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Original poster

Anyone else tried to Bullet Journal and failed?

64 replies

Sparklfairy · 12/12/2021 12:55

I love the idea of a Bullet Journal, but can never get it to stick. I realised part of the problem, and it's really really stupid Grin

I love stationery, but I buy a shiny new book for BuJo, and then I'm scared of messing it up somehow so it stays empty to keep it nice Grin

It makes no sense obviously, so I've just bought an A5 ring binder and pad of paper, and I've 'built' a BuJo in that so I can add and remove pages when I inevitably screw them up without wrecking the 'niceness'.

I also like that I can add collections, and then if I don't want them anymore I can get rid of them without having a big glaring 'YOU ABANDONED THIS' in the middle of the book.

This sounds pathetic written down, I'm not even really a perfectionist normally. I just wondered if anyone else had a similar experience with BuJo? The only problem I can vaguely see is the index, but for now I have those index tabs to separate the sections until I kind of find my groove with it.

Has anyone else got any tips to see if I can organise my life a bit better going forward? Smile

OP posts:
Upwardtrajectory · 13/12/2021 17:23

For me, the trick was firstly to stop looking at Pinterest, and then to stop the gazzilion tracking pages that I wouldn’t stick to in a million years and finally I stopped drawing diary pages every week and just use a separate diary.
Mine is now full of lists and brain dumps and works pretty well for me.

GTAlogic · 13/12/2021 17:24

I have an un-dated planner and only really use it for work bookings and for appointments. There are month-to-view pages at the front and I use them to note down moneys in and out and for birthdays. I don't bother with the other stuff that people say they write in their bullet journals like goals, books to read it habit trackers etc because I wouldn't bother keeping up with it. I don't draw in it or feel like I have to keep it looking pretty. It's a tool and I use it such so it doesn't start to feel like a chore.

MaHBroon · 13/12/2021 17:29

I can’t even work out what it’s supposed to be let alone get going and start one.

Dots on a page instead of lines? I honestly have no clue as to why.

TeacupDrama · 13/12/2021 17:31

a you tuber called simple happyzen has a very pared down bujo
she talks about leaving mistakes as you don't need to be perfect

CrackersAndPesto · 13/12/2021 17:36

I was an avid bujo user. But undecorated as I don't have a creative bone in my body. I have my previous four years ish worth somewhere.
Anyway, I now use the app journal it. Photos. On my phone. Lists. Tags. Diary. Categories. Time and place stamps. Trackers.

And cos it is with my in my pocket i use it instantly without having to carry a handbag.

TheOrigRights · 13/12/2021 18:23

I have had a BuJo for the last few years.
The main thing is my weekly list, which I start the Sunday before the Monday.
It has my meal planner, appts and sports for each day and then a todo list.
Many of the todo items have been carried over.

It consolidates my wall calendar, my personal and work google calendar, so then I can add my sports.

I also have pages for long term todo.
Holiday planning.
It stays in the same place in the kitchen and I have a bunch of fine-liner pens which brings a little joy to the tedium of some things.

Icenii · 13/12/2021 19:52

Just looked at Pinterest. Now I want to do one!

Thegreencup · 13/12/2021 19:58

What's the difference between bullet journal and normal journalling?

I do a journal. It's an A5 hardback notebook from Asda. I go weeks without writing anything and other times I write pages and pages each day. It's not meant to look nice, its meant to be a mental dumping ground.

ExquisitelyDecorated · 13/12/2021 20:02

I've been using them for about 5 years. No coloured inks, no drawings, no stickers, no trackers, just scribble everything in as it happens, cross out to my heart's content, carry forward if I need to and only bother indexing pages I will want to refer back to in future (notes from meetings, lists etc). I change the page layout all the time, that's the beauty of it, it's never wrong, each page is a fresh start.

blueshoes · 13/12/2021 20:05

Get with the times. Things are online these days and meant to be carried around on your phone.

I never saw the sense in bullet journals and cannot see the point even when I tried to read up on it. It is just a marketing exercise on pinterest and to make you buy whatever pens and stationery. You are being set up to fail here. If you had so much time to make things pretty, you don't have an awful lot to remember to do.

VeronicaBeccabunga · 13/12/2021 20:14

I buy a cheap [but nice coloured/nice looking] A5 size exercise book.

I put the pages of our yearly calendar/planner through the scanner and reduced them to fit my notebook - and just glue the pages in.
I copy anything other people write on the planner into my book.

I have a page for notes opposite each month's calendar page.

I use coloured washi tape to 'edge' some pages of the exercise book and use them for things like my reading list, long-term to-do lists etc.

All the spare pages I use for notes or doodles or whatever.

If I have nice stickers I can use them if I like, I do use colour-coding a bit, but also use pencil a lot.

DoucheCanoe · 13/12/2021 20:45

@blueshoes just because you can do things online doesn't mean you have to. Lots of people prefer putting pen to paper and having a physical log of things!

Bullet journalling has become a bit of an art but the original concept (Google Ryder Carroll) was very simple - all it requires is any old notebook and a pen.

blueshoes · 13/12/2021 20:57

To be fair, on top of my outlook calendar and reminders which are synched with my phone, I have a kitchen calendar for the family and lots of pieces of paper with todo lists that I can just drop in the bin once done.

thatsallineed · 13/12/2021 21:02

I bought one. And kind of did a half-hearted index. That's it.

Maybe the only kind of person who is going to be organised enough to actually keep one and stay on top of it is the sort of person who doesn't need one in the first place.

I went back to my trusty filofax.

LeafyBamboo · 13/12/2021 21:23

I've used one for the last 4 or 5 years. I don't think I do it 'right' though. I draw out a year's diary from September to September (former teacher so my brain works in academic years) which takes hours at the beginning of the year. I have a page a week for me and my son's activities/appointments, then the opposite page is my to do lists for the week. Then I have a daily log, but only use that on busy days. The rest of it is just space for lists/notes/thoughts. Which is really what I wanted, one notebook that I could dump all my plans/intentions/thoughts into. The index at the beginning and numbered pages is perfect for that. And it's much easier than having different notebooks for this, that and the other which is what I used to have.

I completely understand what you mean though about not wanting to start for fear of messing it up. I overthought it all at first. But mine is just super simple. Not creative or artistic at all. Just a book full of scribbled notes and to do lists. Very dull. But I love having it all in one book.

YanTanTetheraPetheraPimp · 13/12/2021 21:33

I mainly use mine when there’s a lot going on, more as an aide memoire than anything else. I make pages for each moth, put in anything important, birthdays, anniversaries etc then use post-it’s A4 size if I run out of space any month.
It’s a bit untidy but it works for me.

hivemindneeded · 13/12/2021 21:56

I ditched it because it seemed to involve spending hours and hours doodling around lists of stuff I'd do anyway like go to the gym and plan healthy meals. I never really understood the point of it in terms of organisation, though it looks very pretty if you are artistic (which I'm not.) It seems to be a hobby in itself.

RichTeaRichTea · 13/12/2021 22:05

@LeafyBamboo

I've used one for the last 4 or 5 years. I don't think I do it 'right' though. I draw out a year's diary from September to September (former teacher so my brain works in academic years) which takes hours at the beginning of the year. I have a page a week for me and my son's activities/appointments, then the opposite page is my to do lists for the week. Then I have a daily log, but only use that on busy days. The rest of it is just space for lists/notes/thoughts. Which is really what I wanted, one notebook that I could dump all my plans/intentions/thoughts into. The index at the beginning and numbered pages is perfect for that. And it's much easier than having different notebooks for this, that and the other which is what I used to have.

I completely understand what you mean though about not wanting to start for fear of messing it up. I overthought it all at first. But mine is just super simple. Not creative or artistic at all. Just a book full of scribbled notes and to do lists. Very dull. But I love having it all in one book.

This is very similar to what I do

I don’t use many different bullets, just dots, an arrow if I move a task to a different date and a cross when it’s complete

Notebook with dotted paper and numbered pages

Mostly use pencil, never special colours, I do rub stuff out

It’s not really a bullet journal at all, but I’ve used some of the bits of bullet journaling that I like and incorporated it into a (handmade) week-to-view diary

RichTeaRichTea · 13/12/2021 22:07

Also I tend to work from the back for lists/notes/brain dumps (diary but is at the front) which makes it easier to find things for me

TheOrigRights · 14/12/2021 09:17

@blueshoes

Get with the times. Things are online these days and meant to be carried around on your phone.

I never saw the sense in bullet journals and cannot see the point even when I tried to read up on it. It is just a marketing exercise on pinterest and to make you buy whatever pens and stationery. You are being set up to fail here. If you had so much time to make things pretty, you don't have an awful lot to remember to do.

I am perfectly with the times. I spend my whole working day online. That I use paper and pen to organise my life doesn't mean I am not with the times, it means I have found what works for me.
Panacotta · 14/12/2021 09:23

What is a bullet journal?

DoucheCanoe · 14/12/2021 10:08

@Panacotta is just an organisation method that uses one notepad and pen instead of having stuff everywhere.

Instead of a rigid diary format you go create the parts that work for you so that could be monthly/weekly daily planners or just a to do list with dates.

Taytocrisps · 14/12/2021 10:14

I don't think a bullet journal would work for me, so I have a diary and a notebook. The diary is for appointments, birthdays, events. The notebook is for rough work/lists - shopping lists, Christmas present lists, things to do today lists etc. The diary is immaculate and the notebook is full of scribbled lists, torn out pages etc.

DD is quite artistic and has asked for a bullet journal for Christmas, so it will be interesting to see how she gets on with it and how long she keeps it up.

ExquisitelyDecorated · 14/12/2021 10:57

I don't really use mine as a diary either, I use my phone for that. But sometimes in busy spells it is useful to do a page with a month list of dates down the LHS and add all the one-off events and term dates to give an overview that just doesn't work as well on a small phone screen.

BlancheB · 14/12/2021 11:03

Reassuring that I'm not alone in failing at this. Sorry OP, not much help. Smile

I thought it would change my life too...