c/bullet-journaling

Showerthought: I heard someone at the coffee shop say bullet journaling is just a fancy planner for people who can't commit

I was waiting for my drink yesterday and overheard two people at the next table. One said, 'It's just a fancy planner for people who can't commit to a layout.' That stuck with me. My take is they miss the whole point. The flexibility is the strength, not a lack of commitment. It lets you change your system as your life changes. What's a time your bujo's ability to change actually helped you solve a problem?

My friend called my bullet journal a 'fancy to-do list' and it stung

We were having coffee last month and I showed her my new monthly spread. She looked at it for a minute and said, 'So it's just a really pretty planner? You spend all this time drawing boxes just to write down 'buy milk'?' I was so annoyed at first, because I put real effort into it. But later, I realized she had a point. I was spending hours on layouts and trackers I never looked at again. I've completely changed my approach since then. Now, I only make a weekly log and a simple habit tracker on one page. If a spread isn't helping me get things done or feel better, I don't make it. Has anyone else had a comment like that that made you strip your bujo back to basics?

I thought using a single pen for my bullet journal was the only way to keep it clean.

After my friend in Austin showed me her system of using a black fineliner for tasks and a blue one for notes, I tried it last week and now my daily log is way easier to scan at a glance, so what other simple color coding tricks do you guys use?

Showerthought: I was at the art supply store in Portland and saw a whole aisle of washi tape.

Tbh it made me wonder if we're focusing more on the decorations than the actual journaling system. Has anyone else felt that pressure to make every spread look perfect?

My weekly spreads looked like a toddler's scribbles for months

I switched to a single pen, a black Pilot G2, and a basic ruler. After three weeks, my pages are clean and I actually use my tasks. Anyone else ditch the fancy supplies to make their journal work?

Rant: I switched from a weekly to a rolling daily log and my productivity tanked

I was struggling to plan my week because my schedule changes every day, so I tried a rolling daily log where I just list the next day's tasks the night before. After three weeks, I feel totally lost on my bigger goals and my notebook is a mess. Has anyone made this switch work, or should I just go back to my old weekly setup?

My journal got soaked at the airport in Chicago

I was rushing to my gate and my water bottle leaked all over my bag. My bullet journal was inside and the pages got totally warped. I spent the flight trying to flatten them out with my laptop and a heavy book. Has anyone found a good way to fix water damage without the pages tearing?

My favorite brush pen gave out right in the middle of my weekly spread

I was working on my Monday header last night when the tip just went flat and wouldn't spring back. It was a Tombow Fudenosuke I've had since 2020. I tried cleaning it with water and pressing it on scrap paper, but it's just done. Had to finish the spread with a regular fineliner, which felt super weird. Anyone know a good brush pen that lasts longer than a few years?

My journal got soaked at the airport in Chicago

Left my bag on the floor near a leaky AC unit. The whole thing was a soggy mess, pages stuck together. Anyone know a good water-resistant notebook brand?

I had to pick between a big monthly spread or a tiny daily one for my work notes.

Went with the daily pages, and it's been way better for keeping track of my meetings. I just use a simple dot grid notebook and give each day its own space. Anyone else find that smaller sections help them focus more?

Had to pick between a $12 brush pen or a regular gel pen for my new weekly spread.

Went with the brush pen, and now my Monday header looks like a kindergartener's art project, so anyone have a good fix for shaky lines?

Warning: I bought a $45 'bullet journal starter kit' that was basically just a box of junk

I saw this fancy looking kit online that promised to have everything I needed to start my first bullet journal. It arrived and the notebook was super thin paper that bleeds with any pen, the 'special' pens were just cheap ballpoints you could get at a dollar store, and the stencils were flimsy plastic that bent right away. The whole thing felt like a total scam, and I was out forty five bucks for stuff I couldn't even use. I ended up going to the craft store and getting a simple dotted notebook and one good pen for less than fifteen dollars total. It was a hard lesson that you don't need a bunch of fancy gear to start, just the basics. What's the worst money you've wasted on journaling supplies that turned out to be useless?

PSA: I used a crayon to fix my pen bleeding problem

My new journal pages kept getting ruined because my favorite gel pen would bleed through. After three ruined spreads, I remembered my kid's old box of Crayola crayons. I rubbed a white crayon over the back of the page where I was going to write, just a light layer. The next day, I wrote on the front and... zero bleed. It sounds totally silly, but it actually worked. Has anyone else found a weird household item that saved their bujo?

Showerthought: I had to decide between a dot grid or lined notebook for my new journal.

Went with dots after my friend in Austin said they're better for drawing boxes, and she was totally right. What's your go-to paper style for layouts?

Hit 500 pages in my daily log and my cat is the main character

I flipped back and realized over half the entries from the past year mention my cat knocking pens off the desk or sleeping on the open spread. Anyone else's journal secretly become a pet biography?

A customer at the bar was flipping through his journal and said 'it's just a list of things I didn't do'

He was showing a friend his weekly log, pointing at all the tasks he'd moved forward. I was wiping down the counter and overheard him. It made me look at my own journal differently, at all the open circles I see as fails. I've started putting a small check next to migrated tasks now, to mark the effort. Does anyone else have a way to feel better about moving things forward?

I read that the original bullet journal method only uses four symbols, which seems so minimal now.

Rant: Just found out how many pens I've actually used up

I was cleaning out my desk drawer and decided to count all my empty bullet journal pens. I found 47 of them! That's from just over two years of daily journaling. I track my mood and tasks every single day, so I guess it makes sense, but seeing that pile was a shock. I had no idea I was burning through supplies that fast. It makes me wonder if I'm pressing too hard or if this is normal for people who write a lot. Has anyone else actually counted their used-up pens from a full journal?

My bullet journal got soaked at the county fair last summer

I was at the Oregon State Fair trying to track my budget for the day when a kid with a giant lemonade spilled the whole thing on my table. My journal was open to my spending log and the pages got all warped and the ink ran. Now I keep a small waterproof notebook in my bag for stuff like that, and I only use my main bujo at home. Anyone else have a good fix for making a journal more travel-proof?

Spotted a cool bullet journal spread idea at the library in Charlotte

Someone had left their journal open to a monthly habit tracker drawn like a city skyline, with each building's height showing their progress. Anyone have other creative ways to visualize a habit tracker?

Appreciation post: My journal saved a project last Tuesday

Had three different clients call with schedule changes at the same time. My weekly spread was a mess of arrows and notes, but I could see the new plan right away. How do you handle a day when everything shifts at once?

I thought using a ruler for spreads was a waste of time, but my messy calendar proved me wrong.

I tried freehanding my monthly layout for three months and it always looked sloppy, especially the boxes. Borrowing my kid's plastic ruler for the April spread made everything clean and actually saved me time setting it up. Anyone else have a simple tool that fixed a journaling problem?

Finally figured out why my weekly spreads felt so cramped

I was setting up my week on Sunday and my pen just ran out of space by Wednesday. I always used the same two-page layout, but I had to start writing sideways to fit everything. My friend saw my book and asked why I didn't just give each day more room. So I tried a new layout with a full page for Monday through Thursday and a shared page for Friday to Sunday. It feels so much better now. Has anyone else had to totally change their layout after it stopped working?

My weekly spreads used to be a total mess until I tried a new layout

For the first six months, my weekly pages were just a bunch of tasks crammed together with no space. Then I saw someone online use a simple two column setup with one side for tasks and the other for notes and events. I tried it for a full month and it was a game changer. Now I can actually see my whole week at a glance without feeling overwhelmed. Has anyone else found a specific layout that finally clicked for them?

I thought the 'future log' was a waste of space until my trip to Chicago got moved up

I always skipped that page at the front of my journal, but when my flight got bumped to next month, I had nowhere to write it down. Now I use a simple two-page spread for the next six months, and it saved me from missing a dentist appointment last week. Does anyone else have a part of their bujo they didn't think they needed but now can't live without?