Updated video here: • How to Bullet Journal bulletjournal.com Facebook: / bulletjournal Twitter: / rydercarroll The notebook featured in this video: goo.gl/0KT6BS
After years of trying to start a bullet journal and getting frustrates when it didn't turned out as cute as everyone else's, finding your video was a godsent. So much easier and simpler, this method - extremely fast and straight to the point - is exactly what I needed. Thank you for that.
Watch Claudia Kai and like how to bullet journal and 5 mistakes I made with bullet journaling. She is very simple and minimalist also reminds that it’s not about looks but the functionality
Thank you! Tips: Keep your Bullet Journal with you and jot things down as they happen. Before you go to bed, spend a couple minutes reviewing the day. Add things that come to mind for either that day or for the day ahead. I find it inspires motivation for the next day. Check out the website (link is in the description) for some more pointers. I hope you find the system useful.
Do you realise what a grat idea you were working on? People have made career our if it, you tube, insta, pinterest and not to forget BuJo manufacturers 😂. You are too humble in your videos and interviews ❤️❤️❤️
The first bullet journals I've seen were these really pretty but complicated ones that scared me off bullet journaling and then I heard about your video! It's much simpler which is a relief I'm trying out bullet journaling now
@liecheepaint One of the things I found out quickly was this: it is very easy to google bullet journal and find all the instagram/facebook/blog accounts where journalers have made these elaborate and beautiful journal pages ... and they leave the raw beginner no idea how to start, create, or maintain the finished product in the pictures. I discovered that was the missing piece of the puzzle: I was looking at the END PRODUCT, the end of the learning process. When I realized this, I no longer felt intimidated. The little voice that said "You could never do this. Your pages will never look this nice. You will never be this organized ..." (you know the voice I mean, right?). Well, it shut the h*ll up! I realized that I COULD do this, that I was free to make it my own way. And that was a very liberating thought, an incredibly wonderful feeling. Ryder Carroll has provided an easy framework, but I get to flesh it out. HOW COOL IS THAT?! Thank you, Mr. Carroll! @liecheepaint -- don't let the pretty pictures intimidate you! Just pick up a pen or pencil and put it to paper. It gets easier the more you do it. ^_^
I love how the originator's system is thorough & not full of embellishment. His video tutorial is under 3 minutes. There are numerous other tutorials that have appeared to share other personal versions of the method. Of the ones with the word Minimalist in the title, the shortest video I found was a little over 9 minutes. Ryder Carroll thank you for your KISS presentation. I dropped my PDA for a PAA some time ago at the daily level. I still track everything electronically, but start each day with a written list. I believe I'll add some bulletjournaling to my written approach. Thanks.
Dude I really love this. I feel like my life has been so unorganized in the past few years, and with procrastination taking over, tracking life feels like an impossible task. This looks so neat - I can keep everything in one journal! I'm getting started now!
I have been looking for this video! Finally I found it. I think your setup it's the best or is in the best ones. I like your site. I'll spread your system into my Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. For all we like productivity and systems.
How the hell did the bullet journal go from a task planning calendar do tracking your moods and habits? Bullet journals now are all about the aesthetic and take up so much time to set up with a ruler and washy tape, when orginally, bullet journals are with one pen and a few simple shapes and are a organized task planner. I like this idea so much more.
well it is a personal thing so if people want to doodle they can. If they want to track their mood, they can. There's no one way to bullet journal so chill
Moods and habits can be an important thing to people friend especially the mentally ill as it helps for therapist appointments (hi, I'm the mentally ill lmao) However, I do those AND the tasks and happenings. And keep em MINIMAL in looks and use. Just what's NEEDED. No deco, I'll use my art books for that
This technique is a gold mine. It's saved my ass time and time again. I track everything more accurately than my colleagues that don't use a bullet journal. A tip: use a cheap notebook (Mead v. Moleskine). That way youre more inclined to use it on the fly..instead of trying to keep it pretty.
@@jamietherelentless2670 Tip: you can use rubber bands to help reinforce and keep the spine together (it’s not perfect but it helps it last longer and keeps it in one piece while you finish using it up)
You got it. Other than the very first month, you always cull the previous month's pages for active to-dos and add them to the next monthly calendar's task page.
Thank you so much for simplifying the bullet journal for a newbie! I was intimidated by all the artistic displays on Pinterest and elsewhere. This video makes sense for this minimalist's heart, but also satisfies the occasional urge to just doodle! Unfortunately, I found your video after attempting to complete a bullet journal set-up. Fortunately, I used a small 3 ring binder and was able to store my elaborate attempts in the cupboard and begin again with fresh pages using the basic video method.
I have constantly failed when attempting to use a diary or planner. I even got a planner for Christmas and can't get used to the system. Then I found this. YAY! I've finally found a system that works! I LOVE the fact that you can keep track of everything in one place. Just wish I realised before I asked for a planner. Anyway thank you!
Honestly, I really needed this. I have been so restless the past few days because I want a reliable planner system but am unable to find one. I kept a bullet journal for 3 years but I had over-complicated it with unnecessary decoration and doodles to the point where it was no longer functional. Now, a year later, I want to get back into bullet journalling as I haven't found a better system for myself yet. This video helped me realize that a bullet journal isn't about how aesthetic it looks, irs about how functional it is. If you can make it look beautiful, great! If not, then just leave it. As long as it helps you stay organized it's good enough.
I leave them where they are (until the migration at the end of the month). It creates a friction to see those unchecked boxes that raises my motivation level OR makes me realize that the task just isn't really worth the effort after all. As always, do what works best for you. Try it both ways.
@exley01 is exactly right. The daily calendars are for all the notes that come to mind AFTER you created the list of tasks on the monthly calendar. View the monthly calendar as a starting off point, it's a way to see what you didn't do from the last month and the large items you would like to get done this month. The rest is for the daily calendars.
I've been doing a basic bullet journal process daily for 5 years. I don't know what my life would be without this simple method. I have a big family with 7 kids, I run the family budget, I run a design agency, and write and release music. My notebook has replaced all of the apps on my phone to where I don't even need a smart phone. It is my calendar, task manager, music playlist, etc. My life would be total chaos without my bullet journal.
I've been bullet journaling for the last year and a half and it's changed the game for me in every aspect of my life--now I have more focus and I'm able to get more done every day, including those "ugly" to-do's that are easy to put off when you're not holding yourself accountable. What's interesting is that I either misunderstood the original set up or I read a different tutorial about how to get started, because I use the month and day functions in a different way. I use the month page(s) to plan rather than to record what happened on those days. And I only write one day of tasks and meetings at a time, migrating tasks that didn't get done to the next day. It's worked really well for me. Thank you for spearheading this movement Ryder!
I'm crying real tears. I tried this a couple of years ago but never found a bullet journal. After buying many regular journals later, I just found the video again and I'm going to the store right now. Thank you for this ♥
For the few items that will happen in future months or don't need to be addressed now, I create a 'future tasks' collection. I add all the tasks there, then add it to my index. Then, on your current month's task page, add the task 'check future task list #(insert page number)'. That way, at the end of every month, you'll be reminded to review your future task collection and see if the month ahead has any items. You can also continue adding to that collection over time so nothing gets lost.
I can totally see this working for myself, I am very art-driven and I love seeing stuff in perfect lines and beautiful handwriting. The only problem is I'm crazy perfectionist, and I don't know if I could concentrate on my actual plans if I draw a crooked line...
Fifi González I have updates! I've been working with mine for the whole month of december... it is a lovely method (although I did give up on making it look TOO nice) but you still definitely have to motivate yourself to do any of the tasks you write down... haha
holy moly gaucamole this is where it all began! I have been bullet journalling for the past 2 months, and honestly i have never ever in my life been so GOOD
You can create a collection called 'future tasks'. Add that collection to your index and that way you can group all items that are not actionable anytime soon.
So I've been trying to bullet journal and it was working and then i got overwhelmed with appearance and after watching this, it simplified everything for me! Definitely recommend watching this before you start and all of the other episodes.
I know this is a very old video, but thanks for sharing this concept. I just started this method (on my birthday :)) and use it for school and personal tasks. However, I personally made some changes. For the index, I didn't know how many pages I would need, so I placed the Index page on the back of my book. Instead of a square for the task, I used a circle. I record my progress of the task by filling a quarter of it (If I've done 25% of the task) or half of it and so on. I fill in the circle completely if I have finished the task. Anyway, that's how I modified it. Thanks again for sharing this. I am now more organised than before. :)
this is a very brilliant idea. after trying so many "productivity" apps, this reminds me the days in high school where I used only paper and pencils to make myself more productive. your system focuses on making things right instead of making them fancy. I'm gonna grab back my notebooks and start using them again. Thank you
This is quite (pre)historical! It has gone through a couple of changes since then. I'm not talking about the artsy ones, I'm talking about the new and modify system, with future logs, habit trackers, the notebook itself... just beautiful.
I've been using this method for a year now, and I have never been more productive! I've been showing it to all my friends at work and my family and they all love it as well :)
Wow wow wow!! Such a breathe of fresh air after all these years of trying to plan and or doing a bullet journal instead!! Thank you now this I can do and follow through with each day! Hugs you may have changed my life forever!! ❤ Tfs! - Christine
amazingly, ive been using this system for 10 years now and even though i still stumble across people's derivative "bullet journals," from the aesthetic to minimalist, no one else's system ever actually embodies the spirit of bullet journaling. this system, in its original form, is probably the only analog task management system effective for people who genuinely have adhd.
Thank you David, I appreciate it. Good suggestions! I'm listening to the audience to learn what parts I need to elaborate/improve on for a follow up video and an update to the site. In the meantime I'm happy to answer any questions I can.
I leave open tasks where they are as it can quickly become a real pain to transfer on a daily basis. If you really NEED to to get something done from a previous day, put a star signifier next to it. I usually end and being my days looking for those stars. Priorities can also be moved into that month's monthly task list so you can find it quickly without flipping around. Do what works best for you.
HEY GUYS... so although I'm a fan of the Moleskine and the bullet journal system... I have to say that for THIS EXACT type of journaling, I find that the Leuchtturm 1917 Agenda Squared does the job that tad much better!! WHY? Well apart from the inside pocket, elastic band etc that Moleskine also has, the Leuchtturm has pre-numbered pages, and the first 3 pages are already assigned for the Index. Another plus is that it's slightly wider than the Moleskine (I'm referring to the Large size)... therefore an added bonus as there is extra writing space. Just thought I'd share, as Ive been using this system for a few months now, using the typical Moleskine, however, today I purchased my first Leuchtturm (the one stated above).. and I have to say I prefer it. Just my two pennies worth :)
bullet journal was invented in 2013, the year I was in 5th grade, and I never got the opportunity to check your webpage and your bullet journal technique to organize my life
If I have to write something long-form, I usually just put it down in the day. If I feel like it's just beginning of something, I will start a collection. As always, do what works best for you. Good luck.
What's awesome about youtube, is when you find out that the "wheel" you thought you invented has been already invented and re-invented and improved so many times :) Thank you so much for sharing this!
Thats an actual possibility now. You can buy a Smart Notebook, which is uploading pages if you make a foto of it. Although they can only save it to your cloud and email account, you could use a webhook to tunnel that to your Google Calendar(that is if the OCR of the provided Smart Notebook app is good enough. And even then you have to write clearly. Also the webhook costs money if its supposed to be good). But its not worth it if thats the only thing you're doing with it so....
I LOVE this system. I used it for the months of Nov-Dec (2014)and it was a lifesaver! I just shared your video on my YT channel (and did a video myself) so all my followers could stop by here and see your video. I also linked your website. Thanks for sharing such a simple system with all of us :)
So this is where it all started. Thank you sir for creating the BUJO and sharing it. This will be my first one. 😊 Your video puts my mind at ease compared to other videos I've watched. Love the simplicity of it. Bless you.
今日初めてバレットジャーナルというものを知りました。とっても機能的でシンプルなのに、人間性溢れる温かみがあって最高の記録であり、未来であり、生きていく目的を見つけさせてくれる。 Thank you for sharing this idea. I hope the actions you take will change my future, and the actions I take will help someone else.
I make my calendar and task page just like Ryders. However, I prefer to do all 12 months at once so I don’t need to use a future log. I leave 1 blank page between each month for notes. There is still plenty of room in the back for any collections and daily journaling if I feel like it. It’s very simple but it’s all I need. I’m not a very artsy person but like a few stickers and highlighters for color!
I have been using it and am loving it. Still use my iphone, which beeps me, but now I have all my tasks, ideas and reminders in one place. Thank you! Love this. I am telling all my clients to use it as a tool!
The original bullet journal system is super efficient and epically minimalistic. The other bullet journal ideas on YT give me anxiety... with all the art work and extensive calendars.
Woah! I’ve been following Ryder’s method for about four years now, but this original version of the bullet journal is so embryonic it doesn’t even use the modifiable dot bullet (i.e. task / in progress / completed / migrated). Instead, it’s relegated to a mere static _note_ bullet?! Blasphemy!! 😆 It’s great to see what the bullet journal truly is at its absolutely raw core, and how adaptable it can be for your current needs.
Theres alot of people in the comments here complaining about "what bujo has become". This artsy idealised version that is just barely reminiscent of Ryder Carroll's original system... But if you think about it... the core idea of bullet journalling is that it can adapt to what you need. Those people probably just have a higher need for artistic outlet than others, making that the perfect setup for them. It makes sense that people who lean more into the artistic style of bullet journalling are more likely to share their spreads online because they're the most idealised version of bullet journalling. People wouldn't want to share a coffee stained piece of paper with a future log scrawled out on it because that doesn't portray the perfect, organised version of themselves. I'm certain that this in no way reflects the entire bullet journalling community. My bullet journal is definitely not aesthetically pleasing enough to hold up to RU-vid bujo-ers, but I love it that way because I know that's what works for me. I need to be able to jot down notes quickly using whatever stationery is on hand and not worry about how neat my handwriting is. What's important is remembering that you're doing it for you. Not for anyone else. You.
This is so good! I started bullet journalling two months ago and started sharing them on RU-vid. I just wanted to say thank you because this helped me break down things and introduce me nicely to Bullet Journalling! :)
Very good job, I have used a similar system, believe or not. and it has worked wonders for my organizational skills - not just externally but internally - those hundreds of tabs and browsers opened in my brain sometimes gets all too daunting to even work out but learning how to visually and experientially organize things helps develop the skills. I use it with my clients and it has worked for some, the others prefer the day planners or monthly planners, either way, it reteaches your brain to reorganize and and prioritize by doing things more efficiently. BIG THUMBS UP!!!
When I go back to simplicity things get clear in my mind. I have tried omnifocus, things, and some other apps i have found in the app store and they get complex and confusing. With just a pen and note pad I can do magic. Thank you Bullet Journal for showing me the way of simplicity and efficiency.
I am going to give this a go. My previous attempts failed as I didn't have an index. But then I don't like keeping work and personal tasks together. And I keep a separate journal for free write; but I do need a space for taking notes. I will see how it goes :)
Sorry to hear about your troubles. IMHO I think people who care about you and want to spend time with you would be flattered. The act of you recording them shows that what they say matters to you. Also, I suggest looking into sketch note techniques by Mike Rohde. They can work well with Bullet Journaling, and I find drawing things helps to remember them. I'm always doodling in my books and most people don't seem to mind. It can even work as conversation starter. I hope this helps. Good luck!
Most collections live independent of time (unless it is a time-based collection i.e: "December"). Just be sure to add the title of your collection to your index!
Though you can preemptively add events to the monthly calendar (birthdays, dinners etc), I mostly log events on my daily pages as they happen so no check box required. Also events are usually (hopefully) more memorable than tasks so I've never felt the need to mark/check off events. I migrate events back into the monthly spread after so I can have an overview of the month. Hope that helps.
I have been through so mannnyyyyyyyyy videos of bullet journalling and that was all mess for me. I always found myself not adapting to those methods because they were complex and so much fancier that I could not adapt. Thank you so much for the tutorial I found from your TEDx talk. Thank you for saving my life.
Why have i been using the bullet journal since 2016 but i never saw the video of the person who created it! This is definitely so helpful. And so simplified i over complicated things for sureeee can’t wait to use this simple set up
This is awesome! I developed my own notebook system about five years ago and was curious about what was out there. This is similar to the one I do for myself and I'm thinking about stream lining the process so I can teach it to people, too. This is great! Thank you for sharing!
It's a good system if you only have to plan for a month but for a student i think this would be only a gateway to getting organized. It lacks the ability to plan ahead because of the freedom of the journal. This a good method to get your thoughts organized but not structured enough to be a life/school planner.
Thank you so much for giving me an alternative option to organise my thoughts and tasks for this year! Having a planner just didn't seem to work for me, I'll give this a try!
Thanks for posting this. A friend just shared it with me. Integrating this with what I'm doing now makes things so much easier! Simple but effective. :) I hope to pay this forward and give back to you in some way eventually. Again my thanks Ryder Carroll.
I just started this, but I've been making post-it note to-do lists for years now. My post-it note lists are always weekly, so I decided to do weekly lists instead of daily ones. This way, I don't have to migrate tasks every single day, and I can write down larger tasks that I have to get done before the end of the week but which I don't know exactly which day I'll be able to complete (or that I might have to complete in five or ten minute spurts over the course of several days). For example, I'm a teacher, so my first entry in every week is lesson plans for next week. Sometimes I get those lesson plans written on Monday, if I happen to be doing something that allows me to be in front of my computer for a long time on Monday, but sometimes I don't get them finished until Friday because I've only had five minutes here, ten minutes there to plan throughout the week. In this way, working with a weekly to-do list makes more sense for me than a daily one. As for the calendar, I just started planning events for November that I needed to put on the calendar, so I went ahead and wrote in November's calendar even though it's only October 9th. I can easily go back and add November to the index, even though things in October will be written after November's calendar, so I will always be able to find it quickly.
I'd suggest using an "Explore" (eyeball) signifier when you write it down. At the end of the week or month, maybe move it to a Collection titled "Ambitions" or something similar. You could also just create the Collection for ideas like that and write the notes directly into the collection. The first way theoretically lets you record it for revisiting later and lets you get on with your day, which is why I like that option better.
I have organized over the years with a similar system, but great job in presenting this Ryder! I'd comment this system lends itself very well to Microsoft OneNote with Tabs and Pages and its built in tags. OneNote now free and available as PC & Mac app, iPad/Phone, Android too (yes I love Evernote, but here OneNote excels!). No paper makes for ubiquitous availability and eases carrying forward items. It is a great planner that augments our project management tools such as Wrike and Basecamp, which are other tools in the toolbox, all seem to have a place however redundant they are... just can't get down to a single tool that covers all bases.
cocteaufan OneNote has a much better UI in my opinion. 1. Notebooks are easy to open/close in a dropdown menu 2. In a Notebook, there are tabs across the top, invaluable for visually organizing. 3. Down the right side of Notes are pages, also invaluable. 4. There are common formatting tools for bulleted/numbered lists, check boxes, strike throughs, etc. Many more formatting options. Those are the main reasons. Evernote is nice, but UI is weird, it is difficult to organize a folder structure, the work-around is that tagging actually works better than folders and especially SUB-folders. All in all is is a bit funky. SO... OneNote is where I gravitate to for my daily workbooks and playbooks, although I still use Evernote for archiving. OneNote works great on all my devices, Mac, Android, iPad/Phone, and browser as well.
Robert Richard Many thanks for that Robert. I've been using evernote for a fair while, mainly at home, and recently started using onenote at work. I find the UI of onenote LESS intuitive than that of evernote and find the tags aspect a lot easier and better in evernote. I guess my newness to innate will contribute to me being more at home with evernote. Thanks again
I started bullet-journaling at the beginning of the year. I kept changing the structure until things got too hard to handle and I stopped completely by July-August. This video reminds me why I started in the first place. I'm gonna give it another try, Ryder.
I could have easily done this when I was fit & healthy but I didn't need to! Now I've got a brain injury and am overloaded with tasks but not getting the right help means the lists of tasks get longer & longer and I really can't do them all = mega stress & burnout. Plus lots of tasks just don't get done: I have to put food/eating, keeping me & my clothes clean before everything else - that's very hard on its own: I have extreme tiredness & constant pain. Then when others don't do the tasks they're paid to do (often) or promise to do then I get even MORE tired & stressed. When I'm sold rubbish products = such a waste of time, money & energy - I don't EVER want to be a 'quality inspector', ever. And when tasks are created that are fake/don't even need doing = that is so cruel, stupid and dangerous. I'm still alive and do the very best I can and occasionally get praise for my art - but I try to improve it for ME anyway, but when I get told off, treated bad and made fun of it really hurts - unsurprisingly. So although your idea sounds great for SOME people there is no way people like me could do it NOR all the daily tasks I did before my brain injury - we need some tasks removed please otherwise it's like running up the down elevator/escalator (I'm english) = depressing, stressful and very dangerous - I've become MORE injured and MORE disabled because of overload & dangerous, uncomfortable and very stressful living conditions - and therefore in MORE pain and LESS able to contribute to society/have a social life. And I'm not that unusual, there are lots of people like me and it can happen to anyone at any time: BAM and life as you knew it is gone. Thank you.
This was refreshingly similar to a system I had to develop while deployed to AFG and in the field with paper and pen. (thatnks fort that validation) Great additions and thoughts in your system. The only problem I have to force myself through is leaving white space for more tasks later; whether for a day's list or a Collection. It's okay to leave some space and turn to a new blank page folks! They've started replanting trees again! #murica
This is truly flexible!!! It can be applied to blank notebooks or incorporate the ideas to existing pre-printed agendas. Even add pages in a ringed notebook. Use as many or as few of the ideas as needed. FLEXIBLE! I'm trying the idea of coloring the edge squares of a page type to quickly locate it. Color a few squares at the edge-top of the accumulating INDEX pages. then afew squares down, color the edge of each accumulating MONTH pages, and so on. each PAGE TYPE has a small mark at a particular level on the edge of its page. NOW, fan the pages of the notebook to quickly find the location of each page type. So, referencing back and forth is a little quicker.
This is brilliant. Why didn't I think of this. My desk is a mess, papers everywhere and I can never find the one I'm looking for where I wrote previous notes on even though I know I didn't throw it away. It's just under other to-do lists of tasks and other odd notes from phone conversations or what-not. I can't wait to begin my first bullet journal and see if I can organize my life and time a little better.
