August brings a new year for my bullet journal. I buy a gorgeous new Leuchtturm 1917 dotted notebook and begin planning and organizing using this “analog system for the digital age”.
I’ve gone through lots of different systems over the years. Once upon a time it was a Daytimer. I loved my little binder with its looseleaf pages and used it through many years of teaching. Later, I was given a Palm Pilot which was pretty cool at the time. I started to get into the whole electronic calendaring thing. Fast forward through BlackBerry, First Class, the iPhone and MacBook and now into Outlook 365 for work. Each one is full of interesting features and I used them all diligently for planning, reminders, calendaring, and note taking.
About 8 years ago, I found “Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress Free Productivity” by David Allen. This book is worth reading to help you deal with the whirlwind of our daily lives. Allen advocates a pretty simple system. I remember taking about 5 hours to completely re-organize my filing cabinets, reminders, calendar etc. One of his key concepts is to set aside times to deal with your to-do list, like last thing on Friday before you head home for the weekend. I’ve heard this idea referred to as “power hour” (not the drinking game!) by others where you schedule an hour to deal with the important but mundane tasks that need be done. Another Allen idea is to go through your task list and do anything you can do in two minutes or less – everything else is organized for a future time. This reminds me also of the “one minute rule” where if something can be done in one minute, you just do it – no procrastination. It’s useful for me as I am a procrastinator extraordinaire!
But despite all these great ideas, tools and systems, something was missing. I first heard about the bullet journal from Frances Nicolaides, a teacher in our district. She was experimenting with a bullet journal on Instagram and it looked intriguing. So I dove into the website. Something about this way to get stuff done and know what was going on my life really appealed to me. I love notebooks, pens, coloured pencils, in fact, office supplies of all kinds. (It’s a bit of a weakness, like socks) My digital systems had robbed me of that. The bullet journal gave me permission to go back to them in clear, organized way. Each year, I use the Future Log, the Monthly Log and the Daily Log. I experiment with different headings and different colours. It makes it a bit more fun. The photo to the left is a sample of my daily task list.
I also take many notes during meetings, conferences or key notes using my bullet journal. I can incorporate fun little sketchnotes (another trend creatively exemplified by Beth Woof, a principal in our district as well as Sylvia Duckworth). The photo below shows my attempt to take these kinds of notes, which I really enjoy.
I still use my digital calendar and OneNote, but they’re better integrated into my life and make more sense for me now.
I’ve shared the bullet journal concept with colleagues and some have found it really useful too. If you’re looking for an analog way to get yourself on track, you might consider the bullet journal.
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