The Bullet Journal Method: Track the Past, Order the Present, Design the Future by Ryder Carroll ( Nicole Schlinger Book Review)
What took Ryder Carroll so long to write this book?
If you haven’t heard of bullet journaling, well, it’s the best this to happen to productivity since David Allen’s Getting Things Done.
But it’s even better …
Because where David Allen can be all preachy about using 26 labeled file folders … Ryder Carroll wants you to use colored pens, recopy things when you migrate from one notebook to the next, take time to decorate and set up your notebook so that your mind can truly soak in and process all of the information.
Also unlike GTD, the Bullet Journal method encourages you to just put everything in one place and keep it there. You can categorize things into collections later, which is similar to a “Project” in GTD.
The most important difference is that the Bullet Journal is not only about writing down your future commitments, but also capturing your thoughts about life and work as they actually occur.
If David Allen were an artist, he would have invented the bullet journal.
The examples of bullet journaling online, and some of the examples in his book are just incredible. If I spent that much time creating a page, I would never have the time to write down my actual tasks. But as the author emphasizes repeatedly, none of that artistry is necessary to get the life changing benefits of the system.
Over the years, taking the time to gather and put those ideas in a special place I can reference again and again is priceless.
Now, I take issue with his belief that you must use a fixed notebook, in which you do not add or remove pages. I carry detailed, permanent reference materials and logs in my notebook that would take hours to recopy (at no real value).
And what happens if you spill coffee your notebook halfway through the year?
Well, I won’t rain (or spill my coffee) on Ryder Carroll’s parade. This book is glorious.
Your life will be better for owning it.
