Habit Tracking with My Bullet Journal

So there’s this craze sweeping the nation called bullet journaling. In general, it’s a method of scheduling and organization, but the way it is done varies greatly from the original minimilistic and efficient style:

(Photo — www.bulletjournal.com)

to intricate and creative works of art:

One of the things I enjoy most about bullet journaling is implementing the idea of habit tracking. This month, I’m tracking nine habits along with how many hours of sleep I get each night. I chose these habits based on things I either want to do more of (workout, hydrate), less off (spending, drinking), or as just a reminder of something that needs to be done daily (blogging, taking medication).

Sleep has always been an issue in my life. I go through periods of not getting enough and then days where I get too much. Because of this back and forth, my relationship with sleep is tumultuous. My goal this month for tracking sleep is to identify some trends: do I sleep less on evenings where I workout? Do I over compensation for lack of week night sleep on Saturday and Sunday? I know there are high tech devices, like FitBits, that can do this for me, but that brings me to the next reason why I track habits in this manner (and bullet journal altogether):

Bullet journaling is calming. It’s my me time. It’s my therapy.

I recognize that this activity may bring opposite feelings for others. I often hear things like:

Trying to get lines so straight would stress me out!

How on earth do you have time for that?

Well, first off, I use a ruler ;) And secondly, we make time for things that make us happy; things that bring value to our life and serve a purpose. Bullet journaling does that for me.

Stay tuned, I’m sure over the next year I’ll share more of my journal spreads and why I design them the way I do. Until then, if you’re interested, check out Pinterest and Instagram for tons of ideas and examples of bullet journaling (use #bulletjournal #bujo when you search). Happy journaling!

Day 9