The Perfect Productivity System For YOU

We often want to get many things done, but can’t for some reason. Sometimes you forget, other times you remember when you can’t do anything about it, then forget it when you are in a position to do something about it.

The answer to this dilemma is to write these tasks somewhere you can look at any time during your day.

Enter the Bullet Journal Method.

Bullet Journal?

Bullet Journal at its most basic level is a tool to help you keep track of everything you want to get done, using pen and paper.

The claim is that writing down tasks with pen and paper adds more intention than typing them out.

It also gives you the chance to engineer YOUR system.

Why Bullet Journal?

As mentioned before, writing things down with pen and paper makes you think about the things you are writing. Typing things out digitally has become too easy, that you don’t need to think about what you are writing; Before you know it, you will have a list of 30 things to do on any given day.

This point is further highlighted by the fact that, if you didn’t get something done in the timeframe you allotted in your Bullet Journal, you will have to write it down again in the next one (whether it be a day, week, month, or year), which makes you think about the importance of that task more than once.

By the time you are done writing, you will have a curated list of tasks that you need to get done in the specified time frame. 

This makes the Bullet Journal act as your source of truth. Now that everything you need to get done is written, you can pull out your digital tools (to-do list, calendar, etc) and place those tasks in the places you usually would, for fast access (If you don’t want to walk around with the notebook).

This helps you make the best of pen and paper, as well as modern digital tools.

How To Get Started With Bullet Journaling?

Getting started is very simple. All you need are a pen, notebook (any notebook), and a ruler if you want to have straight lines.

On the first page, you write down the following KEY. This will be how you manage tasks in the Bullet Journal.

(Migrate Forward means you are moving the task to the next day. Migrate Backward means you are moving the task back to the MONTHLY LOG because you don’t need to get it done soon)

Next, leave 2-3 pages for your INDEX. Here you write down the page numbers of key parts in your Bullet Journal, for fast access when needed. (Before you start writing on a page, number it.)

Then comes the FUTURE LOG, where you divide your page into months as far as you want to track (Year, 6 months, Quarter, Semester, etc). Here you write down the events that take place each month (Birthday and other commitments that take place in the frame of the month, as well as things you migrated backwards). 

You then create a MONTHLY LOG. This is where you list all the events that occur on that specific month, by date (Deadlines, birthdays, etc). It’s like you took the FUTURE LOG and zoomed into a specific month.

Finally, you have your WEEKLY LOG. This is the place where you have your days and the tasks you will get done on that day. You don’t need to plan your whole week at once. Just take in one day at a time. I would recommend having a weekly brain dump though, where you write down the tasks you want to get done on that week, to have a pool of tasks to choose from each day.

Remember how I said Bullet Journal gives you the chance to engineer your system?

Customising Your Bullet Journal

The steps I listed before are just the basics of Bullet Journaling.

The fact that the Bullet Journal is a blank canvas means that you can do whatever you want in it. 

You can create a collection of tasks related to a specific project, do normal journaling at regular intervals, or add trackers for habits you are trying to keep or goals you are trying to achieve.

I will be sharing the way I use my own Bullet Journal in my Email Newsletter inshallah, so make sure you are subscribed!

Takeaways

The bullet journal is a great and easy method to be on top of your tasks as well as check in with yourself regularly. As you use the Bullet Journal more, you will discover new to customize it to help you be more efficient.

For More on The Things Am Learning:

1. Twitter: This is the place where I share snippets from books I am reading, as well as show whatever I am working on at the moment.

2. Newsletter: Here I share interesting ideas that are going through my mind, updates about experiments I am conducting, and ways I implement the knowledge I acquire into my own everyday life.