How I Use My Bullet Journal

I've been using my Bullet Journal for almost 2 months now. Since everyone is going to use one of these a little differently, I thought I'd share what's working for me.

No Monthly Calendar
Yes, the little video says to create a list version of a calendar. But I just cannot do it. I like that my digital calendars stack events, show overlap, are automatically color coded, and send reminders.. And that they talk to each other. (I have a no longer supported program that syncs Google calendar with Microsoft Outlook.) That part of my system was already working, so I'm not changing it. However...

Yearly Calendar
...I do love my yearly calendar page. (Shown up top, at the beginning of the year, it has many more things on it now.) This is where I write events that are a few months out. Yes, I can check my digital calendar, but that doesn't help me for events that don't have a set date yet. So this is where I log upcoming but still nebulous events. I also log recurring things that I need to remember to do (like taxes or termite inspections(, and any big events (even if they have a date). This helps me know how much is going on in any given month so that I don't accidentally over schedule.

My yearly calendar has a heading for each month and under it I bullet the upcoming events. Under that I have a single list for 2015. There are far fewer of those events, so they need less space.

Comprehensive To Do Lists
I dedicate one page to home and one to work. My home list has subheadings like "Being a Responsible Adult" or "Things to Make" or whatever else makes sense for that grouping. I usually have one for each club/group I'm associated with, one for fun stuff, etc. At work, I organize by projects and usually have a category for general administrative stuff too.

I don't worry about adding tiny things to this list. You know stuff that comes up and you do immediately and it's done? I don't bother. But anything I need to track or do not *rightthisinstant* goes on the list. This is the place that all those "oh! I need to do X" thoughts go. This is where my action items from meetings go. This where the "you know I'd like to do x" items go.

Then I have a daily to do list. This is grouped by day and is created by referencing the home/work lists and picking which items need to be done /I would like to do that day. I add smaller items that come up through the day as well. So "pick up library books on the way home"? If I think of it at work and will do it that evening? Daily List. If I think of it over the weekend and know I will need to do it later that week? Home List.

I check things off as I do them. Once the page is full and/or I am having a hard time seeing what is unchecked because of all the checked off stuff...I start a new page. I have some post it flags that I used to mark work, home, and daily lists. When I start a new page, I move the flag to the new spot.

Meeting Notes
This has been brilliant. I am a note taker to the core, but I've never had a good spot for non-work related notes. If I took them on paper, I never knew what to do with them after. So I generally took them on my phone. But I'm a slow thumb typist and then everyone thinks you are being rude and antisocial. So! This is much better. I can easily reference them later. Because many of my meetings are monthly, if I don't use the whole page, I just take next month's notes in the same spot.

Brainstorming
This is another thing that I used to do on scrap paper and then never know what to do with. Now, not only do I not lose it, but the index means it will be easy to find even months/years from now.

Lists
I keep a running list of restaurants I want to try (much better than my previous draft email method), but I could also use the method for books, websites, etc. In fact, I'm thinking of starting a general "recommendation" list for random recommendations from friends. The categories are all over the place, so unless they are restaurants, I think they will all go here.

Have you tried a bullet journal? Or a similar method? Does it work for you?

Bullet Journal

I first heard of the Bullet Journal on Miss Zoot's blog. She started talking it up this fall and had begun out and out evangelizing for the concept. And it intrigued me. After all, my work life was tracked with endless post its. Each neatly filled with categorized checkboxes. And, of late, I had been grabbing more post its for daily lists. And then there were the post its for voicemails, quick discussions with my supervisor, notes from talking with the team...all littered across my desk, getting increasingly unsticky, the corners stabbing me in the fore-arms.

And that was my "organized" approach. My not-work to-dos were tracked in email drafts, on scraps of paper, and, more often than not, my head. Which is fine if you don't mind nearly falling asleep and then waking up with a start realizing "I DIDN'T DO X!".

I used to be a daily planner sort of lady. In college everything went into the planner--first paper, then digital. When I got to grad school though...it became unnecessary. My once busy calendar slowed to a steady rhythm of regular classes, my digital planner died and I never really replaced it. We moved and our social life had to start over from scratch. In the last couple of years though, it has vigorously taken root. I needed something better.

So late last year, I started a bullet journal. It took me awhile to fully commit--December was just So Very Busy--but once I did, I fell in love.

Laptop Love

I am absolutely, completely smitten with my new laptop. I mean it's shiny, it's fast, the keyboard is backlit! Windows 7 is slick and clean, and the touch pad is a joy to use. So, naturally, the first thing I did with it was go window shopping. For vinyl decals. On Etsy. Because even if it's green, it's still not unique among a crowd.

Vinyl decals have become increasingly popular over the last couple of years for decorating just about thing they will stick to; so when a friend from Beer and Bloggers reminded me that they would stick to laptops...well I just had to see what I could find.

I love the swirling whirling font, but what letter would I get? My first inital? My last?

By Studio JK

Organic meets industrial. Work meets play. (I also love this one from the same seller, but I have absolutely no background in music.)

By Thosmhicks

I love the idea of a quote or several quotes. But which ones to choose? And how small can this lettering get?

By Old Barn Rescue Company

So Who's Ready to Shop For the Holidays?

*raises both hands* Ohohoh, mememememe! Today at work, I found myself humming "Walking in a Winter Wonderland." That must have been the trigger, because tonight I bought my first Christmas gifts (sorry, not going to show them off until next January!) and found myself looking at holiday cards.

Now if you are like me there are tiers of holiday cards. There are the ones that go out to coworkers (non-offensive, not overly cute), the ones that go with gifts (matched to the gift or the friend or the acquaintance) and the ones you send out to family (I obsess over these, yet many years get as far as writing them and forget to send them, *headesk*). Etsy has cards for all of those and more! Now if only more card sellers (um, like me?) would get on the bandwagon and get their cards posted! Else I risk buying cards from now until Christmas and having a house full of unused cards come next January.


Christmas Forest Stationary Set by jellybeans


Peace on Earth Set by LunaGraphica


Warm Fuzzies by olerattlesnake


Christmas Forest Stationary Set by atelierdesigns

Calendars

Every year around this time, it occurs to me that I will need a new calendar. So I hem, and I haw, and I start obsessively investigating options. I need one that is beautiful, but not frivolous. One that will meet my practical needs and still look good. Every month. Because, you see, if I only get to change pictures once a month, I must like them ALL. Of course, that assumes I stick with a traditional calendar. There are dozens of other options--perpetual calendars (too much of a commitment), daily calendars (too much work), yearly calendars (not enough variety)--but I prefer my monthly format.

Now, in years past, I spent several months frowning at the awful, boring, overdone calendars in Borders and sometime in January, when the calendars were on sale for 75% off, I would pick the least offensive and deal with it.

Not this year! This year I have Etsy and oh my! I could drown in all the beautiful, colorful, creative options. So tonight, I went shopping. *sheepish grin* I haven't bought a calendar this early in, well, ever.

So what made it into my cart for the final round of decisions?



Done in tones of brown and beige I thought "Ooh, this would go with my brown theme in my office!". My husband adored it too, thinking it was simple and sophisticated.



Brilliant colors and page layouts by one of my favorite digital designers on Etsy (check out her cards, *swoon*), this calender gets extra awesome points for featuring quotes. (I am a sucker for meaningful text.)



This little black bird is curious, cute, and just darn everywhere! Love the simplicity and the cohesiveness.

And as long as I am discussing calendars, I will go for the shameless promotion and pimp out the FAE Etsy Street Team calendar. Put together by Sarah of Artca the calendar features work from many of our talented members. : )

Here is my page:

Fave Finds

Today was a day to relax, kick back, and clean out my favorites! Which of course meant I just *had* to browse and start looking for things for the holidays. ; )

Two of my favorite holiday items are candy corn and snowmen. I *lurve* candy corn, and snowmen are just so darn cute! I leave mine out all year long. : ) So, here are just a few of my favorites for you to enjoy as well. (Click on the image to be taken to the listing)

To Do

I am a list maker. I make grocery lists, to-do lists, to buy lists, to pack lists, to dream about lists, to watch, to listen to, to remember...well, if you can make a list of it, I probably do. Of course, I lose half of my lists before I finish them. : )

Listmaking is pretty much a requirement for me. Not just because my short term memory abandoned ship years ago, but also because I tend to compartmentalize my thinking--which is GREAT for staying focused. Not so great for realizing that your plans for this weekend include getting 5-6 things done in each of 10 categories. Oops. Or double booking yourself.

Every so often I will find myself getting antsy and unable to focus, so I'll make a list of what I need to do--it's not unusual for that list to be 30-50 items long. Gee, I wonder why I'm a stress ball. : )

The list up there on the left is made by the wonderful Etsyian elles, who understands exactly how the world of to-do lists seems to function. ^_^

And here, on the right, is the to-do list I made up last Friday. Lots of things got done. Very little got checked off the list. Oops! In fact, I think I may have added more things than I checked off. Hrm...

Maybe tomorrow I will share with all of you the truth of structured procrastination. Right now, it's past my bedtime. *yawn*