It’s January. The month of striking new rhythms, capitalising on the burst of inspiration that spikes as the year ticks over to a blank and fresh slate.
I’m doing a Year of Discovery. Focusing in on ways of doing life better, figuring out what works and what really doesn’t and setting myself up for an experience of continual exploration. The verb for January is ‘organising’.
Everyone has methods for arranging their lives. Some prefer to play it more loosely – finding the bounds of an intricate system too confining. For me, bullet journalling has been a really helpful system.
If you are new to the bullet journalling world (or ‘BuJo’ as those who are really deep into it refer to the system!) you can check out this short video to understand more. At the core of it, bullet journalling is basically a notebook that you use to catalogue, plan and organise your life. It can be artistic and creative or minimalist, jumbled and cryptic or sleek. It is a system that you can tailor around your own personality and needs in order to make it work best for you.
I first began using the system in March last year. (There are a number of guides available, such as this comprehensive one: My Complete {Illustrated} Guide to Bullet Journalling, if you are interested). After a bit of tinkering, I have found my ‘style’ and find it to be a helpful way to set up the day (I write down tasks, outings, intentions and then reflections every evening), keep track of what can often be a muddle of scrolling items in my head by categorising them into monthly to-do lists or planning pages, write lessons learned from books or blogs that I am reading and have a place to jot down poetry when inspiration strikes.
I love that there are a myriad of ways to customise the system to make it fit your particular needs and lifestyle. You can find endless inspiration from Instagram and Pinterest boards, or just focus in on making it your own flavour and style.
Here are a few examples from my own journal to show you the way that I do it:
An excerpt from a usual day – tasks, reflections and intentions.
A planning page to figure out what themes I would focus on for the Year of Discovery.
A page from my Gratitude Journal.
Monthly lay-out for January.
Do you have a system you use to organise your life? I would love to hear about it! Or are you a Bullet Journal fan already? What tips and tricks have you found that help you?
