Bullet journals have been the rave for so long and it easy to see why. They make managing life easier and they can be used for just about anything. If you are like me and love to check off things or you have little lists to track stuff then you will love this post.
A bullet journal can be described as the combination of a notepad, sticky notes, highlighter, calendar, journal and tracker that can all be found in one place. Forget having to find lists that you made for things you needed to follow up on and setting up reminders. Bullet journals aka the bujo system will completely change how you manage tasks and things that you need to do.
Bullet journals are great for busy people who want to stay on top of things. If you are juggler a bullet journal will make everything so much easier to manage.
A bullet journal provides the advantages below:
- It makes it so much easier to see exactly what kind of progress you have made.
- Highlights the important stuff like deadlines and missed tasks.
- Helps to prioritize.
- Provides an opportunity to re-evaluate and rearrange things fast.
- It’s centralized planning for everything you want to track.
Supplies that you will need to set up your journal:
There a few super affordable supplies that you will need to start using the bujo system. I have listed them down below and I have also linked some of them to Amazon for great deals.
- A bullet journal. I like this journal because it is easy to use and easy to customize.
- Washi tape. These are a lifesaver!
- Pens and highlighters. You will need these multicolored pens to write and highlight different tasks.
- Sticky notes that can be used as dividers as well for easy reference. If you want to add a sticky note and also mark the page the dividers are very helpful.
- Stencils are for the artistic planner who wants to use symbols and standardize their journal to look the same. For example the lettering stencil can be used for titles and headings.
- Whiteout. If you make a mistake or priorities change whiteout is great for erasing things and modifying them as well.
Tip: You don’t need to buy different journals for everything you want to track. Simply buy one and use it for multiple things. Make sure you separate the different categories you want to track using the bujo system.
Alternatively, if you are like me you can buy different journals and use them for different things.
To recap you will need:
How to set up a bullet journal:
Bullet journals are meant to be personalized and they are intended to be used in whatever way that makes it easiest and efficient to follow. I have found that using these simple tricks has been extremely helpful.
Use Color Codes:
You can use color codes to track things. For example, different colors can mark level of urgency. Some tasks in a project for example are more important than others so red could be a code for tasks that require your immediate attention. You can then use green for things that are ‘nice to have’ and orange for things that will need your attention as soon as the red stuff is completed.
Washi tape important follow up stuff:
Washi tape is another great tool for bookmarking stuff. I hadn’t ever heard on washi tape until I started using bullet journals and this little tape is a lifesaver for finding pages that you would most likely forget about or things that you wrote down in the middle of the day and subsequently forgot where you noted them.
Add Sticky notes to remember things:
You can use sticky notes to add more information as you get it or to highlight things you want to be in the forefront of your mind. Sticky notes can also be used as flags for certain pages with numbers on them or titles. I really do love how easy these sticky notes make it easy to find stuff!
Use Symbols for different tasks:
You can use symbols for different tasks. Boxes, stars, circles and anything else that you like can be used for different tasks. I like to draw circles and then shade them or cross them out to indicate level of importance. Stars are the most commonly used symbols for highlighting important stuff. The stencils are great for making symbols uniform.
Who and what can you use bullet journals for?
Everyone can use bullet journals. In-fact you should be using one because you can track anything on a bullet journal! I have listed ten of the most common things that bullet journals are used for:
Table of Contents
1. Essays journals
These are journals for students who want to track the progress of a term paper, theses and regular essays. I have found a few great examples that you can copy and modify to make your essay writing easier.
Below is an essay checklist with squares that can be checked off as they are completed.
I love how the template below has been set up in a journal. You can modify it as much as you want so that it suits your needs. This has been super helpful in staying on track and in ensuring that I don’t forget something.
Another way to use this journal is to create a timeline like the one below. See how they have drawn lines to spread across 7 days or more and then added notes below for things they want to follow up on. You can use the sticky notes I linked to add even more information as you go through the semester.
2. Habit Trackers and Routines
These are great for people who want track their habits especially if you are trying to adopt a healthy lifestyle. They are easy to use and best of all, you can perform a self assessment and identify areas of improvement. Look at how easy it would be to adopt this journal. Simply add a month and the dates. Then track whatever habits you want to track.
3. Weight loss Tracker
Everyone I know wants to track their weight loss when they decide to start a new diet or change their lifestyle. It’s important to track progress especially when you have goals that you want to meet. When I started my keto journey which I completed successfully I copied the journal below.
Where there is graph I had pounds and weeks because I had given myself 3 – 4 months to lose the excess weight. I then had measurements every two weeks and I tracked my workouts weekly. I had week one to sixteen and then the days of the week going down. So week one would have Monday, Wednesday and Friday shaded if I worked out.
4. Log Bullet Journal:
Another way to use bullet journals is to log in activity. Water, sleeping habits and food are the most commonly logged things. If you want to see how much water you consumed or how many calories of food you ate this is a great journal.
5. Monthly Planner
The bullet journal system has completely changed how monthly journals are done. Now you can have a more robust monthly planner to track goals and projects as you intend.
6. Weekly Planner
If you want to track at an even more detailed level then the weekly planner bullet journal style is great. It offers a more granular level of journaling and it is super helpful for the day to day tasks and ‘to do lists’. I use them for work tasks and goals that I have to meet.
I love how they have combined the weekly planner and water log here!
7. Goals
This type of journal is great for people who have goals and like visuals to track them. Goals should be tracked consistently to ensure that we don’t go offtrack. This journal right here is one you should pin and save for later when 2020 comes round the corner.
I like how detailed it is on one page. The combination of different types of goals is also very clever! This is one I have used for 2019 both professionally and personally!
8. Spend Tracker
Did you know that you can track spend, budgets and savings with a bullet journal? It’s incredible all the things you can do with a bullet journal. The two journals below are my go-to for budgeting and spending.
The expense tracker is easy to follow especially when you need to know what you have spent at the end of the day. Notice the symbols on the right to form an index that’s easy to follow.
9. Budget Journal
Budgeting is so important for anyone and especially for people who want to be financially responsible. This trackers is great because you don’t need to set up complicated spreadsheets. All you need is a simple calculator and a bullet journal.
See how to create budgets easily here.
10. Exercise Tracker
This has to be a lifesaver for anyone who wants to track exactly what they did at the gym. If you are a competitor or weight lifter this journal is very useful. It is also customizable and can be changed up with different routines throughout the year.
