My book is full and it’s time to start a new one, with a blank page. That’s always exciting. Buying a new one is not something I take lightly -it is my personal companion for about half a year- even though some basics always stay the same, (I use a dotted Leuchtturm1917) ; the colour always changes. Taking the plastic off, breaking it, and starting anew. For the first time I didn’t get an ordinary Leuchtturm 1917, but an ‘original’ Bullet Journal. When I opened it, the first thing I read was this ; and all I could do was write you about it.
TIME
Time can’t be made
it can only be taken.
It can be taken from us
or it can be taken by us.The Bullet Journal Method
is about taking time.
It’s about taking time to
breathe, think, process,
prioritize, focus, plan,
dream, explore, question,
vent, soothe, ground,
organize, track, invent,
play, grieve, rejoice,
love, reflect, and grow.Most of all it’s about
Ryder Carroll
taking your time to learn :
to learn who you are,
to learn who you want to be,
to learn what you want,
to learn why,
to learn how,
one page at a time
The bullet journal method, bujo in short, is many things. It is different things to different people. For me, for example, it started as a productivity system. I am -or should I say I was?- an extreme chaotic person. Even if I didn’t seem chaotic to you, chaos always ruled my head. It started off as an organized to do system, a pure productivity tool. And it slowly grew. Let me explain you how.
First of all, it is a blank notebook in which you write by hand. This is an important part : the handwriting.
DENKEN MIT DER HAND
Aus Gedanken werden Worte, Sätze, Bilder. Erinnerungen werden zu Geschichten. Ideen verwandeln sich in Projekte. Aus Notizen entsteht Durchblick. Wir schreiben und verstehen, vertiefen, sehen, denken – mit der Hand.
*THINK WITH YOUR HAND Writing by hand is thinking on paper. Thoughts grow into words, sentences and pictures. Memories become stories. Ideas are transformed into projects. Notes inspire insight. We write and understand, learn, see and think – with the hand.
Leuchtturm1917
I have always been a fountain pen lover, here I also use a ruler, colors and stickers. That’s not necessary, that’s just me, I am an artist after all! It is an analog reflexion of the digital world. It is where I don’t just write my to do’s, but also my goals, where my projects get shape and grow until they are finished. It is where I track my habits (especially the ones I want to change), list up my favorite movies and books, write down the quotes that speak to me.
But that’s not it. It’s a lot more.
The second goal of this method is to find out what matters to you, so your productivity doesn’t just do that : make sure you are productive for the sake of being productive. The second part is called mindfulness (what’s in a word) : you find out the why you are productive. You become more aware of your goals, where you want to get, who you want to become and work towards it.
How do you do that? First of all you start studying your life. That sounds like a hard thing to do. Where to start on that? If you only rely on memories, that is a hard thing. Memories fade, and they get colored over time, and what and how you remember things depends on your current state of mind too.
That is when the Bujo method comes in.
First of all there is what we call ‘the monthly log”. That is where you write in 1 word or one phrase what you do/did that day. No use to get into detail, just write down the main important to you ; you only have 1 line in your notebook to fill.
Secondly, in your daily log, at the end of every day, in one or 2 sentences, you describe what struck you, right under your to do and appointment list. It can be both good and bad.
At the end of the week, in your weekly log, you reread all those sentences (let’s say 7X2, that’s not a lot of work) and reflect on that. What was good, what was bad, what needs to be changed in order to get closer to your goal, what do you have to work on, what made you feel alive, what made you feel low, etc. . and on the next page you write your to do’s for the next week, keeping in mind your reflexions on the last week. And at the end of the month you do the same : you reflect on the weekly reflexions and make a list of monthly todo’s and goals.
It seems like time consuming, right?
In a way it is : it does take some of your time. It is a moment that you are not on your phone or behind the tv, or hustling and bustling through your house. It is a moment you sit still and take time for yourself. Or, as Ryder Carroll (the inventor of the system) beautifully describes it :
It’s about taking time to
Ryder Carroll
breathe, think, process,
prioritize, focus, plan,
dream, explore, question,
vent, soothe, ground,
organize, track, invent,
play, grieve, rejoice,
love, reflect, and grow.
Isn’t that what we all need or crave for? Or is it just me? 😉
Let me know in the comments below!
This is just a simple fraction of what the Bujo method is. If you want to find out more on the Bullet Journal method, check this out. There is a book, and a course, but there are also lots of free videos to watch and get familiar with the system. It is a lot easier then it might seem at first sight!
Photo by Yannick Pulver on Unsplash
The Feel Good Way 
2 responses to “The Method”
One of reasons I use paper for bujo is the fact that our virtual data is collected unofficially under many ways. You know, nowadays data privacy is no longer what it supposed to be. Especially since I work in technology field, I see it “closer” than ever. So I write on paper to keep my thought, my plan away from those super smart data-collectors, from being “sneaked” or “leaked” some ways some how. I feel safer this way.
Plus, writing by hand on paper gives me a sense of creating sth by myself. Proud of it though it could be clumpsy sometimes :))
I totally agree with you! Glad you also enjoy writing and bujoing!
Thanks for commenting!