Change Your Life With the Bullet Journal Method

If you have ever gotten frustrated with a pre-made planner because you ended up working to fit the planner, rather than the planner fitting you, there is a solution. That solution is Bullet Journaling.

Ryder Carroll, the author of the bullet journal, has taken his simple system and made a coherent book out of it. Not only does he cover the basic methods (available on his website), but he shows how the bullet journal method can be used in a variety of situations.

Daily planning. The bullet journal is a great planning tool. Migrate your tasks from your monthly list or another day. Add your events, both planned and things that happened, and you have a complete picture of the day.

Journal. The bullet journal also acts as a journal. Not only do you put down your tasks and events, but you can also make notes about what happened. Need more space for reflection and long-form journaling? Pick the next empty page.

Can be as simple or fancy as you want. While the author is all about simplicity, he acknowledges that some people want to make their bullet journal an expression of art. While there is nothing wrong with this, the author stresses that it can be very plain and simple. This is a relief to someone who has looked at the fancy spreads and seen no way to achieve it.

Not everything goes in. I found the section on collections – those free form lists and notes about a particular subject – to be enlightening. This is where the author makes the case that not everything should go into the bullet journal. If it isn’t worth tracking and revisiting later, it isn’t worth putting in.

Review is key. Going through once a month during what is called the “migration” allows you to review what happened that month and reflect on it. This in turn allows you to build on your experience and mistakes. Even this is flexible – you can migrate as often as you need to.

I was impressed with this book. Not just because of the information, but because of the engaging style the author used. While planning and such can be a really dry subject, Ryder Carroll presented it in a way that made me eager to read. And this is something that rarely happens with non-fiction for me.