Create A Bullet Journal In 4 Easy Steps And Be Instantly More Organized

I consider myself an extremely organized person, so when I came across this video I immediately thought to myself: “This is me.”

Ryder Carroll, a designer from Brooklyn, New York, created the bullet journal as an “evolving, adaptable platform meant to be shared and self curated as you determine what works best for you.”

In short, it’s a clean and simple way to stay organized. The main points (somewhat like chapters) are the Index, Future Log, Monthly Log, and Daily Log. According to Jason Mcdermott, it’s best to create a bullet journal with a dotted or gridded notebook.

Here’s how you do it:

1. Start With An Index

This is like a table of contents and helps you easily find things later. List out the following points (and leave the space to the right blank so you can fill in page numbers later). Leave a few pages at the front of your notebook blank for the index after the daily log—you’ll see why later.

• Future Log
• Monthly Log (I recommend to vertically list the months of the year: Jan, Feb, March, etc)
• Daily Log

2. Create A Future Log

A future log is the section where you block off a few months at a time. Here, fill in big ideas, events, travel and goals. Then go back to your index and list the pages of this set of months.

3. Create A Monthly Log

After the future log, dedicate each page for a month. In this section, you should enter birthdays, specific events, etc. Vertically assemble the days of the month with the name of day of the week + the actual date. For example:

• T : 1
• W : 2
• TH : 3
• F : 4

Once completed, visit your index and list the page numbers of each month.

4. Create A Daily Log

Lastly, you will need to create a daily log. You can use as much pace as you need for daily logs. I personally try to keep things simple and prefer to dedicate about 1/3-1/4 of a page to each day, so a week cleanly fits onto two pages (like the image above). You can plan each day or week out in advance, or take each day as they come – the choice is yours.

After each day or week, you’ll want to record the days or weeks in the index. This is where you’ll neex extra pages in your index. I personally “block” the daily logs like this:

• January 1-15  p. 52-53
• January 16-31 p. 54-55

Using Signifiers To Stay Organized

The Lazy Genius Collective recommends using the following signifiers as bullets. If you want to get fancy, you can come up with your own. I like to color code mine (boxes are green, triangles are orange, dots are blue, etc)

• An open box: for tasks and things that need to get done. When completed, fill in the box.
• An open triangle: for appointments. When completed, fill in the box.
• An open dot: For things you need to remember. It could be the name of someone you met, a book you want to read, or movie you want to watch.
• A heart is for memories that are sentimental.
• A star goes next to a signifier above that needs extra attention or is deemed really important.

For inspiration, here’s some gorgeous bullet journals:

This one prioritizes fitness at the top.

You can even have a section (just be sure to put it in your index) for a budget.

This one seems to be broken down by hour each day.

This one has beautiful pastels.

I like how this one includes a little meal planner for each day. This would be helpful if you filled out this little section at the beginning of the week before you go grocery shopping.

Packing list = brilliant idea.

[h/t: Hello Giggles]