1) I knew right away that I wanted a dot-grid layout. They provide just enough stability for my writing to stay on a straight line, but flexibility if I want to change my spread or draw grids or anything else.
2) A durable notebook that will survive going everywhere with me. It also needs to have decent quality pages so my pens and markers don’t bleed to the other side, and so erasing pencil marks won’t rip the page.
3) I got a Leuchtturm1917 dot grid 249 page hardcover. ($25 at Chapters.) They come in dozens of colors, but I chose white. I’ve heard Moleskine has a cult following as well, but where I live, they’re more expensive for less product, and it’s been a complaint for years that the paper quality has turned to crap. :/
4) My book came with pre-numbered pages, a pocket folio at the back cover, and 3 measly pages of index, which I knew was insufficient. So I took an artists scalpel and sliced them out, then drew up my own index pages. I may not use all of them, but I won’t run out, either.
5) I don’t yet have an opinion on threading, but I know I want my index to be a firm fixture at the front of my book where I can always find it.
6) A “future log” is usually six months, according to the official bullet journal site. I made mine a year with one extra blank spread just in case. This is because if I have a doctor’s appointment, or some other important thing more than 6 months from now, I need to know about it and put it down. Also, it’s going to be useful for future migration.
6.1) Migration is what happens when you start a new week/month/book. All your incomplete stuff and stuff you want to keep gets bumped forward (or into a new book.)
6.2) The concept of an “official” site miffs me because bullet journaling and markings on the edges of pages for indexing and all the stuff on their site has been a practice in Korea/Japan/probably elsewhere in Asia for decades. I’ve known about bullet journaling since the early 90′s hanging out with the smart Asian kids. That New York boy didn’t invent jack shit, and calling it “official” like doing it any other way is wrong, IS FUCKING WRONG. //rant
7) I had a couple of long-term lists already in mind, so I put those down after my future log. (Books I Want to Read, Crafts I Want to Do.) If you have a list in mind you think you’ll add to periodically, maybe make a page for it from the get go. Then you can always refer back to it.
8) Monthly layout. I’m trying out the list-style layout, but I also have a traditional box layout for visual reference on another spread (to help me manage my transition.)
9) Daily log. This is your to-do list. The site says to do just until the next day and use a series of symbols I can’t be bothered with.
9.1) Because I treat this as a brain dump and organizing tool, I plan 5+ days in advance, listing items I want to do in a given day (with an extra bullet or two at the end because Life Happens). I use only as much room as I need. I don’t do any prefab boxes or whatever. I don’t have time for that shit. I box the date to make it stand out, that’s about it.
9.2) I use a round circle to bullet my list. When I complete a task, I color in the bullet. If a task becomes moot, I just scratch it out with a single line. If something is very important, I draw a little star beside the bullet.
9.3) I also establish priority items in longer lists with stars. This means DO THESE ITEMS FIRST and do the rest after if time allows.
9.4) For lists like Books, Packing, etc., I use a square checkbox. I color it in when I complete that task.
10) I don’t spend time prettifying my pages or using color. I use a black felt-tip pen and white-out tape as needed. Color coding things becomes white noise to me and neutralizes the importance of items. Hiliting things diverts my attention. I find working with a binary open circle/filled circle and star system works best for me.
10.1) I don’t have time to decorate anything, plus it takes space on the page that I could otherwise use to organize my thoughts.
11) Health & mood tracker. For me right now, this is very important. I’m going through a ton of stress and planning, and my overall health has been yoyoing for weeks. You can look up various tracker layouts online to see what variables may work for you. If you’re going to therapy, I strongly recommend keeping one as a log of your habits and to determine trends, but also as a reminder. “Did I take that medicine today? Did I not sleep enough, and did it cause me a headache? Did I have a meltdown & why?” I fill mine out while I finish my morning cup of coffee.
11.1) I use pencil in case I fudge coloring in a wrong square. Also, I don’t want to scrawl ink all over the page / waste my pen.
12) Eventually I will have a budgeting tracker, a grocery list, and a list of items I have/need to furnish my future apartment.
13) I have a goals page. Everyone should have a goals page. Mine is for 2017, and just a list of anything I can think of that I want to achieve next year. Get a cat. Get my own apartment. Find a lover. Volunteer. Clean the house weekly. Get used to couponing. Big or small, it’s a goal. Some are more easy to achieve than others, but you shouldn’t discount something because it seems outlandish.
13.1) You can do a weekly or monthly goal list, but imo, that’s just my to-do list anyway. Alternatively, you could make a 5 year goal list. Or however much time, for whatever goals you want to accomplish.
14) It’s your brain in a book. Make it work for you. If doing pretty layouts motivates you to get stuff done, go for it. If bland and spartan works, then leave it at that. If you think a selection of symbols will help you make sense of your shit to do, use it.
15) If something isn’t working or you feel discouraged to continue because filling in the info is a chore, figure out a better system. Set 10 minutes of your day aside to spend time with your book. Write things in a way that makes sense for you. Fuck what other people’s books look like.
16) FUNCTION OVER FORM. If it’s too fancy to work for you, tone it down or try a different method.
17) START SLOW AND BASIC. Don’t build tons of charts, trackers, lists, etc.. Start with the basics: index, future log, daily log. Health/mood tracker if you feel it can benefit you.
17.1) As you get used to dumping everything in one book, you may notice you’re making note of songs or books you like. Maybe then, it’s time to make a list page to consolidate all that.
18) Check out youtube and pinterest for additional ideas, but don’t get crazy over layouts or overly-produced spreads. (I personally think those people have nothing important going on, which is why they have all that time to waste on decorating their book spreads. Good for them; I’ve got real shit to do!)
19) Materials:
- Black felt-tip pen (Sakura Micron is best, imo. No smearing or smudging, archival quality ink, could last longer but they sell for around $2.50 each. Not bad.)
- Pencil & eraser. You might like to add a brush to sweep away eraser dust. I use a blush brush from the dollar store.
- White-out. I prefer the tape kind because I don’t have to wait for it to dry.
- A ruler. I have a cute little ruler about 6" long that fits in my pencil case. Any sturdy straight edge will do in a pinch.
- Post-its. I’ve never been the kind of person to stick a million post-its all over the place, but sometimes you just gotta use one.
- Bulldog clips I have found useful at work if I need to leave my book open on a fixed page.
- Colored pencils, hiliters, markers, glitter pens, stickers, fancy clips, etc., are nice, but I’m not into that.
20) Ok, that’s all I got. Hope that gets you started bullet journaling!
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