You Don’t Have to Be Creative To Start a Bullet Journal

I was scrolling through one of my bullet journal groups on Facebook and stumbled upon a post that was a bit unsettling. I don’t know if this was serious or not but the bullet journalist seemed to be worried that they weren’t creative enough and that their bullet journal was “purely functional”.

That made my heart sink a little bit. I wanted to respond – “but isn’t that (being functional) the point of bullet journaling?” I hesitated and decided that I should just write an entire post about it with the hopes of reaching a wider audience.

If you’re reading this because you are still beginning and worried about not having the right skills to bullet journal, then you’re in the right place. Here, we’ll talk about why we see so many “pretty” bullet journals, the right resources, and some minimalist bullet journals that might inspire you.

There is a misconception of what a Bullet Journal is and what it should do

Before we get into this, let me start by saying right off the bat: yes, you can start/use the bullet journal system even if you can’t draw or even if you have terrible handwriting.

I wanted to go straight to the point here because I feel that the Bullet Journal and the community has grown so much over the years.

So I understand why some are intimidated, worried, or even abhor the idea of a bullet journal and/or the people who do practice it.

So. Many. Designs. Why?

“BuJo is a modular framework. Each module, or Collection, serves to organize related information. You can mix and match, customize, or even create Collections to best suit your needs.”

Ryder Carroll, bulletjournal.com

Keyword: Customize.

The bullet journal, being a system or a framework, does not have an exact format. Ryder gives his audience guidelines on how to use the system to be more productive but there are no rules – you can even practice bullet journaling without the Official Bullet Journal Notebook.

You see a lot of different types of bullet journaling because most of the practitioners of the Bullet Journal method modify the system to suit their needs. Some are undeniably artistic, some are minimalistic, and some even stick to the original method. And because there are too many examples out there, the original concept can get lost in the shuffle.

The only thing that matters in BuJo is the content, not the presentation

Ryder Carroll, The Bullet Journal Method

Lack of real-life examples of the original concept

The Bullet Journal is a game changer but it’s not perfect. The original system has some modules that don’t work for some and that’s why there are different versions of it.

Since the birth of the Bullet Journal community, there have been a few bullet journalists who shared their bullet journal on social media. When I started bullet journaling, I always checked out Boho Berry, Tiny Ray of Sunshine, and Decade Thirty because to be honest, Ryder didn’t really share examples of his bullet journal. Since then, there have been quite a number of people who share their bullet journals (even me) online to inspire and motivate people into creating the best planner for themselves.

Start Now, Don’t Let Them Bother You

The grass is greener on social media – even with bullet journals.

If you want to use the Bullet Journal method to be more productive, just start with basics first. You can start with bulletjournal.com or get Ryder Carroll’s book, Bullet Journal Method.

Related: Tips for Bullet Journaling in 2018+

A month after you’ve tried the Bullet Journal system, review it and assess what didn’t work for you. You can then explore social media for more ideas. You can STILL keep it simple with minor modifications so I suggest searching for minimal designs.