c/bullet-journaling

Appreciation post: going from a pocket notebook to an A5 changed how I actually use my journal

Used a Field Notes for 2 years but switched to a Leuchtturm1917 A5 last January and now I actually finish collections instead of just starting them, anyone else find the size shift totally changes your layout choices?

Vent: My weekly spread fell apart because I tried to cram 7 days into a single page

I sketched it all out Monday morning with teeny tiny boxes for each day, and by Wednesday I couldn't even read my own handwriting, so I just gave up and switched to a running log instead - has anyone else abandoned a layout halfway through the week?

Spent 3 hours trying to fix my monthly spread layout before I realized the real problem

I was getting so frustrated because my monthly task list always felt cramped no matter how much space I left. After redoing the whole thing three times, I finally noticed my boxes were just a few millimeters too narrow for my handwriting. Turns out I just needed to switch to a finer tip pen instead of my usual 0.7mm one. Has anyone else had a simple tool swap fix their whole layout problem?

Hit 100 pages in my bullet journal last night and realized I barely use half of them

I'm torn between thinking I need to plan more so those pages feel useful versus just cutting down to a smaller notebook - has anyone else dealt with a whole section of your journal just sitting empty?

Why does nobody talk about migrating your monthly log wrong?

I spent like 3 years setting up my monthly log with tasks on the left and events on the right, but last month I realized I kept flipping pages to see what I actually needed to do that day. Then I saw a picture of someone's journal where they had their tasks mixed right into the dates and it clicked - I was basically making a calendar when I needed a to-do list. Anyone else have a moment where you saw someone else's spread and felt like you'd been doing it backwards the whole time?

Hot take: That bullet journal workshop in Brooklyn was a waste of my Saturday

I went to this popular bullet journal workshop at a stationery shop in Brooklyn last month, and honestly I left more confused than inspired. The instructor kept pushing these elaborate weekly spreads with washi tape and doodles, acting like that's the only way to do it. But my whole point of bullet journaling is to get organized, not to spend 2 hours decorating a page. I use a simple Ryder Carroll style with just the basics - future log, monthly log, daily rapid logging. Has anyone else found these fancy workshops push style over substance?

Rant: Realized I'd been doing my monthly log wrong for like 2 years

I always crammed everything into one spread and wondered why it felt cluttered and useless. Then I saw a post where someone split it into two facing pages for tasks AND events separately, and it clicked why my brain could never find anything. Has anyone else had that moment where you're just doing it wrong the whole time without knowing?

PSA: Stop using those fancy color-coded key systems in your bujo

I spent 6 months using a 6-color key system for my bullet journal like all those Instagram posts show. Red for work, blue for personal, green for health, yellow for finances, purple for family, orange for random. It looked amazing but I was spending more time picking which pen to use than actually writing stuff down. The moment it clicked was when I missed a dentist appointment because I grabbed the wrong color pen and my brain just saw a mess of rainbow blobs. Now I use one black pen for everything and a single red X for urgent items. Has anyone else ditched the artsy keys and gone back to bare bones?

Tried a monthly log vs a weekly spread for May and the weekly won by a mile

I always used a monthly log for everything but kept running out of space for daily tasks. Switched to a weekly spread last month after seeing a setup on Pinterest from some girl in Portland. Now I have room for habit tracking and meal planning without it looking cluttered. Anyone else find the weekly format way easier to stick with?

Tracked my mood daily for 60 days and found a weird pattern I totally missed before

I kept a simple daily mood tracker in my journal for two months just rating 1-5. What I noticed is that my mood drops almost every single Wednesday afternoon around 2pm, no matter what. I went back and checked my notes and realized that's when I let myself scroll through social media during a break. So the thing people keep getting wrong about mood trackers is they forget to also log what they were doing right before. Without that context, you just see a number going down and have no clue why. Has anyone else caught a hidden trigger like this after sticking with a tracker for a while?

Had to pick between a mood tracker and a habit tracker this month

I only have room for one spread on my weekly layout and I kept going back and forth. The mood tracker would show me how my anxiety lines up with work days. But the habit tracker helps me remember to take my vitamins and stretch. I went with the habit tracker because I figured feeling good comes first. Three weeks in and I've missed exactly 4 days of vitamins but I've stretched every single morning. The mood thing I can just jot down in the margin if I really need it. Anyone else run out of space and have to make the same kind of call?

Just realized I was putting my monthly logs in the wrong order for over a year

I was watching this random YouTube video from some bullet journaling channel I never heard of, and the girl was flipping through her setup. She had her future log first, then the monthly, then the daily. I always did monthly first because I thought that made sense. Turns out when you do future log first you can actually track events across months way easier. Felt like such a dummy when it clicked. Anyone else ever discover some basic layout thing they got backwards?

Noticed something odd at the library bullet journal display

Can we talk about the time my bullet journal exploded in my bag at a coffee shop near Union Square?

I was sitting at Blue Bottle on 8th Avenue trying to log my weekly habit tracker when I pulled out my journal and the whole thing fell apart because the cheap glue binding finally gave up, sending sticky notes and washi tape everywhere, and the barista actually brought me a rubber band to hold it together while I tried to salvage my mood tracker for March, has anyone else had a journal literally fall apart on them mid-spread?

The minimalist setup person told me to ditch washi tape collections...

My friend who runs a minimalist bujo account said I should only keep 3 rolls of washi tape max. I tried it for a month and my spreads looked so boring I stopped journaling for 2 weeks. Has anyone else found that too much restriction kills their creativity?

Why does nobody talk about how useless those monthly calendar spreads are?

I sat through a 45 minute planning session at a coffee shop in Denver watching a girl color in a whole month of boxes and realized all that time could have gone into actual tasks instead of pretty decorations, does anyone else just skip the monthly spread entirely?

My friend insisted I use a ruler for every single page spread

My buddy Mike told me I had to measure out exact margins on every new page using a ruler or my bullet journal would look 'messy'. I tried it for a week, spent an hour on one weekly layout, and realized freehand lines are fine for me. Has anyone else gotten stuck following advice that just doesn't fit your style?

November spread fell apart after the third day, quick fix or start over?

I was at my desk on a Tuesday evening trying to get my habit trackers done for the week and my marker bled straight through two pages of my Leuchtturm. The whole left side of my weekly layout was just a dark splotch of ink. Do you guys just cut out the ruined page or do you redraw everything from scratch?

I finally gave in and bought a $6 ruler after years of freehanding

I was at Michaels last Saturday grabbing washi tape and saw a little clear grid ruler on sale for $6. I always figured my lines were good enough without one, but I tried it for my weekly spread and wow, the difference is huge. Now my headers actually line up straight and I don't have to erase wonky pencil marks. Has anyone else had a cheap tool change their whole setup?

Last Tuesday was my best journaling day in months and I still don't know why

I sat down with my bullet journal around 7pm, not really feeling it. But something just clicked. I got my weekly spread done in under 15 minutes, which never happens. Normally I mess up the boxes or pick the wrong color pen and have to start over. Last week I was on a roll with just a black Pilot G2 and a simple layout. I also logged 3 things I was grateful for that day, which I usually skip. It felt easy and not forced, like my brain finally matched what my hand was doing. Has anyone else had a random good journaling day where everything just flows?

My friend laughed at my habit tracker and it made me rethink everything

I showed my bujo to my friend Sarah last weekend and she said my habit tracker looked like prison logs. She pointed out I had 14 tiny boxes for things like "drink water" and "floss" and none of them actually changed my behavior. Has anyone else had a moment where someone outside the community made you realize you were overcomplicating things?

Overheard someone at a coffee shop say monthly logs are pointless

I was sitting in a coffee shop near my office in Denver last week and heard a guy telling his friend that monthly logs are a waste of space because they just repeat what's in the daily log. It got me thinking though, I actually use my monthly log as a forward planner not a recap. I put deadlines and appointments there so I can see the whole month at a glance. Has anyone else found a specific use for monthly logs that makes them worth keeping?

My habit tracker fell apart after 3 weeks so I'm trying a single-page setup this time

I tracked 8 things daily since February but by week 3 I only filled in sleep and water, so does anyone use just one or two columns and find it sticks better?

I finally realized my collections were just clutter, not actually useful

Been bullet journaling for about 8 months now and I always had these big elaborate collections - movies to watch, books to read, restaurants to try. Last week I was flipping back through and noticed I never touched 90% of them after I wrote them down. What tipped me off was when I found a page for "plants I want to buy" from March with 15 entries and I'd only actually gotten 2 of them. Has anyone else had the experience of realizing their collections were more about the fun of organizing than actually using them?

That time my bullet journal became a therapy session for my friend Jen

I was at a coffee shop last Tuesday sketching out my weekly spread when my friend Jen sat down and started telling me her life problems. She picked up my journal and said 'you must have it all together with this thing,' and then spent 10 minutes unloading about her job and her boyfriend. Has anyone else had someone mistake their bullet journal for a sign you're some kind of life coach?