How to Start Bullet Journaling

A few months ago, I decided to try out the bullet journal system. I had seen it before, but it never had grabbed my interest until one day I saw one of my friends with one and it spiked my interest. I went home that day, did some research, and went out to buy supplies. I’ve been obsessed with bullet journaling since!

When I started, I was really scared of messing up and I worried that none of the things I had were good enough to make my journal pretty. I’m sure a lot of people have experienced the struggle with starting something new like a journal, so I want to start a bullet journal series to give tips and tricks to bullet journaling and hopefully inspire you along the way!

For a proper introduction to the system, you can visit the official bullet journal website here for the base guidelines on how to start a bullet journal.

The most important piece of advice I can give is to not stress about making it perfect. I’m quite a perfectionist and labor to get every little detail right, even though I make multiple mistakes. Through journaling, I’ve learned to accept that not everything can be perfect and that I can turn those mistakes into something that looks great! The system revolves around flexibility and personalization, which you can make into something entirely unique to you!

To get started, you’ll need two main things: a notebook and something to write with. You can use any kind of notebook, like Moleskine notebooks. They’re affordable, sturdy, and you can find them in many stores. There are a few different formats for the pages: lined, dotted, gridded, or blank. Dotted notebooks are popular for bullet journaling as a way to make easy measurements, but I’ve found that they’re hard to come by. The Leuchtturm 1917 notebook is a great option because it has been designed just for Bullet Journaling- it provides an index, future log pages, and numbered pages for you. They also have many other notebooks with different types of pages and colors. Choose what works for you.

 

To start on the bullet journal, first draw your future log. This will be your “year at a glance”. There are many different designs you can work with, so look at examples before choosing what you want. For my future log (pictured below), I went with columns for the layout and left space at the bottom to write in my major events. I decorated with some Crayola Supertips to add some color and drew some cute little plants in the corners.

The next crucial part to the bullet journal is the monthly log. This focuses on one month of the year to give a more detailed view of the month. Here are some designs to look over for inspiration. I like to have my monthly log designed like a normal calendar view with a column on the side to label each event on my schedule. It can be as simplistic or artistic as you want!

The last main component of the bullet journal is your weekly/daily log. (x) This is where you can list out any thing you need to remember – plans, to-do lists, reminders, etc. The weekly log is also where you use the bullets and signifiers to differentiate tasks from events or notes (pictured below). I use mine for those mentioned above and as a diary of sorts to write down the highlights of my day. I modify my weekly layouts until I find one I like because my needs for the weekly log change all the time.

I hope this gave you some inspiration to start/create your own bullet journal! The next blog post in my bullet journal series will go over extra layouts like savings goals, spending trackers, habit trackers, etc.

Do you already have a bullet journal? What are some tips for newbies?  Let us know in the comments!