Hello, Keyla, your friendly office coordinator here! I’m so excited to be writing this post! I’ve been developing my own habit and system of maintaining a bullet journal over the past year and I’m really excited to share what I’ve learned.
Bullet Journaling is a system created by Ryder Carroll. Ryder is a digital product designer who developed a practice of journaling that is meant to increase your productivity, inspire you and help you stay on track with your goals. The original project was funded by a Kickstarter campaign and has gained a massive following. You may have seen examples of bullet journal layouts on pinterest. If you have, you might be thinking, “If I start bullet journaling, I’ll spend more time writing in my journal than actually working!” The layouts can be intimidating and some are intricately designed with images and doodles and colors galore. They look amazing! However, not everyone has that kind of time.
This is my simple, practical method for tracking your to do list and preventing things from falling through the cracks! This is a modified version of the complete bullet journal guidelines which you can see HERE.
First things first:
Bullet Journal Tools
Here are the tools I use on a daily basis (many are optional):
- Notebook
- Pen
- Highlighters
- Book Darts
- Washi Tape
Key
Every item on the to do list is given a bullet. This indicates that it is a task is on the agenda for the day and that it has not yet been completed.
After a task is completed it is marked with an X over the bullet.
If a task has been moved forward to another day of the week, an arrow is drawn over the bullet.
Striking through a task means it is no longer a task that is required for the day. Example – someone else completed this task, the problem was resolved without need for further action.
Highlighting is how I assure that nothing is missed for the day. I usually pick two colors at the beginning of the day. One for completed tasks and one for incomplete tasks. It helps me know what has reached finality for the day. For example, if I decide at 10:00 AM that a task must be migrated to the following day, I highlight it with the incomplete task color. This lets me know that there is nothing left to do with that task for the day, so I don’t keep coming back to it as I look through my list throughout the day. As the day goes on more items are highlightedand I know those tasks no longer require my attentions, so I can focus on the remaining items on the list.
If a task is waiting on a response form someone else, I put a check mark at the end of it. This indicates that the “ball is out of my court”. For example, if one of my tasks is to schedule an appointment with a client and I am waiting on a response from that client about their availability, I put a check mark next to it so I know the task does not need my attention until I receive a response. When the ball is back in my court, I put a circle around the check mark.
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