Falling In Love With Imperfect Bullet Journaling

Introduction

Bullet journaling, often referred to as BuJo, is a versatile system created by Ryder Carroll. Originally developed as a productivity tool, it has evolved into a method of self-expression and personal growth for millions of BuJo fans.

The fundamental principles of bullet journaling focus on simplicity and customisation, allowing individuals to tailor their journals to best meet their needs.

This means that your bullet journal journey can be completely bespoke to you.

I spent many years not sharing my own bullet journals, because I saw all the extraordinary bujo creations out there created by superbly talented creators, and I felt my bullet journal was embarrassing in comparison.

However, one day, as I sat creating my perfectly imperfect bullet journal, I realised that if I felt embarrassed about creating and sharing my bullet journal, there were likely to be many thousands of people who felt the same, and who perhaps never ventured into the wonderful world of bullet journaling, because they felt their artistic skills were sub par.

I’m here to tell you that there is no bullet journal police.

There is no set standard. No one perfect way to create a bullet journal, and in fact giving yourself the opportunity to learn how to bullet journal in a way that you find joy, peace, happiness and calm, is one of the best things you can do on your own bullet journal journey.

What you do in your BuJo does not have to compare in any way whatsoever, to anyone else’s bullet journal.

When I stepped away from comparison-itis, and started to bullet journal for the sheer pleasure of doing so, I got so much more excited and passionate about bullet journaling.

So whilst I now share many of my own imperfect BuJo creations, that does not, in any way mean that I’m setting any sort of standard for you.

In fact nothing would give me more pleasure, than to see you find your own unique way to bullet journal, and I’m here to give you the biggest motivation to do just that.

You can get yourself set up with a bullet journal quickly and easily (using the tips below), and start to play with your BuJo, finding your unique way as you go. No pressure. Just fun.

Bullet Journal Tips

The first step in starting your bullet journal journey is to grab some supplies that will help you begin to settle in to your BuJo life.

Here are the top, easy supplies you’ll need to start your bullet journal journey:-

• A bullet journal. Many people use the Leuchtterm, but always being someone that goes her own route, I use the much cheaper but perfectly adequate Easynote journals. They are a fraction of the price. Paper thickness is 100gsm (the Leuchtterm is 120gsm), so you are working with a thinner paper, and hard felt tips/heavy ink can bleed through, but I rarely experience that. Perhaps one day I will up level to the Leuchtterm, but for now the Easynote journals work for me. The thing that drew me to these journals was the square shape, that I think works really well in bullet journals. There will be plenty of other journals you can check out – I encourage you to look for dotted grid format ones with a reasonable quality of paper (minimum 100-120gsm) to avoid as much bleed through on pages as possible.
• Some fineliners and felt tips. I invested in the micron fineliners. They’re great quality, but I’ve also purchased cheap fineliners from my local supermarket which have performed perfectly well. I have a wide range of felt tips, but my favourites are Mildliners, and you can purchase these in all sorts of colours. They last ages and are great quality.
• Pencils – These are great to help you sketch out any designs for your BuJo that you don’t feel comfortable doing in ink straight away. I’ll often sketch out text, because this is one part of my own bullet journaling I find tricky. Whilst I see all sorts amazingly drawn text in other BuJos, mine is rather imperfect in comparison. A pencil helps me sketch out what I need before I ink in.
• Rubber and pencil sharpener – It makes sense that if you’re using pencils in your BuJo, having a good rubber and pencil sharpener to hand is a good idea. I opt for a white rubber – coloured ones can often leave marks on pages.
• Practice pad – I have a couple of pads I use to practice my doodles in and to sketch out ideas for my bullet journal. Practicing is key – it really does help you start to create the best versions of your designs in your bullet journal.
• Stencils – there are tonnes of stencils you can purchase to help you with your bullet journaling. I have some but don’t often use them, I prefer to free hand in my own imperfect way. You’ll find loads of stencils on Amazon and in craft shops if you want some of these to help you start your BuJo journey.

Starting Your Bullet Journal

The easiest way to start your bullet journal is with a monthly log, which you can build to suit your own circumstances. I often have some goals in my monthly log, along with some doodles, some to do’s, perhaps some motivational words and wins I can relate to through the month.

The main thing is to get started. You’ll see lots of information about creating an index, building out individual goal pages, and filling out lots of different information in your BuJo.

But the easiest way to get started is to have a monthly log that helps you in your life (and/or business). This is where I started my journey, it really got me settled into bullet journalling without the requirement to be in my BuJo creating every single day. I can’t afford the luxury of hours in my BuJo each day, because I have a coaching business that I run. So my bullet journal needs to work for my life, and around my life and business, without it being too overwhelming.

Here are a some images of my monthly logs:

The first and third images were my February monthly spread. The middle image is the start of my March spread, and the doodle ladies at the bottom of that page were created using spoons for the outline. Yes you can use anything to help create your BuJo layouts! You can see how I turned those spoons into doodle ladies in this Instagram post.

Inspo For Your Monthly Log

If you’re after inspiration for your monthly log, here are some common designs used:

• a calendar
• a task list that highlights key priorities
• a daily log is a practical space for logging everyday tasks and events
• a daily reflection space
• a 3 key priorities space
• words of the month
• gratitude for the month
• key goals with log to maintain through the month
• monthly wins

Once you’ve settled in to your monthly log, and feel comfortable with using it, you can then start to explore other layouts for your BuJo. 

Final Points

Remember your bullet journal is a creative outlet that is supposed to bring you joy, whilst giving you artistic freedom, and a way to organise and capture your daily life. You can be as crazy, creative and colourful, or as organised, sharp and black and white with your journal as you wish.

There is no bullet journal police.

The more you give yourself the freedom to find your own way with your bullet journal journey, the happier you will be, and the more your bullet journal will grow from a tiny seed into a full and beautiful journal that captures the essence of you and your life.

I continue to learn and grow in my own perfectly imperfect bullet journal journey, and I encourage you to to do the same.

Thank you for being here with me. I’d love to see your BuJo creations! Send them to me at info@bulletjournalbestie.com, and drop a comment to tell me where you are in your own bullet journal journey.

Catch you soon!

Keep creating.

Jenny 🤗