Bullet Journal System Helps Organize Your Diary Entries

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

There are dozens of planning apps now. Any.do, Wunderlist, Evernote and other similar services have practically supplanted ordinary diaries from our lives.

However, many continue to use paper for planning purposes. For some it is a habit, but for some it is a principle. But for those, and for others it takes quite a lot of time. Even more of it is spent on finding the information you need.

Today we are going to talk about a paper-based record keeping system that will help you put things in order in your diary.

It was written by web designer Ryder Carroll. Even when he was in school, he did not go well with ordinary notes. Every time he tried to make, for example, a summary about George Washington, instead of a text, a drawing was obtained in which the first US president with a machine gun in his hands saddles a giant bull.

Eventually, he decided to create his own handwritten note-taking system. This technique later helped him graduate from college and also successfully work as a web designer.

According to Carroll, the lightness of his system lies in its simplicity and flexibility.

“We deliberately use standard notation such as bullet points, checkboxes, pagination, etc. So you know a lot before you even start."

System of "Quick Entries"

Terms that will come in handy for you to master it:

• The index is a table of contents. Helps you quickly find the desired entry.
• Subject is the title of the post. It can be primary and secondary (For example, "September / 19").
• Bullet lists - your clever thoughts, or rather "Tasks", "Notes" and "Events".
• Tasks - current affairs, indicated by checkboxes.
• Notes - ideas, observations, indicated by bold dots.
• Events - upcoming meetings and events are indicated by "empty" circles.
• Notes are markings in the margins. Help to understand the essence of the recording ("Priority", "Explore", "Incentive", "Other", etc.).
• Page numbers are the "navigator". Help you quickly find the records you want.
• Monthly calendar - plans for the next month.
• Agenda - plans for the day.
• Move is the transfer of outstanding tasks to the next month / day.
• Collections are lists of topics. Helps to "fill" the monthly calendar and agenda (for example, "List of books to read", "My wish list", etc.).

Basic rules to help you master the system:

1. Get a notebook. It is not necessary to buy "Moleskin" - a checkered notebook will do.

2. Number the pages.

3. Create an index page - this is the first page of your notebook. The table of contents includes topics and page numbers.

4. Leave a couple of pages for your collections. Make them up.

5. Create a monthly calendar (left page): write the name of the month, numbers and letters representing the days in a column. In front of them, indicate birthdays and dates of other events that will definitely not change.

6. Make a monthly bullet list (right page), that is, tasks and events for the next 30 days. Don't forget about checkboxes, bullets and blank circles. This will help you quickly and visually pick out the desired type of information in the text.

7. Return to the index page and write down the page number where this information is located.

8. Outline the agenda (for one day or several at once). Don't forget to add the data to the index.

9. Add notes for each task or event.

10. At the end of the month, move all current tasks to the new monthly calendar.

Tips for using the system:

• Do not be upset if you overlooked something and did not add it to this or that marker-list.
• Mark completed tasks with check marks; cross out tasks that have lost their relevance.
• Don't forget to fill in the index.
• Group similar or related tasks. To do this, on a blank page, make a list of such tasks, title it and enter the data into the index.

For those who want to get to know the Quick Records system better and try it on themselves, there is a visual video.

(Bullet Journal)