If no one else will say it, then I will: organizing is hard. If you struggle with keeping all of your things in order and sometimes feel like you never make any tangible progress, you are not alone. You might be expecting the next sentence to say something like, “I used to be just like you!” The truth is I’m still like you. This kind of thing is still a struggle for me, but I found something that helps.
I found Bullet Journal.
Before you click away, believing that I’m trying to sell you yet another hair-brained organizing system that you’ll never use, let me reassure you: I am not trying to sell you anything. You probably already have everything you need to get started. I know that organizing can be difficult for my fellow creatives, and my only goal is to help in any way I can. So here goes:
Bullet Journal Basics
Pretty simple, right? Well, the system is the easy part – making it part of your daily habits is the real challenge. I usually make filling in the journal the first thing I do after I’ve finished my basic get-ready ritual of breakfast/shower/etc. When I’m ready to sit down and start getting things done, I check my monthly goals and plan my day accordingly. I used to fill these things in over breakfast and for a while I even made a point of planning for tomorrow the night before, but for me this made the process more stressful, not less. Your mileage may vary, I encourage you to use whatever works for you and to mix things up when the routine itself starts to feel grueling.
My Personal Flare
When I fell into a rut, creatively and organizationally, I decided I needed to change something up. Thus, color-coding was born. Any writing tasks get written in red, blogging/marketing in blue, art tasks in green, and personal errants in black. I bought a special four-color pen for the job, but you can probably find a few different colored pens around your house and get the same effect, if you want.
Then there was the problem of procrastination. I have an essay about overcoming procrastination that I’ll publish on here as soon as I find the time to finish it.
Procrastination probably varies from person to person, but for me it arose whenever I felt overwhelmed by the scope of a goal or project. I thought back to my days in college and remembered that I used to doodle quite a lot before undertaking a daunting task and that it sort of cleared my mind for the work ahead. For the bullet journal, I started decorating the first letter of the month I’m working in with very simple illumination.
As you can see I didn’t get too carried away, just jotted down a simple design that would take a little time but not necessarily need a lot of concentration. For me, this helped my mind to kind of breathe before it launched into whatever I was trying to accomplish that day. That little break was all I needed to hack my brain into feeling like I was goofing off when I was actually being quite productive. Joke’s on you, brain!
Find the Fun
Mary Poppins was absolutely onto something when she implied that finding the fun in a task would make it feel like a game. I think this is what has kept me relatively faithful to my bullet journaling these last several years – I have fun with it! Anything that doesn’t get done gets pushed to get done later! I draw little pictures to keep my brain from taking all of this too seriously! FUN!
If Bullet Journaling sounds like it could work for you, then here’s some advice – DON’T BUY ANYTHING YOU DON’T NEED FOR IT. Perhaps your psyche functions differently than mine, but as soon as I buy something that’s meant to help me, my mind tricks me into thinking that the item has already helped me because I bought it. Find a spare lined journal if you can (make your own lines in a blank sketchbook if you’re feeling adventurous!) or bind your own journal using spare paper and staples!). Use the pens you have on hand and don’t incorporate color-coding or any of my other personal customizations unless you really think it will help. Keep this process simple and fun and working for you – not the other way around!
If you use up that old journal completely, then you can think about buying a dotted one like in the video. Develop the habit first, then you can think about investing in keeping it. And if it doesn’t work for you, don’t take that as a personal affront or sign of failure. Something out there will help you – find it and run with it for as long as it will carry you.
If you’d like more information about the bullet journal system, check out their website.