Coming to you from the cyberpunk dystopia that may some day in fact end, a series of New Year’s Resolution themed posts: because the only way out is through.
For those not in the know, a bullet journal is basically an agenda/to do list/journal/tracker that you create yourself with, in its most no-frills form, just a pen and a notebook. Since its introduction to the world in 2013, bullet journals have become hugely popular, enough to merit the coveted New-Year’s-Resolution-Line-Item title.
In his New York Times bestselling book The Bullet Journal Method, founder Ryder Carroll shows readers how to use his system for “time management, goal setting, and intentional living.” His online examples show bare bones Daily, Monthly, and Future Logs, Index, and Collections and, with Ryder’s rapid-logging style, doesn’t waste a single drop of ink on anything more. If that sounds awesome because you seek minimalism in your agenda-like experience, this is the community for you. If you yearn for more, gentle reader, pray continue.
Do you walk through stationery aisles with avarice in your heart, sometimes gently caress the spines of the many high-gsm but completely empty journals on your shelf, or desire to add a never-ending art project to your life? Dust off your water colors and unearth your secret sticker stash because a bullet journal is definitely for you.
The best part about bullet journaling is that your “bujo” (as us cool kids call it) is completely personalized. If you’re at the art-lite level (my personal level, heeyo) you can make your bujo more beautiful with the help of Washi Tape, stickers*, stencils, colorful pens/ pencils/ markers/ crayons/ etc., and whatever random pretty thing you run across. If you see a pretty leaf, you can just glue it in, ta da!
If you want to go full Artiste At Work you can do that too. Use your bullet journal as an excuse to create some every day art and make your life more colorful. Design the gorgeous headers with Hand Lettering, Hand Drawn Lettering, or Modern Caligraphy & Hand Lettering. Pick up a new skill or improve an old one by doing some Sketching, Watercolor, or Sketching Flowers with Watercolors. Or you could learn about Drawing, Drawing, Drawing, Drawing, Drawing, Drawing, Drawing Animals, Botanical Line Drawing, and Drawing the Head and Hands, so you can Draw Anything! If you desire to reach the very heights of bujo personalization, go ahead and Stitch This Book. If a more digital approach is up your alley, try OneNote, Journey, Journalist, GoodNotes or any word processor.
Your bujo may be personal to you, but that doesn’t mean you have to create it completely alone in a dark room (unless that’s what you’re into, no judgies). Tons of people online share pictures and videos of their own bullet journal spreads and seek advice on schmear-free pens or journals that don’t ghost (ah, the dream). Bullet Journal, Bullet Journal Share, Pinterest, YouTube, and of course, the Gram.
Drop me a line and let me know about your bujo adventures. Are you strictly utilitarian or do you glue googly eyes into every page for some company during a lonely quarantine evening?
*Listen. I’m not going to link you to any places you can get stickers for three reasons 1. They’re all paid and I’m not allowed to link that sort of 
thing 2. I know you already know where to go to get stickers because 3. Babe. This is an intervention. You have, like, way too many stickers. Shhh, it’s ok, this is a safe space. I know because I do too. You know how you gaze lovingly upon your vast collection, your only regret that you don’t have anywhere cool to put them? Start a booj (also a term us cool kids use) and put your stickers all over it. Then you can justify getting even more stickers, which is the special secret goal of all this.
~ Posted by Stephanie B.
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