It’s been a hot minute since Kat has written a guest post for the blog, but she’s back today to share some tips about starting your own bullet journal. She’s been bullet journaling on her own for two years or so, but only in the last few months began sharing it on Instagram, and has since gained quite a following, but nbd ;P
I’m someone who was never really good at keeping a planner. I’d always start off the new [academic] year well, and then about two weeks later, I’d ditch it in favor of writing bullet points on Post-its and sticking them to my laptop (which to be honest, I still do). I started bullet journaling four to five-ish years ago. And when I say that, I mean that my friend sent me a bullet journaling tutorial four to five years ago and I tried it and it didn’t work for me. Then two and a half years ago, I tried again, and it did. That sounds dramatic but you don’t understand the rush of joy that I felt finishing my first bullet journal. I still have it because I’m so proud of myself for actually filling a full notebook with anything.
When I tell someone that I bullet journal, I usually get one of two responses. The first is, “doesn’t that take up, like, a lot of your time?” And the second, and more common is, “I literally have no idea what you’re talking about.” Bullet journaling is basically a do-it-yourself planner. You write down, in bulleted lists, all the things that you need to do for a given month, week, day, your schedules, etc., and you cross things off as you go. Ergo, bullet journal.
In the last two years or so, it’s become pretty big. It’s become its own movement on Instagram and Tumblr with the studygram and studyblr community, which makes it pretty intimidating to start. But that doesn’t mean it’s not something you should try, especially if you find that traditional planners don’t work for you. So as the seasoned pro/annoying humblebrag of bujo, I’ve come up with some tips to get you started:
Start small
Start with Ryder Carroll’s bullet journal tutorial. It lays out everything you need to know to start your first bullet journal (and is frankly way more helpful than the word vomit I’ve laid out for you above).
Start simple
The thing about the study/bujo community on Instagram and Tumblr is that it’s all very intricate and doodle/art heavy. But that’s not really what bullet journaling is about. It’s about keeping yourself accountable and being on top of your shit (excuse my French). It’s not about creating the best art or gaining followers on some social media site. It’s important not to lose the fact that this is something that’s supposed to be helping you.
Don’t get discouraged
Bullet journaling is really hard at first. It’s really hard. I went on and off with it for three years before I really got the hang of what I was doing and before it was actually helping me. If you miss a week, fine. Jump back on the next week. Just don’t give up too fast. It takes time to build up habits.
Find what works for you
One of the most popular spreads I’ve ever seen are habit trackers. But they just don’t work for me, whether they be monthly or daily. I know that they should be helpful, but I just don’t use them. So, I got rid of them. Why waste the ink, right?
Have fun with it
Bullet journals aren’t about the followers, they’re about you and keeping you on track for what you’re meant to be doing. We’re all busy people. We don’t have time to be worrying about whether someone else likes our designs. It doesn’t matter. If you like doodling and art and having that in your journal, so be it. If you don’t, who cares. Your bullet journal is there to keep you on task, nothing more, so make sure that it doesn’t become a burden for you. Because if it does, then what’s the point?
Keep up with Kat on Instagram!
PS: more guest posts from kat – a curated life, asian representation, breaking up with social media, dorm tour