Two Notebook Bullet Journal System

With what we know of the Bullet Journal, it is a system that acts as a central hub for all of your information whether it’s a list of tasks, future events, or daily activities. The idea is to keep everything in one notebook while still being able to organize them.

While you can bullet journal in any kind of notebook, the “standard” that has been set is an A5 Leuchtturm1917. With this type of notebook, you can fit as much as 18 months of bullet journaling. The whole idea of cramming everything in one notebook makes a lot of sense and is extremely efficient given that scenario.

However, there are bullet journalists who prefer to keep two separate bullet journal notebooks – one for their collections (or “spreads”) and one for their monthly and daily planning. They have their reasons but I personally started employing this method because I’ve started to use a Traveler’s Notebook (TN) for Bullet Journaling.

Bullet Journal in a Traveler’s Notebook

One thing to note about the TN is that this is a refillable notebook which typically only has a few pages. The Traveler’s Company branded inserts only contain 64 pages and depending on how much you write, you can use up that insert within 3-4 months.

If you only use one insert for bullet journaling, you might end up migrating long-term lists every 3-4 months. Some might be comfortable with that but for some, this will start feeling like a chore when done repeatedly.

Before migrating to the Traveler’s Notebook, I already knew that I wanted to have 2 inserts for bullet journaling. The first one will contain my collection pages and will also be housed permanently in the TN, while the second one will be assigned for monthly logs, daily logs, and short-term collections.

Insert #1: Long-term Collections

This insert will be the notebook that will remain in the Traveler’s Notebook for at least a year. This will contain 2 core modules of the bullet journal: the Index and the Future Log.

Read: Bullet Journal Basics: Index

It makes sense to keep the Future Log in the insert that is staple to the notebook because the 2nd insert will constantly be replaced . The index will also remain in the main insert because, by design, we are only supposed to index collections. This also means that each page must be paginated.

Other long-term collections are as follows:

• Goals
• Wishlist
• Idea page
• Reading list
• TV/Movie Watch list
• Bucket List
• Birthdays
• Places to visit
• Places I’ve visited
• Packing List
• Gift ideas
• Recipes
• Savings tracker
• Loan tracker
• Self-care routine
• Level 10 life
• Workout plan
• Grocery list

I feel that these types of lists belong to my main insert because I will most likely refer to them every now and then.

Insert #2: Monthly Logs and Daily Logs…etc

The second insert will contain my monthly log, daily (or weekly) logs, and collections that I feel I won’t need to refer back as often as those from the first. This insert will be the notebook that gets switched out as soon as the pages have been filled. Depending on how much I write, I might be able to fit 3-4 months in one insert.

Another type of collection that I intend on keeping in the “short-term” insert would something that resembles a brain dump. Why? Because these types of lists might not need to be referred to in the near future – they can just be a list of things that you wanted to offload during that day or month (like meeting notes, for example)

This does not mean that the second insert is dispensable. When you are done with this insert, make sure to label it. List it down in the index and maybe call it N1 (notebook 1, for example).

INDEX

• Future Log: 1-2
• June-August 2019: N1
• Goals: 3
• Wishlist: 4
• September-October: N2

Read: Mastering the Bullet Journal Index

In summary

Using two inserts could be a more efficient way to navigate between both customizable systems. Keeping a main insert with all long-term collections will be easier to manage and less time consuming. The secondary insert keeps all of the short term collections and can be changed when needed. You don’t even have to use a blank notebook for the second insert. You can use a templated planner type of notebook refill, if that’s what you need at the moment.