If you don’t know what bullet journaling is, I’m here to tell you it's literally the coolest trend to ever exist. Bullet journal users log their personal goals, daily activities, and intimate thoughts in a beautifully organized way.
Here are a few bujo layouts, tips, ideas, and inspo moments from BuzzFeed writers and the BuzzFeed Community to soothe your soul.
1. Start small and work from there:
"Ease into things! If you are not normally a journal/planner person, start slow and add more as you develop the habit of journaling. Overloading yourself with 20 daily trackers and 12 collections and fully illustrated weather reports will lead you to abandon the whole thing within a week."
—Katelyn Elizabeth, Facebook
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2. Do something as simple as this one:
3. Or this:
4. Or even this:
5. If you're not sure what to use it for, try using your bullet journal for everything initially:
"Use it for everything at first, then you will adapt it as it fits for you. Write all the reminders, song titles, directions, phone numbers, websites, paint colours, and to-dos in there. Don’t write lists elsewhere or keep five different notebooks. It defeats the purpose."
6. Use it as a place to express your creativity:
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7. Like this:
8. Or this:
9. This one too:
10. Collect details about yourself:
11. Do a little reflective analysis:
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12. If you're a color-coder, pick one scheme per month:
13. Get creative with your color palettes:
14. Use it for planning trips:
15. And packing:
16. Create a convenient all-in-one checklist:
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17. Or a daily schedule:
18. Keep a list of your favorite inspirational quotes to refer back to:
19. Look back on your memories:
20. Use it for general notes:
21. Theme your weekly spreads to keep it interesting:
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22. Consider using stencils if you aren't confident with your design skills:
23. Use it as a habit tracker:
24. Again, sometimes clean is OK:
25. Turn your reading and movie wish lists into actionable to-dos:
26. Plan your ideal day:
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27. Do what works for you, regardless of whether it's Instagram-worthy:
"The Instagram stuff is beautiful, yes, and if that's what makes you feel good, then by all means do it, but if what you really need is to just jot down what you're going to do today in the five minutes you have between breakfast and catching the bus — or writing down what you DID do today to unwind before bed — then do that."
—Ruby Lucero, Facebook
28. Use it for long-term or short-term planning:
29. Make a nice daily spread:
30. Set some goals:
"Setting up little goals for your journal in your head, such as 'I want to be halfway through my journal by Oct. 1,' or 'I want to try and write/draw/plan in at least four pages today' is also a good way to help prompt you to start journaling more. For me personally, it helps to give me motivation to write down my thoughts and ideas."
31. Set some longer-term goals:
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32. Remember that it doesn't matter if you're not especially artistic:
"Not good at calligraphy? It’s alright. Not a drawer? Just fine. Don't know how to make colours agree to save your life? It’s all good, baby. Look at your journal, think 'well, fuck it, I'm gonna do my thing' and thank yourself later."
33. Record details about a trip that you don't want to forget:
34. Use your bujo to coordinate outfits and see what's not working in your wardrobe:
35. Don't feel like you have to use it when you don't need to:
"Don’t get overwhelmed or feel like you need to track everything, or make a weekly spread for a week you don’t have much going on. Use it when you need it and only use the features you find are actually helpful to you."
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36. Plan in advance (it's helpful):
"Plan your layouts (daily or weekly) on Sunday nights. That way, you have a clear vision of your upcoming week and have plenty of time to add things you might have forgotten before."
37. Use it for gratitudes:
38. Take your time filling it up:
"Don’t try to fill the whole thing in one day. It has to slowly, organically happen so that it perfectly fits you. That takes time."
39. Use these tutorials to up your lettering game:
Alice Mongkongllite / BuzzFeed
40. Have a second notebook to try ideas in:
"Get a bullshit bullet journal to practice in! Test out borders, handwriting styles, and pictures."
—Eduarda De Souza Queiroz, Facebook
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41. Expensive journals definitely aren't necessary:
"Don't feel like you have to buy some expensive, leather-bound notebook and supplies. I bought a $2 grid paper notebook that I decorated with a piece of wrapping paper to look cute, and all my pens are from Muji."
—Dannie Higginbotham, Facebook
42. If something doesn't work, ditch it:
"Bullet journaling is so customisable that you can change it up month to month, week to week, or even day to day. It takes time to find out what you like and what works for you."
—Megan Marie, Facebook
43. If you're a perfectionist, try erasable pens:
"Erasable pens are worth it. I second the notion that you should always make sure it’s functional over beautiful, but if you’re like me (artistically inclined and demand a combination of both beautiful AND functional), an erasable pen takes the pressure off. It’s meant to help you above all else, so don’t stress!"
44. Don't be afraid to experiment before you commit:
45. Have all of your thoughts in one place:
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46. Track your favorites:
47. And make them true to you:
48. Get cute with it:
49. Use it to store protected information:
50. Or recipes — yum:
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51. On your year-at-a-glance page, mark notable events, like vacation days or birthdays, with different colors and shapes:
52. Try breaking up your days into time periods — morning, afternoon, evening — to make actually completing the task much more manageable:
53. If you want to focus on tracking just one goal, you can set up a page for the whole year:
54. Track a recurring, non-daily goal:
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55. Keep track of things you're saving for with a financial spread:
56. Most importantly — make it yours.
This post includes content from Kayla Yandoli, Rachel Wilkerson Miller, Natalie Brown, Alice Mongkongllite, Jasmin Nahar, Delaney Strunk, and Nicole Nguyen. It was compiled by Laura Frustaci.