What makes a bujo a bujo?

[fay_e]

Recently there's been a bit of angst on the other bujo communities I follow that the comms have become more about planners than bullet journals.

So out of curiousity, I want to ask this comm: What do you feel makes a bullet journal a bullet journal? And what part of Ryder Carroll's system do you find the most useful for you?

For me, the part that makes my journal a bullet journal is rapid logging, the way I use signifiers/bullets for each item and the way items get migrated between my modules/spreads. I do use different modules/spreads from the usual system though, since I feel the rapid logging is the most useful!

Comments

[clare_dragonfly]

In my opinion, it's the flexibility. If you have a journal with pre-printed pages, then it's not a bujo. If you're creating your own spreads, however they work for you, then it's probably a bujo. I kind of side-eye the people who draw rigid weekly spreads that they use exactly the same each time, regardless of how much space they have each week, but I figure if they call it bullet journaling, that's what they're doing!

I also think the flexibility is most useful to me. I love bullet journaling because I can use exactly as much space as I need for each day with no wasted paper or scribbling in margins, desperately trying to squeeze more in. Plus I can use it for whatever I want, like in addition to my daily and monthly pages, I've been keeping a reading journal in my bujo--and because I keep track of everything in the index, I can just pop in the next reading journal page wherever I have space.

[fay_e]

I'm always amazed by people who leave space exactly three things each day. Like doesn't their spread get too small for them? My frustration with pre-printed pages was also why I switched to bullet journaling!

Good points about the use of available space and the index! I wish I used my index more.