One Year in my Bullet Journal – Lessons Learned, and Why I Will Always Keep a Journal Now

More than a Diary

My grandmother always kept a diary.  I always admired that she kept such good track of everything that happened.  After her passing, I remember my aunt looking up certain dates in her journals to settle details from an event in the past.  I tried to keep a diary myself from time to time, but I didn’t keep up with it regularly.

It wasn’t until I started using a bullet journal that I realized what was missing from my journaling formula.  I was only doing a “dear diary” entry when something significant happened.  I didn’t keep track of the day-to-day stuff.  At the time, it didn’t seem sensible to write down that I needed groceries, or that I went to a music lesson.  However, now I understand that it’s the little random daily things that make up our lives.  Big events mark milestones, but they don’t show how you get from one milestone to the next.  It’s the journey of each day that makes up a life, not a few big events.

When I understood that, I found that keeping all my notes and lists, my to-do’s and dreams, my ponderings and frustrations in one place where I could go back at any moment and see a road map of the journey from then until now made perfect sense.  The bullet journal is that map for me.  It’s a record of the journey that shows where I’ve been and how I’ve changed.  It’s been so worth the investment of time and a few dollars to have that record!

One Year Later

January 15^th marked the 1 year anniversary of the day I started using a bullet journal.  I’m a little bit stunned that a whole year has gone by…Where did it go??  What happened in this past year?  But you know the cool thing about this past year?  Flipping back through my journal, I can tell you what actually happened on any day!

I may not have written down details for every single day, but I can look back and see exactly which days I worked, what projects I was working on in any given week or month, and when we traveled.  It’s easy to see how certain events affected my attitude, how I reacted to difficult situations.  I can reflect on what I accomplished – or didn’t accomplish.

When I started my first bullet journal, the main thing I wanted was to have a place to write things down so I would remember what I needed to do.  Constantly overwhelmed, I was struggling to deal with some crazy things that life was throwing our way.  I needed to figure out how to manage my life better so I wasn’t just knee-jerk reacting all the time.  I had a bad attitude about pretty much everything and was emotionally wound pretty tight.

After doing some research (bulletjournal.com is an excellent place to start looking for info), I found some really cool websites, spent a LOT of time on Pinterest, and finally bought a simple and cute little journal.  Here’s what it looked like.

I soon discovered that not only could I keep track of whatever was going on during a given week or day, but I could take notes about any random thing that entered my head.  I started collections like crazy.  Some of them I never went back too, but some really helped me keep areas of my life more organized.  I vented about what was irritating me day to day, and I began to unwind a little.

If I wrote it down in my little book, it got done.  Bills got paid on time; I made it to all the appointments on my calendar.  I made a note when I was sick or had a bad headache, jotted down what I ate, and began to discover unhealthy patterns in my life.

If I needed to de-stress, I doodled.  If I was at a meeting and needed to take notes, my journal was right there and ready.  I wrote a lot those first few weeks about the things I was dealing with mentally and emotionally, and now it’s a great blessing to look back and see the journey I’ve been on unfolding.

As I found them, I wrote down lots of positive quotes and affirmations, Bible verses, and encouraging words.  I wrote about my health, my work, my frustration with myself, and much more.  Now, as I flip back through my first bullet journal, I can see how far I’ve come.

Mapping out the Journey

I started writing down new goals and began mapping out a journey towards the better life I knew was waiting for me if I could just stop living in so much fear and chaos.  One of those goals grew into this blog. It’s funny to think about, but if I hadn’t started that first bullet journal a year ago, I likely wouldn’t be writing this today.

So, is it worth starting a bullet journal?  Yes!!  Will I ever stop keeping one?  I don’t think so.  I’ve gained so much insight into myself and kept such a good record of the past year.  I don’t want to ever lose that ground I’ve gained.

Read more about my Bullet Journal Journey here and here.

Bullet Journal Resources:

If you’re ready to take the plunge and start a bullet journal for yourself, here are a few resources that I love and use (Please note: this post contains affiliate links.  If you should click on one and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.  Please read my full disclosure here.):

The MiquelRius Journal – I started out with just a basic hard-bound and lined journal that had 80 sheets of paper.  The journal was cute, but it only took me 6 weeks to fill it up.  Half-way through my second one, I knew I needed a journal that I could use for several months at a time.  Lots of research led me to this journal, and I have loved it!  It’s a tad bulky with 300 sheets of paper, but not enough to be inconvenient and I think I’m going to get a full year out of it!  I’m at 9 months now and still have over 150 pages to go.  It’s also remarkably sturdy.

I literally take this thing with me everywhere, pull it in and out of my purse multiple times a day, and it’s still holding together quite well.  I also love the grid lined pages.  They make it easy to draw and design, without being obnoxious.  I have wanted to try a dot-grid journal, but MiquelRius does not currently make one and it’s more important to me to have the bigger journal with more pages than the dot-grid!

Staedtler Triplus Fineliner Pens – These pens are so nice to write with.  They don’t bleed through the pages, they go on smoothly, have fine points so I can write small, and are easy and ergonomic to hold.

Stabilo Fineliners – These aren’t quite as ergonomic as the Triplus, but this package has lots of colors and isn’t too expensive.  I use these to color coordinate each month, and to color code tasks if I’m feeling extra fancy.  Sometimes I like to doodle with color, and these are perfect!

Washi Tape – Washi tape is a Japanese invention.  It’s kind of like painter’s tape, with a paper-like finish that is easy to write on.  It’s also easy to reposition on paper without tearing pages, making it ideal for bullet journaling.  I use washi tape mainly to section off each month.  I tape the edges of three pages, and those pages are where I draw in the month’s calendar, my finance tracking page, and my habit tracker, as well as anything else I want to keep track of that month.

Ruler – If you like straight lines, a ruler is a must!  Any clear, flexible ruler like this one will do.  It can also double as a bookmark.

Gel Highlighters – Since discovering gel highlighters, I’ve never gone back to the regular kind.  A good gel highlighter glides on smoothly and will never bleed through the page.

Post-it Notes – Post-it Notes are a vital part of my bullet journal arsenal.  Anytime I can’t quite commit to writing something down but still need to keep track of it, I use a Post-it Note.  Or, if I have something that I know I’ll need to remember for several days in a row, I use a Post-it Note so I can move it along as I turn pages in my journal.

Tabs – There are some pages that I refer to regularly, and I prefer to use small tabs to mark them.

Binder Clip – I use a binder clip to attach my pen to my journal so I always have one handy.

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