The Bullet Journal is called a Bullet Journal because of its heavy use of bullet points. The use of bullet points goes hand-in-hand with the BuJo’s “language”, which is Rapid Logging.
By now you probably already know that the Bullet Journal standard uses simple symbols that are quick and easy to use such as a dot, dash, and a hollow circle. Each of them representing tasks, notes, and events, respectively.
Did you know that the task bullets used to be checkboxes?
According to Ryder, the older versions of the Bullet Journals used a checkbox. Upon realizing that the boxes weren’t efficient enough, he changed it to something simpler – a dot.
Aside from the simplicity, he believed that dots were flexible enough to be transformed into other shapes to represent a task’s current status (completed, migrated, scheduled, irrelevant).
Learn to “pivot” if the standard bullets don’t work for you
By “learn to pivot”, I mean you can change your symbols if you find it necessary.
The symbols used for the BuJo’s bullet points are simple ones because these are more efficient and can complement the speed of rapid logging. Dots, dashes, and circles are easy to write but you might feel that they don’t jump out of the page as well as other shapes.
Some bullet journalists use checkboxes for tasks or triangles for events because they want their entries to catch they attention when they are scanning their pages. Dots, while easy to write, can easily be overlooked compared to a box.
I personally have used checkboxes when I started bullet journaling then I had to “pivot” to the original system because I had started to use a fountain pen for bullet journaling. But recently, I reverted back to checkboxes because there have been several instances when I miss a task because I don’t notice it when I scan through my pages.
Tip: If you decide to change your bullets, make sure that you are consistent with using them too. And also, you can do it whenever you feel like it.
Don’t forget about signifiers!
I love signifiers and I think this isn’t as utilized as much as it should. For me, signifiers represent prioritization and help you navigate through your daily logs easily. If something needs to be prioritized, add another symbol beside the tasks bullet. Asterisks are pretty common signifiers, and so are exclamation points.
Signifiers aren’t bound to drawing symbols, you can use planner stickers to mark them easily or even highlight the tasks, notes, or events that you want to jump off the page.
Create legends/keys (if you need to)
Using keys is one way to categorize each task or item. If you are someone who prefers to cram everything in one notebook – work and personal items in one bullet journal, then you might find this add-on useful.
You don’t have to mark all bullets with legends but maybe try to label those items that are important. Some bullet journalists do something as simple as color coding to be able to discern which task bullets are for work or not.
This collection by Sarica uses color coding to categorize her priorities.
Legends or keys can also come in handy with other collections, like a habit tracker. In the example below, Ryder created a minimalist habit tracker that only used letters instead of the entire description of the habit he is tracking. The reason for this is that there was not enough space at the top to write “cooking” or “reading” or “gym” so what he did is to write down C, R, G, and added a legend/key reference at the bottom of the page.
Last but not least, don’t use too many symbols
Just like most things in the Bullet Journal, we can get overzealous with customizing bullets. Try to keep it to a minimum because if you have too many to use, this will slow you down and will also defeat the purpose of rapid logging. Make sure that the bullet points that you use will help you organize and prioritize.
Crafting effective Bullets requires striking a balance between brevity and clarity
Ryder Carroll, The Bullet Journal Method
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