Bullet Journaling Changed my LIFE: And Here's Why

My life seriously changed after starting my own bujo (bullet journal for those hip kids).

I’ve always been a planner girl. I started using and abusing planners since I was in high school to keep track of homework assignments and even daily shenanigans. I always found it super amusing to look through my old planners and see the large notes I would leave for myself such as,

“YOU BETTER GET THIS DONE SO HELP ME.”

Then, after college, came this weird and strange period where I was constantly carrying around a sketchbook, note pad, and planner. Once I was in the working adult world…. where backpacks being brought to work was frowned upon and extremely large purses was not my thing…..

It was time to downsize.

I discovered the bullet journal phenomenon on pinterest, and INSTANTLY became obsessed. I could keep all my ideas, lists, dreams, notes, all in one place? And STILL have it organized and pretty? COUNT ME IN.

It honestly took me a while to get into the flow of creating my bullet journal pages. My first 6 months of pages, starting from November of 2018, WERE NOT PRETTY. IN THE SLIGHTEST.

And while you might be shaking your head to yourself — “lindsay, you make pretty things, why wouldn’t your journal be pretty too?”— There was a solid reason for that.

I wanted my bujo to act like my old planner. Suddenly setting up all the pages ended up being soooo time consuming because I didn’t know what worked for me yet and experienced so much overwhelm from seeing so many other talented artists create their bujo spreads. But once I figured out what spoke to ME as an artist and virgo-list making freak, things started falling into place.

So here’s my main reasons for why bullet journalling has changed my life:

ONE PLACE

I can doodle, plan, make notes, and sketch all in the same place. Since I work mostly on my iPad now for illustration, its really nice to print out my work and have a cute place to display it that isn’t on my wall. I even tape new pages in if there’s a list or something I want to add to a particular week but have planned out some other pages already. It’s your journal! You get to arrange, tear, make a mess however you want! BUT, it’s all in the same place. <3

TRACKERS FOR MENTAL AND PHYSICAL GROWTH

Tracking pages are GREAT. I have a work out / fitness tracker for the whole year as well as MOOD and HABIT trackers for each month! That way I can see and improve on certain things in my life that I would love to focus on. For example: playing with my pets, how often I meet my water drinking goal, how many times a month I got to dance with my flow toys, no spend days, didn’t have an evening cocktail, are all things I track with my habit tracker.

BOOSTED CREATIVITY

When I made the promise to myself that I would take a little more time to beautify my journal (with the help of Jenny Journals. inspiration) I felt like I got to PLAY a little more with my hands. Since delving more into digital illustration and mostly working graphic design jobs, I spend a lot of time in front of the computer. I used to doodle anything and everything in high school and college in my sketch book. I just don’t DO that anymore. Working with my physical pencils and pens again is just super refreshing for me and makes me play and experiment again in ways that the working world doesn’t.

EASY ORGANIZATION AND PLANNING

Because you can make pages for whatever you want, it’s SO easy to plan that next big project, focus on a new daily practice or hobby or keep track of daily tasks because you are not confined to the existing set up of a traditional planner. You can take out and move a page if that works better for you. You can set up 4 weeks in a row of weekly schedules if that suits you. You can also put mental health / check in pages wherever you want instead of waiting until the end of the month. Just don’t be afraid to tear out and glue / use sticky notes and generally make a mess if need be. Worst case scenario, your page doesn't make sense to you or feel right? Tape in a new page (or over a page) and redo it. There’s no way for you to ruin your bujo.

SO WHAT SUPPLIES DO I NEED TO START?

You honestly don’t need a lot! You can use any journal, notebook or sketchbook that you have lying around. You honestly don’t need anything more than a ball point pen to get rolling, and maybe a ruler if you want to make sure your lines and boxes are super straight.

But here are some of my favorite materials that I own that made beatifying my journal, way more fun.

There are no affiliate links. These are just my favorite products because they are freaking great. I am in no way receiving compensation for advising these products to you! So you know it’s from the heart.

Leuchtturn 1917 Journal with grid dot pages : Dotted pages make it SO easy to create grids and draw straight lines, without the scare of the totally blank page. And honestly, regular lined pages just annoy the heck out of me. The dotted grid is subtle and so functional. But you can honestly use any dotted journal that you find. I personally like the paper quality of this one, but that’s just cause I’m a slight snob for art supplies. (Whodda thunk?)

Tombow Brush Pens - The pastels have been my favorite since you can write over them and clearly see your writing. Sometimes a super light wash of color is all you need to make a page stunning. But get whatever colors call to you! That’s what makes this process so fun.

Ganissa Gel Pens: These are the longest lasting, cleanest, thinnest pens I have ever come across and make writing tiny notes / making grids a total breeze. I’ve had the same set of pens for 4 years now, have not lost one, and none of them have run out of ink yet. AND THEY LOOK LIKE ADORABLE KITTIES. Also, they are pretty dang cheap. TOTAL WIN WIN.

WASHI TAPE: I sort of had to save the best for last. First of all, there are SO MANY different types of washi tape, it will feel overwhelming at first when you look for some. Amazon and etsy have so many options, as well as your local craft store. Since at the time of writing this blog, we are in QUARANTINE because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I would HIGHLY suggest ordering washi tape from a small business on Etsy. I know everyone is hurting right now, and a little thought as to where your online ordering is coming from can make someone else’s day. SINCE there are so many types of washi tape, and I’m a frugal lady who didn’t want to instantly dive into buying a ton of things, I only used 1 WASHI TAPE for a good since months, and it was a simple rose gold roll. I now have a total of 4 that I love to use. And that’s where i’ll be staying for the time being until some financial things aren’t an issue anymore. LOLOL (thanks covid-19)

Some totally not necessary products but are SO MUCH FUN:

STAMPS. : yes. like ink stamps. I have these cute typewriter alphabet stamps that I use with rose gold and black ink, and they certainly add a fun vintage and artsy touch to my pages. I LOVE them.

STICKERS / Index Stickers: I personally have a little hedgehog set from Daiso and they are so stinking cute! They are FANTASTIC to mark places in your journal that you constantly go back to. I use them mostly right now to easily find my daily workout page, since the ribbons of my journal are already perfect for my currently weekly spread and monthly habit tracker. They are mostly just a fun organizational tool!

ALRIGHT.

SO HAVE AT IT KIDS.

Next blog will be about HOW I set up my journal to be the most organized, effective, and streamlined way of bullet journalling that I have personally found.