We Tried Bullet Journaling (But Did It Better This Time)

Previous Bullet Journaling video

Ryder Carroll's How to Bullet Journal

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THANKS PATRONS
Jakub Koziol
Byron Marsh

[PasCorrect]

To people who are anxious about keeping "perfect" bullet journals with no messy mistakes: when you step back and look at a messy journal, it can have the same aesthetic appeal as a distressed pair of jeans, a peeling barn door, a paint spattered easel... It will look "lived-in" and inviting.

[KnitsFromTheVoid]

Thank you, I finally get it. The way other people presented it, I saw it as a yearly, monthly, weekly and daily to-do list/planner and I never managed to keep up. Now I finally understand it's not the goal to keep up with my to-do planner, it's the goal to log what I did, why I did it and how I felt. Only took me a full decade to finally understand :)

[ulkem]

Rules of Bullet Journaling:
1) Don't let anybody tell you how to do it properly.
2) Always try new things.
3) Keep the useful, throw away the rest.
4) When in doubt, refer to rule 1.

[sam-forshort]

As someone trained in mental health the idea of approaching a situation with curiousity is very helpful to healing and kindness. For example, "talking to this person makes me really uncertain and scared" replaced with "I'm curious, without expectation, about what this person has to say" instantly changes perspective. Give it a try!

[Nobejn]

I appreciate that the intent is not to-do. It's not about productivity. It seems like it's more about understanding and health. Productivity seems to be the social currency of of person's value, and I hate that. It's external motivation and external reward, and no one rewards you for productivity. They expect it. Where this is spreading journaling throughout your day. It helps you remember not only what you need to do, but what you did and how you felt. It helps you understand who you are. And that's pretty cool.

[kateribarry]

I haven't watched a ton of Ryder's explanations of bullet journaling, but the "log" nature of the journal, as opposed to "planning ahead, " makes so much sense and I want to go back and try bullet journaling again! Thanks Wheezy!

[mikeysrose]

I kept a "Book of Awesome" for the better part of a year back in like 2016, where I only listed the awesome things that made each day better, even things as small as "I had one more granola bar left than I thought." The intention was to focus myself on the positive. The biggest issue I had keeping it was that I couldn't always wrote in it, so I was constantly taking notes on little slips of paper and sometimes falling behind on recording them in the book. It is really fun to read back through.

[Trezker]

"It's not a dad bod, it's a father figure."

[fugithegreat]

When I was in Peace Corps, I was doing bullet journaling even though I had never heard of the concept. I just had a small cheap notebook that I carried around wherever I went, and called it my Agenda (the Spanish agenda, not the English). It kept me organized and helped me to remember upcoming events, but it was really a lot more than just a to-do list or a calendar. I took notes, wrote new words I learned, wrote about my happiness or frustration. It was a very useful tool for remembering people's names, because I SUCK at names, especially when they are from a different culture. There was no good way to do it digitally because this was pre-smart phone era in a place with no electricity, but to be honest I still prefer just a pen and paper. In short, my Agenda was an integral part of my Peace Corps experience. I kept those notebooks afterwards because they really were a messy yet insightful record of those 2 years.

[abdielrodriguez]

8 Month update! I can't believe I managed to stay journaling for more than a month for once.. my trusty bullet journal has been with me for a country relocation, new job, house purchase and my daughter's 4 to 5 year. I can't express how good it feels to look back and these pages and have such a cool story just out of summaries. And, its so cool to see how we can refer our story from renting to owning and to see the things that went well and those that didn't - I bet this might help our daughter when its her turn to buy in a few decades haha

I did slip up, and once I stopped writing for a week, it became 2 weeks, and now I had to restart - but even if I miss some timeframes, the format is simple enough to jump back in.

I have to say, its all thanks to you guys.. I wouldn't have found this bullet journaling without this video.

[sethhowell]

i have been bullet journaling (to great success) for nearly 6 years now, and this video (and interview) legit just changed how and why i do it. thank you Craig for being so freaking dope all the time

[katsmith]

3:33 it's about not what, but why we're doing it
4:16 you write your task not ahead of time, in real time. If you need to plan ahead, write it in your collection
5:20 designed to cope with add
5:39 important thing is reflection. Does it need to be done and why and how you felt.
6:49 if you find yourself not doing it, reduce your bujo time
8:33 a real notebook forces to go offline. Taking longer is important to think about your life
9:44 you make a mistake and decide that it doesn't matter, you forced to be more honest with yourself, without judgement

[dr.bandito]

Okay this actually helps me a lot. Thanks for digging deeper into it. I also have ADHD and this explanation makes the endeavor whole lot more appealing. I really hate goal focused todos and cannot make myself be consistent about following them. I want to be responsive to my real life experiences. But I could benefit from better awareness of my own behavior.

[lauren_sunshine]

I love Chyna’s sense of humor! And Craig’s of course though I can never tell whether it’s him or a clone

[MeghanStark]

"Fancy cheeses matter" is a highly important takeaway

[ShadowRaven]

I refused to even try BUJO for years because all of the artistic layouts were overwhelming and not functional at all for me. It wasn't until someone suggested that I watch Ryder's videos on the original set up and the intention behind it that I finally tried it and it's been awesome! Right now I'm still just doing the super basic original layout to establish the habit of using it daily first before I start thinking about what else I should add to it. It really has been helpful and more useful for me than formal planners.

[nariutimes]

Chyna's "Divorce time" sounded just like Craig's mom HAHA

[vorpalpoet]

I've been a journal-keeper most of my life, just a daily diary sort of thing, and I have a notebook for daily to-do lists, but I think Chyna's method might help me build and maintain momentum on learning new things or keeping up with new habits. Excited to try!

[SmollCannolli]

Yes! I started bujo in September and watched Ryder’s videos, and your original video. I’m glad to see you revisited. I am an artist and so I felt a pressure to make my journal artistic. After reading Ryder’s book, I know that keeping it simple makes more space for creativity. Some days I find I avoid looking at the journal when I realize I didn’t get stuff done that I wanted to but I haven’t stopped yet! I have a growing number of collections and I have set a lot of goals! It’s given me something to look forward to in this stagnant pandemic time. It’s helped a lot with mental health. Anyway! I’m just excited to talk about it with anyone. Cheers!

[evercuriousmichelle]

I do stream of consciousness journaling but only when I'm feeling all the feels and need to stop going in circles. It helps me get my feelings out once and for all and helps me process difficult situations. I don't date the entries, I don't write legibly, it's just the act of writing that really helps me process my emotions. If you were to look back at my journal you would think I was a miserable person because I only journal when I'm going through something. It works quite well for me!