Back to Bujo Basics: Trying the Original Method

In the four years I’ve Bullet Journaled, I’ve managed to amass a horrifying collection of washi tape, highlighters, and colored pens. I was as far away from bujo basics as you can get.

All of these artistic items are fine on their own; although, reading Ryder Carroll’s official The Bullet Journal Method: Track the Past, Order the Present, Design the Future” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>The Bullet Journal Method book challenged how I use this system.

Want to read more about the book? I have a full review on the blog, including an overview, sneak peak pictures, and more.

Bullet Journaling is becoming more and more popular. As a result, the idea is hardly recognizable from Carroll’s original method.

I still love color in my journal, and I can still appreciate new, community-based ideas like weekly logs and extensive habit trackers. But Carroll’s system obviously has a method to the madness. So in March, I gave it a try exactly as he recommended.

The Monthly Log

Confession: I’ve never actually done my monthly layout this way.

Right from the start, I jumped into the fancy boxes and hand-drawn calendars I saw on Pinterest. So in March, I made my log according to Carroll’s method.

What worked well:

• It’s SO fast to set up and I didn’t need a ruler
• The overview of the month clearly seperates events and tasks
• Plenty of room for everything I needed, unlike in calendar boxes
• Serves as an excellent reflection tool of the month

What didn’t work well:

• I only referenced Google Calendar for my events
• I rarely referenced the task list when making my daily layouts
• I didn’t really need it

Conclusion

This layout was much more functional than other more complex monthly spreads I’ve used. Although, between Google Calendar, my academic master syllabus, and my daily logs, I didn’t really need it.

If you’re used to different monthly layouts, this one is worth a try!

The Daily Log

If you take a scroll down my Instagram, you’ll quickly see that I was a slave to the weekly log.

Every Sunday, I sat down to draw the spread for a new week. I’d tried other planners, yet nothing beat the flexibility of a new possibility every Monday.

Again, this was actually my first time trying the official daily log system. It almost seems sacrilegious, as this is the building block of the bullet journal system.

What worked well:

• NO required setup or drawing beforehand
• Extremely flexible
• Entries can be as short or long as I need
• Signifiers and different bullets make switching between topics easier

What didn’t work well:

• It’s hard to plan in advance (for some reason I don’t like using the monthly log for tomorrow)
• It’s kind of ugly – I wish aesthetics didn’t matter as much to me
• With all aspects of life mixed up, it’s difficult to discern what is what, or what’s a priority

Conclusion

This is actually wonderful for me. I can skip days without an angry blank page haunting me. It’s extremely manageable during both school and summer work seasons.

I still use this daily log system, even though I tweaked it after giving it a fair try.

My Weekly and Daily Hybrid

I did miss the future planning aspects of the weekly logs, but the daily logs worked so well for me.

It’s simple, it’s not that cute, but it’s functional.

In my Leuchtterm Notebook, I used 5 spaces for each day square. This picture comes from finals week, which is also when I moved out of the dorm. This layout allowed me to see everything at a glance while still using the basic daily log.

What now?

I enjoyed going through Carroll’s book and implementing some of his goal-setting methods. I reccomend this to anyone else trying to maximize their productivity!

Going back to bujo basics was revolutionary for the way I looked at planning. If you’re overwhelmed by your bullet journal or it’s just not serving you well anymore, try stripping it back.

I’ve started adding in some more color just to brighten my pages, and I’m starting to tweak the basic layouts to fit my needs. But I’m only doing this after I know what my needs actually are.

Whether you’re a complete novice or an expert, consider returning to bujo basics this year! Please comment your thoughts below or email me at greyzonepages@gmail.com.