Bullet Journal: what is it and how can it help you?

¿You know the Bullet Journal? It is a system that will allow you to organize and plan your day to day in an easy, comfortable and totally personalized way. You will only need a blank notebook, a pen, and many plans or ideas.

In this article we will learn how the Bullet Journal originated, what it consists of, how it is structured, how it works, and how it can help us clear our minds and attend only to what is really important.

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Bullet Journal: What is it and what is it for?

The Bullet Journal, also called BuJo method, consists of a day-to-day planning and organization system. To use a Bullet Journal correctly you need a certain consistency and organization. But what does it consist of? It is a blank notebook that fulfills two main functions: the agenda and the journal.

The Bullet Journal would allow you to organize and plan various aspects of your life; from events, meetings, managements, errands, etc., to thoughts, ideas, etc. In other words, it is a tool that goes beyond mere planning, and that will help you define your aspirations, plan your future and meet your goals.

Throughout this article we will learn how this planning method works. This method can help us to have a more clear and calm mind, to attend to the things that we really matter and to relegate interference or distractions that only cause us to the background inconvenience.

In other words, the Bullet Journal will help us to organize ourselves on the outside to organize ourselves on the inside, at the same time increase our serenity. This is achieved through good time management and good planning of the present.

Features of this notebook

The Bullet Journal, as we said, is a blank notebook; In other words, it is designed so that you can design it yourself and build it to your measure.

This means that it is designed so that you can organize yourself at the hours, days and weeks, depending on your needs, preferences, expectations, desires, etc. This is the main feature that differentiates the Bullet Journal from an agenda.

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What is the origin of the Bullet Journal?

It was the designer Ryder Carroll who created the Bullet Journal. Carroll is said to have suffered from attention deficit disorder (ADHD), and that as a result, as he felt that his world was so "chaotic" that he decided to put some order in his daily life, through this system. So Carroll showed his idea to his closest friends first, and then his method went viral on social media. Currently the Bullet Journal is one of the fashion trends to plan your day to day.

One of the objectives of the Bullet Journal, and one that Ryder Carroll considered, was that this system allowed the person using it to clear their mind and focus on what is really important to her. This attention to what is important would help the person not to be distracted by trivial or unimportant things.

Sections

As we have seen, the creator of the Bullet Journal method was Ryder Carroll, who opted for the following structure of the Bullet:

• Index
• Event log and pending tasks
• Monthly registration
• Daily entry
• Lists, collections and "free" themes that you can add

Similarities to a diary

Another function of the Bullet Journal is that also serves as a diary. This means that, in addition to being able to add your pending tasks, meetings, events, etc., you can also write everything that comes to mind; thoughts, ideas, dreams, etc.

On the other hand, you can use the Bullet Journal to write down things that have happened to you, things that inspire you, as well as to draw, create, etc.

How does it work?

How does the Bullet Journal work? Basically it is a fairly free system; in her you can write "all you want", from thoughts to activities, events, etc. Once you write down everything, you must categorize each element (adding a symbol, which we will now see), which will help you locate and organize them.

The legend of symbols proposed by its creator, Ryder Carroll, would be the following:

• One point symbol: for tasks.
• Symbol of a circle: for activities.
• Dash symbol: for notes.

On the other hand, once you finish each task, activity, event, etc., you must add an X beside. To emphasize certain notes or give them urgency, add an asterisk.

We must emphasize that these notes / recommendations are orientative and proposed by Carroll, the creator of the Bullet Journal, but that they always they can be chosen, eliminated, added, etc., depending on the taste of each one, since "there is nothing right or wrong" (nothing "Stipulated").

Thus, you can add whatever you want: colors, shapes, drawings, etc. The important thing is that the Bullet Journal acquires a personal and unique meaning for each person. Another important aspect is that the person understands her notes and that she can do it with the naked eye, without having to think too much.

Helpful hints on how it works

On the other hand, it recommends numbering the pages of the Bullet Journal, in addition to creating an index at the beginning of it; This index will allow you to get an idea of ​​the general scheme of its contents (and also, at a glance). This index, in turn, is a simple and useful form of organization.

How to start?

Now that we have seen, in summary, what a Bullet Journal consists of and how it works, we are going to specify some ideas to start using it.

First of all, logically we will need a white notebook (or notebook), in addition to a pen. As for the material, this depends on taste, but you can also use colored markers, stickers, post its, etc.

Now we can start to write down, write down, record, color… our notebook. It is important that we try to be orderly in our notes; We can write what we want and when we want, but if it has a certain meaning and a certain order, the better for our mental (and practical) organization.

Structure

Remember that the Bullet Journal is fully customizable; this means that its structure is up to you (although Ryder Carroll has proposed some basic ideas). Some advice regarding its structure is that you can register for days, weeks and months.

Ideally, you start with the current month and gradually fill in the Bullet. Thus, you can opt for daily, weekly, monthly records... It is important that the information is understood at a glance, that it is visual.

What do I write down?

What topics to record in the Bullet Journal? The ones you want. The topics can be various and numerous, depending on your life and your needs; You can develop lists of things to do, shopping lists, a list of expenses, as well as savings, thoughts, purposes, plans, dates of birthdays and celebrations, etc.

Lists can also be of favorite songs, movies and / or books, for example. A good idea is to give your idea a title, topic, phrase or list, at the top. Once you have the title, you can start writing and organizing. Do not forget to add the mentioned symbols (or ones you invented).

Once you have noted the topic in question, it is recommended that you go to the index (also created by you) and write down what you have just developed or written down, so as not to forget that it is "there" and so that you can refer to it when you need.

Bibliographic references:

• Carroll, R. (2018). The Bullet Journal method. Editorial Planeta.

• Rubio, J. (2016). Bullet journal: the method of organization for which you only need paper and pen. The Country: Verne. Guides.