I Did It! I Jumped On The Bullet Journal Bandwagon…

A quick side note before we begin with today’s post. Apologies for the lack of posting around here and videos on my YouTube channel for the past week. I hate excuses, so I’ll spare you ‘The dog ate my homework-esque’ list but last week was nuts as I was away from my desk and up in London recording podcast episodes almost everyday. My routine was flung up in the air and I survived on a diet that consisted exclusively of takeaway food and sweets. Nice. This meant that if I had posted a blog or video it unsurprisingly would have been a real turd, so instead of putting up something that was half-arsed I felt it best to wait until I had a bit longer than 10 minutes free to put something together with love (and a bit more time on the clock). So I’m back! I’m cooking with gas! And I finally ate a meal that didn’t contain dough in some shape or form…

Today we’re talking all things Bullet Journal, because I finally jumped on the bandwagon and I’m absolutely bloomin’ loving it. If you haven’t heard of the concept before, then it’s best to check out this video as a starting point. It’s officially dubbed ‘an analogue system for a digital age‘ and it’s basically a organisation methodology created by a guy called Ryder Carroll, that’s simple, effective and adaptable to pretty much everyone. I’ve been eyeing up the idea for years, but was so stuck in my own routine of using multiple different notepads for different things; I had my editorial calendar in one, daily lists in another and then weekly to-dos in a separate planner. So streamlined, right? *eyebrow raise*

It got to the point where if I was attempting to do work on the go then I had to bring at least two of these bulky notepads with me and after re-watching Lily’s video on how she organises hers, I finally bought the pad on Amazon and eagerly awaited its delivery. When it arrived, I spent a solid morning sorting my shit out, working out how to order my life into the pages, writing in birthdays, important dates, important tasks. Yeah, it took an age, but come lunchtime I felt like I was organised and I was ready to take on the world. I had a brain dump, took everything from those three planners – all into one place and it felt good. I’ve been using it now for the past month and I’m loving how flexible it is, and how everything is contained in one place. Here are a couple of tips that I’ve picked up so far that might be helpful for BJ newbies (yeah the abbreviation of this one ain’t great – won’t be using that again!)…

Learn the ropes. The Bullet Journal site is the best place to learn the actual methodology – the ticks, the crosses, the circles – all that jazz (I promise it takes all of about 5 minutes to get your head around the the whole thing). It’s also a great idea to have a look for more videos on YouTube to see how other people use the idea. Instagram is a great place for recommendations too – have a look at Journalspiration and prepare to swoon.

The forget the ropes. Learn the ropes, and then throw them to the back of your mind as you work how it’s best to organise your life. There are some aspects of the BJ method that I love. The contents page for example, is a great way of working out where I’ve written things in my notepad that previously would have got lost and taken me an age to find. Crossing off the dots as well is a really visual way to tell that a task is complete. However, I don’t incorporate all the Bullet Journal ideas, just the ones that I feel work best for me.

The official Bullet Journal is rather fab. I am 100% converted to a squared-page notebook, which is something I thought I’d never say. I got the official Bullet Journal pad off Amazon and I reckon it’s worth the extra couple of quid. Like I mentioned before, I like the set-out contents page, plus it comes with three ribbons to use as bookmarks which is great because I always tend to have one locked in on the contents page, the other on my currently monthly editorial calendar, and the third on my newest page that I’m working on.

A Tippex pen will be your best friend. I used to work out of a ring-bound notepad that meant that if I messed up a page I could just rip it out and start again, but here it’s a different story which is why one of those little Tippex Mouse Pens is a great investment. I’m not going to lie, I’ve become so obsessed with mine that I’ve purchased three and I reckon they’ll be featured in my next monthly favourites. Lame, but true…

Photos by Lauren Shipley

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