Bullet Journal Bliss

My name is Ally Blake and I'm a stationery addict.

No surprises there. I've been self-confessed for a long time.  I only mention it here as it was the jumping off point for my topic of the day - the glory of the Bullet Journal.

Heard of it?  Then you surely understand my excitement.  If not...welcome to the jungle.

I have a calendar in my phone, sure. And I use it. Religiously.  But I also buy a calendar every year (see confession above). And a planner/diary.  Or two.  (They're just so pretty - how can I not?!?!)  The calendar gets a good work out, sitting as it does on my kitchen bench.  In it I scribble birthdays, colour in school days, note any appointments or events, though its mostly for my husband's benefit as this is the kind of stuff a woman has floating in her head all the time - am I right? Though it often gets hidden beneath school notes, grocery lists, and to do lists. Oh the to do lists!!  So many scraps of paper begun in earnest and ending up covered in coffee rings, with torn corners and half-hearted ticks and crosses.  As for the planners - I'm lucky to get past February.  Why?  Because they are never quite set out just right. They simply don't suit my needs.

Still with me?

Because this is where the Bullet Journal comes in.

The Bullet Journal was a paper notebook journaling system created by a digital product designer (ironic, right) named  Ryder Carroll as a way of creating a planner that works for you. That's right.  You create the planner yourself!  From scratch!  No static, built-in days/dates/layouts but an adaptable, evolving planner that is shaped as you go.

Making it a calendar, a planner and to do list compilation all in one.   Oh my...

Basically, you begin with a notebook.  Any notebook. (I use the Leuchtturm1917 A5 dot point - in case you were wondering :) ).  Then you google - Pinterest and Instagram are your serious go to spots - to get ideas on where to go from there!

Ryder suggests creating a key at the start of your journal so as to encourage consistency - circles for tasks, squares for events, or whatever kind of bullet points you please - also drawing a calendar each month, breaking it down into weekly layouts, and including to-do-lists as you go.  But as you'll see down the page, its truly up to you.

 

I've added layouts in which to write every book I read over the course of the year.  Every movie I see.  Funny lines the kids say that I don't want to forget. This year I've made a detailed list of every section of the house as I plan to declutter the lot and watching those little circles turn into black dots as I cross things off the list is bliss!

Ryder's original Bullet journal design is very simple.  Spare.  Black and white and uber tidy.  I have friends who claim theirs look like chicken scratches.  Half the reason I adore the system is the chance to stretch my creative muscles whenever I get the chance so mine is full of doodles, pretty banners and colour.

The main point being it can look however YOU want it to look!  It can function however YOU want it to function.

But the real beauty of the thing is that if this week's layout doesn't work for you, next week you turn the page and try something different!  Use the bits that work for you, ditch the bits that don't, and add the bits that you feel are missing. Miss a week and it doesn't matter. The Bullet Journal is forgiving. It is always fresh.  And it can be whatever you want it to be!!!

As for stationery, I may only get one planner a year now but oh the pretty Post Its, and colouring pencils, and writing pens, and washi tape, and...

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Find out all about the evolution of the Bullet journal here: http://bulletjournal.com/.  and trawl through Ally's Instagram follows for lots more wonderful #bujoaddicts and inspiration on how you might set up one of your own.