The discovery and adoption of the Bullet Journal method has changed my life and has become part of my lifestyle. Whenever I hit a roadblock in my life whether it’s professional or personal, I turn to my journal and just write or be creative. The system was so life changing that I always try to sell the Bullet Journal method to my friends who aren’t aware of it. I guess I figured if it helped me maybe it can help them too.
I get a lot of questions when it comes with my bullet journal because I tend to carry it around most of the time.
A few questions that I’ve heard:
- “What’s that?”
- “Huh? Bujo?” – often asked when I talk with my bujo friends
- “What’s a bullet journal?”
- “Isn’t it time consuming?”
- “Do you bring it with you all the time?”
- On occasion “omg why is your bag so heavy?” (because my journal is always with me)
When someone asks me about my hobby, I always get a bit excited (a little too much when I’ve drank a few glasses of wine) so I’m always happy to answer their questions about the bullet journal. I’m even more relieved when they ask me more about the method because if I leave it up to them to google what a bujo is, they would most likely be overwhelmed (because of the more evolved/advanced bullet journals out there). I wouldn’t want them to think that a productivity tool such as the bullet journal would be too high maintenance for them.
So, How Do I Explain the Bullet Journal in Layman’s Terms
Here are a few things that I normally do which you could probably try!
- Call it what it is – planner or notebook
I often refer to my bujo as my “planner” or my “notebook” because that’s really what it is – plain and simple.
- Bullet Journal is a method/system not exactly a type of journal
This might be the biggest misconception of the bullet journal. People think that it’s a type of journal – like there is a special notebook for one to get started with it. Yes, Ryder Carroll has created a notebook for bullet journaling but its purpose is to educate a user with the method (there are notes inside)
Bullet Journal has evolved so much over the past few years that it has gone beyond its goal of productivity. So when they ask my about it, I simply start off with, “it’s a flexible planning system that helps you organize your life”. And then I follow up with “you start off with a blank notebook and just write down the date today and use different bullet points for your tasks and notes”. This is the part where I normally send them a link of the Getting Started video in bulletjournal.com. - If they want to try it, tell them that they can start with any kind of notebook
It doesn’t have to be a dotted notebook like what we normally use. You don’t have to use a blank notebook to adapt the system in the first place. You can always use the system in an existing dated planner.
- Tell them that it’s not time-consuming and you do not have to be creative
I’ve heard this feedback before “I don’t think I have time to bullet journal”. It’s not supposed to be time-consuming, it just looks like it because writing each day at a time seems to be a task.
What they don’t realize is that rapid logging saves more time and also notebook space. Rapid logging also allows you to skip days when you do not get the chance to get on your journal. - Give them a preview of your bullet journal but make sure they do not use it as their baseline
I always tell them that “I’ve been doing this for quite some time and it has already been tailored to my needs so don’t be overwhelmed by it nor copy it.”
I redirect them to bulletjournal.com or a few Instagram accounts that use the system as it was designed – like @minimaljournal.
Always remember: Just like most things, the Bullet Journal isn’t for everyone
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