Is Bullet Journaling Worth It?

While no one can do it alone, plenty of resources are available to help you keep track of your academic assignments, social activities, and other commitments. Many students utilize software such as Google Calendar or iCalendar to remind themselves of upcoming deadlines, while others prefer to-do lists or student planners. Another popular tool is the bullet journaling system, affectionately nicknamed "BuJo" by its fans.

By Ceanna Hayes Daniels — August 31, 2022

Tags: assignments, college life, general info, high school, journaling, notes, planner

The start of the school year is approaching, and freshmen everywhere are analyzing their class schedules, scanning through lists of clubs and student groups, scheduling shifts for their on-campus jobs, and wondering how they'll be able to balance it all.

What Is Bullet Journaling?

Bullet journaling was created by Ryder Carroll, the author of The Bullet Journal Method. He began developing the system during his college years, aiming to create a personal organization and productivity system which worked with his ADHD rather than against it. In the bullet journaling system, one notebook provides a central location for organizing information like to-do lists, deadlines, and personal goals. The system is entirely customizable, so it can be as simple or complex as a practitioner decides to make it.

Pros:

One of the biggest advantages of bullet journaling is that the system is entirely customizable; there are no pre-made layouts to hold you back and no rules to interfere with creating your ideal productivity system. As a result, elements that appeal to you can be added easily, whether that's a habit tracker, a "brain dump" page for processing your thoughts, a gratitude page, or anything else you choose. Similarly, anything that doesn't work for you can be eliminated without stress. Tried keeping a record of the time you spent on homework each day but found it difficult to keep up with because you didn't always set a timer? Leave it out of next week or next month's spread, then pat yourself on the back to improve your personal system's efficiency.

Another positive aspect of bullet journaling is the creative outlet it supplies. While Carroll's approach is relatively minimalistic, some bullet journal fans devote hours each month to creating elaborate themes with detailed drawings, stickers and washi tape, and even calligraphy. Others prefer simple spreads incorporating little doodles or just a few favorite colors. Whatever your approach may be, many students find that bullet journaling offers an enjoyable, small-scale opportunity to be creative in an otherwise prohibitively busy schedule.

While many creative individuals love bullet journaling, those with especially analytical minds often appreciate it for entirely different reasons. Habit trackers, gym trackers, sleep logs, reading logs, and everything in between enable these students to rapidly gather data on their own lives, analyze its meaning, and use their findings to develop ever-improving systems.

Bullet journaling can also improve focus by reducing your likelihood of being distracted online. If you rely on virtual tracking systems, switching from a productivity app to social media can be easy, where spending "just a few minutes" rapidly adds up to hours and hours of lost time. By contrast, writing in a physical journal helps you to remain present and grounded, encouraging investment in the tasks at hand and helping you to achieve your goals more effectively.

Setting short-term goals for your first foray into bullet journaling can give you manageable expectations for yourself and help to prevent burnout. For example, keep your tasks organized by writing to-do lists in your bullet journal for a month. If that works for you, consider implementing whatever elements of others' approaches seem appealing!

Cons:

Although the bullet journal's "customizability" is one of its key selling points, it can also create a difficult hurdle to overcome. Some newcomers to the system may worry that they don't have enough information to begin. Those introduced to bullet journaling through social media — rapidly encountering hundreds of accounts with painstakingly detailed, creative, and lengthy layouts — may find the sheer number of options available overwhelming. If you are uncertain where to begin, try reading The Bullet Journal Method and adapting Carroll's system until it works. Examining other users' approaches to bullet journaling through social media can also be helpful, as "long" as this is used as a source of inspiration rather than for comparison.

In addition, students with particularly hectic schedules may find that bullet journaling does not suit them simply because they don't have the time necessary to create new calendars or spreads to fill out weekly or monthly. These students prefer pre-existing systems that do not require customization, such as student planners or a simple to-do list. Alternatively, they are most comfortable with virtual organization systems, copying and pasting information from their email or online classes to create events in Google Calendar, rather than manually writing to-do lists in a journal.

Another potential stressor within bullet journaling lies in how you approach inconsistency. In a weekly habit tracker, for example, missing a few days creates a gap in the page. This can be discouraging, especially for perfectionists. Taken to an extreme, some students find themselves so anxious about missing a day that they begin to resent bullet journaling as a whole. However, measuring yourself by someone else's methods or productivity only leads to overwhelm and burnout. If you find yourself frustrated for not using your bullet journal "perfectly," take a step back and analyze your goals for the system. Remember, organizational tools like bullet journals are meant to be productivity aids. If they become toxic, you can choose to change your approach — or stop using them entirely — without any guilt.

In the Balance:

The bullet journal method can be a useful organizational tool for many students, especially those with analytical minds or a creative streak. However, it's not necessarily a silver bullet; some students may prefer the planner they've relied on since high school. Others may decide that pre-made organizational systems suit their busy schedules better than a journal they need to update weekly or monthly.

Whichever group you fall into, don't feel guilty for not adhering to a popular system or for not finding a common tool useful — just because it works for someone else doesn't necessarily mean it will for you. Rather than using a planner, bullet journal, or online productivity system for its own sake, use whichever works best for you in a given semester or year. Remember, the goal is to find the method of organizing personal goals and managing your time that works best for you!

Ceanna Hayes Daniels

Ceanna Hayes Daniels is freelance writer and editor. In 2022, she graduated Hillsdale College summa cum laude with a degree in politics. In her free time, she continues to enjoy studying philosophy, political theory, and literature. She and her husband live in Michigan, where the two enjoy perusing bookstores together for new books and old records.

View all posts by Ceanna Hayes Daniels