I have a notebook problem. The clearest sign that I am overly stressed is finding myself in the nearest SuperTarget staring at the wall of fancy notebooks, as if picking the right one will cause a magical beam of organization to come down from on high. Enter, bullet journaling. If your fancy, half-empty planner and your favorite old spiral notebook filled with doodles and sticky notes had a beautiful, functional baby, this would be that baby.
I am aware that there are apps for all of this. I have at least a dozen of them currently taking up storage in my phone. But let me go on record: I believe in paper. I believe in pens. I believe in the healing powers of crossing things off a physical list. I believe that there are connectors in my brain that do not remember things until I have put pen to paper.
Why is Bullet Journaling Perfect for Moms?
Because it can be anything you need it to be, and it can be ever evolving based on your season. Need a special page for your son’s soccer schedule? Want to use a whole spread for a summer-at-a-glance reference sheet? Some weeks you want space for a full meal plan and grocery list, and some weeks you write Chick-fil-A or cereal for dinner every night? All of these things are doable and work perfectly in this system.
Let’s get started.
Get the basics and watch official bullet journaling how-to videos.
Now you need to buy one! There is an official one. A popular (and colorful) one. A spiral- bound one (my personal favorite). Or you can forgo the need for graph paper and start with whatever notebook you have sitting around.
A Warning About Comparisons
There is a possible early roadblock on this path, and the danger is in the Googling. There are many Instagram accounts whose creators spend hours making nonsense pages to photograph. I saw one with calligraphy on one side and fresh lavender laying on the other. (Maybe you always make to-do lists with a side of lavender, in which case, your life is better than mine.) Don’t let these accounts intimidate you. It is perfectly okay to do this with nothing but a black pen and your normal handwriting. Use them for some fun ideas and inspiration, but in no way is it a problem if you skipped brush lettering class in high school.
And now you’re off! Follow the basic structure. Definitely have a key and an index, but after that the world is your oyster. Want your monthly overview page to be in list form? Great! Want it to be drawn with boxes like a calendar? That works too! Want to cover it in washi tape and use colored pens? Go with God.
Give it a month. Make yourself write down things every day. See if this system can really work for you. What do you have to lose?
Pardon me, I need to go cross off writing this article in my bullet journal.
