Great Looking Organizing Method: Bullet Journal

[Mafia Geek]

Hi all,

 

I came across the http://bulletjournal.com/ the other day and it looks like it could be a really good method for keeping things at work organized. For me in particular where I will be working on larger projects yet still have to keep track of and deal with small special request tasks throughout the day that will take a few days to address and have firm deadlines, these can easily get lost otherwise.

 

I haven't started doing this yet, but the method seems to be just SCREAMING out for Leuchtturm softcover grid or dotgrid notebooks.

 

Has anyone come across this or is using it? Any thoughts on the system? It seems quite good and well thought through. The explanation is really good too, so helps get things straight right of the bat for getting the system setup. I think using this combined with Action Method for meeting minutes are a perfect match.

 

That's about all, just wanted to share this and see if anyone has any thoughts on it.

[lahlahlaw]

I love it! I've never liked journals with pre-printed task lists, this is flexible and neat.

[migo984]

I like its simplicity. I do something similar but perhaps not quite as structured. The website & explanations are very good too - although I kept getting distracted by the examples. Pug training?? hee hee

[TMac]

I just started using this method this week after watching the video. As someone who loves pens, paper and ink, this was instantly appealing over the electronic task manager I was using. I am using a medium grid TWSBI notebook.

 

My productivity in this brief time has increased and I am capturing tasks better given I always have my notebook with me.

 

Good luck and let us know how it is working out for you.

[PenRaider]

I have just recently discovered this as well as it seems to fit well with a productivity method I have been using for about a month now (http://www.30daysofgettingresults.com/2011/10/overview.html). I have a gridded notebook on order, and will probably start using the bullet journaling in October. Hope it works well for you.

[WirsPlm]

This does look very, very useful. Thanks for sharing!

[wallylynn]

nice! i mostly use a variation of Autofocus and journal/notes. maybe I can slowly incorporate aspects of this into it. I already use the bulletpoints as highlights.

[openionated]

This is great! Thanks for posting.

 

It solves a lot of the problems I had with my old Franklin Planners. I'm going to give this a try.

[Wandering Fool]

Definetly giving this a try. Looks like it will solve some of the issues I have with to do lists and journals.

 

Thanks for the link.

 

WF

Edited September 20, 2013 by Wandering Fool

[Keyless Works]

I have been using the Bullet Journal system for a little over a week now and I definitely like it. There is no perfect system but so far it has kept me more on task than with a traditional calendar and to-do list.

[DRWWE]

Nothing new here. In medical school and residency we all did similar things in small notebooks or 3x5 cards (pocket sized). It's a good way of making sure nothing gets forgotten with patients. Now I have staff to organize my schedule since I am incapable of doing so (or unwilling).

[ethernautrix]

Thanks for sharing this.

 

I made such calendars 20, 30 years ago, but that was more about tracking what I did, not for to-do purposes. So... I might give this a try.

[bogiesan]

If you look beyond the glam, there's nothing new here and it's way more complex than my prioritized daily task list that I've been creating in my Franklin Day Planner every day for almost 20 years. No secret codes or icons to memorize, no formal structure beyond the lines on the page offered by the designers.

 

Time management is not easy and there are no instant solutions. You research the options, decide which ones might work for you, invest in a little training, perform some serious introspection and then experiment. Eventually you find something, a tool, that works for you that will help you realize your goals.

 

There is no magic bullet that will keep you motivated to complete your tasks or to keep you organized. That's the instrospection part; you've got to decide how you want to spend your life.

 

Most of us have, say, 16 wakeful hours each day. If you allow for meals, bathing, transit, daydreaming and time wasted by others for you that leaves only about 12 hours in which you must accomplish everything else: shopping, exercise, job, dating, raising kids, housework, leisure activities, hobbies, school, commitments to others, spirituality. Time management forces you to examine your motivations and your goals and to figure out what is important enough to actually get done and what you will let slide. A notebook just displays those decisions; the notebook cannot help you decide.

[rockydoggy]

Thanks for sharing.

I've become increasingly frustrated with my approach to keeping to-do lists.

Maybe it's time to try a different approach and this one sounds promising.

If nothing else, it'd force me to change up my routine.

[martinbir]

But none of this addresses the real conundrum -

 

When you have just spent time doing things which never made it onto your to do list, are you allowed to add them and immediately tick them as done?

 

Personally I like to as it makes me feel I have achieved more seeing lots of things crossed out. Those more practical see the list as a reminder and so something already done is not relevant to the list.

 

A subject ripe for much philosophical debate!

[WirsPlm]

But none of this addresses the real conundrum -

 

When you have just spent time doing things which never made it onto your to do list, are you allowed to add them and immediately tick them as done?

 

Always.

[wallylynn]

If you look beyond the glam, there's nothing new here and it's way more complex than my prioritized daily task list...

Time management is not easy and there are no instant solutions. You research the options, decide which ones might work for you, invest in a little training, perform some serious introspection and then experiment. Eventually you find something, a tool, that works for you that will help you realize your goals.

 

 

I don't find this complex at all. GTD is way more complex. As you said, just another option. If anything, this one doesn't require training. It's just a change in modern lifestyle that this type of basic skill isn't generally taught anymore.

 

 

But none of this addresses the real conundrum -

 

When you have just spent time doing things which never made it onto your to do list, are you allowed to add them and immediately tick them as done?

 

As I understand it, this method is reminicent of the life journals of yore. There's a proper word for this type of notebook but I can't remember. This isn't a to-do list. It's a catch-everything. So yes, you're allowed to add things you just finished. You can bullet as a note as something you want to remember, or checkbox as a task (and then check it off).

 

[fiberdrunk]

What a great link! Thanks for sharing! Now... to find a fountain pen-friendly graph notebook...

[migo984]

What a great link! Thanks for sharing! Now... to find a fountain pen-friendly graph notebook...

 

The Leuchtturm Medium (A5) Dot notebook would be good for this.

[fiberdrunk]

 

The Leuchtturm Medium (A5) Dot notebook would be good for this.

Thank you! I'll look into that one.