I decided to try keeping a bullet journal. After reading about them in ads for months and not truly knowing what they are, I researched and decided it would be a helpful tool to keep me focused on balancing what I need to do and what I’ve accomplished. I did start a 2023 self-care journal which is already laid out, but sometimes those prompts don’t match anything I actually do from day to day.
This style of blank book contains spaced dots instead of lines, in grid form. You can use rulers and templates to customize your journal with banners, flowers and graphics. You can also draw lines of your own. I will find it a challenge to draw a complete line without the pen trailing off into a small squiggle at the end. It’s a curse I never overcame while drawing lines in high school. I’ll try to use something to hold the ruler down, like a heavy brick, and then draw my lines upside down. That should do the trick.
Another term for bullet journaling is bujo (using the first two letters from each word). That sounds a bit like bougie, which is a slang term for persons with a high-class nose-in-the-air affectation and an affinity for spending in a class above their means. Think of it as that neighbor with the Escalade (on lease) who you know pays for their weekly mani-pedis on their lowest interest credit card and rents their ritzy handbags by the week.
I found out quickly that bujo can be a bougie choice, with accessories to pretty up your books such as washi tape. They’re not wishy washy, but beautiful strips of colorful or fanciful designs to use at will and showcase your entries. Lovely ribbons serve as bookmarks, and uniquely shaped paper clips help you find other pages in an instant. You can add photos to your journal, or write in colored pens, even write with bright colored gel pens on black paper if you wish.
The general idea is to stimulate your mind while keeping track of your life. It’s making life appear more beautiful. Working from home makes life rather dull, so I hope this will help.
I could have started with a lined book and gone on from there, but I have found that beginning in that manner is often too slow for me. I need the challenge to tackle something more middle-of-the-road. Not kindergarten, but maybe second grade.
The book I ordered will come with sustainable products and accessories; the book cover is vegan leather. Never having dealt with vegan leather, I just hope it feels touchable and doesn’t smell distinctively odd.
Once I get started journaling, the hope is to stay focused and retain my creative spark. Maybe my first bullet journal will look funny, but it’ll be fun to make it that way.
Like connecting the dots.
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