Making a bujo work for YOU.

Making a bujo work for you

Advice and thoughts to ponder

Contents

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*My experience and thoughts

*Pre-designed layouts and Planners

*Some questions to consider

*Digital bullet journalling: a brief introduction

*Assessing practicality example: A Year in Pixels

*Alternative mood tracker ideas

*Conclusion

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My experience and thoughts.

I personally can't keep up with a daily bullet journal. Often even weeklies are too much for me. I've seen someone else on here write that, and because they also can't do this, in their words, they 'suck'.

It doesn't mean you suck!

We can't always do something *every* day

It could mean a daily bujo just isn't RIGHT FOR YOU!

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Journalling is a process.

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Your first set up might not be the one that suit you the best. If you miss a few days now and then, perhaps just leave them and continue as you go. You may want to note anything major that has happened in the days that you missed. Maybe a monthly layout might suit you better - or even no pre-designed set up at all.

Note: Since I originally began drafting this article - MANY months ago, there have been other articles published on here and the #onemonthwithmybulletjournal hashtags, designed for you to assess what is working and not working for you and to show others your process at the same time.

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If you're completely new to bullet journalling - and even if you're not - I'd suggest having a browse of what's out there. There are lots of ideas for spreads, but if it all seems a bit overwhelming I'd suggest MINIMALISM. The original bullet journal website by Ryder-Caroll (bulletjournal.com) shows you the basic pages of a bullet journal and guides you through it - and reminds you what it's all about. (More on this in my next article)!

Pre-designed layouts and Planners.

Consider a PLANNER or having a PRE-DESIGNED LAYOUT in a journal, especially if time is an issue. You can always add art to this or personalise it somewhat.

If creativity or creating art is (also) an issue, you can find paid and free PRINTABLES, PRE-DESIGNED TRACKERS, LAYOUTS AND COLLECTION PAGES if you search the web, on some sites dedicated to bullet journalling such as Wundertastisch and DawnNicoleDesigns. There are also many to buy on Etsy. I was surprised at quite how many there are!

I will have more tips regarding art in your journal in a follow up blog.

Then there is digital bullet journalling. More on this below.

Alternatively, you might also want to limit your time looking at other people's spreads so that you can get your own done!!

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I'd advise you have a think about

*What you want and don't want

*What is working and what is not working

*What is helpful, practical and doable.

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*~Some questions to consider~*

You might want to write these out in your bujo and answer one a day or however often suits you.

Practicalities, meaning, creativity.

*What are your PRIORITIES in your life? Where does a bullet journal come in to this?

*How much TIME do you have?

*How much time are you prepared to dedicate to your journal - per day, week, month? How long are you currently spending on your journal?

Things always take longer than you think!

*How much energy do you have?

*Are your expectations reasonable?

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* What are you getting out of it?

*What DON'T you like and is it worth continuing this?

*Would a different LAYOUT suit you better?

Eg a monthly layout instead of weekly?

, you can always create dailies too. The idea of a bullet journal is that it can be flexible and suits you.

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Digital bullet journalling

A brief introduction

Have you considered creating a monthly layout or habit trackers DIGITALLY so that you don't have to draw/write them out?

You could use Microsoft to create charts for tracking.

Bohoberry and Jenniffer [sic] of lifeismessyandbrilliant now bullet journal digitally and they look like good resources for beginners wanting to go completely digital. Both have their own websites as well as their own YouTube channels. Ive noticed Ari has also taken the plunge in to the digital bujo world.

Digital bullet journalling seems to be a fairly new thing, but there are people to guide you through it out there! The idea is that your bullet journalling is done solely on the device and not on paper. You can buy things such as borders or 'digital stickers' - which I think people transfer in to the Apple procreate app. The iPad Pro seems to be recommended (not cheap!) and Goodnotes is another one of the apps recommended to bullet journal. The pencil that you can buy separately to go with the iPad Pro is touch sensitive so good for calligraphy and lettering. There is also the official bullet journal app.

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Assessing practicality

*Example: 'A year in pixels'.*

This is a visually appealing mood tracker which you fill out every day and use different colours according to one of a handful of moods. Mood trackers seem to be popular within the bujo community.

Now, think of the reasons why you want to do it.

- Will it be helpful for you?

- Do you have problems with your mood and mental health or do you just want to keep a record of it? (Either is a valid reason, but worth questioning).

- How many moods do you want to record?    Which moods?

- Is assessing it daily practical for you?

- Is your mood going to be the same all day    (unlikely)?

What will you do if it isnt? What will you do if you go through several moods a day?

- Do you want to record what triggers your moods? If so, it might be better to have a different layout and use a tracker to see cause and effect.

- Are you prepared to do this for 365 days to and keep returning to the same page for it?

- Have you considered a different layout, for example a weekly or monthly tracker?

Alternative mood tracking ideas.

Above is a novel example of a mood tracker I found recently that allows for several moods throughout the day for a month. (It is also very pretty!)

I have seen many people on here draw out specific objects, sometimes relating to their monthly theme (again, a monthly theme is optional. It can be fun but can also make it more complicated and time consuming) and colour them in according to their mood, as a mood tracker.

Conclusion

Events happen in our lives. Things change. Sometimes it's helpful and/or to journal regularly. Sometimes other things need your attention primarily and you might have to switch it up.

Can you relate to any of this?

What works for you?

#digitalbulletjournaling

Please do not use this or publish (parts of) it elsewhere without my consent. It took a lot of effort and thought over many months. Thank you.

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