Bullet journals

[GuyForksAndKnives]

Who uses these?

What's the difference between these and a normal plain or lined pad? Or a to do list?

They look like dot to dot books to me. How do you use them and what's the benefit?

The dots just give more versatility to how you use them. They are visible enough to use as lines but also unobtrusive enough to use the paper as plain, they provide reference points to line things up like lists or drawing boxes.

the point of bullet journals is that they are whatever you need them to be. There is no fixed layout. I used a version of one when the kids were all at school and had multiple things for me to remember. Mine was actually plain paper rather than dots. They don't need to be dotted.

It seems to be a full time job running a bullet journal.

I think the dotted ones are easier to use if you are drawing tables to track stuff. I have an A6 Filofax with some lined pages, some dots, and some to do pages. I have dividers so all my guide notes are together, all birthday and Christmas planning is together.

It's a very structured to do list. But also good for collections of notes, planning.

The thing about bullet journals is that you can use them however you want. I found the daily list was too much so I use a weekly to do. I don't have the month overview either. My 6 month overview has 2 columns - one for my personal stuff and one for Guides.

I have moved from a weekly to do to a monthly one, all my useful lists are in there

DIY for the house
when we do big cleans (so more frequent spring cleans)
what we need to buy sometimes for the house
Christmas lists
birthday lists

its just all in one book. You can make a bujo as complicated and as decorative as you like or you can just use it as one book for plain lists and things to do

This is a great resource for how to use them - https://bulletjournal.com/blogs/faq/how-to-start-a-bullet-journal-for-beginners

I love mine, and it has certainly made a difference to my productivity. As a PP said, some people get really into decorating them and making them look "insta-worthy" (for reasons only known to them), but as a one-stop-shop for everything in your life, I haven't found a better system tbh. Keeping up with it is super easy once you get into the rhythm.

You can use a standard notebook with lines or blank pages. The whole point is to be flexible and use it how it suits your life.