What the F*ck is a bullet journal? A 1-year review

You’ve likely seen the aesthetically pleasing photos of all the pens and tape. The minimalistic journal spreads. The art skills of people who are definitely better at art than you’ll ever be. Bullet journals. The most non-productive productive tool to sweep the internet. But……why? What makes them different than a planner? a calendar? Why the f*ck is everyone so obsessed?

I decided to keep a bullet journal for a year. SO. here’s my experience.

I began my first journal in January of 2019. It was something I began out of desperation-between my classwork, social life, sorority life, blogging, and everything else, I felt like I was behind. I knew I wasn’t, but there are simply some things that google calendar doesn’t work with. I began bullet journaling to have it all in one place, organized, and not on my laptop.

Bullet journals are a mixture of spreads-handwritten page spreads used to keep you organized, motivated, and moving. where the system really shines is the ability to be customized. everything, down to the colours and thickness of pens, is up to you. With my upcoming move, I knew I needed something I could use to organize all my visa documents, maps, adventures, deadlines, classes, and so much more. I knew I was going to be going a little off the grid with this, so between youtube and Pinterest, I ended up with a half bullet journal-half travel journal.

While I included the traditional monthly and weekly spreads, which mirror a planner, I also included:

• a map of Scotland
• application to-do lists
• permit/visa to-do lists
• countdown to my flight
• packing list
• places to see, things to do(for Scotland, Glasgow, and the UK)
• restaurants, bars, live music, regional dishes I wanted to try
• dates of importance for my academic semester
• course selection/availability/a copy of my academic transcript
• map of the university
• fold-out maps of the bus and subway stops
• assignment dates
• camera equipment
• academic timeline(exams, assignments, etc)
• blog post brain dump
• holiday bucket list

Not all of my spreads are aesthetically pleasing, but as time goes on, I’ve gotten more creative with my themes, even incorporated painting into a few. Are they aesthetically pleasing? No. Are they artistically sophisticated? Absolutely not. But because it’s a space for me, I’m able to just enjoy the process-something new for me with art.

The major criticism I see with bullet journalling is the amount of time it takes to set up the spreads, and honestly, I think this is the strongest aspect of the bullet journal. It forces you to take an hour or so a week to set up your week, review your plans, due dates, classes, meetings, etc before the week begins. Additionally, the artistic aspect gives you some time to prepare yourself for the week, get a little zen, and spend some time doing non-academic productive things.

Journalling allows you to fall in love with the process, instead of always being focused on what’s next. it forces you to slow down, sit down, and think about life as a whole. Resolutions, to do’s, and adventure plans are all a little more tangible when you’re reviewing them on a weekly basis.

If you’re interested in getting started, I’d recommend picking up a dot grid journal(the cheap ones are fine) a handful of black pens, and a couple rolls of washi tape. The combination of these 3 can really result in some nice spreads, and you can add and subtract as you need.

My most used spreads are my monthly calendars, which I use as a double-page spread and my weekly spreads(also double-page).

Of the themes I’ve used over the months, I really have loved my November/December 2019 winter woods themes, my October 2019 autumn leaves theme, my January 2020 Gatsby theme, and my March 2020 Lochness monster theme.

Soooooo….. In case you can’t tell, I really enjoyed incorporating this into my life. It made everything seem a little more manageable, organized, and less dreadful. It also brought back how much I enjoyed working with watercolours. I fully intend on continuing and will be posting in my Pinterest and Instagram my monthly inspiration and spreads. Let me know in the comments if you’re interested in content like this!

NOTE: With quarantine, I’ve come to love my journal even more. It allows me to organize my day and maintain some semblance of normalcy while doing online classes in a different time zone. It also helps me keep the rest of my life organized; between the last minute intercontinental move, trying to finish major essays and assignments, and handling apartment sublets, setting budgets, working on finding an income stream, and so much else, it has kept me sane.