I thought a post about my bullet journal system would be a great way to start off my new studyblr! I have found this system, and it is miraculous, for me. I am usually the resident slacker, late work and such, because I simply could not sit down and work without immense time pressure (not because I didn’t want to, or because I didn’t try, I cannot make clear enough.). This hybrid bujo has really alleviated a lot of my anxiety, and helped me handle my inattentive-type ADD.
• The KEY, or legend, is the first thing (even though it’s a few pages in) find one that works for you, it might not be the standard one! I really like this one I made, because it makes it very easy to spot unfinished tasks - each bullet ends as complete, migrated, or cancelled, no matter how it started (I assume I will never migrate an email.), so it’s very clear what is no longer an open task or event; more on this later. The tapes are easily removable if I mess a title up, and they keep the journal consistent, which I really like.
• The INDEX is the first page, with the following page numbered “1” . Mine has two columns, and the second will have it’s numbers running down the other side of the tape. This helps when the journal gets full.
• The ANNUAL CALENDAR is the first spread. It is helpful for keeping track of events that are more than a month away, and birthdays, but what I like most is the way it visualises how close fun events are (I’m seeing my best friend, for the first time in more than a year, in only 21 days!)! I like the decorative day counter (the triangles, by the way), and use two highlighters: one for holidays, one for deadlines.
• The MONTHLY CALENDAR is vertical, by the way. I only needed it for exactly 4 weeks and it fit so nicely. This is a good way to record deadlines and events in the near future, which later become parts of weekly spreads, and see clearly how the month looks. I highlight the number of each day when the day starts, rather than crossing it out, as I feel this is a cleaner way of tracking the date. Use the annual calendar to check for events that month, at the start of the month.
• The WEEKLY-DAILY SPREAD AND TIMETABLE page is where the magic happens, so have them on the same spread, ideally.
• At the beginning of the week, find and transfer all the necessary bullets. This page is the WEEKLY SPREAD. These come from the monthly spread, and from the previous week: when checking the previous week for tasks, every incomplete task should be migrated (assign migration symbol, copy task as dot), cancelled (strike through, or own symbol), or completed (ticked, etc.). Throughout the week, new bullets should all be written as dots initially, under their own day, until time can be taken to assess them (that might be straight away, the system comes up soon)
• Also create a TIMETABLE, this is the key (for me, anyway.). I chose 20 minute intervals, as I feel that is the shortest amount of useful time for a task (shorter tasks can be done “instantly” whenever time is available):
Block out when time is taken and you cannot work, that’s not just lectures and meetings, that’s meals and self care! And if you find there is more time than what you imagine will be needed for tasks, I think isolating times where you won’t work is important - on full on days, particularly, for your mental health. This doesn’t mean you work less, just that you don’t work at those times. It is a good idea to overestimate how long busy blocks are, so you don’t risk rushing or missing task blocks (as often). Don’t have the timetable run through all your waking hours, but through your working hours - don’t risk the temptation of plastering work over when you should be getting ready to work. I have a box at the top of each day that has exact times for events, as I feel that rounding to 20 minutes is appropriate.
• Now you are ready for the week! The following system is much simpler and faster than it may appear, and won’t have you wasting hours planning work you no longer have time to do, I promise. When you have a spare five minutes, look at your bullets:
• if a bullet is a dot, assess it (all others do not require checking):
Is it a task you can do immediately? If so, leave it as a dot, move on.
Is it an email, an event, or a note? If so, mark it as such; mark events in your monthly calendar, and in the daily timetable as busy. (in the daily, I would recommend, if need be, rounding it to the interval you use that takes more time - start earlier, finish later - and include getting ready and transport, as you cannot work in these times.)
If it fits neither of these circumstances, it must be a task that takes more than 15 minutes (unless I’ve made a mistake!). If it takes** less than an hour**, schedule it and mark it scheduled, and move on (Always overestimate how long tasks take - this prevents running out of time, and if you finish early, that’s free time!). If it takes more than an hour, break it until you have tasks that take less than an hour, and cross the original off. Do this because tasks that take longer than an hour are harder to focus on, harder to find time for, and easier to misjudge. Then each task can be assessed by this same system. (I broke this rule above, but I will take a break to make up for it!)
Repeat for each dot, until none are left
• Any that are still dots will be immediate tasks, and you can do them now. Start with the time sensitive ones. If you don’t manage them all, they can probably stay dots until next time, but schedule or cancel them if you want.
• If there are no dots, you are free (until your next scheduled task or event). Do whatever you want! Any tasks left are scheduled, and the time to do them is not now! Actual free time, guilt free.
After a quick setup (it doesn’t have to look pretty or cool), do tasks when they are scheduled, put bullets in when you get them, and plan for 3 minutes a few times (or even once) a day! That’s it, and you can get everything done and have guilt free spare time.
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