Kickstart Your Goals by Starting a Bullet Journal

Planning your future can be overwhelming and intimidating, especially when so many factors in your life are out of control. Where do you start? What is the best way to set and achieve goals? What are the first steps to preparing for your future? All of these questions can be addressed using one of my favorite productivity tools—bullet journaling.

I was introduced to bullet journaling in grad school. At the time, I was writing my dissertation, conducting research interviews, teaching college-level math courses, tutoring students, and trying to maintain a social life. I found this organizational tool helpful in planning and keeping track of everything going on in my life.

I have continued the practice of keeping a bullet journal through my graduation and into more recent chapters of my life—becoming a mom, working on my career, and designating time for self-care.

Read on to learn how bullet journaling can serve your goals and the tools you’ll need to get started. Then, check out my article on sample bullet journal pages to get some layout inspiration and a productivity boost.

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What is a bullet journal and how is it helpful?

Starting a bullet journal can be as simple or as elaborate as you make it. Bullet journaling is unique because it conforms to your style and schedule. Unlike standard planners or organizers, a bullet journal becomes what you need it to be—a one-stop-shop to organize your life, jot down your grocery list, and keep a monthly log of your goals.

You are a unique individual with unique preferences. You know how you work, so why settle for a cookie-cutter version of a planner? The great thing about bullet journaling is it evolves with you. When you grow, so does your journal!

What bullet journal supplies do you need to get started?

1. Bullet Journal

We’ve established that bullet journaling is more of a mindset than a specific product. If you want to keep things simple and cheap, create your journal by picking up a three-ring binder and adding a bunch of printer paper or graph paper.

However, a more common and somewhat inexpensive option is to purchase a bullet journal, also known as a dot journal (the 7”x10” paperback journal below sells for $8.99 on Amazon and can be found here).

The dots on the pages help you draw straight lines, form perfect squares, and keep the aesthetic of your journal uniform. For the experienced bullet journaler, more extravagant journals exist. The journal price often rises based on the quality of paper and other features (ie. pen holder, pockets).

Pro Tip: Be sure to add page numbers if your bullet journal doesn’t already have them. This will make it easy for you to reference specific pages of your journal.

2. Markers & Pens

In addition to the journal itself, you’ll need writing utensils. You can use something simple like pens, or you can get creative with colored pencils, highlighters, calligraphy pens, gel pens, or markers. You can honestly use whatever you want. Many bullet journalers also use stickers, stamps, washi tape, stencils, and other embellishments to make it their own.

To add color and creativity to the pages in my journals, I’ve enjoyed using less expensive pens such as BIC Cristal Ballpoint Stick Pens (about $0.21 a pen when bought in a pack) and slightly more expensive pens such as the Tombow Dual Brush Pens (about $1.70 a pen when bought in a pack).

Cheaper BIC Cristal Ballpoint Stick Pens add color and creativity to your bullet journal without breaking the bank.

More expensive Tombow Dual Brush Pens allow you to add more elaborate designs to your bullet journal.

Again, you can make this as simple or elaborate as you want. But the important thing is to find a journal that you’ll actually use. You could have the most beautiful journal ever, but if you never use it, what’s the point of having it in the first place?

For beginners, I would recommend creating a personalized binder or investing in a moderately priced dot journal (dot journals can range from $4-$30 each). Don’t worry about spending money on extra supplies until you find the journaling style that keeps you motivated, organized, and productive. That way there’s no pressure if you find bullet journaling isn’t a good fit for you.

How do you choose a bullet journal spread?

Now that you have the physical supplies for starting a journal, it’s important to outline your goals and preferences. This practice will help you begin to design the layout of your journal and come up with bullet journal page ideas. You may even want to use this list of goals as your cover page.

• Do you want to be more productive?
  Page Suggestion: Habit Tracker—this type of page may help increase your awareness of how you spend your time and energy. Becoming aware of your habits (both positive and negative) can help you become more productive.
• Do you want to be more mindful of your health?
  Page Suggestion: Health Tracker—This page can be a daily log of your weight, how much water you drink, ideas for meal planning, etc.
• Do you want to grow in planning and tracking your expenses?
  Page Suggestion: Monthly Expense Planning—Use this monthly spread to plan out your expenses on half of the page. Then, document how you spend your money on the other half. Reference this page for the next month’s expenses.
• Do you need a place to “brain dump?”
  Page Suggestion: Blank Page—Leave the last few pages of your bullet journal blank for “brain dumps.” Or only write on one side of a page, leaving the backside for any additional ideas or future logs that come up.
• Do you like the feeling of checking off a list?
  List Suggestion: Floating List—If you don’t like having to rewrite to-do lists for tasks you didn’t get around to, try a “floating list.” Write your to-do list on a sticky note, so you can transfer it to future pages if you need more time to complete your tasks.
• Are you a visual person looking to explore your creative side?
  Page Suggestion: Doodles & Embellishments—Make your pages fun by adding drawings or magazine clippings to provide added dimension and recapture your attention.
• Do you like things color-coordinated?
  Page Suggestion: Color Key—Create a page that outlines how you plan on using colors throughout your bullet journal. Refer to this key as you create your pages so you remain consistent.

As you read the above list, did any questions stand out to you? Did you learn anything new about yourself? Reflecting on the kind of person you are is a helpful step in enhancing your productivity through bullet journaling. Your answers to the above questions may also help you develop your journaling style and aesthetic, allowing you to stick to your life goals and enhance your productivity.

I’m the type of person who likes things that are aesthetically complete. At the same time, I struggle to achieve some of my daily goals. So, a monthly habit tracker is a valuable page for me to have because my desire for an aesthetically-pleasing page motivates me to complete my goals for each day.

Your to-do list doesn’t define your worth.

The pressures of today’s world can often feel overwhelming—like being asked to complete a 10,000 piece puzzle in one day. Bullet journaling is like a puzzle-completing strategy. By identifying and sorting the puzzle pieces, the tasks involved in completing the puzzle become less intimidating.

In the same way, by organizing your life through a bullet journal, you can sort through all the circumstances that come your way and tackle them one at a time. You may not be able to control every aspect of your life, but you can control how you respond to those circumstances—even creatively!

At the end of the day, you’re worthy regardless of how many items you check off your to-do list. Just by showing up and embracing tools like bullet journaling, you are taking huge strides towards living intentionally and growing daily.