Newbie-Friendly Bujo Resources

[inkstone]

In these early days of the community, I'd like to keep things low-key while people discover us and filter in. So, to start things off, I thought our first post could focus on introductory bullet journal resources. We have some members new to bullet journaling or are thinking of giving bullet journaling a try, and I think this would be very helpful. I know I was very overwhelmed when I discovered bullet journaling a couple years back (and I actually didn't adopt it then because it was just too much!)

I'll start.

• Bullet Journal: The original bullet journal site. Now, I personally found this site confusing when I first discovered the system, but I still think it's useful. If you're overwhelmed by all of the options, bells, whistles, and artsiness, come to this site because it brings you back to the original, spartan form.


• WTF Is A Bullet Journal And Why Should You Start One? This Buzzfeed primer, however, walks through the bullet journal. With examples! This is the article that helped me understand bullet journals and how I could make them work for me.


• Dear Bullet Journal Newbies: Jessica Chung is an avid bujo user and probably one of the bigger names in the Planner Community^tm. (She's one of the people behind the #PlanWithMeChallenge on IG.) This post has some great down-to-earth advice about starting your first bullet journal and not getting trapped into the mindset that your bujo must look a certain way.

So, let's open the floor. What are your favorite introductory bullet journal resources? The only thing I ask is that you avoid resources based on Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr. Since these are visual-based platforms, they tend to showcase the artsy, crafty bujos and I think that can be overwhelming for newbies when they're still thinking about function and how to make a bujo work for them. This isn't meant to diss prettiness, to be clear! I color-coordinate Mildliners and washi tape in my spreads. It pleases me visually. But that's not the point. Function before aesthetics!

Or: If you're a bujo newbie or thinking of becoming a bujo newbie, what questions do you have about the system? Anything confusing you? Are you wondering how a bullet journal can apply to your life? Ask away. I bet someone in this community will have some ideas for you that can get the wheels turning!

Go!

Comments

[gorgeousnerd]

I started my bullet journal in September based off the video that's on the first website. I found it simple and really useful, and it was the first place I'd seen where the journal wasn't in a hundred colors or an art journal, basically. I felt free to be a little messier. Once I watched the video, I started with a composition book I had lying around, and I haven't looked back.

Really, I'm only just now starting to start adapting the original format to suit my needs more closely (although I've been playing with the Daily Log format for a long time). And I'm starting to play with more colors/washi tape. But I still like that I can write in pen and scribble things out without worrying about messing up my pages.

My question: I've done Future Log (although I think I'm going to drop/adapt it because I haven't been using it), Monthly Log, and Daily Log. Does anyone do a Weekly Log and have a good simple format for that?

[inkstone]

Yeah, that's why I hesitate to point newbies to the various IG challenges and the like -- which can spark lots of ideas and inspiration by just looking at the hashtags, but can really make certain personality types fall into perfection traps. "It must look this way." or "Oh no! I messed up! I need to rip out this entire page!" And that can be pretty demoralizing.

[daidoji_gisei]

I am studiously ignoring any link that goes to Pintrest, Tumblr, etc. Once I start thinking that my journal has to be pretty or artsy I'm going to lose it totally.

[whisperwords]

I learned really quickly that trying to do those monthly challenges where every day has some "assignment" -- whether it's the Zen Art Challenge or Rock Your Handwriting or Plan With Me... I never keep up with them. I did the Zen Art Challenge my first month with my bujo because I thought it looked neat but I ended up with a calendar spread with maybe 10 days of doodling on it and then I never went back to finish it. I totally understand your hesitation with pointing newbies in that direction!

[isis]

Yes! I do a weekly log - see my bujo post here (note that I'm more of a function person than a make-it-pretty person; also, as I discuss in that post, starting this week I have flipped the two pages of the weekly spread, so the weekly to-do and habit tracker are on the right-hand page, and the daily entries are on the left).

[gorgeousnerd]

Ooh, thanks! I like what you've done with this; I might be able to use something like that for my needs. (Also, I love your Hobbit journal in general. Super pretty.)