3 Myths about Bullet Journals

While researching planners, I discovered bullet journals. At first, I wasn’t impressed since it’s a lot of on-the-spot creating, and time-consuming layout creation. I was looking for something to simplify my life, not complicate it more! But the more I looked at it, the more I researched it, the more I fell in love with it. There’s a ton of info on the web regarding Bullet Journals, so I’ll not try to reinvent the wheel. But I do want to highlight a few myths about bullet journals.

1. You Have to Be Artistic.

This was a big hangup for me. I’ve always said that I can’t make a stick figure look like a stick figure, my drawing is that bad. When you look at all the lovely layouts on Pinterest and Instagram, there are lots of little art projects decorating the pages. Can you have a bullet journal without that? Of course! Even the examples shared by the creator of Bullet Journaling do not show any drawings… that’s been picked up by the users and has taken on a life of its own. Anyway. There are lots of stickers, stamps, washi tape, etc. that you can use to add color and life to your journal, should you wish. Check out this post by slapdashmom.com: How to Create a Bullet Journal When You Aren’t Artistic. The keys are to record your thoughts and tasks in whatever way works best for you. Art or no art.
You don't have to be artistic to use a #BuJo! Click To Tweet

2. You Have to Have Complicated Layouts.

One of my goals with my planner was to make it simple and user-friendly… for me. That meant not a lot of bells and whistles, pages I’d never use, complicated time blocking sheets, etc. As the bullet journal is completely user-generated, it can be whatever you want! My current journal, using a small, lined journal, doesn’t have any weekly layouts. Just monthly and daily at the moment. It would be difficult to create a full layout in this book. In the future, I’ll likely skip the daily log and do a weekly layout instead. I like some of the collection layouts I’ve seen online, but some of them are super complex. Keep it simple and you’ll use it! Check out Ryder Carroll’s website for the basics (he’s the guy who invented the bullet journal).

3. You Have to Buy a Special Journal.

Granted, the dotted journals seem to have more flexibility and that would be helpful in this endeavor. But mine is working fine at the basic level using the lines. Any journal that you will USE is the best option for you. Lay-flat binding is pretty important, and thicker paper so ink won’t bleed through is helpful. But you can use any journal you have around the house or can pick up at the store fairly inexpensive. Of course, the dotted journals aren’t that pricey on Amazon, but if you want to get started right away, you can!

For inspiration and information, here’s my Pinterest Board for Bullet Journaling. I try to keep adding new articles and layouts as I spot them, to have everything in one place.

If you’ve read what I’m using for a planner, then you’ll see that I’d already started down the #BuJo journey. I’ve just pre-printed my monthly/weekly layouts! I created some dot-grid sheets that can be inserted in the binder (I put them between the weekend sheet and the SCOPe sheet) for other collections, or (gasp) drawings, etc. Get your free dot-grid insert now!

Have you started a Bullet Journal? Share your experience! I’d love to hear how you are using yours. I’m always open to new ideas!

~R