3 Tips to Start and Succeed at Bullet Journaling

Posted on Thursday, March 2nd, 2017

You may have heard of the new phenomena that is wildly popular (especially on Pinterest) called the bullet journal. It’s a very trendy way of keeping a notebook/agenda/journal all in one place. Though bullet journaling has gotten super flashy, at its heart it is a useful productivity tool that you can use to keep your whole life in order.

It basically works like this: you fill a page with all your appointments, reminders, events, and notes for the day. You denote each entry with a symbol that tells you super quickly the importance and nature of the note. When you’re done a task, you check it off. If you aren’t going to do it that day, you move it forward. It’s a wildly easy way of keeping yourself accountable.

Step One: Get a notebook

This is the real joy of bullet journals: it’s so simple. Get a journal; any journal. It can be a fancy Moleskine or just one of these guys. Whatever works for you.

According to the official bullet journal guidelines you’re supposed to number the pages and use an index to make finding things easier. You could do that, or you could just use Post-it notes to show important pages. Much easier, much more fun.

Depending on your style, you can make your notebook super regimented and label every page as a separate day, or just list days one after another all over the page. Whatever makes it easiest for you to keep track of your tasks and appointments. You can’t go wrong.

Step Two: Learn the symbols

The heart of bullet journaling is in the use of symbols to codify tasks. Basically, you lay out your day on the page, with every task/meeting/reminder written down with a particular symbol beside it.

It’s recommended that you use dots for tasks, and draw an ‘x’ if they’re completed, a ‘>’ if you’ve ‘migrated’ them (meaning moved the task to another day), or a ‘<’ if the task has been scheduled. Events are marked with a circle, and random notes with a dash.

Step Three: Use it

The whole point of the bullet journal is that you have one place where all your reminders, to-do’s, notes, and events get listed. You can be as fancy or as functional as you’d like, as long as you actually stay consistent. It combines your need for an agenda, calendar, and to-do list to one simple book.

So how do you make yourself extra productive?

Carry your notebook with you everywhere, and list everything. Homework, sports meets, birthdays, Netflix binge watching, whatever. Bullet journaling gives you the ability to record everything you need to think about in a day.

One of the most useful ways of laying out a day is putting your tasks on the left-hand page and your reminders, notes, or doodles on the right-hand page. That way your notebook doesn’t serve as just an agenda; it becomes something more like a diary.

Keep it consistent.

The trick to really getting the most out of a bullet journal is to check it over every night. Look at all the tasks you listed throughout the day, and deal with each one of them. Either mark them as complete, or move them forward to be dealt with the next day, or later in the week. Because you’re in control of the design of the journal, you get to figure out the best way of keeping track of your to-do list.

Bonus Tip: Get Fancy

This part is totally unnecessary, but what makes these journals weirdly fun is how creative you can get with them. It’s scientifically known that our brains retain visual images better than words. If you make your bullet journal fun and visual, not only will you enjoy using it more: you’ll remember your tasks more, too.

Use bright colours, colour code the pages, or go seriously crazy. There are thousands of tips and tricks on the internet to make the most of it.

Bullet journaling is a great way of getting organized and ensuring that you meet your commitments on time. Once you’ve got everything written down and organized, it gives you the freedom to not stress about your to-do list. It’s an awesome way to stay on top of everything you have to do.

If you would like to learn more about the co-op program, please visit our website at https://www.algonquincollege.com/coop/, connect with us at coop@algonquincollege.com or call us at 613-727-4723 Ext.7623.


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