Navigating the world of bullet journalling can be a tricky task. There are so many pages on the web with information about how to start bulling journalling and what layouts to use, plus a myriad of videos out there to delve into. I’m here to tell you the 5 things I wish I’d known before starting a bullet journal, and a lot of them link to one key point: just go for it!
It should be simple
Having seen so many elaborate page layouts and colour coding displays before I started my bullet journal, I kinda figured everyone had ditched simplicity in favour of creativity. To an extent I still think this, but I am increasingly finding that simple layouts are working better in my favour and my OTT creative layouts are few and far between.
It’s not all about the dotted Leuchtturm
I was gutted when my Leuchtturm 1917 turned up with squared pages rather than dotted, but now I love it! I’ve also seen so many people just using regular lined notebooks for their bullet journals and I almost wish I’d just used one of many spare notebooks instead (almost, not quite). You can start a bullet journal in whatever kind of notebook you wish, so don’t feel like you have to fork out £13 before you’ve even started. All you really need is a notebook and a pen.
It will never look as good as you hoped
Sorry to be a negative Nelly but unless you’ve got a keen eye for design and a steady hand, it won’t look like the journals you see on Pinterest. That said, I think the important thing to note is that it doesn’t matter. Bullet Journalling is likely to take different forms for everyone and it shouldn’t be a competition to see who has the prettiest one. They’re for organisation after all!
There’s no harm in testing layouts/’ruining’ pages
Everyone seems to want to present the perfect bullet journal. I get that, and I suppose I’m a little guilty of it, but part of the fun of creating layouts yourself is messing up a little. This links with the above point, in that it’s never going to be perfect. Having a practice page or starting afresh with a layout isn’t the end of the world, and whilst it might seem like a waste of a page, it’s all a part of the process. You aren’t the only person that’s done it!
Not every ‘must-have’ page is worth having
I’ve seen so many bullet journal layouts on Pinterest and across the blogosphere, and trying to narrow it down to ones I actually wanted was initially quite tricky as everyone’s must-have pages are different. Now I’ve had my bujo for a few months, I’ve discovered which pages I actually use and which are less important. My full-page habit tracker has disappeared; last month I incorporated it into my monthly log, this month I’m doing it slightly differently. I wish I’d done a bit of planning before I started to work out what I would actually find useful!
So there you have it. Is there anything you wish you’d known before starting bullet journalling? Or are you still waiting to take the plunge?
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