My favorite part about bullet journals is that I can make up what I want them to be as I go -- but it's also the part that made it hard for me to start. Sometimes I have a hard time making choices, so having lots of choices was a stumbling block.
So I started my first one in the back of an old notebook. That way I could try different organizations and see what worked best for me without worrying about "messing up" a new notebook.
Mine is organized mostly in 2-page spreads. Index pages, and then a couple of pages for things I want to keep track of (in my case: media I want to consume, perfumes I desperately want to try).
Then I have my first month spread. On the left page, I have a list of all the days and any specific appointments or deadlines I need to keep track of. On the right-hand page, I have a monthly to-do list. I have a section for bills to pay, a section of HOA responsibilities (I'm the Treasurer), and a section of cleaning tasks I'd like to get done once a month.
I keep a paperclip in the book to the current month's page so I can mark things off the lists as I do them. Also, so that I can turn there easily if I have time + spoons for cleaning but no idea what to do next.
Then I have weekly spreads. (I start my week on Saturday, which is weird, but I want to keep the weekend together and it's easier for me to gear up for the work week when it's on the same page as the weekend. I dunno, but it makes sense to me.)
For the week spreads, I divide each page into 4 sections, then add the days/dates. The 8th section says "Coming Up" and has the list of things coming up the next week that I need to remember.
I fill things in on each of the days. I make little empty boxes next to to-do list items and fill the boxes in when I'm done. I put filled-in dots next to things that just happened or events that don't require me to do anything except go there (so-and-so's birthday, etc.).
The best part for me is that I only have about four lines to write to-do lists on these pages, so I can't overload myself. If I get everything done, I can do tasks from other days, or go back to the month page.
Some people do entire day pages. I started out that way, with the day pages starting after the week spread. Which was great if I had a lot I wanted to write, like a journal entry, but sucked if all I was putting in was to-do lists. Because then I made giant to-do lists, and didn't do them, and felt bad about it. ymmv, of course. Lots of people like them.
I also keep a paperclip to the current week spread, so I can get there fast. (One clip goes around all the pages up to the month spread, the other goes around all the pages from the month spread to the current week)
I don't spend a lot of time making it pretty, but I use it a lot and end up both getting things done and feeling like I'm getting things done. (Being able to see all the filled-in squares is useful for telling jerkbrain to stop lying.)
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2016-08-05 07:16 pm (UTC)My favorite part about bullet journals is that I can make up what I want them to be as I go -- but it's also the part that made it hard for me to start. Sometimes I have a hard time making choices, so having lots of choices was a stumbling block.
So I started my first one in the back of an old notebook. That way I could try different organizations and see what worked best for me without worrying about "messing up" a new notebook.
Mine is organized mostly in 2-page spreads. Index pages, and then a couple of pages for things I want to keep track of (in my case: media I want to consume, perfumes I desperately want to try).
Then I have my first month spread. On the left page, I have a list of all the days and any specific appointments or deadlines I need to keep track of. On the right-hand page, I have a monthly to-do list. I have a section for bills to pay, a section of HOA responsibilities (I'm the Treasurer), and a section of cleaning tasks I'd like to get done once a month.
I keep a paperclip in the book to the current month's page so I can mark things off the lists as I do them. Also, so that I can turn there easily if I have time + spoons for cleaning but no idea what to do next.
Then I have weekly spreads. (I start my week on Saturday, which is weird, but I want to keep the weekend together and it's easier for me to gear up for the work week when it's on the same page as the weekend. I dunno, but it makes sense to me.)
For the week spreads, I divide each page into 4 sections, then add the days/dates. The 8th section says "Coming Up" and has the list of things coming up the next week that I need to remember.
I fill things in on each of the days. I make little empty boxes next to to-do list items and fill the boxes in when I'm done. I put filled-in dots next to things that just happened or events that don't require me to do anything except go there (so-and-so's birthday, etc.).
The best part for me is that I only have about four lines to write to-do lists on these pages, so I can't overload myself. If I get everything done, I can do tasks from other days, or go back to the month page.
Some people do entire day pages. I started out that way, with the day pages starting after the week spread. Which was great if I had a lot I wanted to write, like a journal entry, but sucked if all I was putting in was to-do lists. Because then I made giant to-do lists, and didn't do them, and felt bad about it. ymmv, of course. Lots of people like them.
I also keep a paperclip to the current week spread, so I can get there fast. (One clip goes around all the pages up to the month spread, the other goes around all the pages from the month spread to the current week)
I don't spend a lot of time making it pretty, but I use it a lot and end up both getting things done and feeling like I'm getting things done. (Being able to see all the filled-in squares is useful for telling jerkbrain to stop lying.)