@gr36 I can definitely relate to forgetting to bring your notebook with you (and envying the beautiful layouts you see from some people online). I would say that any bujo advocate would say the beauty isn’t the main point (well, most. I’m sure that’s partially a marketing reason to help people get over the initial challenge but at this years sketchnote camp I did see the journal of one big bujo figure and she had some pages which were very utilitarian as she was THAT busy.) and I wonder if there’s some form of analog task management that would be helpful for you? I’ve found it extremely useful to write out my top three tasks of the day on a postit or notecard. It’s simple, the act of making it helps me focus on my priorities and there’s no issue if you don’t do it for a day or week.
@gr36 I have a very ugly bullet journal. No pretty layouts. Sometimes illegible text. I use it inconsistently, combining it with a digital calendar, the official BuJo app, and Google Keep. I still find it useful. I hope you find a system that works for you!
@gr36 I have bullet journals for 2019-2022. Somewhere in 2022 I stopped. I found that although I used the earlier BuJos for project managements, meal planning, etc. eventually it simply turned into a repository of daily to-do lists. As Chris mentions, you can do this just as easily with a pile of note cards or post its.
@gr36 Enjoyed your post, and you've hit on the keys: no tool can do the actual work of organizing. You have to make the time for regular reviews and for sorting the stuff out.
re bullet journaling / using paper for managing time and tasks, my notebooks look terrible. I only care that they are legible to me later. (I also use pocket notebooks on the go so I can leave the bigger planning notebook at home.) Like @KimberlyHirsh, I use a hybrid system.
For me, trying to make my analog systems look beautiful too, would slow me down too much. But I do appreciate that some folks think by making art, and I love seeing what they create. The beauty of analog is that you can make it your own and try out new things without having to buy another app.
@annahavron @gr36
For me, trying to make my analog systems look beautiful too, would slow me down too much.
This was/is always my problem with bullet journaling. I watched a MenWhoBullet YouTube video yesterday about a minimal setup for 2023 hoping to get some ideas. He started pulling out stamps and stencils and washi tape and custom printouts and exacto knives and I thought, "Somebody needs to define the word 'minimal' to this guy."
@gdp @annahavron @gr36 Ignoring that I don’t have the artistic talent — nor the patience — to decorate a journal like that, I’ve never felt the need. The content is what matters to me, not how it looks.
@Medievalist I agree! I started watching the video to get inspiration. I was thinking maybe he uses a spread or collection that would be helpful to me or maybe his setup will give me ideas for mine. I thought since he was calling it a minimal setup that it would be, you know, minimal. I have no desire to use the tools he used. In fact, this Leuchturm1917 planner is already set up almost exactly the way I would set up a bullet journal on my own, so that's what I'm going to start 2023 with.
@gr36 This is like, just my opinion man, but you sound like you already know a lot of the right things you need to keep yourself productive. I would suggest, and I may be way off here, but you sound like you need a good excuse to make a creative journal.