The Bullet Journal Method

Chloris reviewed The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll

Want to live an intential and fulfilling life? This is a must-read.

5 stars

The book presents a simple, but flexible, system, which is actually a mindfulness practice. Have all the important data in one place. Don't forget important events. Write things down before you do them to mitigate impulsive decisions (I'm a master of those). Set goals for the day/month, and define priorities (goals, not obligations!).

Reflect on the past to notice patterns. Only once you notice something you don't like, you can take action on it. This is the most important part of the system, in my opinion. In addition, it also makes you notice things you did well, a very important practice.

In the old days, you used to depend on interruptions. Now interruptions depend on you. 💪

Ignacio reviewed The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll

Review of 'The Bullet Journal Method' on 'Goodreads'

1 star

Don't read this book. It's the original 2485 words Bullet Journal system soaked in more than 60000 words of snake oil.

I have used the recommendations in my notes since 2014, so I remember the original single page explanation. If you want to learn it in 3 minutes continue reading.

The original page: web.archive.org/web/20130818223813/www.bulletjournal.com/

The only difference with the current "method" is using dots [ · ] instead of boxes for the tasks and dashes [ - ] instead of dots for the notes. And that the content changed from CC-BY-NC-SA to full copyright, fancy that.

Some useful things mentioned on the book that weren't mentioned in 2014 but that appeared in the community are:

- Yearly Journal migration. Nothing special, just change your journal at least once a year. Keep the previous one
- Threading. When two pages are related not just note them in the index …

Don't read this book. It's the original 2485 words Bullet Journal system soaked in more than 60000 words of snake oil.

I have used the recommendations in my notes since 2014, so I remember the original single page explanation. If you want to learn it in 3 minutes continue reading.

The original page: web.archive.org/web/20130818223813/www.bulletjournal.com/

The only difference with the current "method" is using dots [ · ] instead of boxes for the tasks and dashes [ - ] instead of dots for the notes. And that the content changed from CC-BY-NC-SA to full copyright, fancy that.

Some useful things mentioned on the book that weren't mentioned in 2014 but that appeared in the community are:

- Yearly Journal migration. Nothing special, just change your journal at least once a year. Keep the previous one
- Threading. When two pages are related not just note them in the index but add the page number of the previous block to the page number on the left spread and when you add a next block go back to this spread and add the new block page number on the right side.
- Note linking: you can use page references in notes.
- Interjournal linking: Journal name + number. Examples: 2022p45, 2021Q3p6, whatever you name your journals.
- Prefer Leuchtturm1917 notebooks as they already have page numbers and an index on top of being of excellent quality.

And that's it. The rest of the book and the current website are a hodgepodge of new-ageisms and pseudoscience around basic practices of meditation, reflection and gratitude that try to grab you commercially.

If you want to complement your writing by adding meditation, reflection, prioritization and gratitude to your daily routines there are better books than this one.

dr4co reviewed The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll

The one productivity method that works for me

5 stars

I encountered the BulletJournal method in 2016, and originally, I resisted it a bit, despite my curiosity... I have tried so many methods to stay on top of my tasks and feel like my life isn't spinning out of control on a regular basis. Some worked ok, some frustrated me thoroughly, some were just too high-maintenance (looking at GTD here), and having my productivity system fall apart was a pretty regular experience.

I'm glad I yielded to that curiosity. Like Carroll, I have ADHD, and somehow my brain responds better to a handwriting-(on-paper-)based approach than to digital tools. I also need an approach that provides structure and clarity, while being flexible enough to adapt to my needs and easy enough to keep it up as a daily habit.

The Bullet Journal method is a cross-over between a to-do list, a journal, project planning and, if you want to, even a …

I encountered the BulletJournal method in 2016, and originally, I resisted it a bit, despite my curiosity... I have tried so many methods to stay on top of my tasks and feel like my life isn't spinning out of control on a regular basis. Some worked ok, some frustrated me thoroughly, some were just too high-maintenance (looking at GTD here), and having my productivity system fall apart was a pretty regular experience.

I'm glad I yielded to that curiosity. Like Carroll, I have ADHD, and somehow my brain responds better to a handwriting-(on-paper-)based approach than to digital tools. I also need an approach that provides structure and clarity, while being flexible enough to adapt to my needs and easy enough to keep it up as a daily habit.

The Bullet Journal method is a cross-over between a to-do list, a journal, project planning and, if you want to, even a calendar, kept with a system of symbols and shorthands that Ryder Carroll calls "rapid logging". The only things you need are a notebook (any notebook you want; I started with a very cheap notebook) and a pen.

My daily planning session now takes no more than 5-10 minutes (as a rule) and has become a cherished start into my working day. While I slack off on some days - mostly weekends or vacation -, the system as a whole has not "fallen apart" for me once since I adopted it as my one self-management method. I use my Bullet Journal for ToDos, project planning, logging exercise, tracking habits and sometimes for journaling (something I rarely did before last year).

So, I was a pretty regular user of the BuJo before "The Book" was published; I hesitated to read it and wasn't sure if I would learn anything new or useful from it. And you don't need to read the book if you just want to use the method; there are good explanations of the core method on Ryder Carroll's homepage as well as on Youtube. However, I found a treasure trove of information, hacks, ideas, and how-tos in this book that helped me deepen my practice and get even more use out of the method. I keep going back to the book to review Ryder's suggestions as they become relevant to my needs in terms of planning and organization.

One caveat: Because the book encouraged me to do so much more with my journal, my BuJo has become a bit messier than it used to be before, and I now go through 2 or 3 notebooks per year instead of one.

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