{"id":9874,"date":"2016-12-20T14:20:22","date_gmt":"2016-12-20T14:20:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/megaphone.geeb.us\/?p=5988"},"modified":"2016-12-20T14:20:22","modified_gmt":"2016-12-20T14:20:22","slug":"the-bullet-journal-minus-the-hype-is-actually-a-really-good-planner-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ghost.geeb.us\/?p=9874","title":{"rendered":"The Bullet Journal, Minus the Hype, Is Actually a Really Good Planner"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The
\nLook up #bulletjournal on the social media platform of your choice, and you can feast your eyes on a sea of neatly inked notebook pages designed to track everything from daily to-do lists to inspirational quotes. Go ahead, roll your eyes. But bullet journals are an amazing productivity tool, if you can learn to adapt them to your life. No colored pens required.<\/p>\n

What Is a Bullet Journal?<\/h3>\n

\"The
\nA bullet journal is just a notebook that accommodates a huge variety of planning schemes. You can create calendars and to-do lists, and you can also use it as a diary, a brainstorming notepad, and more. If you\u2019ve ever bought a planner, but didn\u2019t love the design of the pre-printed pages, the bullet journal is your opportunity to make a planner that fits the way your brain works.
\nThe video that launched the bullet journal craze<\/a> describes a set of conventions that many, but not all, bullet journalers stick to. You create an index to help you find things, a few pages that help you plan the year, and a two-page spread for important dates and tasks for each month. (Many bullet journalers also do a spread for each week.) Then, you write down each day\u2019s plans and events in the form of bulleted lists\u2014hence the name.
\nhttp:\/\/lifehacker.com\/the-bullet-jou\u2026<\/a>
\nAs described in that video, most of a bullet journal is just a calendar. The beauty of this hand-written calendar, though, is that you create it as you go, so you always have space for everything else you want to write. Future events go on a long term calendar that comes earlier<\/em> in the book than today\u2019s page, so every page from today to the end of the book is blank.<\/p>\n

Why the Bullet Journal Works So Well<\/h3>\n

\"The
\nHere\u2019s how that flexibility pays off. I wrote down my daily list of tasks this morning, and as I was working today, I flipped to the next blank page to brainstorm some ideas for this post. Later in the day, I used the blank page after that to start a checklist for a multi-part project that\u2019s due later this month. Back when I used pre-printed planners, like the PlannerPad<\/a>, I would have had to grab a second notebook, or a spare sheet of paper, to keep track of these things. The bullet journal approach keeps all my thoughts in one place.
\nThe index ties everything together, so you can easily find those notes later. Just leave the first few pages of the notebook blank, and add topics and page numbers for anything you might want to find again. Yes, this may mean hand-numbering the pages, but that\u2019s not a hassle. It only takes a minute to page through the bottom right corner of the notebook and write the odd numbers.
\nAdaptability is another perk to the system: each day doesn\u2019t have to be the same. I plot out my day hour-by-hour if I have a lot of events and appointments that day, but if I just have a few things to get done, I\u2019ll go back to a short bullet list instead.<\/p>\n

Take What Works For You, and Forget the Rest<\/h3>\n