21 Jul 2017

How to Use A Bullet Journal For Time Management


Everyone makes lists. Sometimes, we are looking for scraps of paper to write down To Do’s for the day, sometimes we would be using Post-it notes. After a while, it’s all over the place, and then you would feel lost because you can’t see all your activities in one place. Putting everything on the latest smartphone calendars and lists and reminders apps just doesn’t cut it either. How can you manage it all?

You need a new system, the Bullet Journal: The analog system for the digital age. The bullet journal system allows you to stay organized while still remaining flexible. You can use it to plan your day to day activities, while also being flexible enough to use it to plan monthly and yearly goals. You can also jot down your project ideas, brainstorm new products, and still have enough ‘space’ to put those BHAG and ideas together.

How the Bullet Journal System Works

There are 3 main layouts:

  1. FUTURE LOG
    The future log is a 6-month view, and needs to be created only twice a year. This allows you to see any major events coming up in the half-year.


  2. MONTHLY LAYOUT
    Write all the big tasks and events that you need to complete that month. Review it weekly to ‘pull in’ any tasks to your Daily List and cross out ones you have completed.


  3. DAILY LAYOUT
    The bullet journal symbols all have meaning and allow you to quickly organize your list without rewriting it.
    (.) – A task. An open dot signifies an event or appointment.
    (X) – A completed task.
    (›) - A migrated task - At the end of the day you migrate the tasks that you still want to do the next day. Those that are migrated to the next day.
    (‹) - A scheduled task - Tasks that are migrated back to the monthly to do list to be done later. Any tasks that you no longer feel important enough to do, get completely crossed out.
    (O) – An event. Events are date related entries. You can schedule them before or after they occur.
    (-) – A note like thoughts, ideas, facts, and observations.

Time Management with Bullet Journaling

Migrating tasks forces you to think about all of your tasks one by one. You either complete them, move it to a later date, or just cross it off. This way, tasks don’t just stay on your to-do list forever and overwhelm you. After a while, you will train your mind to filter your tasks rapidly and effortlessly.

It’s so easy to procrastinate, read social media feeds, or binge on TV. Before you know it, another day is over. Bullet journaling creates an opportunity for you to rewrite your daily tasks and truly focus on the critical tasks, clearly see your priorities, so that you can manage your time better. It takes practice at first to implement the bullet journal method, but it works really well!

Learn more by visiting www.bulletjournal.com.




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