Bullet Journal: Easy or Confusing?

I came across an article ( The Tools Pros Use When To-do Lists Don't Cut It ) that introduced a new way of staying organized. This method is called the Bullet Journal. I never heard of this idea until I read this article, and watched the video explaining how it worked. As I watch the video, it appeared a little confusing to me. How about for you?

Here is the video:


New York designer, Ryder Caroll created the Bullet Journal in 2013. This task method was created to help individuals set up notebooks that started with an index that were the first couple of pages, then, followed by calendars and task lists. Keys things like dots, dashes, and circles were codes to identify the notes. Dots were for tasks, circles for events and dashes for notes. Stars were used to identify the most important tasks in their lists.

In the article, Kristin Barrett, a woman that was mentioned, said,

"I've taken notes, lots and lots of notes. … I (didn't) really necessarily have a format for what type of bullets I use, because frankly, I never thought it through that much," Barrett said. "This is an easy way to adopt a very disciplined system."

Barrett is a longtime note-taker and list-maker. She currently uses a digital calendar to manage and update her everyday schedule. She describes that her lists are very detailed, and she blocks out time for routine events. With new management responsibilities, her existing duties advising entrepreneurs and planning events, she needed a more disciplined system.

Some individuals may prefer writing their daily schedules down with pencils and paper, like Sue Becker, a productivity coach at Spark Productivity in Downers Grove. Other may even prefer both, digital and analog. You really have to play around with both, and pick your preference.

For myself, I love using digital. I store all the information of meetings, appointments, events in my calendar on my iPhone. It is quicker to add and update my notes that I store. If I were to make a mistake or need to change a task or item, I can do it all in one click. Scratch marks would not exist! Meaning, my notes would always be neat and clean. Notifications also play a huge part. They can alert me when a task is approaching its deadline or is coming up in the week or month.


Therefore, Bullet Journal might be beneficial, and easy for some who love writing their notes down, but difficult for individuals, who love digital scheduling, like me.