Wanting To Try Bullet Journaling

[theoddcopy]

Not a super organized person outside of my phone keeping reminders set for me, but I'm interested in the Bullet Journal system

 

Anyone have recommendations for a good notebook to use. I was thinking of using a webbie that I ordered for my personal journal usage, but I've heard that Leuchtturm1917 has created their own "official" Bullet Journal- is it worth it? Or would any decent graph/dot pad journals work?

[macaddicted]

I just started my first one with a Maruman Mnemosyne B5 journal. It's just a bit bigger than a composition book with nice smooth paper and 30 lines per page. I doubled up Saturday and Sunday on one line in the month pages so I get a full month on one page. Working well enough so far (for two WHOLE weeks). No feathering problems, a little bit of show through with no bleeding at all. This is with relatively dry pens. At some point I'll throw a Visconti (aka "fire hose") at it for a real test. $12.95 at Amazon.

[LizEF]

IMO, the show through on the Leuchtturm is annoying. I bought a webbie with a dot grid to try that for my next bullet journal. The best thing to use is really going to depend on how you want to use it. I used graph paper to mock up possible pages, icons, symbols, and layouts - and did a lot of research on what other people were doing - I spent a few weeks learning, thinking, mocking up before I decided to actually do it. I'd recommend the same to anyone else (though that might sound counter to the bullet journal idea of flexible).

 

Once you've decided how you're going to use it, and what pens / inks you want to use, you can determine whether show-through is going to bother you or not. If it will, go with Rhodia or something else thicker than Leuchtturm. If it won't, there are certainly some conveniences about the Leuchtturm - numbered pages, index, etc. And for a newbie, the official bullet journal version might help out. But all those "features" can be done on your own, so they're not necessary, just convenient.

[praxim]

I use a Leuctthurm, but I bought a plain dotted one not the "Bullet Journal" one. The difference so far as I could see was that the specialised one included instructions on the technique at the front (or is it the back?); nothing else was different. Given I modified the approach and some symbols slightly, there was no point in a journal which contained erroneous information or which could be held separately anyway. I wrote my own method into the front of my journal.

[bogiesan]

See Rhodia Drive:

 

http://www.rhodiadrive.com/2016/12/16/new-bullet-journaling-series-on-rhodia-drive/

[openionated]

I have a dot grid Moleskine that I picked up on sale that I am using for mine. I have also used a simple graph paper composition book and either work fine. Size was my main consideration, it had to be large enough to have space for my writing, but small enough that I would carry it regularly.

[Runnin_Ute]

I have a dot grid Moleskine that I picked up on sale that I am using for mine. I have also used a simple graph paper composition book and either work fine. Size was my main consideration, it had to be large enough to have space for my writing, but small enough that I would carry it regularly.

 

I bolded and colored this because I do think it is THAT important. I have been a long time (going into year 32) user of the Franklin planner system. And whatever you use, it has to be something that you will use.

 

One of the things I like about the Franklin system is that it is in a 7 ring (3 would work) binder. Which means I can add or remove pages if necessary. Which I really like, if I am say taking notes in a meeting and fill the original Daily Record of Events (notes) page. I can easily slip one or more additional pages.

 

If I had a mind to change, or were just starting, I would probably use a similar layout to the Franklin 2 page per day, and somehow want the flexibility to either add or continue my notes in a similar fashion. The paper Franklin uses is pretty good. It isn't as good as some others, but better than most. Even with a wet fat nib.

 

But not everyone works the same way and what I like and works for me may not work for you. It is very much a YMMV kind of thing.

Edited December 31, 2016 by Runnin_Ute

[da vinci]

Many wise words in this thread already!

 

Lots of thought required to plan how best to use the bujo system (e.g forwarding or migrating tasks)

 

How much space will you need? Likely to be A5?

 

Would a planner format help? I used a Hobonichi cousin, which is ideal (for those with the willpower to stick at it! )

 

I prefer gridded paper.

 

Well worth a look at the Reddit bujo website for research.

Edited December 31, 2016 by da vinci

[bogiesan]

I was fascinated by the original bullet journal's simplicity. As word spread, users bolted on bits from other systems to make bujo more comfortable and perhaps more useful for their specific needs. These do not look like improvements; they look more like forced adaptations, glossy baggage glued on to an elegantly simple idea.

 

I used Franklin's compact 6-ring system for more than two decades. But project-specific tabs and two pages per day for complex schedules and notes are no longer necessary so I've moved on to the petite Hobonichi Techo. Once I've retired from my job and am free of schedules and notes, I will most likely advance to the bullet journal since I carry a notebook anyway.

 

To the OP: Come on back in a few months and tell us how you're getting on.

[theoddcopy]

These are all very good suggestions and thoughts on the subject. I've never been good at using a planner- never been much of a plan maker. But figured something as "flexible" as the Bullet system would help as I try to get my freelance business underway. I actually like @LizEF's idea of practicing before going permanent with it.

 

As far as mobility goes, I think the webbie should be okay. I've gotten used to carrying a Field Notes around as my 'catch-all' notebook, so I think I could train myself to keep the webbie by my side.

 

I think...

[LizB]

My bullet journal is a bit random and I don't really have any hard and fast rules. It's an A5 dot Rhodia (poss a webbie). Everything goes into it. I like that flexibility. I do page number (some books have already numbered pages) and I make sure I leave enough space in the front for an index (at least a double page, maybe 2), so I can find whatever I want.

[openionated]

I was an on again, off again Franklin user for years. The problem I had was it was a time based system, with predefined hours and days. My jobs have always had an individual contributor core to them, more task and project based than time specific. I can usually count on one hand all of my appointments for a month. All the calendar pages and such were just wasted paper I carried around.

 

That's why I like the bullet journal, it is customized to how I work. No wasted space.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Has anyone used Miquel Rius for this? I like the color-edged paper, the format is small enough/big enough, and the paper is pretty fp-capable.

[ErrantSmudge]

Clairefontaine makes the "My Essential" notebook. It's an A5 notebook with sewn binding and an elastic closure like Moleskine or Leuchtturm 1917, but it uses Clairefontiane paper.

 

I got started with bullet journaling a month ago with a freebie journal that was lying around, and I'm transitioning into a My Essential to start 2017.

 

http://www.jetpens.com/Clairefontaine-My-Essential-Notebook-A5-Lined-Black/pd/17591

[WC Lee]

Sigel Conceptum is a nice option too, as of this moment, I prefer it over the Leuchtturm1917. Hopefully the paper quality does not change over time like most other notebooks ....

[theoddcopy]

Clairefontaine makes the "My Essential" notebook. It's an A5 notebook with sewn binding and an elastic closure like Moleskine or Leuchtturm 1917, but it uses Clairefontiane paper.

 

I got started with bullet journaling a month ago with a freebie journal that was lying around, and I'm transitioning into a My Essential to start 2017.

 

http://www.jetpens.com/Clairefontaine-My-Essential-Notebook-A5-Lined-Black/pd/17591

 

I like the look of that Clairefontaine, actually. And for $11? Ain't too bad. It's pretty much the same paper that Rhodia uses, right?

[ErrantSmudge]

 

I like the look of that Clairefontaine, actually. And for $11? Ain't too bad. It's pretty much the same paper that Rhodia uses, right?

 

Yes, Clairefontaine and Rhodia papers are pretty much the same, at least to me.

[countrydirt]

I'm probably an anomaly in the BuJo world, but I use a Field Notes book for mine. I started my time management journey back around 1982 with pocket sized DayTimers and have always gravitated back to the smallest size. I used the bigger desk Franklin or Daytimer binders up until about 6 years ago and realized that I wouldn't use what I wouldn't carry anymore. I have a little leather notebook cover that I can slip 2 Field Notes books into. I've been Bullet Journaling for almost 2 years and find that for my purposes, each Field Notes book will hold about 3 months of notes. I'm a high school teacher, so don't have a huge amount of discretionary time to deal with.

[Tasmith]

I used Rhodia Meeting Books for my Bullet Journals for the past three years. Although they worked well, I got tired of having to re-write monthly calendars and days of the week and such. I also used an At-A-Glance Personal Appointment weekly planner for weekly planning. This meant writing in and keeping track of two different planners. Not an ideal way for me to stay organized.

 

This year I'm using the Hobonichi A5 Techo Cousin. It has yearly calendar, yearly index, monthly calendar, weekly calendar, and daily one page per day sections all in one planner. I use the daily section the same way I used the Bullet Journal: to-do lists, appointments, notes, etc. Being printed on Tomoe Rver paper it's surprisingly compact making it very portable.

 

I bought the Hobonichi Safari cover and pencil board (a pencil board is a must have in my opinion, especially when writing on Tomoe River paper).

 

So far I am really liking the Hobonichi Techo Cousin.

[WC Lee]

I'm probably an anomaly in the BuJo world, but I use a Field Notes book for mine. I started my time management journey back around 1982 with pocket sized DayTimers and have always gravitated back to the smallest size. I used the bigger desk Franklin or Daytimer binders up until about 6 years ago and realized that I wouldn't use what I wouldn't carry anymore. I have a little leather notebook cover that I can slip 2 Field Notes books into. I've been Bullet Journaling for almost 2 years and find that for my purposes, each Field Notes book will hold about 3 months of notes. I'm a high school teacher, so don't have a huge amount of discretionary time to deal with.

 

Wow, someone that uses pocket size notebooks for Bullet Journals too .. for the past couple of years, I have been using the passport size notebooks that is placed into the Filofax Flex or a pocket Clairefontaine notebook with a leather cover. For this year, started using an A7 size notebook but think this is just too small to be practical as a Bullet Journal but it don't take much space in the pocket and has its own pen loop, probably will switch back to using a passport, pocket, or A6 size notebook within a couple of weeks ...