AIBU Bullet-journaling doesn’t help productivity and organisation

[iwishiwasafish]

I always use notebooks at work. I am in meetings all day and take copious notes with to-do lists etc. I’ve tried switching to OneNote or similar, and it just doesn’t work for me. It’s not how my brain works.

The problem is, my notebooks are a mess. I start off every new notebook with carefully ruled headings, neatest handwriting, date and attendees of meetings etc. By page 5 it has deteriorated to unstructured random scribbles, and it gets me down because it makes me feel disorganised.

I thought bullet journaling might help with this, and was looking up some templates/stencils, but it looks like it’s all hearts and flowers teenager style doodling. What am I missing.

AIBU that bullet journaling has nothing to do with organisation and productivity?

(Phrased as an AIBU for traffic, but really just talk to me about what I am doing wrong or what works for you )

Following as I’d like to get into it too. From what I can see though, you can follow the original bullet journal method without any of the doodle crap (I am not arty AT ALL so none of that appeals)

Bullet journalling is really just a hobby.

I’ll admit I don’t know much about it but what I’ve seen just looks like a time consuming faff to me, as well as a licence to print money for the companies who make the associated stationery. Fine if you like that sort of scrapbooking hobby but i can’t see how it’s efficient or time saving.

There are lots of Bullet Journaling groups on FB where people share their pages and tips, etc. You could also check out Ryder Carroll's book or Ted Talk. Personally I find that a regular day planner works for me.

If you're interested in a personalized day planner you might want to check out plum paper. I don't know if they ship to the UK but you could take a look and see.

There is only a few things that really helps with productivity in reality.

A clear main aim.
A list of what needs to be done.
Go though list again and Delegate/Do it or Dump it

Usually productivity comes down to just doing it without procrastinating or moaning.

Ignore all the doodly crap. There's a video on Youtube by the guy who invented it, very to the point and simple. I find it the best way to control all my random notes and I'm not bothered about neat much either, anything goes.

I don't know how the voting works on this one but I don't think there's any point in trying to force yourself to use a system that just doesn't work for you. There's no right or wrong as people's brains work in different ways.

You can't be unreasonable to say it doesn't work for you but I know a couple of people who swear by it so I know it does work for them. They aren't hearts and fllowers types so I don't think it has to incorporate those.

THE most useful take away from bullet journals is numbered pages (for me anyway). Absolute game changer. You just number the pages and have an index that you fill out as you go, (eg parents evening p24, planning meeting p25, etc).it means you can find everything quickly. I don’t go for fancy borders etc but nice pens and thick paper do make me feel happy.

I love bullet journaling, helps me keep myself organised and I find it improves my mental health massively

It'd take me way too long to do the bullet journal thing and I'd not get anything else done!

YABU to say “bullet journaling has nothing to do with organisation and productivity”. Organisation and productivity are what it’s all about! The “hearts and flowers teenager style doodling” is what a lot of people do for fun and social media, but it’s not part of the bujo system. Mine is very functional and certainly doesn’t have anything like that. I’d be utterly lost without mine because it acts as diary, planner, organiser etc for work and home.

I suggest you look for the creator’s how-to guide - website, YouTube or his book.

This is the video by Ryder Carroll explaining his concept of Bullet Journalling. All the doodling/washi tape etc aren't part of the original idea.

And don’t be sucked in to thinking you need all the expensive stationery (pretty though it is!) - a £2 notebook from The Works and a biro is all you need!

Agree with everyone saying to look at the method from the inventor, and keep it simple. I used it for about six months when my life was really complicated and I still have the notebook and even refer to them sometimes.

But I did start looking on Pinterest and fell into the trap of trying to make it nice and make pretty calendar pages and I just set myself up to fail and then gave up.

But I might start again

YABU - bullet journaling is whatever you want it to be. That means it can be doodly, it can be very plain, or it can be in between. You don’t have to use the original method if you don’t want (although a lot of people find it helpful) and you don’t have to do really artsy spreads if you don’t want. I bullet journal and this is my second go at it. I tried once years ago using the original recommended method with no doodles or anything. And I quit because I got discouraged - I found that method with all the different symbols just didn’t work for me and everyone online had pretty artistic journals and mine was not that. But I started again this year after discussing it with a friend of mine who also journals. Her journal, plus that of another mutual friend, is very arty with paints, and special art marker pens etc and it does look really good. But that’s because they’re good artists! But it’s not just for art - they also use it to track their mood and habits, to meal plan etc. and they definitely find it useful.

My journal looks nothing like theirs because although I like being creative I can’t draw or paint in the slightest! And I don’t use the “official” method. I don’t use a monthly calendar but I do have a page with dates to remember on it; I have a weekly do to list, but I don’t use the symbols or migrate things from week to week; I have an expenses tracker for budgeting; I do use a mood tracker because I can get in the habit of thinking oh I’ve had an awful time lately when actually looking back it’s not been as bad as I thought, which is helpful; and I have a habit tracker because I find if I have to tick things off later I’m more likely to remember to do things, eg take medication, skincare, plus I track how much sleep I get and water I drink. I also have pages for other things such as planning Christmas presents, a note of any shows or podcasts or books lately I’ve enjoyed, plus a monthly review/goals page. That does sound a bit wanky but it’s more yay you recovered from being ill/you finally finished that book you’ve been reading for ages, and remember to order the dogs medication earlier next time/enjoy your week off work. So not too pretentious I hope!

My journal pretty functional and I do find it useful - it motivates me to be more productive and helps me remember to do things I know I would forget otherwise. I do jazz it up with coloured pens and a few stickers as I do enjoy the opportunity to be a bit creative but it’s not necessary. I wish I’d continued with it first time around as I do feel it’s made a difference for me. There’s a lot online but let’s be real - people are posting aesthetic looking journals because they know they’ll get likes, whereas people with non aesthetic looking journals don’t bother because they know it won’t get likes. So it is very skewed towards the prettier ones but I bet that’s not the reality for the majority of people. There’s a couple subreddits that might help (if you use Reddit) - I’m not sure I’ve got their names exactly right but I think it’s r/BasicBulletJournal and r/bujo and they seem more what you’re looking for.

I agree with everyone else. Bullet journalling has become really gimmicky and it absolutely doesn't have to be.

I have an electronic work calendar, which has EVERYTHING on it, for me plus colleagues. That can make it hard to think ahead, because every day is so full of stuff.

On a Sunday, I draw up a double page spread. It has 6 sections on the left page (Monday-Friday has its own box, weekend in the 6th one. I then go through the week coming up and write down any events that I need to remember/ go to/ do something for.

Meetings have a triangle symbol, things to do have an asterisk, events just have a dot, so I can see at a glance which bit of writing means what thing.

Then on the right side, I write my evening meals in the corner for the week, and the whole rest of the page is my to do list for the week. I transfer any tasks from the previous week (which helps to weed out anything that is really unnecessary) and give each a box so I can cross it when I've done the thing.

I use coloured pens and some stickers to make it look pretty, but don't bother with doodles, trackers or any other time-consuming stuff. It takes around 15 minutes. The biggest bonus of writing it out in my notebook is that I find I have a much better grasp of what is happening and when, compared to when I just look at the electronic calendar. It must be the act of writing it out.

I have a folder which is like an A5 organiser. Therefore I can move sheets around, bin anything out of date etc. It has page dividers too and I can get refill sheets. Makes organising things a doddle.

It's a YHH A5 Personal organiser available by Amazon.

I don't do the decorative stuff, or the fiddly little symbols as they're not relevant to me. It's the repeated listing of important events (in the year overview, then the month overview, then the week overview- not all at once but as each period approaches) that works for me, as well as being able to add whatever categories I want then drop them again when no longer useful. So for eg, if I have a meeting coming up (relatively rare for me to be fair) I leave a couple of blank pages after the weekly view so the notes will be alongside the relevant week, so no wondering what meeting they came from at a later date.

It sounds as though you're best working out what info you actually need to make referring back simpler and putting that on paper, not worrying about coloured pens or arcane symbols. So maybe date, very brief note of meeting subject and gap to list attendees, each meeting heading followed by some blank pages for notes, all done the evening before or first thing so you just move to the relevant page and scribble. Then you at least know which notes were for which specific meeting and who was there and your quick scribbles are surrounded by neat boundaries.

Try personal Kanban, this article explains it.

www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jul/05/how-to-tackle-your-to-do-lists-oliver-burkeman

Bullet journaling at its core can be an aid to productivity but it has been taken over by people who want beautiful decorated journal pages. Which are fine, but not necessary!

This is a good site for explaining the system without all the doodling and artwork: bulletjournal.com/pages/learn

That said - it still doesn’t work for everyone. I don’t use it, because I find I spend more time looking up the system than using it, but I know some people swear by it.

Have an index and number as you go but everything else can be chaos. Mine looks like a complete scribble attack but works for me. If neatness isn’t your thing embrace the mess!

I find mine useful, and I’m not the slightest bit creative. All I have is a bound a5 notebook with numbered pages, a pen on an elastic on the back cover and the notebook has two markers. I find the markers really useful.

I make a point of only using one notebook. I used to have a few lying around the house and would pick up whichever one was closest. Now that I just have one, I know that all the information is in that one notebook. Numbered pages help me make a running contents page.

I’ve had the same one on the go for nearly two years and I’m just filling it. I’ve never come close to filling a notebook in my life before.

How does your brain work Op? Do your words and ideas come out as a torrent? Or are you measured and structured?

Bullet journaling is nothing more than organising things. But it won’t work if your brain doesn’t work that way!

I have ADHD and no matter how many trackers, planners schedules I use everything ends up in a mess. My thoughts and ideas come out so quickly that it’s impossible to organise them in my head. When I come out with something I have to write it down right that second and faffing about with the correct heading, or list, or category doesn’t. Work. At.all. I will write on the nearest scrap of paper or open sticky note on my computer.

What works for me is taking some time out to go through all my scribbles and organise them at the end of the day (or at appropriate intervals. Notes about tasks go on a task list, ideas on an idea list etc. So I can look at it every now and then to follow up or discard.

This may take more time but you can’t change the way your brain works. I know people who write neatly into categories without even trying. We have very different personalities. When I tried doing that all it did was restrict my flow of thought and my productivity nose dived.

Oh also OP what helps as well is colours as they help you identify categories easily.
I have coloured pens/highlighters