Ah! The famous TO DO List. My friends, I am here to confess that I am a keeper of LISTS. If I could shout it from the rooftops, I would say “I’M A LIST GIRL!!” I love to write crap down so I can just cross it off my list. And, even if I have already done it (and it wasn’t on the list), I will write it down after the fact just to cross it OFF my list. Does anyone else feel me???

Ok enough of that. But seriously, WHY DO I MAKE LISTS? Why does anyone do this? What’s the point? Well, about 5 years ago I read a book by Ryder Carroll about the bullet journal method. I started in a very basic way but it evolved into creative bullet journaling and took off from there. I have recently reverted back to the basics because I have ZERO TIME to mess about making these elaborate pages everyday or even every week when in all honesty it’s really just a daily To Do List. I also realized that I’ve been making lists since I was a teen. Sticky notes and strips of paper rocked my young adult life especially. So, what I really needed was a way to ORGANIZE my life, to keep track of all the little things I needed to get done every day and what was on the horizon for each week, month, a few months from now and next year…..

How do you do this? I have an agenda book AND a a basic bullet journal. These 2 things are the backbone of keeping my shit together so to speak. I’ll tag my favs at the bottom of this post in case you are interested in what I actually use.

If you are a married adult, with kids at multiple stages, activities to get to, plus add in a work schedule and you can’t remember to make an appointment for your youngest or that you were supposed to pick up the dry cleaning that day or even to add cat food to the shopping list, then you need a better strategy. A friend of mine recently was complaining that she can’t remember all the things she has to get done. She had forgotten about lots of appointments and activities with her 4 kids, husband and work stuff. If you know anything about me, you would know that I am a SOLUTION person. If there is a problem I can identify, then I try to find a solution instead of whine about the grief I am having over a solvable issue.

So, in true “fix-it” mode, I mentioned to my friend how my agenda and bullet journals have kept me sane over the past few years. And that it was only when I was actively using them that I felt productive and that I was getting things done. I had quickly realized that, as my family grew and I became increasingly busier, that my sticky notes everywhere were NOT going to cut it. I think I reached a critical point in my life where my husband told me to get a better balance on things and I had to think long and hard about my priorities. My family was a priority, my husband was a priority, and my job was important too, but I only had 24 hours in a day to “do all the things”.

Now, I keep a quick running log list of daily little tasks I need to do in my black notebook (bullet journal) and my 12 month agenda book has my schedule, husbands schedule and kids’ schedule all in there to remind me where I’m supposed to be and when. It also holds all my school related deadlines so I can see at a glance what I should be working on each week for each of my courses. I also keep a separate bullet journal on my office desk for just my work tasks each day. That has REALLY been helpful when I’m at the office. Every night, I double check the next day’s schedule to make sure I know where I need to be in the morning and when to set my alarm. When I get to the office, I make a fresh To Do List just for that day and add any items not completed from the day prior and get my day started. I love this system. It’s so simple and easy to keep up with. And I don’t forget the important things.

By the way, my friend has made a similar system work for her. Her level of stress went from “through the roof” to “comfortable”.

Ryder Carroll’s book: The Bullet Journal Method (read it or check out his website: https://bulletjournal.com/

Agenda: Classic A5 size planner-   https://www.personalplanner.com/US/planner_editor/?size=a5

Favorite pens for my agenda planner: Friction clicker 07 (Erasable colored gel pens!)

Bullet journal favorite notebook: Leuchtturn1917 (purchase on Amazon, also A5 size)

Ever heard of this thing called BULLET JOURNALING? Well, let me help you understand this madness. The basic concept is taking all your various to dos, tracking, thoughts/notes and pretty much anything you need to write down and keep tabs of into ONE NOTEBOOK. When your life is full of little spirals, sticky notes and brain overload of random information (but semi-important), then this can be a game changer. Since embarking on this adventure, I have enjoyed adding in longer form journaling (think diary), sketching and illustrations in watercolor in addition to my regular bullet journals. I have that in plural because I have to have one for work and one for home stuff. Mixing the 2 created additional chaos for me and I don’t need more of that, I have plenty.

Go look up Ryder Carroll to find out more about the Bullet Journal. He is a super smart guy who actually kind of invented this concept to solve his own issues of organization. It’s very eye opening to see how it began and how it has evolved into something different for everyone.

I originally started out with the basic method just like his book outlined and I quickly started adding in the sketches and watercolor came shortly after that. Then, I went down this rabbit hole of artsy bullet journaling over covid days at home because well I had the time. Then the world went back to reality and so did I. Then I just stopped everything for a couple months. Back to the sticky note life and total disorganization! I couldn’t remember anything and frequently forgot about important things I was supposed to be doing. It didn’t take me long to realize it was because I had found a good system that was actually helping me and I stopped using it. I found a new notebook and started again and haven’t stopped since. Knowing your limitations is half the battle.

If you haven’t had a chance to check out my Instagram, go do a little stalking and see how this process has evolved over the years. I post only uplifting and fun things over there but it is a peak into my visual world, which tells you a lot more about me.

Anyways, this was on my mind today because it is literally ALL I’ve kept up with since my last post. I may pull back from everything else but I stick to my journaling so I do not forget to pick up the dry cleaning, among other important but not life altering things….

What I used to start my bullet journal journey: Ryder Carroll’s The Bullet Journal Method book, a great writing pen that ups your coolness factor (Lamy Safari fountain pen with a medium nib), any DOT GRID journal (I like Minimalism Art Classic hard cover 5”x 8.3” notebook). That’s it to start. If you have markers or washi tape or stickers that’s all EXTRA but you can add in what you want. However, I suggest starting with the basics and growing from there.

I hope you find a way to make it your own. Happy journaling!