17 Comments

I've never used a bullet journal, but I did start using a Panda Planner Classic last year. At first I loved it, but I really only made use of the daily section. The way the monthly and weekly sections are organized did not work for me. This year, I'm happy to say I've found a new planner from my local Aldi (love Aldi!) that is working really well. Maybe some day I'll move on to the bullet journal and design my own planner...but for now, the freedom and openness of blank pages scare me. :)

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I'm returning to having a bullet journal this year after finding that bought planners just weren't flexible enough. I did one in 2019 and loved it but found setting things up too time-consuming - so this time I'm keeping it simple. I set up my year (future log) in a similar way to you but with 2 months per page. I put all significant dates in there. I start each month with a double-page spread which includes goals, memories and a financial snapshot. I then 'daily log' in the original Ryder method. All my appointments are on my iCalendar because I need an audible reminder, so I mostly use my bujo for daily tasks and notes. I also use it for collections of all sorts of things and find myself going back over old journals to find these using the index.

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I started using a Bullet Journal in earnest in 2023 and have been transitioning from digital to more paper based organizing. Still constantly tweaking but I'm not sure if that's to improve the system or prevent me from getting bored with the system.

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I love having a peek into other artist's journals! Thanks for the look. I did a bullet journal for years then switched to a notebook and am back to a planner - but also have a digital calendar I couldn't live without! Happy New Year!

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I have been doing a bullet journal for a few years now and I absolutely love it. Otherwise I had lists and notes and whatever spread among notebooks and Trello and scraps of paper. Now it all goes in there. I do a four page spread to start each month, with a calendar that I put writing tasks in. Life tasks go on a list under the month heading. Even if I don't use it daily, this monthly check in helps me stay organized.

I don't take too much time getting fancy, but I do color code a lot!

This year I decided to treat myself to an actual branded Bullet Journal. It's pricey, but considering how much I use it, it's easily worth it, plus they made a very pretty "artist" version this year.

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I use a journal for my work as an APub art director, not my writing or cartooning. But when you get a personal system figured out, it can be so helpful. My memory is the journal these days. My system is more task and deadline oriented and not calendar-centric. Thanks for sharing.

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Dec 27, 2023Liked by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

Oh I just love stuff like this! I've been using Notion a lot these days, but I do sometimes feel the call toward an actual book.

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I love to bullet journal and hope to do it more this year. I really embraced it during covid-it brought me such peace.

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I love a good bullet journal!

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Have a happy Season Debbie!

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I am a big fan of writing down my weekly/daily schedule, along with writing down the big picture plans for the year. I used to have a ritual of getting together with another artist friend of mine to share our big goals for the year. Alas, she died last year and we had missed several years of our in person goal sharing due to Covid precautions. I am now re-committing to the practice, and your bullet journal set up is really helpful. I agree, if there is too much extraneous stuff it get in the way of it actually being useful practice.

I do find if I take those few minutes at the end of the week or workday to write down things to accomplish the next day, I am more likely to follow through. I like the process of writing my to-do list by hand. I am also leaving space in my journal for my weekly TA-DA list, wins no matter how small.

Thanks for being here. I really appreciate your insights into the kid lit world.

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