How to Bullet Journal – An Easy and Exciting Bullet Journal Guide

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In today’s modern world, life can seem overwhelming with all the things that need to be done. Making lists and posting them around the house may seem helpful, but they can be a pain to stick up. Generally, journaling is considered a form of writing your feelings and thoughts – this process of writing is known to be therapeutic. A bullet journal guide is said to be a method to organize your lifestyle and help make a personalized logging system to create solid plans for the future. This is a how-to-bullet-journal tutorial, in which we will teach you how to make a custom-style journal that will make you excited to face your daily chores!

So, What’s a Bullet Journal?

Imagine all those thoughts and tasks you have floating around in your head existing on paper, neatly filtered and organized? How fast and effectively our days would unfold with less stress! Sign me up, please! Our bullet journal method contains a guide and plans to teach you how to get your proverbial ducks in a row. Imagine a simple way to align your daily tasks, dates, goals, and to-do lists and simultaneously track your short and long-term goals. If you follow this method correctly, you should have better productivity and a less chaotic and stressful lifestyle!

How to Bullet Journal

Our bullet journal guide is a method invented by a New York designer named Ryder Carrol. His idea was “to help track the past, organize the present, and plan for the future.” It will help you to make lists and goals for every aspect of your life by organizing them onto paper and building them into sections for a day, week, month, and year.

As you go through the weeks of the month, you must be diligent and record any events, milestones, and important dates.

Does Bullet Journaling Work?

The Bullet Journal method is connected to assisting mental health and general well-being. When we are organized and prepared, our stress levels are reduced! Many people believe in manifestation, and part of that is having a clear vision of what you want to achieve in life. Many people have described this method of planning and journaling to be “extremely beneficial” for their daily lives by helping to create a drive for the tasks you would usually leave until later. Learning how to bullet journal could be very beneficial to your life!

A Helpful Guide to Bullet Journaling

You may feel a little confused or feel that bullet journaling is intimidating. You will soon learn that it is the exact opposite! Once you understand how it works, why it works, and how to use your bullet journal, you will likely live a far less stressed life!

Before getting started, have a quick read through these bullet journal terms.

Bullet Journal Ideas and Key Symbols

Understanding how to bullet journal is important. The bullet journal guide has a basic method of creating key symbols, or some like to call them signifiers. These key symbols are used to highlight certain actions and ideas for you to do. You can design your own unique symbols, or, you can use bullet journal ideas found elsewhere. These signifiers can be stars, dashes, circles, or squares, anything really! The image that follows shows a simple bullet journal style.

Creating Bullet Journal Collections

This is a fundamental step in how-to-make-a-bullet-journal by categorizing your topics and problems in your daily tasks. The idea is to acknowledge the important things and use a method to monitor your thoughts, goals, and achievements.

Your personalized collection will be a type of logging or tracking.

Utilizing Spreads With the Bullet Journal Method

A spread is a well-known term used by designers when you have two blank pages of an open book. This idea promotes the use of the book and can be ideal for a calendar or a planner. Learning how to use spreads in your bullet journal journey will benefit you in the long run.

Migration of Ideas in a Bullet Journal

Migration, as we know, means to move from one place to another. But how does one do that when you have written something in pen? This term is part of the bullet journal method and helps you move tasks when you have not completed them, thus ensuring that you are not pressurized or panicked to tick the boxes each day.

This is your journey on learning how to bullet journal, so do what feels right!

How to Make a Bullet Journal: Choosing Your Tools

We have glanced at the concept of how to bullet journal and now, you should have a good grasp of the idea! Let’s discuss the materials you will need to create your bullet journal. You will choose a book or specific journal and a pen. These are the basic two things you will need to get started. But for those who enjoy being creative, then your world can open to all possibilities of journaling fun! Some people have gone as far as assembling a collection of colored pens, markers, and washi tape, along with tools that they like to use. Bullet journaling can be about enjoying yourself and letting your inner artist inspire your goal writing!

Choosing Your Bullet Journal Notebook

When choosing your bullet journal notebook, it’s a good idea to pick something that excites you and keeps you inspired. This book will eventually become your treasure, so you will want it to reflect who you are. It is up to you what type of pages you react well to. Some like blank pages, while others like traditional lines or a dotted grid. The initial beginning of your book may seem intimidating at first, but no one will be watching to judge you in any way!

So, just relax, put pen to paper, and get started!

The Ultimate Notebook: FABRIANO Ecoqua Original Notebook

Bullet journalists all over say that this particular brand makes a well-styled notebook for first-timers learning how to start a bullet journal. This affordable journal was designed for writing and drawing. Its chlorine-free pages are like silk for any pen to gently glide along. The Fabriano Ecoqua Original Notebooks are any writer or a bullet journalist’s dream book, available in many colorful shades. These fun bullet journals can be personalized, too. This could easily be the notebook that begins your how-to-make-a-bullet-journal experience.

Selecting Your Pens for Your Bullet Journal

We have covered ideas on choosing the best notebook that inspires you, but now it’s time to shift our focus to the pens you should use for your bullet journal. Because this is a personalized project, one can have an arsenal of pens, markers, and highlighters! Perhaps you want to keep your journal minimal and simple in black n white. Well, the choices are endless! Some find the colors inspiring and enjoy drawing and using the time to relax and let out some creativity, others prefer things clean and simple. We suggest that you start with a few different tipped pens and markers and perhaps two-color highlighters.

The Ultimate Pen: SAKURA Pigma Micron Pens

The Sakura Pigma Micron Pens are said to be the best fine-liner pens around! These wonderfully versatile pens are long-lasting and provide a clean finish with no blotches. Most Pigma micro pen owners say they will never change pen brands – once you have experienced the penmanship you won’t turn back! They come in different colors, and those serious about bullet journal ideas can create a collection.

How to Make a Bullet Journal: The Process

To begin any written or art piece, you must collect your tools and place them near your workspace. Enjoy that organized feeling! Ideally, you will need a notebook and pen, and for those creative folks, grab your art supplies and let’s begin this how-to-make-a-bullet-journal tutorial! When it comes to how to bullet journal, you may wonder what supplies you will need.

• Bullet journal notebook
• Pens
• Eraser
• Pencils
• Colored pencils

• Ruler
• Marker
• Highlight marker
• Masking or washi tape
• Paper clips or pegs

A Step-by-Step Tutorial on How to Make a Bullet Journal

To begin your journey, it is a good idea to get into the ideal mindset in order to create a layout that will work for your life goals. It’s important to begin with a plan on how to bullet journal. Your pages are blank and are waiting to be filled with your daily to-do lists, weekly calendar, monthly desires, tracking your mental health, and lastly, your goals and methods of achieving them. Naturally, the pattern you wish to use to start a bullet journal is entirely your choice. Decide where you feel most comfortable beginning your bullet journal. Ideally, a tidy desk with ample room to work is best. This bullet journal will definitely be one of the types of journals to keep for a long time.

Have a cup of something yummy to drink, and take a deep relaxing breath as you prepare to begin our how-to bullet journal tutorial. 

Step 1: Create the Index Page of Your Bullet Journal

The use of an index is imperative to any type of organizational written method. This functional style of layout can be created in the first pages of your notebook. We suggest beginning with a spread of the notebook and eventually growing to the listing of both sides. Taking a ruler, you can write the heading “Index” on the top left-hand side. Next, draw a line from under this heading downwards, creating two columns. Create a subheading above each column. The first column heading should read “Page Number”, and the second will be written as “Page Title”. Add your page number to the corner of each page. Remember to leave the adjoining page of your notebook spread clear as you will add info at a later stage

Step 2: Designing Your Key Symbols for Your Journal Basics

The bullet journal method has a basic guide to creating order in your mind and lifestyle, but with saying that, it is also an immensely personal means of expression. That is why in this part of this how-to-start-a-bullet-journal tutorial, you will be guided on how to design your key symbols and signifiers. Use a range of shapes such as a star, square, circle, or heart to develop your arsenal of symbols. You are welcome to follow the suggestion in the image below.

Step 3: Designing Collections in Your Bullet Journal

This bullet journal guide suggests designing collections for your book. These ideas are meant to log down and track your daily activities and align any disorganized parts of your life that take up space in the back of your mind. “What doesn’t pay rent must leave”, and this is the ideal way to get those thoughts onto paper and eventually be able to tackle them!

These collections will include a calendar layout, future logs, daily, monthly, and yearly logs, and any other style of track you chose.

Step 3.1: Creating a Half-Yearly Calendar in Your Bullet Journal

This step will be to create a six-month column planner. Use the next available spread, and using a ruler, you will draw three columns on each page, with the heading of each month on a six-month rotation. Feel free to add color to your columns and headings.

Step 4.2: Creating a Future Log in Your Bullet Journal

This stage will be to create what is called a future log. It is a space in which you make a list of important events and dates in the year ahead. Begin this step by making a list of date numbers beginning with one and ending in 28/30/31 for every calendar month column.

TIP: A good idea is to use washi or art tape to divide the months into your columns.

Step 4.3: Creating a Monthly Log for Your Bullet Journal

Still asking “What’s a bullet journal?” By now, you should have a good understanding of what it’s all about. You have created your first pages and designed your bullet journal basics. Now it is time to expand on each month from your original six-month column. Using your ruler, you can draw a calendar box on the spread of your notebook. Jot down the dates and list your days of the week on the left-hand side of your bullet journal. Remember to be creative and color-code your weeks or whatever you wish. Remember to have fun!

Step 4.4: Adding Goals, Trackers, and Other Logs to Your Bullet Journal

Finally, you have reached the fun part of our how-to-start-a-bullet-journal tutorial! You can now begin to customize your layout to suit your lifestyle. The collections should spread across four pages and can include titles such as gratitude, self-check-in, thoughts, and feelings. Other ideas could be; must-see films, recipes to try, book choices, or ideas on financial planning.

These are but a few bullet journal basics to be inspired by.

Step 4.5: Creating a Daily Log in Your Bullet Journal

The following step will be to focus on creating a daily log, this will be on the next available spread in your notebook. Using a ruler, go ahead and draw six columns. Label the titles from left to right, Monday through to Sunday, but have Saturday and Sunday share a column. For those ‘busy bees’, you can dedicate a full page per date according to your schedule. This is when you will incorporate your key symbols and signifiers to represent your daily tasks and unique aspects. Begin by adding your three important tasks on the specific date and its to-do list.

Step 5: Updating the Index and Page Numbers of Your Bullet Journal

By now, you should have great bullet journal ideas and be comfortable expanding on your collection ideas. You should hopefully start to feel stress-free and have a sense of organization! When you have reached the end of making your personalized collection list, you must add the headings to your index and make sure all the page numbers are written correctly.

This bullet journal method will be used throughout the next few months until your notebook is full.

Step 6: Customizing Your Bullet Journal

We have almost concluded this how-to-make-a-bullet-journal tutorial, and you should be familiar with the bullet journal method. To get the most out of your bullet journal, you should try to return to it daily and by the end, you will be able to look back and have gratitude for yourself and all of your achievements! Use this opportunity to get creative and begin customizing your bullet journal using colored pens, markers, embellishments, or whatever you fancy. Let your inner child free as you decorate the pages of your notebook. And now, you will know exactly what to say if anyone asks you, “What’s a bullet journal?”

Congratulations! You have completed our how-to-start-a-bullet-journal tutorial. As you have learned, this is a method of listing productivity and organizing your daily tasks and goals. There are loads of bullet journal ideas available, but it’s up to you to be creative! Use what you have learned today in our guide and adapt it to your own needs.

 Frequently Asked Questions

What’s a Bullet Journal?

Journaling, with a difference! We all grew up with the idea of keeping a diary, but this style of journaling is aimed at those who wish to keep their affairs organized and create goals for the future. On the pages of your bullet journal, you will write and create collections, daily logs, and monthly calendars. This is a perfect opportunity to get your life vision in order and begin manifesting the lifestyle you want. Those who have tried to use this concept have thoroughly enjoyed the dependable planning system it creates. The bullet journal also enables busy people to have a chance to relax and focus on life!

What Are the Benefits of Creating a Bullet Journal?

Documenting your thoughts and life plans is more beneficial to your life than what people realize. Any sort of organizing and planning can help your mental health and ability to gain control over your life choices. Bullet journal ideas are endless, and the best part is that they can be personalized! The main benefit of having a bullet journal is having the chance to put pen to paper and keep everything in a physical medium rather than a digital format. There is something therapeutic about connecting with paper, creating a meditative experience when drawing, and making achievable goals! It’s also great when you are able to look back over six months and see your growth. It is inspiring to say the least!

Does the Bullet Journal Method Help With Anxiety?

More and more people are experiencing anxiety in their lives, the problem happens when that anxiety stops you from achieving your dreams. To gain a handle on your anxiety is to face the issues creating them, and having a chaotic lifestyle plays to the disadvantage. This is when the bullet journal ideas can create methods to help busy minds team with ideas, plans, and worries. Jotting them down in an organized manner will assist in gaining control of your thoughts!

When I Finish My Bullet Journal, What Should I Do?

Once your first bullet journal is full, the concept has been a success for you! It’s time to move on to the next one! The fun part is to look back and go through your past as you track your growth and progress, and hopefully have a little giggle at some of the fun memories! The main idea is to log and track life goals and progress.

How Are a Bullet Journal and Regular Journal Different?

Journaling is the opportunity to put your thoughts and feelings onto paper. It is said to be very therapeutic and is good for people who struggle with depression or anxiety as it helps clear thoughts, enabling you to work through personal issues. A bullet journal is more of a detailed daily program to incorporate structure in your life, a method to track progress, and a space to create lists that, once completed, are ticked off. Ultimately, this ends up leaving you with a sense of accomplishment and grows more goal-orientated ideas. But who is to say that you can’t incorporate both styles of journaling? Whatever you decide, make sure you set yourself up to enjoy the process and let yourself have fun while planning!

Charlene Lewis( Content Writer for Painting and Crafting )

In 2005, Charlene completed her wellness degrees in therapeutic aromatherapy and reflexology at the International School of Reflexology and Meridian Therapy. She worked for a company offering corporate wellness programs for several years before opening her own therapy practice. In 2015, she was asked by a digital marketer friend to join her company as a content creator, and it was here that she discovered her enthusiasm for writing. Since entering the world of content creation, she has gained a lot of experience over the years writing about various topics such as beauty, health, wellness, travel, crafting, and much more. Due to various circumstances, she had to give up her therapy practice and now works as a freelance writer. Since she is a very creative person and as a balance to writing likes to be active in various areas of art and crafts, the activity at acrylgiessen.com is perfect for her to contribute their knowledge and experience in various creative topics.

Learn more about Charlene Lewis and about us.