Since discovering the Franklin Covey planning system as a college student, I’ve always been slightly obsessed with having a paper planner. Starting a new year with a fresh planner (or fresh refill pages, in the case of my beloved purple compact FC binder) is something that I still look forward to each year.
Over the past several years I’ve tried different kinds of planners, but never felt like I had one that was perfect for me. Last year I started hearing a lot of buzz about bullet journals and wanted to give it a try.
Since January, I’ve been using a bullet journal and it’s been working well for me. Here’s how I use mine. This is far from a comprehensive guide, so if you’d like to know how to get started I recommend this post on the Lazy Genius Collective if you want to dive right in, or this post on Modern Mrs. Darcy if you just want to dip your toes.
{tools I use for my bullet journal}
- my bullet journal: Leuchtturm Medium Hardcover
- PaperMate Flair pens
- Zebra Mildliners for highlighting and decoration
{what I record in my bullet journal}
- Table of Contents – This is how I keep track of everything I add to my bullet journal and where to find everything.
- Weekly spreads – Every week, I create a spread that lays out Monday through Sunday, with space to write on each day. Here are a few things I write down for each day:
- Tasks to do
- Reminders
- Birthdays
- Goals
- What we ate for dinner
- When I start a new book
- Book logs – (I did a whole post on a separate reading journal I did for a year)
- Books I read
- Books I want to read
- Books I read to the kids
- Other standalone items – This is the best part about a bullet journal. You can add anything else you’d like, and then just add to your Table of Contents so you can find it later. Here are some of the things I record in mine:
- Reading challenge checklists
- Bible verses or prayers to remember
- Vacation journal
- Bucket lists
- Quarterly planning
{what I like about my bullet journal}
- It is completely customizable. I love that I can include exactly what I want and not worry about running out of space, or alternatively, having unnecessary space. For me it is the perfect blend of planner, journal, tracker, and log book.
- It is adaptable. Because there’s a list of everything I include in my bullet journal, it’s okay to start something on one page and then pick it up again several pages later. As long as I record it in the Table of Contents I’m able to find everything easily.
- It’s portable. My bullet journal is smaller than most planners I’ve had in the past, which makes it easier to carry around.
{what I don’t like}
- It doesn’t work well for me as a calendar. I still use Google Calendar for family appointments, blog post planning, and other recurring events. I can make weekly and monthly goals or task lists in my bullet journal, but if I want to look ahead for the next month it’s a little challenging (unless I have a specific date to look for in my future log). I’m sure there is a way to make my bullet journal work better for me, but I haven’t quite figured it out.
- Sometimes I miss the ease of a planner that just lays it all out there for you. I’m not sure I’d trade that for all the ways I’ve tailored my bullet journal to fit my needs, though.
Do you use a paper planner or anything similar? I’d love to hear about what your planning and tracking methods are.
