A bullet journal is a great way to stay productive at work, at home, or in school. Just about anyone can benefit from bullet journaling from college students to busy working moms. If you feel like you don’t have enough hours in the day to get everything done, use a bullet journal to help you plan and prioritize
In my life, the bullet journal method has helped me in my reflection process and improves my productivity. I am able to use a rapid logging technique when brain dumping my day to day task.
Some of the items I keep in my bullet journal are:
- Meal Plans – I have a spread dedicated to the meal plans for the week. I copy the plan from Real Plans so I can easily access it at any time. Research shows writing things down makes the brain’s job easier.
- Monthly Log – This is where I get an overview of the month so I don’t overextend myself. It helps me to see what I can say yes to and when I may be overextended.
- Books To Read – I love to jot down notes about books to read for when my next audible credit is available.
- Table of Contents – Also known as the index. This allows me to find notes and collections easily when it is time to reflect.
- Future Log – This is necessary for all of those appointments you don’t have monthly spreads for yet or daily pages. It allows you to book appointments in the future.
The possibilities are endless for what you can record and track. Adding page numbers to your bullet journal will allow you to easily index your journal. This is hand during times to reflect.
The Bullet Journal Makes You Plan Ahead
As you make out your daily tasks lists, you have to think about what you should be working on. This makes you plan ahead and think things through instead of sitting at your desk doing busy work. A little bit of planning can help you make progress that much faster and it will boost your overall productivity. If you find daily to-do lists helpful, give bullet journaling a try as a way to get even more productive faster.
You can use your bullet journal to track long term projects or as a daily log. Get in the habit of planning your day in your journal to boost productivity.
Some people find it helpful to make out their next day’s task list at the end of the day. Others prefer to make out their list first thing in the morning, while they are drinking coffee and getting ready for the day. Both are valid approaches. Give both a try and see what works for you.
The Bullet Journal Motivates You To Get Stuff Done
Once you have your daily tasks recorded, you’ll be motivated to work on checking them off. This will greatly increase your productivity in several different ways. The first is that you know exactly what you should be working on. You won’t waste time figuring out what your next step is, or sit there and watch cat videos instead of doing something productive.
The daily list of tasks will also make you push just a little harder to make sure everything gets done before you call it a day. Try it and see how much more you can get done in a day with a daily list in your bullet journal.
In order to be more productive use bullet points when listing out your tasks so you can easily check off what has been done. Also, make sure you are using an action word in all of your tasks. Instead of just writing down the name of the person you need to call write, “Call Jamie.”
The Bullet Journal Is A Great Record To Help You Reflect
The bullet journal is a great record of what you’ve been doing on a daily basis. Set aside a little time to look through your notes at the end of the week or the month. Reflect on what’s working and what isn’t. Where do you need to work harder, what can you stop doing.
Use the record your bullet journal gives you to improve your processes and tasks. It will make you better at your job, in school, and at home. Use it as a personal and professional improvement tool.
It is easy to personalize your bullet journal by adding flourishes like stickers and washi tape. Make your journal your own so when it comes time to reflect it brings you joy.
One of my favorite things about bullet journaling is that you don’t leave blank pages. I was always trying to find the perfect planner and bullet journaling allowed me to create my own. Have you tried bullet journaling to boost your productivity? Let me know how it went in the comments.
