BuJo Wankers 2 - declutter your mind!

[mercifulTehlu]

Woo hoo! It's the second Bullet Journal thread! For the benefit of newbies - Bullet Journal is a brilliant way to organise your whole life in a lovely notebook. Perfect for anyone who has tried every app and every scheduling system but just can't seem to get on top of things. Also perfect for lovers of beautiful stationery and especially for people who like lists!

Sooo - get out your fineliners and your washi tape! Stroke your Leuchtturms! And get all that stuff that's whizzing round in your head out onto paper instead!

website here

Ok if they are weekly, get some labels and word and create a labels mailing list that includes all the weekly tasks, and print them on labels so that you can stick one on each weekly page.

although I did still use my shopping list page - yes I'm finding that so useful! I swear it takes me half the time to make my weekly shopping list now that I have a master list!

Doreen that labels idea is genius!
Adds "learn how to do word label thingy" to task list!

I'm feeling a bit swamped again today. Have a tendency not to look at my bujo during my working days of the week as I tend to just work, cook, do laundry and taxi kids about on those days.

Not helped this week by DD being mysteriously ill, and last night I sat with Dr google and diagnosed her with a variety of possible causes. Finally managed to get her a real Dr appt for later today.
Also been supporting a friend through a tough time and I figure these things are far more important than doing tasks that can wait for another day.

DS off on a residential sch trip next week so my main aim this weekend is getting the rest of what he needs, labelling it all and sending him off well fed and well rested. Alongside all the other essentials such as meal plan, food shop, laundry etc.

I have only just done my March pages this morning. A lot of my Feb tasks are carried over. Despite me working like a Trojan on my non work days and getting big stuff done in the house. Sometimes just the sheer amount of "project management" of holding down a job, parenting children, running a house seems too much for lil ol me. That's without thinking about my own health, relaxation or hobbies etc.

Need to hoik myself out of this overwhelmed feeling. I never finish a days list. There is always something carried over. I think I try to do too much each day, but can't see what tasks are veering towards my perfectionist streak rather than essential. I even stepped right back from world book day this year and let the kids cobble something together, previously I have been up sewing late into the night so I feel they have something presentable. And the world is still turning despite my dd's interpretation of sleeping beauty as a onesie and tiara!

Has anyone any tips on pacing yourself with the never ending to do list, of one off things? (Rather than the weekly housework tasks)

feed the puppies

Poor puppies. I hope that owner checks her BuJo often!

I sorted my temporary sewing room last night after an argument - I was really cross, but luckily I reminded myself to "channel my inner Monica"
I think angry tidying has it's merits.
Now I just need to pick up a desk from a friend of mine and I can get on with long delayed mending jobs and making stuff. That will be a lot of ticks on my list!

Also I decided my monthly planner is not big enough. I need two full pages instead of one, just for the calendar bit.

Zapp

Sorry you are feeling overwhelmed. [flower]
You are right, some things just need to wait, but it's hard to just be ok with it when you want them done!

That's what a Mega List is for.
All the tasks that don't have to be done today/this week/this month, but sometime in the future, you turn into a separate list. Add to list as you think of new things and cross them off when done.
Simple.
This way you won't feel bad your daily list isn't complete.

Another thing - you know when kids whinge because plans changed?
You know the "but you promised you take us swimming/our friends are coming etc".
I put a stop to it ages ago by repeatedly telling my children "The only thing I promise you is that I will always love you. Everything else is just a plan. And plans change so go with the flow!"

So there. Everything is just a plan, an idea, a wish if you will. So what if you can't do them all? It's no biggie, really. Looking after a friend is way more important, the hoovering can wait!

Wheresthat - I have one basket too, all laundry in at once except for the very odd delicate item. Only ds1 has white shirts and they come out fine, by the time they start to go grey he's outgrown them anyway.

What a wise post Zing

Thanks, Zing - I realise I misunderstood. I thought you has some fancy scheduling setup that sent out reminders by text. Mind you, texting yourself is something that had never occurred to me - I'll definitely use that one.

Zapp, I know the overwhelm feeling - part of the reason I gave up my job. Too much to do and just not enough time to do it all.

I'm still finding that I expect too much of myself - my big lesson from February was seeing the amount of stuff I was writing down for myself to do each day - no wonder I never finished anything! Also, seeing the volume of stuff I was expecting made me a little bit more forgiving of myself for not having done it all.

This month I've been a lot more focused (so far, at least!). I find there are two types of task - those tiny niggling little things that won't take long but you just can't make yourself get round to unless you write them in and threaten yourself with having to copy them out again - I put a handful of these small wins on every day. Then there are the big tasks. I'm trying to break these down into smaller chunks, but also limiting myself to not adding more than one or two of them each day.

Currently on my list for today is to start the Megalist - I've been putting it off because I really don't want to see how much stuff there is to do!

Also 😂😮 at feed the puppies
Though to be honest I wonder if that list was created by someone with a crisp clean notebook and a brand new set of pens who just needed to keep writing stuff?!

Merciful please could you tell me about your shopping list page & if poss a picture? This is an area I am still so rubbish at, food shopping & meal planning, I just can't seem to do it!!

Certainly can, Jemster. Here is a picture of my master list. It's just a list of all the things I habitually buy, separated into 5 categories. It helps me make my weekly shopping list because it stops me forgetting things and it makes it quicker to see at a glance what I need.

I have always meal-planned (well, since I got married I think). I have also started a meal-planning page in my BuJo with a list of the meals I regularly make (again, to make planning quicker, so I don't sit there gormlessly wondering what to eat this week) but I haven't got around to finishing that yet.

I'm also adding to my meal-planning page a list of other new meals/recipes I'm wanting to try out. I'm going to put a tick or a cross next to them when I make them, depending on whether they are any good!

I couldn't function without meal planning. I would waste food and money, I am sure.

Oops! Forgot to attach picture!

My bujo has evolved again...

I now have three monthly calendars on a double page spread with a habit tracker for Feb and March each (I am experimenting with April having the habit tracker reduced to the key four marked on the day itself) with whole and half days blocked out and specific appointments tagged and listed. Future planner mops up anything past that until I get to plan the next three.

Will photo shortly

I just can't get a picture of how you're all doing this from your posts. Kew, we need to have a coffee so you can show me yours...

I have just started my second BuJo - I knew the first one would be a kind of practice run, and though I'm happy for it to evolve and look a bit messy it was annoying that I ran out of index space so quickly. Mind, I did fill 60 pages in less than a month!

So I've started a new one (orange Leuchtturm, since you asked). I don't have a master list but I do have a list of household/DIY tasks (not housework, but painting and decorating etc). Every month I have a monthly log page facing a monthly task page. The discipline for me is to use the monthly task page as a master list, and not write everything onto every daily log - I was doing that (taking a whole page per day) and of course it is depressing when you routinely only cross off 3 tasks out of a list of 30.

I do keep it with me and use it constantly. I was already a list person but the index is just genius. Other pages I have include birthdays, a list of friends I never normally see (planning to ring one each week), local tradespeople, Christmas, parenting notes and books read. I also have pages for each of my main work projects, just noting down the main targets, timescales and contacts so I have them with me at all times. There's no washi tape or coloured pens but it is highly functional

Mine has slightly evolved too. Because I'm now including a weekly housework list, I want a week per double page view each time (before, I was just going day to day, taking up however much space it needed). I quite like being able to have my page set up in advance for the whole week, in spite of having religiously followed the 'don't set days up until the night before ' advice!

Here's my blank page for this coming week. The weird sticking out bit of the tick columns at the bottom is for tasks where I want to do a tally of how many times in the week I've done it.

Dammit! Forgot to attach photo AGAIN!!!

Thank you for the master shopping list Merciful I like that idea.
Do you actually do your weekly meal plan in the BuJo too? Do you have a set day/time when you do your shop. I've tried so many ways and never keep it up. What adds to the frustration is that my dc are fussy and don't like the same things so I feel as though I have to make variations at each meal.

When I was their age my mum cooked us our tea every night & we sat and ate it, no arguments! I find it so hard to think of healthy meals that everyone will eat. I really need to find an easier way.

Any other ideas or examples on meal planning & how to do this in the BuJo would be gratefull received!

I looked away and guess and this happened
Photos of victim and the perpetrator, who is giving no fucks whatsoever

I've been meaning to put in a meal plan ideas page. I really must do that. I have a bit of a method with meal planning now. I pick a meat for the week, so get a whole chicken, or pork joint. I then slow cook that at the start of the week to have with veg on monday and it then forms the basis of at least a couple more meals throughout the week. Usually have a stirfry and a pasta dish. Sausages friday or saturday (as dh loves them) and then saturday and sunday depend a lot on what we have planned for the weekend and whether I have time for more interesting cooking. I have a meal plan at the moment for the whole of march with a different meat each week. It's on a bit of paper on the fridge though, not in my BuJo so I probably lose points there

I do only do simple variations, and won't cook different things for different people. This can be tricky as I am suffering with bad IBS and am on a crazy low FODMAP diet and DH is rather fussy. DD isn't too bad but does have her moments. Sometimes I just except that she might not eat it and that's just life. Like you, my parents had an eat it or go hungry policy with meals.

I am moving more and more stuff into the BuJo now. I have now started using it for daily tasks and just put things I need to remember when out onto my phone for convenience. I have also started writing my journal in it. I was using an app for that, but I am enjoying actually writing it in a book (even if my handwriting is illegible at times).

My work journal is also making me so happy. I feel so much more organised. When everything gets on top of me I just review my tasks and check my projects and I feel so much better :)

OMG Zing your LT has been desecrated!!

Grey

I was tempted to buy a replacement straightaway, but now I have calmed down and decided to leave it as it is.
It will be a constant reminder of how I should really learn not to overreact and that having a few messed up pages in my BuJo is a bona fide first world problem & that I'm so so lucky that's the worst thing that happened today!

Zing that's a lovely way of looking at it & something I need to do more of. I often get myself stressed by things my dc's do which really are so insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Sometimes I think I just need to stop & be grateful that I have them & really how lovely they are (most of the time 😊).

Jemster

That is just the thing. I wasn't paying attention to what MiniZing was doing because I was busy learning about beautiful baby Rumer on the newest Woolly Hug thread. Utterly heartbreaking loss of a 3 m old. So so sad.
(Do make your way there if you can knit, crochet or happy to donate, thank you).

Tea
he's a a heartthrob, I tell ya. Too gorgeous, and he knew he did something wrong because he came to me with a very concerned looked, then hugged me and patted my back! Cheeky monkey.