Embracing the Bullet Journal
I love journals. I love the idea of journaling. But if journals were lovers, I'd be that girl. The player. The woman whose attention is passionate and all-consuming initially, only to become distant and emotionally unavailable in short order. So needless to say, I've started a lot of journals in my life. I have little written snapshots of almost every period of my life. But when it comes to writing faithfully, I'm not so good. I do well for a few days or occasionally even a handful of weeks. Then nothing. For months. Sometimes even years.
I've been reading about the bullet journal and I'm wondering if this is an idea I can embrace. The idea with bullet journals is that you write whatever it is you want to write, whenever you want to write it. An index and page numbers (in theory) keep you organized.
So, you might start with your to-do list for the week of July 4. The next page might be notes for your novel. The next page could be a recipe you found online and are dying to try. Whereas traditional journaling suggests that you just write about your thoughts, ideas and experiences, the bullet journal is sort of a catch all for those and everything else. The index would read something like this "Page 1, to do this week, page 2 haiku, page 3 books I want to read, page 4 crap I have to buy at Walmart on payday" etc, etc.
I love my to do lists. I used to sit down at my desk at work and add to my to do list throughout the day. When I switched careers and no longer had a desk, I abandoned my to do lists for a while and honestly, I felt kind of adrift without them. I don't know if it's because I'm a writer but things just seem to stick in my head better when I physically write them down. I'm not a Ludite but I abandoned the calendar on my phone and went back to my paper calendar for the same reason. And weirdly, I enjoy looking back at my old to do lists. Seeing what I was working on is like a little glimpse of my life at any particular time, which is all journaling really is anyway.
The idea of the bullet journal really appeals to me. I love the randomness of it. For some people, organization is really soothing. But I have a high tolerance for (and maybe even a need for) some chaos. I love the idea of quotes for my yoga class hanging out next to my grocery list, things I want to put in my next book and haiku.
I bought myself a composition book at the dollar store, then spent an extra dollar on some rainbow heart stickers to stick on the cover (perhaps channeling my inner nine-year-old?). When I told my mom about this idea, she said "You just want an excuse to buy a new notebook and some pens." I laughed because she was partly right. Every time I've tried to get serious about journaling, I have to buy a new notebook. It doesn't have to be a fancy notebook but it does have to be new. It's just a thing.
We'll see how it goes. Maybe it will finally get me in the habit of journaling more regularly. Or maybe it'll just be one more notebook with three pages filled. We shall see.
How about you? Do you keep a journal? Is it fancy and leather-bound or a cheap notebook? Do you manage to write every day?
I've been reading about the bullet journal and I'm wondering if this is an idea I can embrace. The idea with bullet journals is that you write whatever it is you want to write, whenever you want to write it. An index and page numbers (in theory) keep you organized.
So, you might start with your to-do list for the week of July 4. The next page might be notes for your novel. The next page could be a recipe you found online and are dying to try. Whereas traditional journaling suggests that you just write about your thoughts, ideas and experiences, the bullet journal is sort of a catch all for those and everything else. The index would read something like this "Page 1, to do this week, page 2 haiku, page 3 books I want to read, page 4 crap I have to buy at Walmart on payday" etc, etc.
I love my to do lists. I used to sit down at my desk at work and add to my to do list throughout the day. When I switched careers and no longer had a desk, I abandoned my to do lists for a while and honestly, I felt kind of adrift without them. I don't know if it's because I'm a writer but things just seem to stick in my head better when I physically write them down. I'm not a Ludite but I abandoned the calendar on my phone and went back to my paper calendar for the same reason. And weirdly, I enjoy looking back at my old to do lists. Seeing what I was working on is like a little glimpse of my life at any particular time, which is all journaling really is anyway.
The idea of the bullet journal really appeals to me. I love the randomness of it. For some people, organization is really soothing. But I have a high tolerance for (and maybe even a need for) some chaos. I love the idea of quotes for my yoga class hanging out next to my grocery list, things I want to put in my next book and haiku.
I bought myself a composition book at the dollar store, then spent an extra dollar on some rainbow heart stickers to stick on the cover (perhaps channeling my inner nine-year-old?). When I told my mom about this idea, she said "You just want an excuse to buy a new notebook and some pens." I laughed because she was partly right. Every time I've tried to get serious about journaling, I have to buy a new notebook. It doesn't have to be a fancy notebook but it does have to be new. It's just a thing.
We'll see how it goes. Maybe it will finally get me in the habit of journaling more regularly. Or maybe it'll just be one more notebook with three pages filled. We shall see.
How about you? Do you keep a journal? Is it fancy and leather-bound or a cheap notebook? Do you manage to write every day?
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