4 Ways To Get Your Bullet Journal Practice Back On Track

How do I restart my bullet journal practice? Here are 4 ways to begin again.

RESOURCES:

GEAR:

USEFUL VIDEOS AND PLAYLISTS:

CHAPTERS
Intro- 0:00
Set an intention - 0:16
Simplify - 2:19
Focus on your needs - 3:18
Turn failure into feedback - 4:34
Final thoughts - 7:04

[bulletjournal]

Be sure to leave your questions in the comments, we'll be using them to create more of these videos! If we pick your question, you'll get 30 days free access to BuJo U, our premium membership site! Drop your question below...

[moegirl]

"You don't need to catch up. You just need to show up." 🌟

[SonshineLady]

This video could have been made just for me as I have struggled my entire life with procrastination and perfectionism. This has cost me not only in time and production but in relationships with those I love. I'm 68 years young and this lifetime of procrastination/perfectionism reached ridiculous heights: I began watching videos about junk journaling during 2020's lock down and became very busy ordering supplies and saving all kinds of paper such as receipts, envelopes, food packaging, etc. until I had about 5 BIG boxes full of junk - and had not journaled or began a journal one bit. That woke me up and I dumped most of the stuff.

This video was another wonderful wake up. When I first discovered the BuJo method in 2018 I waded through videos of BuJo YT vids that looked like I had to learn calligraphy, painting; collect stickers and, in short, make a BuJo look like an arts & crafts project. I was about to move on UNTIL a woman in the BuJo online community made a video referencing the official Bullet Journal site. When I watched that first introduction video I was so excited. I practice minimalism and I'm truly a "one book, one pen" type of person. I excitedly began the BuJo practice then...a parent developed Alzheimers and I dove back into mindlessly watching videos that didn't bring value to my life at all...I was just trying to dull the pain and gradually began ordering "tools" again.

Thank you SO MUCH, Ryder, for this video. I began with a blank page and took notes while watching this video in the journal that truly adds value to my life. I'm packing up the excess stuff to donate.

[sandrad]

I’ve just started bullet journaling and I love it. I watch some of these videos online with these people are using colored pencils and drawing all of these elaborate schedules in calendars, etc. Everyone’s free to do whatever helps them, but I look at all of that and I just feel like that defeats the purpose of the bullet journal. At least for me. Bullet journaling is a way to organize my life in a very simplified way. The less I have to do, the better.

[kaidaw]

Bullet Journaling has changed my life. I forgot when I started but I've gone through 3 journals for my personal life. I've gotten better at recognizing what I no longer need and changing (either adding or removing certain spreads) things to accommodate my own changes.

I recommend it a lot to others, but one of the first signs I notice of hesitance is due to how it all looks online. A lot of my non-artist friends say how they aren't artistic, and even my artist friends express some fear of being judged. I try my best to explain that none of them is a reflection of what Bullet Journaling is about.

As an artist myself, I don't even use my BuJo "artistically." I use it to help me manage a lot of aspects of my ADHD. while idk how to combat that "first impression" people have of it, I just genuinely appreciate how this system can be made for anyone's individual needs and their growth.

[werelemur]

I've noticed that my practice tends to go in cycles: sometimes I need simplicity, other times I enjoy using it as a creative outlet. It can be whatever I need it to be at the time.

[darwincruz]

Ryder has become more dynamic in the way he speaks compared to before. :) Great video. I have been Bullet Journaling for two years now.

[Kzz]

For the first time, I've been journaling consistently for nearly 6 months. It has given me a ton of insight on where I'm at in my life. Prior to starting it, every day seemed like a blur because I had no specific intentions to tangibly reference every day. I tried using my phone to manage things, but it's just way to easy for me to forget the reason I pulled out the phone when I'm flooded with distractions as soon as I unlock the screen. I have a long ways to go, and my life is an utter mess right now. But for the first time I feel like I'm actually making progress because I've been actually documenting it.

[ip]

I've rarely been impressed by people as much as I have been by Mr Carroll; this is such a great system that even someone as lost as me can follow!

[ridwanslife]

This is such a beautiful video. Don't Catchup, Show Up! - Profound statement.

[Lisa-jjrv]

Question for Ryder: How do you incorporate the daily reflection in the bujo practice in a way that's functional and carries through to the weekly and monthly reflection? What steps or questions are vital each day for the daily reflection - particularly the PM reflection? Does this change for the weekly?

I noticed the (artistic) bujo community rarely mentions or explains daily reflections. In my own restarting of bujo a few weeks ago, the practice started to make more sense when I actively reflected on my intentions for that day (not the basic did I get my goals done or simple wins). It started to click when I reflected on where my mind is at and how my actions and thoughts of the day relate to the intention I had set in the first place. However, I've been having trouble fitting it into the daily spreads in a functional way, and some days I also get stuck trying to figure out how to reflect in a meaningful way every time (without repeating the same conclusion multiple times in a week).

Thanks again for the great video! It's fun that my restart actually did go through the first 3 steps you explained in the video! Turning failure into feedback is a big one I have to focus on more while focusing on my needs.
Keep up the amazing work!

[karencolum]

I wholeheartedly embrace the concept of “begin again”. For me, this has been playing out like one of those time loop movies such as the 1993 classic, Groundhog’s Day with actor Bill Murray. In these movies the main character re-lives the same day (or span of time) over and over again with the hopes of breaking the cycle. The loop continues until they figure out what they can do differently to escape. I feel this describes my begin again experience in my bullet journal. Each day I strive to start over and my bullet journal is helping me recognize what I can do differently to break the cycle that I find myself in. I’m not totally out of the time loop yet but working on it!

[zfhggzz]

So happy to you still making videos. Very grateful 🙏🏼

[adricaro]

This video resonates with me incredibly. I used to use my bullet journal in a very successful way and I loved it. Sadly I got sick, and now I've tried to restart a couple of times unsuccessfully. I hope with the tips in this video this time works.
I would like a video for people who can't use their journals daily. People like me who are bedridden some days of the week, and it's really hard and even painful to write on those days. Sometimes it feels that to keep a good bullet journal practice, daily usage is mandatory, but there's a lot of people who physically can't.

[geishagurrrl]

I restarted a couple of months ago, trying to use it to focus on my goals after a long period of depression with the understanding I have ADHD (Weirdly I started bullet journalling before my late in life diagnosis a couple of years ago) . It has helped to unclutter my mind by making simple lists whilst I unclutter my life. Each time I do not complete something on the list, I will try to write meaningfully about the reasons behind it, which stops me from beating myself up and falling back down into a depressive cycle. Thank you Rydar for coming up with this method.

[SandiMo]

I've been using the Bullet Journal method everyday for the past 6 years. It's the only thing that has worked for me. I continue to use the method Ryder introduced in his first video several years ago. It's basic, simple and incredibly powerful. I am so grateful.

[eleanor.shadow]

I restarted a couple of weeks ago. I used to add a lot of pretty stuff to my BuJo and now I’m going to the bare bones. I’m loving it much more now, there’s no extra fluff and I get to concentrate on what’s really important. Thanks for creating this method.

[ardiris]

My bullet journal morphed into a deck of numbered index cards and post-it notes, with a few rubber bands. Same techniques (mostly), just a different medium.
(:

[annablakemore]

I've just worked through your series of videos on How to Bullet Journal and this was the last one. All really useful thank you so much. I didn't know where to start when I googled it but found your Ted Talk and then came here you make it so simple. Will be saving up for the course!

[susanharkema]

Excellent wisdom Ryder! Pearls....received...thank you.