How to be Intentional using the Bullet Journal Method
Hello Beautiful.
This post is related to Organised Chaos to Intentional that I published in September 2020.
I mentioned my purpose with this blog is to live an Intentional Lifestyle. An intentional lifestyle is mindfully aligning my daily actions with my big goals. Doing this will help me enjoy a meaningful and fulfilled life.
And to do that, I equip myself with 2 powerful Organisational Methods.
They are the Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll and Getting Things Done, the art of stress-free productivity, by David Allen.
Seriously, these two books have been my lifesaver and I can’t recommend them enough. These are just two of the best self-investment items you could ever buy.
I would have not found the courage to start this blog if not because of these two methods.
Today, I am going to share with you why I love using The Bullet Journal method. I have been a Bullet Journalist since 2015 and I don’t think it will change.
Hey, in the name of transparency, I hope it’s ok to state my Disclosure first before we continue.
DISCLOSURE: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links of which I receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase at no additional cost to you. See my full Disclaimer here for more information.
What is the Bullet Journal method?
The Bullet Journal method is an analog system created by Ryder Carroll. I love the tag lines of this book. Track your Past, Order your Present, and Plan your Future. This book delivers that and more.
It can be considered as a planner, diary, and mindfulness tool done in just one notebook. The Bullet Journal method or Bujo is an analog organisational system that organises your schedule or calendar, your to-do list/tasks, reminders, and everything else that you would normally put in your planner.
Think of it as a flexible analog planner. It is so flexible that if you check the internet, some people have customised it in so many different ways, depending on how they want to use it.
One thing I noticed though, is that, even if it has been modified a lot, its core tools are still evident and that what makes it so functional.
The good thing about it is that, even if it is analog, it didn’t stop me from using the digital system altogether. Digital is great for convenience and practicality. Analog is just as important, only in a different way.
I have been using a hybrid system of Analog and Digital which I mentioned in GTD Workflow for Personal Productivity, so I get to enjoy the best of both worlds.
Getting Organised using a Bullet Journal
The Bullet Journal book is one of the best purchases I have ever made and I consider this a great investment. If you are in Australia please check out Booktopia. If you are outside Australia, you can check out Book Depository. You can find them in the Recommended Books.
I have been using Bullet Journal or Bujo for the last 5 years, however, it was only in the last 2 years that I discovered the style that works for me. https://tidd.ly/3njQBU2
It has changed the way I manage my professional and personal life. Bujo helped me and my family achieved so much in the last 5 years. R has been a Bujo convert since last year. His style is simple but I can tell is functional for him as he has been using it for a couple of years now. What’s amazing is I didn’t recommend it to him.
I am sure there are other methods out there but in case you would like to give it a try, let me show you how beneficial this method is.
3 Roles of the Bullet Journal
I have used a lot of pretty and functional planners in the past. I enjoyed using them. Then I discovered Bujo. So, I had to let go of them.
When I discovered the Bullet Journal, I just loved it even if it was overwhelming at the beginning.
And here I am, after all those years, I am still in love with the system and I don’t think it will change.
Before I started my goal in creating Intentional life, my Bullet Journal was a functional mess. Functional because I have everything I need in there. It still served me even though it was not organised. My list, my plans – big and small.
It even had my laundry list of things to do, doodles and everything, just like an extension of my brain
My Bujo has changed so much in the last 6 years. Every Bujo has evolved from a mixed bag of everything to a wonderful collection of carefully selected thoughts and Ideas.
Even though I still have a long way to be intentional with other areas of my life, like my home, family and passion. I am happy to tell you that my Bujo now is very Intentional and it has been for the last 2 years.
It even inspired me to create this Blog.
I am going to use this as my anchor to be Intentional with the other areas of my life.
1. Track the Past
Initially, my purpose for Bullet Journaling is that someday, when the kids are grown-ups, if they want to get a glimpse of how I lived my life when they were younger, Bullet Journal would show them.
I started tracking my weeks by number when M was just a baby and I was about to go back to work part-time. Hence, you will see all my Bujo Weekly Spreads are tagged with hashtag(number of weeks)weeksofgratitude. Just like this: #256weeksofgratitude.
I thought Bujo would also show them how I evolved as a mum and a person. I won’t tell them how to live their lives when they are grown-ups but I am hoping they would find inspiration on how R and I live our lives.
When they are old enough to choose their methods, my Bullet Journal could be one of the options available to them.
I am sure the internet would still be there and there would be plenty of more awesome resources but mine will be more personal to them. It is because they are in it.
I would never force this method on them or anyone. The same way that I am not and I will never force these systems on you.
If you are interested but don’t dig the whole Bujo thing. I get it. and don’t worry, you can still get benefits out of this. You don’t have to use them exactly as I use them, you can just pick what part works for you and then implement them
With implementing systems in your life, I think it is really important that you like the system. If you like the system, you are more likely to use it consistently. And you know that it is all about taking actions at the end of the day.
2. Put Present in Order
Since discovering this method 5 years ago, I have been feeling more together compared to years before that. It so useful to me and I enjoy using it. It keeps me motivated.
Bujo is more than a planner to me. Sometimes it serves as a Mindfulness tool too. The biggest benefit I find using this method is, it motivates me to be present.
Bujo helps me Pause, Breathe, Reconnect with my inner self and Reset.
This happens During Reviews. I have collected the related posts where I practice this concept.
Speaking of putting present in order, I plan my week in my Buller Journal. However if you’re not a Bullet Journal person, you can still plan your week using a printable.
I created a free Weekly Planner which you can find in our resources and you can download here.
And it’s totally free.
I’m not the type of person who can stay still and meditate (I want to learn it someday) However when I write in my Bullet Journal, it feels like I am also practising mindfulness. Using my Bujo helps me become more aware of my thoughts, and my surroundings.
As a Mother, I feel that oftentimes I am being pulled in so many different directions. My Bujo is always my go-to, so I can pull myself together and reset.
Bujo helps me organise my thoughts better. When I put my thoughts on paper it gives me a chance to have that small gap to process my thoughts. That’s where the order comes in. More to this when I talk about Brain Dump.
One thing more that I love about this method, is the sense of having a chance to refresh. Every day is always a brand new day. In my case, every week is a brand new week.
My life is not always sunshine and lollipops for sure, but the Bullet Journal helps me keep myself together when things are not going well.
3. Plan the Future
If you are like me, you’ll love this part. I love to plan. Setting goals is one of my favourite things to do. I love the feeling of achieving mini-goals.
Making list is also something that I do all the time because I am a serial list maker. I even have a list of all my lists. I thrive with lists. Crazy huh?
This is not to say that the Bullet Journal method is just about lists. No. It can be anything you want it to be. It can be your creativity and mindfulness tool.
I use it as a planner, a diary of some sort, and as a mindfulness tool. You can create your Bujo according to how you want it to be. What it can be is based on your purpose of using it.
Think of it as a one-stop-shop for your organisation, your thoughts, and creativity.
You can make it as fancy as you wish or as simple as you like. The style can be changed at any time too. You don’t have to wait until January to give it a go. You can start at any time. Too cool, I say.
How to live an Intentional Life using the Bullet Journal Method
1. Cultivate awareness
Setting up my Weekly Spread is just one of my favourite things to do on a weekend. It gives me a chance to look at how I live my life. How I spend my time for myself, my loved ones and my passion. Through the years, I also learned not to judge myself when doing a weekly review. There were weeks where they look messy and some were blank. I had a few weeks in those 5 years where weeks didn’t make any sense.
R and I usually do this over coffee in the morning while listening to music. (#disturbed #rockmusic and #Gregorian master of chants). This gives us a chance to connect and make sure we are on the same page as much as possible (when it comes to the family agenda). It helps us inspire each other to reach for our individual goals, by being aware of the actions we make each week.
2. Define what matters
I commit to using just one Bullet Journal per year and having this commitment means I need to be selective on what goes in my Bullet Journal. I do this by clarifying what matters to me.
So, my Bullet Journal has only what matters to me in the present season of my life.
It has my calendar so I can appreciate how precious every week is. This makes me establish a mindset of making each week counts.
Events, so I can refer to it in future if I want to know what happened when.
My goals including all the quarterly, monthly and weekly plans. I also have my ideal schedule. This is to make sure my small actions are aligned with my Goals.
The Gratitude list is of course always going to be there. Being thankful is everything to me.
I no longer write my daily recurring tasks, not that they don’t matter. They do, but I would rather use the Bujo space for more meaningful tasks than usual laundry, cooking and cleaning. I would rather use the space for tasks that will show my progress with my goals.
More about this when I share my Routines.
3. Create meaningful goals
The Bullet Journal method has been the number one tool that made me more organised with the administrative side of running our household.
We have set a lot of individual goals and family goals that we have achieved just by being organised. I haven’t worked full-time since 2017. This means I have always extra time for my kids and husband. That is just one of the positive outcome of being organised.
We have been debt-free since 2013. All because we were organised and I have used my Bullet Journal to manage Finances.
4. Align your actions with your purpose
Setting short-term and long-term goals can be easy for most people. The hard part is being consistent with actions that will move closer to our goals.
Using the Bullet Journal is a great way to do this. The Weekly Spread is a great way to make sure we are consistently taking small actions that moves us a little closer to our goals. One day, one mini-goal, and one action (at least).
5. Focus on how you spend your time, money and energy
I think of a Bullet Journal as an extension of my brain. The best part of it is I can quickly flip through the pages of my Bujo if I want to see how I have been living my life for a particular period.
This is not about how you are supposed to spend your time, money and energy. And there should be no “should” and “should not” actually. I just learned that while creating this blog.
Spend your time, money and energy the way you like. All up to you.
At the end of the day, as long as you are, happy with your choice of how you spend your money, time and energy. that’s what matters.
Final thoughts
The Bullet Journal is one of the many wonderful tools you can use to spend your time, energy and money on your terms. Using this method can help you stay productive yet mindful and intentional. Just remember, having a great planner or tool is not the only thing that will give you the result you wanted. You need to take actions.
What about you? Do you have a method that works well for you? I am interested to learn how other people achieve their goals.
Let me know in the comment below.
Much Love,
E
Really love it😍
Thank you so much Eugenia. I am glad you came by.