Bullet journaling is becoming increasingly popular and is definitely something you should try in the New Year. A bullet journal is absolutely ideal if you love making lists, enjoy goal-setting, enjoy writing and like to keep a journal of your life. It’s a cross between a to-do list, planner and diary.
In essence, it’s a management system not too dissimilar to shorthand, where you can ‘rapidly log’ your tasks and marking those notes with simple symbols to easily categorise and track them.
The codes for calls to action are as follows:
‘O’ = event
‘X’ = completed
‘<’ = scheduled
‘.’ = to do
‘–‘ = notes, thoughts or smaller events
‘>’ = migrated (i.e. you didn’t complete today but have moved it)
So, here are our tips on how to start your own bullet journal!
What will I need to start a bullet journal?
If you are ready for your bullet journal to be your new best friend make sure you invest in a journal or notebook that you truly love.
TOP TIP!
Bullet journal enthusiast, Chloe Owens, says: “If you’re new to bullet journaling my tip would be to use squared or dotted paper rather than plain, as filling a huge blank page with some kind of diary or organisational chart can be very daunting.”
“Having boxes to structure it around and helps make it easier to get started.”
Start with an index that works for you, then plan the next year ahead, starting with key dates like birthdays and other planned events. Don’t overthink it, just enjoy it!
Best pens for bullet journals
If you want to make a truly creative bullet journal the key is colour. After all, if you are bullet journaling to try and motivate yourself, black and white ink really isn’t going to cut it!
uni-ball’s Signo pens are perfect for adding a splash of colour to your bullet journal. To take a sneaky peek at uni-ball’s Signo range – click here.
Chloe told us that is important that bullet journals are kept neat. Therefore if you are just starting out you might want to get one of uni-ball’s Kuru Toga mechanical pencils.
The mechanical pencils come in sleek designs, are extra precise, and come with an all-important built-in eraser. Meaning you can rectify any mistakes with your bullet journal before you start colouring it in.
Fun creative bullet journal ideas
If you are looking for creative bullet journal ideas, Chloe suggests taking a look at people sharing photos of their bullet journals on Pinterest and Instagram.
She told us: “It will give you some inspiration so you don’t end up stuck in a loop of the same designs.”
If you are a bullet journaling enthusiast, share photos of your colourful bullet journal underneath this blog post on our Facebook Page or let us know who you follow for creative bullet journal ideas!
