What the Heck is a Bullet Journal?

Simply put, a Bullet Journal is a hand-written planner. 
​As the Bullet Journal website says, it's an analog system for a digital age.
I tripped over this concept on the internet a couple of years ago when I was feeling an intense need to be organized, but also really frustrated with the planner options available to me. I always bought a really fancy setup, with the best intentions in the world, then bailed on it halfway through January.  

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The really awesome thing about a Bullet Journal is that you set it up in whatever way works best for you. I usually set up about a month's worth of weekly spreads at a time, and have pages in between with notes about a variety of topics, lists, and trackers (pretty checklists of daily to-do items). 

​I made this tracker with the idea that I'd cross off keys on the keyboards for every page I edited on my current WIP, and even made a cute little cover mock-up to go with it. The problem is, I'd have to count the individual keys to keep track, and I don't have time for that. 

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​So I changed it to this one. I recieved a few chapters worth of suggestions from Cat, and a whole book's worth from Laura, so they each got a section. 
And as you can see, I should totally be working on that instead of blogging. But I'm making progress! 

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Getting Started: 

Check out the video on the Bullet Journal page You can use any notebook you have available for a Bullet Journal. I've got dozens of empty notebooks, and I especially love those black speckled composition books you can get super cheap at the end of summer. This is where I started, because I didn't want to "mess up" an expensive journal. 

Check out these people: 

You'll want to check out some of the awesome ideas on Pinterest or Instagram, and visit these websites for ideas: 
​Kim, at Tiny Ray of Sunshine
Kara, at BohoBerry

And then...

Then when you feel more confident in your page spreads, you can invest in a Leuchtturm or  Moleskine. The ones linked here are the dotted and/or graph ones, which are nice for making pretty pages

By the way, I've use affiliate links to Amazon here. It doesn't cost you anything extra, but I get a small commission if you buy through the link

And THEN...

Then, of course, you'll want to get All the Pretty Pens. The Tombow Fudenosuke pens on the left, are pretty awesome for fancy lettering, but I'm also a huge fan of the good, old fashioned Bic blue ballpoint. And look! They come in BOLD!

Another option: 

My author friend Jessica Lemmon is a big planner addict. She's not only an awesome writer, she's The Supreme Goddess of Washi tape.  She uses the Erin Condren system, which is also very cool. Click HERE for a detailed explanation of her system, if you like something with a little less of the dorky home made look. 

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