Bullet journalling is a fancy name for using a pen and notebook to organise your diary, to-do list and personal affairs.
It swaps touchscreens for pens and paper and, as a result, is another example of an old tradition that’s making something of a comeback.
If you’re yet to be convinced, here’s ten reasons bullet journalling could make you more productive than you’ve ever been before:
1. It’s totally customisable
Because you only need a pen and notebook to create and maintain a bullet journal, the world is your oyster when it comes to the way it looks and operates.
You literally work with a blank canvas, and can therefore create to-do lists and notes with which you want to engage.
2. It’s very easy to set up and maintain
One of the downsides of managing your workload in the digital realm is that you spend forever setting up and configuring the apps that are supposed to help you.
By comparison, bullet journalling is about as simple as it gets when it comes to set up and maintenance. All you need is a pen and paper.
3. You can easily keep track of your habits
People often use bullet journaling as a way to record their thoughts and activities each day.
Because it’s so simple to pick up and do this, you’re more likely to do it, and from your notes you’ll be able to find what did and didn’t work in your quest to be more productive.
4. You’re in control
To-do list apps can crash or become unsupported by the vendor.
Your to-do list can’t. It’s yours, and you have ultimate control over it.
5. It can be therapeutic
Although it’s hard to quantify, bullet journalling is uniquely therapeutic.
The more you get into it, the more hooked you become, and the process of opening your notebook to help you get on with your day has an addictive, calming quality to it.
6. You can have as many list types as you want
To-do list apps are always restricted in some way.
With bullet journalling, you can design lists of your choosing and have as many different types as you need. This is fantastic for productivity, because it means you’re never hampered by software restrictions.
7. Everything is instantly accessible
Your to-do list, diary and brain dumps are always available when in bullet journal form.
All you have to do is open the journal, find the page you require and – hey presto – there it is! No waiting for your laptop to start or software to update!
8. It inspires you
Because you create, design and maintain your bullet journal personally, it can inspire you to be more productive.
For instance, you’ll have designed the way you mark tasks as complete, and if you notice there’s one lying dormant, you’ll feel compelled to make sure that box is ticked off properly.
9. It makes keeping thoughts super easy
A big part of being productive is being able to record the thoughts that whiz through your mind every day. Forget them, and you risk derailing everything.
With a bullet journal, your lists are always by your side ( as long as you have your journal with you) , and adding to them is about as easy as it comes.
10. You can easily track long-term goals
Because bullet journaling relies on simplicity, you can easily track your long-term goals.
A single page in your notebook listing the big things you want to achieve by date will be a page to which you return regularly whenever you want to add a new goal or remind yourself of what you need to be working towards.
Wrapping up
Bullet journalling is uniquely addictive and enables us to be ultimately free and creative with the way we organise our lives.
We hope this post has inspired you to step back in time and give pen and paper another go!