start your bullet journal at any time, and the index will help you keep track of the page(s) you are using for each topic. Remember to number your pages if the notebook does not already come that way–otherwise, it will be harder to quickly find your notes on a certain topic unless you jot the page number and topic in the index. Don’t worry about chronologically entering anything. Just get it down!

CALENDEX:

Seeing the whole year (or at least a few months) at a glance can help ease your mind. It may look like a lot, but once things are written down, you’ll be surprised by how relieved you feel. The basis of this Calendex system was created by Eddie Hope. Number the days of the month on the left, then add the months across the top. We shaded in the weekends to make them pop out. Then, you can add rallies, game days, exams, birthdays, holidays, practices, etc. on their respective dates. You can write abbreviations and a page number for where you can find the topic, or use symbols here. Seeing where important events, such as exam dates, fall can be especially helpful for managing and balancing your available time and practice schedule.

COLLECTIONS:

Collections are basically lists or logs of things–in this case, the upcoming football schedule (and note that it’s on page 5 of the bullet journal — write this topic and page number in your index so you can easily find it again; even when you are on page 105!). For this page, write the important details with blank spaces at the bottom for the to-be-determined playoff games!

MONTHLY LOG:

Write out the dates and days of the week on the left with slightly more details on the daily lines than you had in your Calendex. At the bottom, add some monthly goals if you have space! On the left, since my pen bled through the paper a bit, I decided to use that page to put sticky notes on with things I want to remember for the following month. Now that you have your yearly and monthly views, let’s get to your weeklies!

WEEKLY LOG:

This spread will be trial and error until you figure out what works best for you. Check out the key on the watercolor in the photo to help you remember what the symbols in the weekly log mean. In addition to tasks one would normally write in a planner (such as the daily school block schedule, which is included because it changes so much and can be confusing), some other fun things can be added to keep you on track with your goals. Notice the five water droplets drawn out for each day–you can use them to color a droplet for each glass of water you drink daily! In the upper right, you can also find a tracker to remind you of your reading progress. Keep your practice gear in order by detailing the shirt and shorts color in your weekly log, as well.

MORE COLLECTIONS:

The possibilities are endless when it comes to new collection pages to incorporate into your bullet journal. See the “Books” photo for an idea of how to keep track of the books you’d like to read and those you have already read (indicated here by shading or coloring in the spine). Some other ideas include a log of the make-up or facial cleansers you are using (with notes on how you like the product or how your skin reacts to it) or a Gratitude Log. Being thankful for what you have vs. focusing on the negative will help you maintain a brighter outlook on life.

BOOK LOG

GRATITUDE LOG:

MAKE IT YOURS!

Your bullet journal should be whatever you need it to be. Clear the thoughts cluttering your mind and organize your chaos with the help of this fun planner that you can completely customize for yourself! Again, do not be afraid to make mistakes. Change layouts as you go to make it work for you. Have fun, and welcome to the #bujo community!

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