Found an old journal from 2016 and wow my spreads were wild

I was cleaning out my closet last weekend and stumbled across my first bullet journal from back in 2016. The layouts were so complicated with washi tape borders and color coded trackers for everything from water intake to how many times I checked social media. Now I just use a simple daily log and maybe a monthly habit list on one page. Did any of you start out super extra and then simplify over the years?

2 comments

2 Comments

park.wyatt1mo ago

Oh, you had the washi tape borders too? I remember spending an entire Sunday afternoon just making sure my habit tracker looked like a beautiful rainbow grid. I went through a phase where I was tracking things like "minutes of mindfulness" and "number of smiles" which is pretty silly looking back. After a couple years I realized I was spending more time making the journal look pretty than actually using it to stay organized. Now my weekly spread is basically a pen and a ruler on a blank page, and I get more done with less fuss.

avery_foster311mo ago

Oh man, the "minutes of mindfulness" tracking hits way too close to home. I finally gave up on color coding everything and now my system is basically a pocket notebook with a messy to do list and it's SO much less stressful.