c/bullet-journaling

My cousin swore by a single pen for everything, but my weekly log looks like a muddy mess...

She said a 0.5mm black gel pen was all I'd ever need, but after a month my habit tracker is just a gray blob. Anyone have a good system for using different pen weights without it getting cluttered?

Found out my 'yearly review' spread takes up 14 pages

I was flipping through my old journal and counted them all. That's a lot of ink for a single afternoon of thinking. Does anyone else make spreads that get way bigger than you planned?

My bullet journal hit 500 pages and it made me think about digital vs paper

I was setting up my March spread and realized my Leuchtturm1917 notebook just passed page 500, which is wild because I started it last July. It made me value the physical record, but now I'm wondering if I should switch to an app like GoodNotes for my next one to save space. Has anyone else hit a big page count and then switched to digital, or did it ruin the feel for you?

Spent $45 on a fancy stencil set to make my weekly spreads perfect, and my cat immediately used it as a chew toy.

I was reading an old blog post from Ryder Carroll and he said the original bullet journal only had four collections

I mean, I've been adding trackers and weekly spreads and mood charts for ages, thinking that was the whole point. Finding out the guy who made it basically just used an index, a future log, a monthly log, and a daily log kind of blew my mind. It was on his personal site from like 2013. Has anyone else tried going back to just the core four and did it actually work better?

A friend said my habit tracker looked like a sad little graveyard

She pointed out that my monthly tracker was just a grid of empty boxes (I had 31 days with maybe 3 things filled in). She said, 'It's not a failure log, it's a tool to see patterns.' So I changed it. Now I track just two key habits, and I use a tiny dot for 'did it' and a slash for 'partial effort.' Seeing the page fill with marks, even slashes, feels way better. Has anyone else simplified their trackers after getting stuck?

Struggled choosing between a dot grid or lined notebook for my new journal

I was setting up my 2024 planner and got stuck deciding between a Leuchtturm dot grid or a classic Moleskine with lines. I went with the dots after a friend in Chicago said it's easier for drawing custom weekly spreads. It's been a game changer for my habit tracker layout. What notebook style do you all prefer for your setups?

I just figured out my bullet journal habit was making me avoid it

I was setting up my weekly spread every Sunday night and it took me over an hour. I saw a post here from someone who said they only spend 15 minutes because they use a basic template. That was my lightbulb moment. I was so focused on making it perfect with drawings and colors that the work kept me from actually writing in it. For three months, my journal was more art project than planning tool. Now I keep it simple and actually use it every day. Has anyone else had to stop overcomplicating their spreads to make the system work?

Showerthought: I see a lot of people messing up their monthly logs

I kept seeing these beautiful, packed monthly logs online, but mine always felt useless. Then I realized I was copying the wrong part. I was putting all my tasks on the monthly page, which just made a messy list I never looked at. The real point is to use it for appointments and big dates only, not daily chores. How do you guys keep your monthly log from getting cluttered?

Remember when everyone said you needed a $50 brush pen set to start? I bought one in 2019 and used it maybe twice.

I was brand new and thought fancy tools were the key. I spent that money on a set of Tombow brush pens, convinced my spreads would be perfect. Turns out, I hate brush lettering. The pressure control makes my hand cramp, and my attempts looked like a toddler's art project. They've been sitting in a drawer for years. I wish I'd just bought a single $3 pen to try the style first before committing. What's the most expensive bullet journal purchase you regret?

My sister said she keeps a 'done list' instead of a to-do list in her journal

I was at her place last weekend and saw her bullet journal open on the table. She told me she stopped writing tasks for the day and just logs what she actually finishes. She said, "It stops me from feeling bad about what I didn't do." I tried it for three days and it's way less stressful. I just write down small wins like 'paid the electric bill' or 'walked the dog.' Has anyone else tried something like this?

I finally looked up how much time the average bullet journal setup takes

I read a survey on a planning blog that said people spend about 3 hours a month just setting up their weekly and monthly spreads, which is way more than I ever spend.

My aunt told me to use a fountain pen for my bullet journal and it went about as well as you'd think

She said it would make my writing 'elegant,' but I just ended up with a huge ink blot that ruined my whole weekly spread. Now my Monday looks like a sad Rorschach test. What's the worst piece of stationery advice you've ever gotten?

Changed my mind about needing a perfect bullet journal

I was at a coffee shop in Denver last week, working on my monthly spread and getting really upset because my lines were a bit wobbly. This woman at the next table leaned over and said, 'You know, the only person who will ever notice that is you.' She showed me her own journal, which had a whole page with a big coffee stain on it from six months ago. She just wrote 'oops' next to it and kept going. That one thing she said really stuck with me... I was so caught up in making it look good for some imaginary judge. Now I just focus on if it works for me. Has anyone else had a moment that made them stop stressing over the small stuff in their bujo?

I thought the whole 'track your mood with a color code' thing was silly until I saw a full year of my own blues and yellows laid out.

After six months of using a simple green for good, yellow for okay, and blue for low days in my weekly spread, I finally flipped back and the pattern of blues every time I had a big job estimate due was impossible to ignore, so has anyone else had a tracker reveal something that obvious?

My neighbor called my bullet journal a 'glorified to-do list' over the fence yesterday.

He said it looked like a lot of work for something a phone could do, but for me, the act of writing down 'call about the water heater' in my Leuchtturm1917 is what actually makes me do it, so has anyone else had to defend the physical process to someone who just doesn't get it?

Appreciation post: My pen collection is bigger than I thought

I was cleaning out my desk drawer yesterday and decided to count every pen I own that I use for my bullet journal. I found 37 of them, which really surprised me. I keep them in a little tin from a craft store in town. Has anyone else done a pen count and been shocked by the number?

So I just learned bullet journaling started as a system for a guy with ADHD

I was watching a video from the creator, Ryder Carroll, and he mentioned he developed the whole thing to manage his own ADHD. It blew my mind that this whole massive community grew from a personal coping strategy! I always figured it was just an artistic planner trend. Has anyone else found it helps with focus beyond just keeping a schedule?

My entire weekly spread bled through the page after I switched to a new fountain pen ink, a 'permanent' black one called Platinum Carbon Black.

I had to carefully cut out the ruined pages and glue in new ones, which took me over an hour last Sunday, so what's a truly bulletproof ink that won't wreck my Leuchtturm notebook?

Shoutout to my messy weekly spread for showing me the light

I was copying a fancy layout from Instagram for months, feeling behind every Sunday. Then my kid pointed at my book and said, 'Your boxes look sad, mom.' That one comment made me see I was forcing a system that didn't fit my brain at all. Anyone else ditch a 'perfect' setup for something that actually works for them?

My habit tracker hit 365 days straight and I didn't even notice until yesterday

I have a simple two-line tracker in my weekly spread for drinking enough water and doing a quick 10 minute tidy up. I just mark a tiny dot for each day I do them. I was setting up my new journal for next month and flipped back through the old one to copy some yearly info. That's when I saw it. Every single day for a full year had two dots. I actually had to count them twice because I was sure I'd missed a sick day or a busy weekend. It mattered because those two small habits have made a huge difference in how I feel, but in my head I still thought of myself as someone who was bad at keeping routines. The physical proof right there in dots of Pilot G2 ink was a real shock. Has anyone else had a tracker show them something they didn't expect about themselves?

Showerthought: I bought a $40 calligraphy pen for my bullet journal headers.

My handwriting looked the same as with a $3 gel pen, just with more smudges. Anyone have a good pen that actually makes a difference without the fuss?

Hot take: I started using a cheap highlighter as a page marker and it's a game changer.

I kept losing my place in my weekly spread, so I just colored the edge of the current page with a neon yellow highlighter. Now I can flip right to it, and it looks kinda cool, lol. Anyone else have a weird but effective bujo hack?

Saw a guy at the library with the most beat up notebook

I was at the Seattle Public Library yesterday, just looking for a quiet spot. This guy at the table next to me had this notebook that was falling apart, covered in sticky notes and washi tape. He was flipping through it, and every page was packed with different colored notes and symbols. It wasn't pretty, but you could tell he used it for everything. It made me think my own journal is too neat and I don't really use it. Do you guys ever feel like your bujo is too perfect to actually mess up?

Appreciation post: My 2018 bullet journal has a coffee stain that took a year to fade

I spilled a whole latte on it at a cafe in Portland and the pages stayed warped and sticky for months, no matter what I tried. Has anyone else had a journal mess that just refused to be fixed quickly?