Ah, the Bullet Journal – such an appealing and interesting concept. It’s a simple tool but because of its flexibility, it seems a bit complex and overwhelming.
The Bullet Journal online community is thriving. There are a lot of bullet journalists who enjoy sharing their layouts and ideas for inspiration. Some even discover the Bullet Journal method through these layouts. But just like anything on social media, there is pressure to be “perfect”. Some beginners often find themselves thinking that they won’t be able to bullet journal the right way. Or worse, novice bullet journalists lose their drive because they can’t seem to keep up with their way of bullet journaling.
There is no right way to bullet journal – you can keep it as minimalist as possible or you can go all out and be creative. There is a wrong way, however, which is focusing on the wrong things.
If you’re a beginner and you’re a bit lost, keep reading. Or if you’re a novice and you just want to read something to get you right back on track, this might be the article for you.
You don’t need a blank A5 dotted notebook
The Bullet Journal is not a journal or planner – it’s a system, keep that in mind.
I used to think that I had to have a A5 dotted hardbound notebook because that’s what Ryder Carroll and all the other famous bullet journalists were using. Mostly because I wanted to do it the “right way”. I was dead wrong about that and I was right to start off with a planner that I had already been using at the time.
You see, you don’t exactly need a Leuchtturm1917 notebook to start a bullet journal. You don’t even need to use an A5 dotted notebook if that doesn’t appeal to you. Any notebook will do. You can use a lined notebook from the dollar store or even a planner that you’re already currently using.
It really all boils down to preference. I personally started to use a Traveler’s Notebook for bullet journaling (after years using an A5) because I prefer something lightweight. Some bullet journalists prefer to buy high quality notebooks (like the ones listed below) for various reasons but not because it will necessarily make them better at bullet journaling.
You don’t need dozens of pens
It’s tempting, I know. I am a stationery lover too. When I started, I wanted to get my hands on the Zebra Mildliner and the Tombow Dual Brush Pens just because everyone was getting into it. What for? I don’t even know. I own a few of those pens but never really used them.
You only really one pen for bullet journaling. Color coding and highlighting the dates aren’t pertinent to your bullet journal. They’re great tools, of course, but not being able to use colors shouldn’t cripple you from bullet journaling.
Okay, but if you insist on buying the best pens, then you should check these out.
Good penmanship is not a requirement
The Bullet Journal Method is an analog system, for the most part. This means putting pen to paper is critically important to the system. If you don’t feel that your penmanship is any good, don’t worry. Penmanship, whether good or bad, does not add nor reduce the value of your bullet journal.
What’s important is the content, not the presentation
Ryder Carroll
With penmanship, the other thing that matters is that you understand what you’ve written. The Bullet Journal is meant to help you recall things so just make sure that you’re not just scribbling notes just for the heck of it.
Cover pages and “goodbye” pages are useless
Goodbye September! Hello October!
I’ve seen this a lot on various social media channels. I have also implemented cover pages in the past. They’re cute, but this is not a requirement. These pages do not serve any purpose except to act as a divider between months or purely a creative outlet for some.
If you didn’t have enough time to do your monthly cover pages, just move on to the next month. If you really must have these pages, just leave a blank spread that you can come back to when you actually have time. Make sure that its absence won’t be a roadblock when it comes to bullet journaling.
You don’t need to have monthly themes
If you’ve tried to search for ideas on Pinterest, you might have come across “20+ Fall Themes for Your Bullet Journal” or whatever. Or if you’ve joined groups on Facebook, you have probably seen someone ask to suggest a theme for the next month.
Monthly themes are fun and can inspire you to commit to your journal. However, if not having a theme this month stops you from using the bullet journal be productive, then that’s when it becomes a problem.
Weekly layouts are not necessary
When I started using weekly layouts, some people, who ask me about the Bullet Journal would tell me “I don’t have time to do that”. Fair, but it’s an incorrect assumption of what a Bullet Journal is.
Yes, a weekly spread is helpful because you get to plot things ahead of time, but to some, it might feel a bit counter-productive to make your own weekly layout. They might even argue, why not just buy a planner instead.
The weekly layout is something that a lot of bullet journalists opt to use but it is also not essential to bullet journaling. This is just one of the techniques that was derived from the Bullet Journal’s daily logs.
Trackers aren’t either…
You’ll find these a lot within the bullet journal community too. Water trackers, weather trackers, habit trackers. The reason for that is probably because bullet journalists love lists. Lists are good but only if they add value in your life.
If you keep a list of goals that you track, then that adds value – especially if you have an action plan that comes along with it. But if you’re keeping track of some things just for the heck of it, then that just might be counterproductive.
You don’t need to keep track of everything because if you do, this will eventually feel like a chore. You might end up disliking your bullet journal and ultimately “fail” at bullet journaling.
You don’t have to be creative
Yup, it’s as simple as that. Creativity, just like good penmanship, is awesome. It’s impressive but it’s not necessary to be successful at practicing the bullet journal method. If creativity helps you, great, put that to good use. However, if you don’t believe that you’re creative (or don’t want to express creativity), then stick to the basics or keep it extremely minimal.
Read: You Don’t Have to Be Creative to Start a Bullet Journal
You don’t need to start bullet journaling only when the new year comes in
You can start bullet journaling any time of the year; you don’t even have to start at the beginning of the month. As soon as you feel the need to use a bullet journal, go for it. One clear advantage of using a bujo is that you have a blank canvas (give or take) so you are the only one who can dictate when your bullet journal starts and when it ends!
Finally, you don’t necessarily need to read the Bullet Journal Method book
In 2018, Ryder Carroll launched the official book for the Bullet Journal. It’s a great book and I often use it as reference when I explain the Bullet Journal method in depth.
However, and as much as it pains me to say this, you actually don’t need to buy and read the book to succeed at bullet journaling. Everything you need to know is in the website, bulletjournal.com.
The book is merely an extension of that practice of the Bullet Journal. It does teach you the basics of the Bullet Journal method and also teaches you how to live a more intentional life. The book will also keep you grounded and stick to the basics because you won’t be distracted with the examples on the internet.
But perhaps you aren’t into books or just don’t have time to read anymore, that’s fine, you can really do without it. The important thing is that you have a solid resource that allows you to learn about the basics of the Bullet Journal Method. I really can only take about 5 minutes of your time.
Whether you’ve used a Bullet Journal for years or have never seen one before, the international best-selling book The Bullet Journal Method will show you how to go from passenger to pilot of your life through intentional living.
I’m not saying that having all of these things will become your downfall as a bullet journalist. No, not at all. There are have just been a lot of interpretations of the bullet journal that some can’t discern what’s important. These are the things that you don’t necessarily need and are just nice-to-haves when it comes to bullet journaling.
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