How to Start a Bullet Journal

It's January, 2018. (Finally.) A great time to start a bullet journal!

Ok, you got me. it's mid-February. I really wanted to finish this post in January, but honestly, you can start a bullet journal any time. That's part of the beauty of it! Anyway, read on for my pitch of its benefits, as well as some tips.

You may be thinking, "I'm not organized enough." "I can barely keep up a regular agenda." "I can't afford a fancy dotted journal." "My handwriting isn't cute enough." "I don't have time." "There are too many rules."

Those are all GREAT excuses! Nice work. That's what I had told myself for months and months too. It was so intimidating to see all there beautiful, seemingly unattainable layouts of bullet journaling masters being thrown into my face by Buzzfeed, The Cut, Refinery29, Wall Street Journal?(what)?? and more.

But the more and more I looked into what individuals were doing with their journal, and not just the Buzzfeed listicles that were saturating my Facebook feed back in mid 2016, the more...

I realized that the WHOLE point of a bullet journal was to find a personalized solution to organizing day-to-day chaos.

From what I've seen, the bullet journaling trend has faded just a bit – that is, I'm not seeing too many Buzzfeed listicles about it anymore.

But if you know where to look, and who to follow, it's still going strong.

What does this mean for someone starting out? Inspo. There are thousands of people who have found hundreds of thousands of solutions that work for them. All you have to do is follow the yellow brick road: #hashtags. There are tons out there, each leading to a goldmine of Instagram accounts, (and probably loads other social media accounts, but my tried and true is Insta) that are consistent, clean, and supportive of those in their community. #bulletjournal #plannerjunkie #plannercommunity #bujo #bujolove #showmeyourplanner and so so so much more. It's a community of sharing, help, and love. A lot of planner accounts will even share other planner's layouts that inspire them, which just gives the followers twice the content! It's great, and the attitude helps the intimidation factor loads.

"Anyway, where do I start? I can't afford a fancy dotted journal."

Who says you need that swanky Leuchtturm, that sleek Moleskine, or whatever else is being pushed or praised as the sliced bread of journaling. My journal, which I love and have no problems with, is the Unni Classic Notebook in yellow, which I believe now goes as the Minimalism Art Classic Notebook (and is the same exact product.) I got it for $11. You can see in the reviews how beloved it is. The pages are strong and resilient to erasing, and thick enough to resist excessive bleeding. The spreads lay flat, and opens fully so you can utilize the gutter at will. (Which you can see in the header pic!) The faux leather cover is soft to the touch and water-resistant, which means I can scrub any grime that adheres itself to my journal from my purse. (And yes, it fits in my purse!)

As for writing utensils, you don't need to spend big bucks until you want to accessorize. When I'm bullet-journaling on the go, all I hope to have on me is a Pilot G2: Extra Fine Point pen, and if I want a pop of color (always), a pack of Huhuhero Fineliner pens. If you're into lettering, you probably already know that the <$15 Crayola Super Tips are a great option for bargain calligraphy, and are also great for highlighting or doodling. (Though they are only a bit cheaper than the ~pro user~ Tombow Dual Brush Pen Set.) Oh, and maybe a pencil if you're into sketching.

"My handwriting isn't cute enough."

Ok fair. It's hard to be motivated to keep up a hand-written journal if some chicken-scratch stares back at you every time you open your journal. The thing is, there are some ways to make it more attractive!

As you can see, my handwriting is almost illegible, sometimes even to myself. If I don't have time to sit down, breathe, and concentrate, that's just what I have to work with. This is what I do to help myself.

Tip 1: S p a c i n g. I don't know what it is, but as soon as you add a bit of breathing room to your lettering, it just looks better. Maybe it forces you to slow down, maybe it pads irregularities in each letter like a hug, maybe it's not that poetic.

Tip 2: Use a ruler! Yes, there is already a dotted grid printed on the pages of the journal, hence: "dotted/bullet journal", but if you can't tell from my handwriting sample, I TRULY have no concept of what a straight line is, even with context. I use a 6" Ruler to literally connect the dots and partition out my layout so I can better visualize where I'd like to put everything. And then I use those lines to write straight cause I need all the help I can get. (+ a nice white eraser to tidy it up. If you're cheap like me, you'll use the eraser on those disposable plastic pencils within an inch of their life.)

Tip 3: Embrace irregularity. Tbh, it's in right now. Look at Mr. Kate, for example. She's built an empire on the boho-chic look, and makes some really beautiful art prints with her lovely organic messy handwriting. What she does is both unique and ubiquitous. Unique because it's her hand, and that's beautiful, and ubiquitous because that look is freakin everywhere now, from Target to bakeries. Join the club, and stop caring about "messy".

Tip 4: This kinda goes with tip 3. To get that lovely brush-stroked organic feel, use a brush pen! The Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen is great for calligraphy, but they're also what I used in that handwriting sample. Looks kinda effortless, right? It really was. When I'm not using a brush pen, I use the finest possible black ballpoint, like a Pilot G2: Extra Fine Point. The pin-point fineness helps my cluttered handwriting breathe that much more.

Tip 5: WHITEOUT. If all else fails, just start over! Mistakes happen! If you can't forgive yourself, or if you're a perfectionist like me, just cover it up and move on! The white out that dispenses in a strip is perfect, because it usually fits perfectly between dots. My other cover-all bestie is the Signo White Gel Pen. I can't say enough great things about it. It's completely opaque, and dries matte, and you can write over it perfectly after it dries. It's the best on the market, and is seriously "bring to a desert-island" level in my book.

"I don't have time."

Honestly, it takes a bit longer to do than a regular agenda! But not hours longer, just a few minutes. Honestly, I don't have time for a regular agenda, and it turns out it's not a time issue, but a motivation one. With a regular agenda, I feel like I need to fill it all out or I'm failing. Pretty demotivating to even try. With my bullet journal, I am the master of my domain. The fact that it is completely open-ended is so freeing. If I feel like making a spread every week, then cool! If I can only make a spread for a month overview, great! If you start your journal in the middle of May, who cares?? The beauty of a bullet journal is it's adaptability. Give it a shot. If you're like me, you'll find that keeping your agenda is fast, fun, and freeing.

"There are too many rules."

Who cares. If you're looking into starting a bullet journal, it's probably because you're a bit creative. Rules are for squares, and are made to be broken. Ask your fav type-A: "It's sort of exciting, isn't it? Breaking the rules." - Hermione, duh

Just, do what you want. All those bullet-journaling things with the bullets and circles and arrows... they're just suggestions. Try whatever you want, see what works and doesn't, and keep going.

I hope this helped. It took me too long to twist my own arm into committing, but it's been so worth it.

Bullet journaling isn't for everyone, but for me, it's been the only real agenda that I've ever stuck to, month after month. Maybe it could be for you too.

Thanks so much for reading!

-Sadie