To ask about bullet journalling?

[Starryskiesinthesky]

Wanting to do something like bullet journalling but not as rigorous. I want the equivalent of an A5 filofax / notebook that I can take pages in and out of or move around and have slots for different things.
Just think if I have a fixed notepad it wont work whereas with a filofax type thing it has a chance.
But, I dont want to buy from Amazon and I dont really want a filofax. Can anyone advise me about something they use that works? Thanks.

Look at Ryman’s etc, they have Filofax knock offs although less common these days. Most people who bullet use a fixed journal. It doesn’t work for everyone so try it before you invest too much.

I like a fixed notepad, but you can surely just go to a stationery shop and buy whatever it is you want to use?

Why not use a phone app?

Have a look at The Happy Planner. It’s American but available online in the UK, Hey Little Magpie sell them along with a few others. It’s a disc based system and the dates/layout are printed but you can be creative and decorate it as much or as little as you like. You get blank paper inserts, envelopes, dashboards etc. to add in and punches to make your own inserts too.

Or try Etsy, lots of independent sellers that make planners similar to Filofax 🙂

@KrisAkabusi

Why not use a phone app?

That's the complete opposite of what she wants.

Before you spend any money, experiment with an A5 ring binder and a ream of paper.

I've just looked up bullet journalling. It looks interesting. Personally I think I'd go for an attractive A5 size notebook to begin with, and see how you get on.

Have a look at Princess Planning. All kinds of ring binders and inserts and stickers

WH Smith have some dot grid paper that will fit an A5 filofax. If you don’t want to buy a binder yet you could use those strings with metal bits on the end we used to use at school (no idea what they are actually called) to bind it.

www.whsmith.co.uk/products/dodo-a5-dot-grid-paper--25-sheets50-pages--high-quality-100gsm-organis/paperback/9780857701732.html

The fixed page and index solution of a bullet journal is quite liberating in its way once you accept the chaos.

Have you heard of “disk bound” diaries/notebooks? They’re a bit like spiral bound, but you can take pages in and out. Staples used to do a good one (Arc), but I now have one by William Hannah: williamhannah.com/

I use it as a diary, project notebook and banking organiser.

It took me a few iterations to get the exact set up the way I like it, so don’t lose heart if it doesn’t work out for you first time.

[quote Acrasia]WH Smith have some dot grid paper that will fit an A5 filofax. If you don’t want to buy a binder yet you could use those strings with metal bits on the end we used to use at school (no idea what they are actually called) to bind it.

www.whsmith.co.uk/products/dodo-a5-dot-grid-paper--25-sheets50-pages--high-quality-100gsm-organis/paperback/9780857701732.html[/quote]
Treasury tags. The stringy things, that is.

I only use bullet journalling for my work stuff. I prefer a fixed wirebound notebook (A4) so I can easily fold it back on itself.

I know you mentioned you don't want a Filofax, but they do a kind of notebook as well, that you can insert pages into. It's not the same as their organisers, but a proper refillable notebook similar to what you say you want.

Of course they are @pontefractals! Thank you! I knew they had an actual name but it’s been a couple of years… okay decades… since I was at school!

I love my leuchtturm ones. I buy medium A5 agendas ones too, with a week on one page and a blank lines page on the other for my lists. They have quite a lot of blank pages at the end and a removal address book at the end. I use this for information that I need to transfer to the new diary at the end of the year.

Thanks everyone. I think I will start with a notebook and then see how I get on with it. There are some lovely things out there. And also some very expensive things! The William Hannah ones are beautiful.

Just get a normal notebook in a size you like carrying around.

The whole point of the bullet journal is that it’s a way of freeing yourself from someone else’s idea of how things should be organised. That means you have to figure it out for yourself and the way you like to work. This is messy. You won’t want to do it if you’re getting hung up on it all looking perfect first time. Which means it will fail.

Once you’ve figured it out, then you’ll know what will work for you and you can start dicking about with stickers.

@1hamwich4

Just get a normal notebook in a size you like carrying around.

The whole point of the bullet journal is that it’s a way of freeing yourself from someone else’s idea of how things should be organised. That means you have to figure it out for yourself and the way you like to work. This is messy. You won’t want to do it if you’re getting hung up on it all looking perfect first time. Which means it will fail.

Once you’ve figured it out, then you’ll know what will work for you and you can start dicking about with stickers.

Yes, there is no way I will ever be doing little dots and things. I think I really just need a notebook that has different sections.

I use an A5 Filofax, and have designed and print my own inserts, so they do exactly what I want, but if you want some ideas there are tons of free printables on line. Pinterest is a good place to start, plus there are loads of Facebook pages, and Etsy stores.

I started with a much cheaper, A5 ring binder.

I tend to buy LIDL A5 squared ring notebooks when they're a specialbuy. I love having a bullet journal, I remember when there used to be long running threads on Housekeeping dedicated to them.

[quote Acrasia]WH Smith have some dot grid paper that will fit an A5 filofax. If you don’t want to buy a binder yet you could use those strings with metal bits on the end we used to use at school (no idea what they are actually called) to bind it.

www.whsmith.co.uk/products/dodo-a5-dot-grid-paper--25-sheets50-pages--high-quality-100gsm-organis/paperback/9780857701732.html[/quote]
Treasury tags

Have a look at the Filofax clipbook, you can buy WHSmiths own square grid inserts for it. It’s what I use for a bullet journal style (ish) diary/planner.

Try getting discbound! Arc is a good brand from Staples. It feels closer to a fixed notebook but you can easily move the pages around and take them out or add more in. It's my favorite!

To add to what's been said, if you for for a ring binder system (eg Filofax), you can find lots of free templates online, or design your own and print them off - you can get hole punches that are specific to each design of binder.