How to Start a Bullet Journal
Bullet Journal is basically a planner that streamlines your to-do lists, plans, goals, notes in an organized system. By listing your tasks in bullet point form, you can easily record and view your everyday task. That being said, this system lets you prioritize and manage your time more efficiently resulting in great productivity and organization. However, the majority think that when bullet journaling, you need to have good handwriting, artistic, or be good at drawing. But in reality, you can mix and match everything which will suit your needs best. Though you really need to invest time in setting up your bullet journal. So in this post, I am going to cover ways on how you can start your bullet journal and have less work to do using the right methods.
Best Ways for Bullet Journaling
Traditional Pen and Paper
GitMind
Trello
Todoist
NotePlan
Traditional Pen and Paper
The traditional way of using pen and paper is still in trend these days. All you need is a little creativity and you will go a long way. Obviously, you need different colors of the pen so you can highlight and prioritize tasks. But it will still vary depending on your taste. If your goal is a minimal bullet journal setup, then you can settle with just one color. Next is a journal or a notebook. Blank pages would be a better pick as it enables you to personalize your bullet journal and streamline your plans and goals in a more presentable manner. Eventually, you can make it aesthetically appealing by adding ribbon bookmarks, washi tape, stickers, and so on.
GitMind (https://gitmind.com/)
GitMind is a paperless planner accessible online. Through the use of the built-in free Mind-maps, Flowchart, OrgChart and other diagrams taking down notes are not that difficult. What’s noticeably good with the tool is the freedom it gives you to edit and customize your own templates and make it the way you want to. As a replacement for the traditional way, it is not that bad to be considered as an alternative. This tool is a cloud-based app that's why you won’t have to worry about internal memory issues.
Trello (https://trello.com/)
Another online planner that you can consider using is Trello. This is also a web-based tool you can access anytime like Gitmind. There is not much difference between the two. They both serve the same purpose to help you organize your notes in a creative manner. The interface and the amount of templates is the only difference you will notice. This has lesser templates and workflows compared to GitMind. However, the interface is a lot easier to understand because all features are laid not by the menu. Also, this tool is available on Mobile devices. This means you can carry the tool anywhere you may be.
Todoist (https://todoist.com/)
Todoist is an online planner that has a very simple and organized interface. If you are familiar with Evernote, they have the same protocol. However, this tool is better in terms of tabs and organization. All features are organized on the left side of the interface similar to an email interface. You just have to collapse each section to see more. What’s more to Todoist? It is available on mobile phones, where your files are automatically synced. Very accessible.
NotePlan (https://noteplan.co/)
Notes, Tasks, and Agendas? Noteplan can help you keep track of important details of workloads or notes during a meeting, Instead of using a notepad, Word document or sticky notes, this tool is far better and recommended. This online tool is ideal for planning because of the Bullet Journal style where you can add schedules and etc. Hence, you can also use it as a collaboration tool with your team. Compared to the first two tools reviewed, this tool is much simpler to use.
Final Thoughts
Bullet journaling does not mean you need to be very artistic and talented in handwriting. Whatever art or style you have for bullet journaling it would always qualify. After all, it’s not about aesthetics but allowing people to get organized, be productive, and make use of time more efficiently. In addition, different journaling apps are discussed for users who prefer to start bullet journaling without the need for pen and paper.