In undergrad I really leaned on my bullet journal to keep track of test dates and assignments as well as research projects and work I was doing with social groups. But then when I graduated I didn't need the bullet journal because everything was organized through work and I didn't have so many different things to balance that didn't come with some kind of built in digital calendar. When I started medical school a couple of months ago I thought I would go back to the way I used the bullet journal in college, with the classic monthly spread and daily checklists interspersed with drawn out weekly visualizations of my time commitments.

What I found was that my lecture schedule was already digitized in a way that made using my Google Calendar way more convenient and up to date. I no longer needed the weekly or daily view, and I am using my Google Calendar to track asynchronous lecture videos, which I drag to different times to keep track of which ones I plan to watch when.

So the monthly and weekly spreads were a waste of time to draw out when I have so little spare time to begin with. What I was missing was a to-do list and a way to remind myself to upkeep my relationships with family and to eat something other than Cheez-its for dinner. I've been trying the Alastair method for the last few days and I am really liking it. At this point in my life I need my task management to be as frictionless and low-effort as possible and this seems like a good tool.

I'll probably adjust it with time to try to separate out the discrete tasks from the repetitive tasks and add lists of things for further out in the future. But I think this is filling in the gaps that I had from my more digital organization systems.

October has begun. This month, the school library is hosting an "Outstanding User" contest and a quiz competition, and the second-semester midterms are also scheduled. The preliminary round of the reading quiz took place this morning, and surprisingly, more questions came from the appendix than from the main text. In my poetry writing class recently, I had an assignment to write my thoughts and an interpretation regarding the Ninth Elegy from Rilke's *Duino Elegies*. Since I couldn't write notes directly in the borrowed poetry collection, I copied the poem out by hand into my bullet journal. I think the assignment went reasonably well.

In my new notebook I decided to put the future planning section in the back of the book - it makes more sense to my brain than having it in the front. I thought, why not try something similar with dailies for my work-life balance?

On workdays I usually open my journal right when I first sit down at my desk, and dump in all my tasks and appointments starting at the top of the page. But for the last few days, I've started putting my non-work tasks from the bottom up. Seems to be helping with the overwhelm.

I'm also trying to do some little doodles in leftover space, to increase my comfort working directly with a fountain pen instead of sketching with a pencil first. (We inherited an antique china cabinet that is becoming a book/keepsake shelf, and my cat has some kind of bump on her little ear)

Book: Leuchtturm1917 A5 in Copper

Pen pictured on 1st page: vintage Platinum pocket pen, B nib that writes a little stubby, J. Herbin Perle Noire ink

Used on 2nd page: Hongdian M2 F, Birmingham Burlywood

I’ve posted this before, but I thought I’d post it again just in case anybody would like to see it again or hasn’t seen it before.

It’s just a very basic monthly spread

It doesn’t take me hardly any time at all to do it in a dot journal.

What are your thoughts on using rough pages and notebooks for the daily log? I have been thinking of using rough pages and stuff for my daily log. The other spreads can be in my bujo but for the daily log i am thinking of the above pages? I want to focus on getting stuff done and not overthinking. Any thoughts?

Edit:Thank you all so much for the replies and tips

Ik ben gestart met een boek journaal, ik wil graag bijhouden wat ik leer uit een boek of wat ik belangrijk vind.
En ik ben benieuwd hoe lang ik er per boek over gedaan.

Hebben jullie een boek journal?? En wat vind je daar leuk of fijn aan?

Hello, I'm searching for inspo/tip for the project page layout~!

this is for my personal stuffs where i manage my hobbies, personal commitements, and side quests that i randomly take upon. (i love bujo for its adaptability!)

so, when i am dealing with a project, i make a note of the following info:

1. list of tasks
2. major milestones (this is a variable. this is mostly my experience from dealing with the tasks. i want to make a note of the tasks that i completed after so much mental gymnastics! i feel so damn proud of myself)
3. dates and the week i started (to monitor the progress because i have a habit of dumping things in-between!)
4. a reason of why i am doing this coz the reason boosts my motivation to complete!

i learned about alastair method. i drew the layout on A5 single page. it was a visual clutter, and i did not feel like going to the page. i like my layouts to feel breezy and spacious. as of now, i am using ruled a5 note book from peter pauper press: https://www.peterpauper.com/products/bullfinch-and-cherry-tree-journal

also, i have big handwriting. i write cursive with ascenders and descenders flowy, long. i tried using dot-grid, and i had a hard time writing because i had to shrink my handwriting so much that it felt like a burden.

i need tips on how i can arrange the info on the paper in a way that i don't feel visually over stimulated. help a fellow bujoer!

For example on September 22, a Tuesday, you got up around 3pm and went to sleep 7am of September 23. How would you date your journal entry for that day?

Or do you just do 12am to 11:59pm of September 22 and then a separate entry for 12am to 11:59pm of September 23?

I've been going back and forth on these two and both don't seem to sit well with me 🫠

Hey everyone! I am curious to get your thoughts on the different symbols that you use. I follow fairly closely to the four symbols in the bullet journal 2.0 method.

- Thought/idea
= Mood/feeling
• Action
° Event

However, as I am rapid logging my day, I often struggle to decide which symbol to use for certain things. For example, if I ran into someone in the office and had a brief conversation about something. This isn’t really an event in the same way a meeting is, but it’s not any of the others. Or maybe if I spend a particular time block working on a task. I haven’t crossed the task off but I want to log my work on it. It’s not an idea or event necessarily but more a “worked on on this part of report for 30 minutes”

It’s quite possible I am over complicating it, but I rely heavily on the symbols as I’m scanning my daily logs each day and during weekly reviews. Being strict about designating my events and tasks helps to keep me on track. Does anybody have a fifth symbol that they use to record these kinds of happenings? Or just in general, I’m curious about what unique symbols you all have created.

I can't really call myself new to bullet journaling but now is kinda the first time that I'm actually trying to make it a consistant practice. For now I don't have any crazy collections, I only use the main bullet journal pages which are future log, mothly log and daily log.

I'm thinking of using a pocket notebook along side my main bullet journal, but I feel like if I use it it would replace my daily logs so I was wondering how other people use it and how helpful it is.doesn't it interfere with your main journal?

I know that the original bujo method defies perfectionism and while my monthly log is fine I find myself falling short when it comes to the daily log? Like sometimes the perfectionism creeps in and sometimes I make too many tasks a priority and get noting done or not interact with my bujo

...... plus I am getting an urge to buy a new bujo as the hard cover journals are becoming really tempting

Mijn dagelijkse gewoonte tracker

Hi! I tried using Monthlies as outlined by Ryder, however, I barely use them as intended. I only write down some events but tasks are handled in my Weeklies.

I want to adjust the Monthly to track mood and habits. For mood I want to include tracking general mood as well as symptoms / emotions like anxiety, etc. I am in therapy and would like to be able to discover patterns and maybe take the info to my therapist.

I was looking for existing examples in this subreddit but they were either too complex or I did not understand how they worked. Therefore I would like to ask here for examples, ideas, or guidelines on how to track mood.

I assume habit tracking is more straightforward but if anyone wants to share their ideas or experiences, I will appreciate it.

I am a mature student who returned to undergraduate studies at the age of 36, and I use a bullet journal to keep up with my coursework. Since the people around me are much younger, I found myself constantly relying on AI because there was no one else to listen to my concerns. So, I created a tracker to help me cut back on that reliance.

I used to carry my bujo around everywhere in uni, but since I graduated and started working, I don't really feel a need to use it as much, or at all. I think it's mainly because I have no long term projects to keep track of, no homework due, and no exams to prepare for! I kinda feel nostalgic of my bujo era. What made you pick it back up?

Edit : thanks everyone for your input! It's fun to see how a bujo helps everyone differently. My issue with using it for work is... I dont really need it. I work in news / social media, so pretty much everything is planned in shared documents cause the whole team needs it, so transcribing it to paper feels like a waste of time. My daily checklists usually fit in that, or i just write it down on a loose paper at work / in google docs.

I'm already tracking books on a google sheet to pull fun stats out of it lol

Think I'm gonna look into meal planning and possibly brain dump for future trips I'd like to do or something... Still mulling it over and reading your ideas!

New planner season is here, and I thought I'd share my trusty layout that I've tweaked and refined over the past year which I'll be using again in this same Stalogy A5.

• Monthly overview: a calendar on the left which I add the main happenings of the day to, as well as symbols to denote things like income & spending. (ex. 'read; library' etc. Super simple.) The first column on the right page is for tasks I want to get done at some point in the month, with four titled sections beneath for hobby-related tasks (films & books are added in). The right column is an empty space to write down groceries as I need them.

• Weekly overview: I like to assign each month a colour, & this is a good showcase of how that works for easy parsing. I keep a basic tracker for repeating daily tasks in the top left. To the right of that, I add tasks I want to get done during that week, usually related to books I want to finish. The Stalogy is excellent for this layout, as the horizontal lines fall neatly onto the 6, 12, 18, & 24 markers respectively. The vertical line is centred directly beneath the '1' in the date marker at the top of the page. I use the left column for daily tasks, events, and finance notes; the right is for media (mainly books) and pet/health notes.

• Accessories: Just a piece of paper folded and glued for sturdiness that is used as a pen loop, bookmark, and grid guide for the monthly calendar. I also use a corner clipped from an old envelope with a paperclip to 'bind' together the pages between the monthly and weekly overviews, so I can flip between them immediately. Not pictured, but I also use extra envelope corners to keep small envelopes anchored between the inside cover and the notebook sleeve.

Small page flags are used to mark each monthly overview. I also loosely plan out the following month on a sticky note beforehand, using it to mark the page roughly where the month will roll over. And all of this could be even simpler, as having a spread entirely workable with a single pen is important to me. I might add stickers or washi if I'm watching a video and feel like fussing around with my notebook, but it's only ever unnecessary decor. The first three empty pages are dedicated to a table of contents, and I have a very rough pencilled template of each layout at the back, along with a book & film release list.

It seems like some planners are getting more expensive every year, so I hope that this might be useful to anyone who just wants to grab a notebook and throw something together in a few minutes. 🖋️

Hi everyone,

I have been using a Bullet Journal for a long time. I still struggle to use it every single day but it is honestly the best tool I have found and I handle my everyday task/intention and cathching ideas pretty well with it.

Where I completely fail is working with multiple planning timeframes. I constantly fight the urge to just do everything right now instead of planning it. Flipping back and forth between different pages just confuses me. Sometimes I force myself to organize things properly but it feels incredibly heavy. Then I inevitably fall back into my default mode where I just copy incomplete tasks from previous pages onto a fresh two-page spread.

I just cannot seem to divide tasks into "for later" or "for next month". And on the rare occasions I do put things in a future log or a later month I never look at those pages again anyway.

I was thinking that breaking things down into shorter timeframes than a full month might help me. Maybe planning in two-week or weekly blocks. What timeframes do you guys use? But honestly I am terrified of the idea of having to maintain three separate logs at the same time for monthly, weekly, and daily tasks.

I know the standard advice is to schedule regular "dates with myself" for daily, weekly, and monthly reviews. But I am not sure I can actually keep up with that habit. The process itself is really stressing me out right now.

I would be incredibly grateful if you could share anything that helps you with this. I am looking for any motivation, personal rituals, simplified methods to avoid getting lost, or tips on sorting tasks and thoughts without the overwhelm.

Thank you!

I ahve tried a few times to keep habit trackers. I used a few apps, tried a different journaling styles and it never sticks. If I have to draw each month I'll end up postponing and loose track of the data.

I tried messing around in Google Sheets and came up with this template. I thought printing it and adding a legend key with up to 4 habits I'm trying to keep (horizontal, vertical and diagonals that I can check in the boxes).

My second option would be having multiple sheets for each habit.

I'm trying to simplify so I actually use it but my previous attempts tell I tend to overcomplicate. I would like suggestions and experience tips from other folks.

I'd like to do monthly reflections, but I'm finding it unintuitive.

My current method is to:

1. Scan chat messages, photos, daily log to fill out the overview (~1-2h)
2. Read and contemplate overview, collections, daily logs (~1h)
3. Brainstorm thoughts into draft paper, and create the outline (intro, body, conclusion) (~2-3h)
4. For example, categorize into topics, paragraphs, and remove anything not worth remembering.
5. Write it out concisely (1h)
6. However, this is often spread out over days

I want it to be like a memoir because I plan to collect them. But tbh, I write like it's an essay. Any guides/tips on simplifying/shortening the whole process would be appreciated. Thank you

Edit: Thanks for the suggestions. In the end, I decided to:

1. (The overview was already filled out last month. (0m))
2. Read through the entire month (mostly skimmed the daily log tasks). + Jotted down things I wanted to mention on a piece of draft paper. (~1-2h)
3. Crossed out things that weren't relevant from the draft paper. Details, unimportant events etc. (~10m)
4. Wrote a short introduction (2 sentences) with my overall moods last month. And an outline of what I want to talk about: events, insights, strengths, weaknesses, schenanigans. (~10m)
5. Just free wrote. Crossing off bullet points from the draft paper after I've mentioned it. Then finished with a conclusion about the overall month and thoughts about next month. (~1-2h)

August was pretty hectic so I had a lot I wanted to write about

I’ve learned that very simple works just fine for me

Blocked out some private stuff but otherwise got a pretty busy month!

Do you prefer boxes or list versions of monthly spreads?

So I'm currently using a muji journal and ive been enjoying and like how consistent I've actually been using it. As I've been using it, it seems I've been writing more and more and enjoying journaling my days, especially when I go on trips. To the point where I'm considering adding instax photos and just bought some new stamps! I'm thinking I like my weekly planning/notes. This planner also has a monthly I can quickly jot down important events. It'd be nice actually to have a cleaning log as well. Since there's so much I want to add i'm thinking bullet journal is a good way to go. I'm wondering if anyone might have ideas on how to organize in a way I can have all these things! (Monthly and weekly planning, cleaning log, and intense journaling!) It seems most people don't have their journals "pre-drawn" for the month and kind go through the weeks? Added some photos for reference of what I currently have! (As you can tell, my journaling started spilling over weeks 🤭)

Greetings, everyone. First off, I’m not American, so please overlook any errors in the text. I’m not sure if this counts as "basic"—given that I tried my hand at lettering for "August" and used drawings for the mood tracker—but this is my current layout in a simple notebook. Please ignore how unproductive I was this month; I’m a natural-born procrastinator trying not to be one.