Hi there!
Here, I am going to tell you a little bit about my way of “interpreting/customise” the Bujo system. I have always been an organiser-freak and jotting down what needed to be done is very helpful for me.
I first started with the common 365-days calendars. I soon realized that the A5 size of such a calendar was too heavy for me to carry every day in my bag. Moreover, I found out that I missed the indexing a lot, so I ended up with separate pieces of paper that I stuck in the end of the calendar, for events/to-dos/etc that wouldn’t specifically be in one day.
Then I found out the amazing planner by Erin Condren. Oh my! That was a feast to my eyes. Colourful, neat, customized the way you wanted (I went with horizontal layout) and a geometrical cover! I really enjoyed using this planner. Sometimes, I felt that I shouldn’t be using it a lot, in fear of wearing it out…
But, after using the Erin Condren planner for a year, I realise that I tend to use mostly the monthly layout, while the rest of the days are empty. Besides, since this planner is from USA, I missed the Greek national holidays, Easter period, etc. So to my regret, I realised that I had to find another way, thinking of going back to the 365-days calendar, but to a smaller size.
Until, late June 2016, I came across a blog, saying something about bullet journaling, a system developed by a man(!). I searched all the hashtags available in Instagram. And I was so overwhelmed, that after a day reading everything relevant, I placed my order for a pink, dotted Leuchtturm1917 notebook. I know, I could use any notebook and believe me I have plenty of A5 notebooks, but I had a feeling that if I use any of those, every day I would keep thinking of the Leuchtturm1917. Despite my husband’s efforts to find a respective app for the Bullet Journaling in iPhone, since “We are in the digital era, why do you need the notebook? Find an app!”, I kept dreaming of all the layouts I could make. Waiting for the arrival of my order, I tried to figure out all my needs and how I am going to use the Bujo system.
I watched all videos available, I understood the index-key-monthly-daily-future system, but I ended up a little bit disappointed. Why? Because, as with Erin Condren’s planner, I wasn’t much of a daily planner. So, was that another whim? Something new, which amazed me, but wouldn’t be practical for me? Well, no… As Rydall Carroll says, the system is there and you can customise it to cover your needs. So, what if I left out the daily layouts? That would do the trick!
And this is how, I ended up with two notebooks. You can imagine my husband’s arguments, right? But let me explain myself. My notebook should cover short- and long-term needs. I want a notebook to have monthly layouts, along with various monthly trackers, and a future log. This way I keep track of my obligations both in the current month and in the future. This would be a yearly bujo. However, I also needed a list tracker of some of my favourite things. For example, I wanted a list with the theatre plays I go. Or a “Bucket list”. Or a “Places I want to visit”. All these lists are not restricted in one month or year. Those lists are beyond the bullet journaling system, they are more like a diary (perhaps?). Thus, you guessed it right. I placed another order, for a second Leuchtturm1917 notebook (a white one, this time). This way I keep my pink for the long‑term lists and the white for this year.
Since, I have just started this way of journaling, don’t expect to see finished and perfect spreads. I am still trying to find my way. But, I want to record this progress, so here is this blog. Just a personal blog, which will help me to organise my life in a better and more colourful way! Will you join me?
Disclosure
All the posts and images are mine. I don’t get paid, this blog is personal and I hope that it will help somehow other people as well. Unfortunately, there are some minor expenses (hosting and domain name) that I will try to cover through Google Adsense. I am opposite to ads in general, but I feel that if I use them correctly and in right places, they will not be much annoying.