5 Steps to ​​Getting Your Life Organized with Bullet Journaling

Welcome back to Glow Up Goals Week on Bri Books! Today we’re doing a deep dive into the world of bullet journaling: What it is, what it solves, and how to get started. I’ll be sharing the steps you want to follow in order to turn any notebook into a bullet journal, and how to optimize your life using bullet journal strategies like daily and weekly logs. 

 What is Bullet Journaling? What’s the Difference Between a Bullet Journal and a Regular Notebook?

• A bullet journal, in essence, is a notebook with bulleted on-page dots and an accompanying system of organizing your world. Your bullet journal index, weekly spread, and daily logs are the foundations of a successful bullet journaling strategy. 

• Your bullet journal weekly spread is where you map out your week ahead, and supplement with categories you want to focus on. Often, when you search bullet journaling on YouTube and Instagram, you’re met with highly-designed, washi-tape wrapped notebooks. What’s important to remember is that you want your bullet journal format to be flexible, fast, and fit to your focus. 

How to Start Bullet Journaling

1. Create an Index. It’s the Table of Contents of your bullet journal, where you write down page numbers and their corresponding sections. 

2. Write a prayer, a grounding thought, or, 3-5 simple joys in life. Write down three peaceful thoughts and joys you find. I find that it’s helpful to have something grounding and centering at the top of my journal, to put myself into perspective.

3. Categories. This is where you break down and compartmentalize your priorities for this notebook. Your bullet journal categories will organically start to build up as you journal more regularly. Use your categories to keep you honest and mindful of the tasks, projects, and priorities you avoid. 

4. Logs and Calendar.  The daily log/  weekly spread is where you outline the state of your union: I begin with a breakdown of the categories we mentioned: personal, financial, spiritual, etc. On a weekly basis, it’s important that you keep yourself honest and review your logs. Notice what tasks roll from week to week. Notice what categories get neglected and moved back week to week. 

5. Create Your Spread. A spread is a few pages devoted to a certain project or time period. For example, each week I create a 2-page spread, and write down what’s on my calendar along with a little checklist built on tasks pulled from the….CATEGORIES LIST! The daily and weekly spread keeps me honest. 

Links to My Favorite Bullet Journaling Resources:

1. 1. The IGTV about setting up your bujo is live on @bribookspod

   2. Leuchtturm1917 from Paper Source

   3. BeRooted journal

   4. Episode: How to Bullet Journal Like a Pro

   5. Episode: Bullet Journaling 101 with Bri Book