Tips to declutter your bullet journal
When you’re not quite bullet journalling…but you want to
When you first start a using a notebook or journal of any kind, it is important that you know exactly how you are going to be using it. Not having a main focus for each notebook or journal means that you quickly lose track of what to do within it, until you taper off and leave the rest of it empty, or you fill it with all kinds of different things in a disorganised manner.
In the present, it becomes difficult to track what is going on. In the future, looking back on these notebooks may cause some confusion as to what was going on in your life. This can happen with your bullet journal too if you don’t have a main focus for it to keep in mind. By the end of this article, you will understand how this confusion can easily develop and I will present some tips to help you keep it at bay.
I’m sure that you’ve heard of the bullet journal method. In case if you haven’t, the bullet journal method was founded by Ryder Carroll as a system that anyone with any notebook could use to “track the past, order the present and design the future.” You can learn more about it by heading to the bullet journal website which I’ve linked below, but basically, using the system described can help you set and manage your goals. It also increases you in awareness and mindfulness of your daily practices. I’ve also linked the original How to Bullet Journal video below and you can buy The Bullet Journal Method book — but that’s not fully necessary.
Not too long ago, I came across the bullet journal method myself. Like you, I knew I wanted management of my tasks, goals and productivity but I wasn’t sure how to achieve that. Also, I hadn’t fully committed to the system of the bullet journal method and I didn’t have my true focus for my journal.
The beauty of the bullet journal is that you can customise it to whatever you want, but I’ve found that there needs to be a solid system in place in order to gain full benefit. The best system when starting out, is the original method described in the book and the video above.
Here are 2 ways that your bullet journal can start to confuse, overwhelm and distract you.
1st Problem — Too much detail regarding what won’t serve you later on
In your bullet journalling, adding too much detail about random things does not advance you in terms of your main focus and goals. For example, unless you are keeping a food diary, writing down every single thing you eat everyday among your goals/tasks is a mistake. It only serves to distract you now and is of no help to you in the future. Even just one or two weeks afterwards, looking back on this will be overwhelming.
2nd Problem-Filling up the pages
Putting too much down on one page means that it will look cluttered and full to the brim. When you look back on this, it will be difficult to make sense of what is happening and finding what’s really important.
No matter what you do with it, your bullet journal is yours. Just bear in mind that if added productivity, management and organisation is your goal for this bullet journal, so that it can aid you to achieve even bigger goals, then it is better for you to avoid the mistakes above and read on for my tips below.
Here are some of my tips to prevent confusion and overwhelm.
1st Solution-Reassess
Reassess what you actually NEED your bullet journal for and what bullet journalling means to you. Ask yourself, how can your bullet journal help you?
2nd Solution-Limit yourself for now
Do not track too much in one go. Choose a couple of tasks and things to keep track of for the current month. Leave other things to track in the coming months, but jot them down somewhere (like in a “Notes for Next Month” section in your current monthly task page).
3rd Solution- Have separate sections for separate things
You can decide and divide how you like. Perhaps you could have a designated section on each page or at the end of every daily log for some long form journalling. You could add detail here as you please, where it doesn’t interfere with your info. for tasks and goals.
4th Solution-Gaps
Create gaps on purpose instead of only rarely leaving them by accident. Experiment with different styles and layouts to see what works best for you. Remember, the blank parts of the page you leave are just as useful as the parts where you write and/or draw.
To conclude
Avoid cluttering and too many random details among your ‘bullets’, in this way, your bullet journal stays user friendly. Remember to make your bullet journal work for you.
You can use other sources to find different ideas on how to use your bullet journal for different things. As you keep bullet journalling, you will change up your styles and layouts, and that is ok.
