Jump to content

Journals, notebooks, bullet journaling etc.


Aderyn

Recommended Posts

For anyone who has a fundamental need to write down stuff in their planners, notebooks, journals or whatever it is you call them. Often combined to an obsessive need to collect notebooks and stationery. Examples: daily journals, dream journals, bullet journals, writing lists about everything under the sun, doodling and sketching... you get the idea.

So, I started keeping a bullet journal about 9 months ago. I find it a more effective and flexible tool to keep track of your life than a simple calendar / planner. Sure, it sometimes requires a lot of work as there is no ready layout but I love the creative freedom that it gives you. I use it for almost everything, as a calendar, shopping list, sketching book, for note-taking, logging my dreams, thoughts and emotions. My style is very simple, nothing like the examples some people post on social media, but over time I've started experimenting with more and more styles. (And that's really where the materialism kicks in, just a couple of weeks ago I walked into a bookshop and spent 40 euros in pens, stamps and washi...)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Red Tiger said:

I tend to write down three things before I go to bed. I got it from "School of life" on youtube.

What am I anxious about.

What am I angry about and with whom.

What am I ambitious about.

That sounds like a very good idea. I might try that the next time I have something troubling my mind or when I feel like my motivation is running low.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For a similar reason I have thought about writing down my dreams and reflecting on them afterwards. Of course, dreams tend to be nonsense most of the time, but they still pick up stuff from reality and can offer some valuable insight into what is going on in your mind, if you know how to "interpret" them. The problem is, I hardly ever remember my dreams. :P

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had this one super creepy dream in elementary school that I can still remember well to this day... but most of my dreams never stay in my memory or fade as soon as I wake up.

Have you ever heard of a film called Waking Life? I just love everything about that film. Both surreal and deep.

//edit.
To anyone else potentially reading this thread: I'm still intending to discuss journals and the other topics mentioned above, despite this bit getting a bit carried away lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've looked into the bullet journaling, but it seems like way too much work for very little payback.  I use a volt planner and I really like it.  It's a combination of goal setting/long range planning that works for me.  

 

ETA - I'm obsessed with paper and pens.  And I'm not a snob.  Some of my favorites are cheapos like the Papermate Ink Joy gel pens.  They're fantastic.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Elder Sister said:

I've looked into the bullet journaling, but it seems like way too much work for very little payback.  I use a volt planner and I really like it.  It's a combination of goal setting/long range planning that works for me.  

 

ETA - I'm obsessed with paper and pens.  And I'm not a snob.  Some of my favorites are cheapos like the Papermate Ink Joy gel pens.  They're fantastic.

 

 

I know a lot of people who use a bullet journal but it's just not my jam. I used to keep a tarot journal, though. I don't use tarot as a divination tool, but I find it helps me work through a lot of complicated emotions that I tend to bottle up. Every evening I would set up a celtic cross spread, then look at the cards and write down my impressions of the cards as they related to what I was doing, or what mental state I was in. I found it really gratifying.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I tried the bullet journaling thing and it's neat but I couldn't keep up with it, and I felt that keeping that info electronic is just more practical for me. I didn't get super ambitious with the look because I lack artistic skills, so mine was mostly just lists, and the aesthetic is a big part of the appeal for me, so I wasn't motivated to stick with it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, Elder Sister said:

I've looked into the bullet journaling, but it seems like way too much work for very little payback.  I use a volt planner and I really like it.  It's a combination of goal setting/long range planning that works for me.  

 

38 minutes ago, Inigima said:

I tried the bullet journaling thing and it's neat but I couldn't keep up with it, and I felt that keeping that info electronic is just more practical for me. I didn't get super ambitious with the look because I lack artistic skills, so mine was mostly just lists, and the aesthetic is a big part of the appeal for me, so I wasn't motivated to stick with it.

I used to feel like that about bullet journaling when I got started. Getting familiar with the whole thing was a lot of work. But I still wanted to try it because I believed it had some potential for me. I like artistic stuff but I'm also inherently lazy, so I started off with very simple layouts and only included the very essential. That worked quite well for a time and then I began to slowly introduce more features into the mix. It's still not pretty, still not very complex or detailed, but I think it's finally starting to work for me. It took a lot of time and there were times when I almost abandoned the whole thing (especially during the summer months), but during the busiest months of my year it has felt like a life saver.

The secret is in finding just the way that suits you best. There are tons of examples available for you to copy directly or adjust for your needs, and of course you can always invent something yourself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess I'm an unofficial bullet journaler.  I'm obsessive with note taking and outlining.  I have notebooks big and small all over the place.  I bullet point my days.  I make outlines all the time.  My typical grocery list might look a little like this:

  1. Fruits
    1. Apples
  2. Veggies
    1. Carrots
  3. Carbs
    1. Bread
    2. Pasta

Everyday I make bullet point notes all over the place.  But I don't do it with any sort of official rules  (I looked them up and it's a bit much) so I'm not exactly a bullet journaler but I kind of am.  I've tried note taking on my phone or tablet and even computer, but just can't do it.  It's weird because I blog like crazy with no problem.  But I still need to bullet and outline my thousand lists a day.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, Xray the Enforcer said:

I know a lot of people who use a bullet journal but it's just not my jam. I used to keep a tarot journal, though. I don't use tarot as a divination tool, but I find it helps me work through a lot of complicated emotions that I tend to bottle up. Every evening I would set up a celtic cross spread, then look at the cards and write down my impressions of the cards as they related to what I was doing, or what mental state I was in. I found it really gratifying.

Why does this not surprise me?  Of course, you do.   :D <3

Kair, my volt journal has sticky notes all in it.  And random scribblings, lists, etc.  Like Dr. P., I'm also big on bullet-pointing.  All of my emails invariably wind up with bullet points unless they're super short.  I just think better with things organized in bullet points.  It works for me.

I haven't tried a grocery list like that, but I'm going to.  I feel like this has been missing from my life.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My life is corralled in a series of windows stickies. Now and then my computer crashes badly enough to lose them all, and I feel intense grief and then realize I'm not missing them at all and that I don't appear to have not-done anything due to lack of a sticky. Then I start all over anyway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I use a paper calendar/journal with the already drawn days and pages for notes. I use it for planning, to-do lists, birthday reminders, random notes ...

Also windows stickies, but people keep warning me that this slows my computer down, so I am trying to use them less - but they are so easy and convenient!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh no. I just watched the video and I think bullet journalling (which I have weirdly not come across until today) is my kind of thing. Now I'll have to go out and buy more Moleskine notebooks oh noes*.

I have a page-a-week Moleskine diary (stuffed with loose sheets with notes of various kinds plus shitloads of post its), one side has the days and the other is blank. It is my rolling to do list... some items stay on there for ages, some just fall off...

Anything that I 'study' I need to do by hand because that's how I learn. Even when I write blog posts they always start out on paper with a plan and the most important sections always get written by hand (although the editing both is electronic and digital).

Ironically I was just gifted a really nice diary for the academic year and I was feeling bad as I already have a nice diary for 2017 and I was thinking, 'what do I do with this nice new diary which I don't even need?' The thought had occurred to me do do some micro journalling - just write a few lines each day either at night or in the morning. And then this thread happened? Coincidence? I think not!

 

*I have a big problem with pens, markers, highlighters, post it notes, notebooks, diaries etc

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am also a learner who has to write things down...it's how I remember things, it's how I sort out my thoughts, etc.  But I also use OneNote a lot for work.  I bought a notebook that works with One Note and it's erasable, and supposedly the bees' knees.  I'll report back on its effectiveness.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...