I started bullet journaling a long time ago, so I don’t have one distinctive date that I can point to and say, “That’s when it all began.” What I do remember is that I started moving toward bullet journaling in late high school, when I began transitioning away from traditional planners. Even then, I was constantly caught between wanting to go fully digital with the way I planned my life and wanting something physical and analog that I could actually write in.
One thing I consistently did every year, regardless of whether I kept up with it for the entire year, was journal. Toward the very end of high school and then into college, journaling gradually became a natural part of how I organized my life. It wasn’t necessarily about creating beautiful spreads or having the perfect aesthetic. My journals became where I took notes, kept track of things, processed thoughts, and figured out how to manage my schedule.
What did I create in my Bullet Journal?
I also didn’t really create the visually elaborate bullet journals that you often see online. Most of mine were incredibly practical. I do remember having pages dedicated to song lyrics I liked and random things that were important to me at the time, but for the most part, my bullet journal was simply a place where I could put whatever I needed.
That flexibility was really what drew me to bullet journaling in the first place.
Thoughts on Structure
I never loved the structure of traditional planners. I could appreciate having designated sections and little boxes for everything, but I always felt restricted by them. At the same time, I loved the fun elements that came with planners—especially stickers. Then I realized I could put stickers in my bullet journal, and suddenly I had the best of both worlds.
If I wanted structure on a particular day, I could draw a few boxes and create a schedule. If I didn’t want structure, I could simply write everything out. If I needed a page for notes, I could make one. If I wanted to journal, I could journal. There were no rules telling me what a page was supposed to look like.
Bullet journaling gave me the freedom to create whatever I needed in order to actually get my life together.
That was especially important in college because, quite honestly, I did not have the time to make my bullet journal beautiful. I had a laptop, and I believe I also had an iPad, so I had plenty of digital tools available to me. But my bullet journal served a different purpose. I wasn’t focused on making every page Pinterest-worthy. I cared much more about what I was writing down and why it was important to me.
Somethings aren’t for everyone
I’ve tried the opposite approach, too. I’ve tried structured planners like Erin Condren and Happy Planner, and every single time, I would start strong and then somehow lose interest within about three weeks. Three weeks. That was apparently my planner expiration date.
And once I stopped using the structured planner, I didn’t necessarily have a bullet journal ready to replace it. That meant I could easily go a month or two without any real system at all. Suddenly, everything felt chaotic and unstructured simply because I didn’t have a planning method that worked with the way I naturally operate.
Over time, I realized something important about myself: sometimes I’m in the mood to journal, and sometimes I absolutely am not.
I need a system that can accommodate both.
My Bullet Journaling System Now
That’s why my digital calendar has become so important. No matter what mood I’m in, my online calendar needs to stay updated because that is where I keep the information I genuinely cannot afford to forget. Appointments, events, commitments, plans—all of the things that have an actual date and time belong there.
Then, when I sit down to bullet journal and create my weekly spread, I simply check back in with my calendar. My calendar tells me what is happening. My bullet journal helps me figure out what I need to do about it. And honestly, that combination has worked much better for me than trying to force myself into one perfect planning system.
I don’t think my bullet journal needs to look a certain way to be useful. Sometimes it’s pretty. Sometimes it’s messy. Sometimes it’s mostly lists. Sometimes it’s pages of writing. Sometimes I don’t touch it for a while.
But that’s the beauty of it.
My bullet journal has never really been about following the rules of bullet journaling. It has always been about creating a space that adapts to me—and after years of trying to adapt myself to planners, I think that’s exactly what I needed.
Why I’m Sharing This
Because I’m at a point where I want to start sharing more of the actual pages and systems that I use to organize my life. I want to share my spreads, the things I’m tracking, the ways I’m planning, and how I’m using my bullet journal across different areas of my life.
But before I start showing you what my bullet journal looks like now, I wanted to take a moment to explain where it all began.
I think there’s something important about understanding the evolution behind a system. My bullet journal didn’t start as this perfectly curated ( and still not perfectly curated), aesthetically pleasing thing ( Many of the time not aesthetically pleasing). It wasn’t something I picked up because I wanted to make beautiful spreads for Instagram or Pinterest. It started because I needed a way to organize my life that actually gave me room to be a person.
And over the years, it has evolved with me.
The way I plan now is different from how I planned in high school. It’s different from how I planned in college. The things I track have changed. The way I use digital planning has changed. Even what I need from my bullet journal has changed.
So before I start opening up those pages and showing you the different ways I’m using my bullet journal now, I wanted to give you the backstory.
This is where it all began.
And now, I get to show you where it’s taken me.
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