Bullet Journaling for Organized Living

So, by now, you've probably heard of a "Bullet Journal," the latest craze in keeping your life organized

And if you haven't, where have you been?

Anyway, a Bullet Journal is a way to keep your life super organized. It's kind of like a day planner, a journal, and a calendar all in one thing that you can carry around with you.

I started my first bullet journal in late May/early June and I'm still working at getting to a point where I actually use them effectively.

My first bullet journal was a Leuchtturm 1917 "Pocket" size journal with an orange hard cover and grid paper. This was really great for carrying around because it literally fit in my pocket (though I usually kept it in my purse). And I used it pretty well for a little while, then didn't, then got tired of trying to fit everything in something so small. As I approached the end of the journal, I decided to switch to a different one and use the remaining pages for other things, such as my holiday shopping list and various other things.

After that one, I was looking for something bigger with the dot grid type of page, but my budget did me in and I ended up using an old sketchbook that had 100% blank pages and was kind of large, as sketch books often are. This was working pretty well for me for a couple of weeks, and I was doing much better of keeping up with it, but then it became super inconvenient to bring it places and it ended up being left at home a lot and so I'm a little behind in bullet journaling right now. I do, however, plan to use this notebook through the end of 2016, with the pages that are left at the end of December being used for various other purposes (so far, I've started a New Year's Resolutions page and I'll probably use some of the pages for their intended purpose--i.e. sketching).

My next bullet journal, which I will start in January, is a Moleskine hard-cover notebook. It has lined pages and is a nice size in between the sizes of the two I've already tried. I also have a bit of time between now and when I'm planning to actually start using it to get a nice layout set up inside. It's still not my ideal notebook (I've been eyeing the Leuchtturm 1917 medium (A5 paper) hardcover with the dot grid pages, preferably in red [just in case anyone was wondering what they could get me for any holiday and is so inclined]), but it's definitely a step in the right direction. It has 240 pages, which is *hypothetically* enough for Jan-August assuming that months average about 30 days, but I'm aiming to use it for January-June, the first 6 months of the year, in order to give me space for the index at the front and the "future log" that is common to bullet journals, as well as my monthly and weekly overview pages.

I'm still on the hunt for my ideal layout, as well as the right pen(s) because I like to have nice pens because then I feel more obligated to write nicely so as to not waste the beautiful pen--plus, I really love to color code my bullet journal items.

How do you like to stay organized?
What is your best piece of advice for bullet journaling?
Let me know! I'd love to see some nifty ideas!

xx,

Sienna

The Fierce Feminist