Anyone else tried to Bullet Journal and failed?

[Sparklfairy]

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

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

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?

I keep two. One as a running/ fitness log that I started in 2017 and is now on book 2. The other for household things.

Keeping it as a diary is too faffy, and my phone calendars/ to do aps work better, but it is good for thematic planing and recording useful information.

I have a "style" of black ink and boxes. Longer term themes get a bit of colour and stickers, but it's fairly practical and managable.

@hivemindneeded

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.

Well I mean if you spent hours and hours doodling about pages you didn’t use or need then that’s why you didn’t understand it in terms of organisation. Obviously if I made a page about tracking my journey learning Cantonese it would be useless because I’m not learning Cantonese - it wouldn’t help organise me.

I do make pages about holiday planning/kids activities/university and I jot down all important dates and make lists of jobs to do. That’s how it’s useful in keeping me organised, I can have all jobs in one place and tick them off as I go.

I literally couldn't understand how to do it
Seemed another thing to feel pressure over

I use a small, cheap book from Wilkos. Small enough to fit in my handbag. I date the page and make notes. Ie phone calls I need to remember, orders, Xmas pressies. Phone numbers. Bills paid etc. I then file them on a bookshelf once filled.
They are not pretty but they have been very very useful if I need to remember a conversation I had previously.

Maybe get a small cheap book that you don’t mind looking scruffy. Fill it in for useful reasons and carry it on you at all times. Maybe carry two coloured pens. To do one colour and completed (or conversation had/item ordered in another). I write down household stuff I need to know ie what lamp takes a specific bulb. Quite sad really thinking about it!!!

[quote DoucheCanoe]@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.[/quote]
So a notebook?

Yes it’s just a notebook, or mine is at least. There is a “method” but I have just taken the ideas from that that work for me to help organise the notebook itself.

I mean, people can create more of a thing about it (either in terms of advocating or sneering, whatever your POV) but it’s not like it’s compulsory and some people find it helpful to varying degrees

I have 'Bujoed' for about 3 years now. Mine does not look pretty, but its fantastic for me.

Go back to basics and start here with the video by the guy who invented the format. Ignore all the Instagram stylish additional layouts - they are additions and not required/needed.

Start with the monthly and daily lists and take it from there. Personally I don't use the index and just dump a small number of other lists in the back.

I immediately changed mine and put monthly diaries, 1 per page, at the start after the index pages...and then just start a new page every week with single pages in between when I worked for particular meetings or projects.

I've written a diary every day since I was 8. I'm 60 now. Its horrific how much you forget. A lot of it is tripe but there is some good stuff in there and some of it I can't even remember doing.
I often pick a year and read it and it's fascinating to see how I have grown personally.
I'd recommend it even if its just a few lines a day.

What do you want it for?

I think that sort of thing is for people who actually enjoy the thing, IYSWIM.

@Shehasadiamondinthesky

I've written a diary every day since I was 8. I'm 60 now. Its horrific how much you forget. A lot of it is tripe but there is some good stuff in there and some of it I can't even remember doing. I often pick a year and read it and it's fascinating to see how I have grown personally. I'd recommend it even if its just a few lines a day.

Could you give an example of what you’d write pls as I’d like to keep a diary but I’ve no idea how to.

@Shehasadiamondinthesky thats fascinating. I have never ever been able to keep one up but so far including a section in my BuJo I've written consistently. I've noticed that low level thoughts and worries I carry around 24/7 come to the fore, and when they're written down i get a kind of clarity and the problems don't seem as big.

I dread to think though if I'd kept a diary most of my life the angst and stupid shit that just doesn't matter

[quote Sparklfairy]@Shehasadiamondinthesky thats fascinating. I have never ever been able to keep one up but so far including a section in my BuJo I've written consistently. I've noticed that low level thoughts and worries I carry around 24/7 come to the fore, and when they're written down i get a kind of clarity and the problems don't seem as big.

I dread to think though if I'd kept a diary most of my life the angst and stupid shit that just doesn't matter [/quote]
Yes there are plenty of angst and stupid things in there but overall I've actually forgotten around 5/6ths of everything I ever did so it's quite interesting to read back.