Bullet journal starter

The Bullet Journal method was created by designer Ryder Carroll as a way to track the past, organise the present and plan for the future in a single notebook. You can keep it minimal and practical, or make it as artistic as you like. Here's how to get going.

1.Gather the kit

• An A5 notebook, ideally dot grid with numbered pages
• A pen you like writing with (a fineliner or gel pen is ideal)
• Optional: a ruler, a pencil, a couple of coloured pens, washi tape

That really is it. Don't buy twenty brush pens before you know whether the habit sticks.

2.Learn rapid logging

Rapid logging means writing short bullet points with a symbol in front:

Invent your own if these don't suit, but keep them simple.

3.Set up the core pages

Index

The first two or three pages. As you add collections and months, write the topic and page number here so you can find things later.

Future log

A spread divided into six or twelve boxes, one per month, for events and deadlines further ahead: birthdays, school holidays, renewals.

Monthly log

On the left page, list the dates of the month down the margin with events beside them. On the right, a task list for the month.

Daily log

Write the date, then rapid-log tasks, events and notes as the day unfolds. Don't pre-draw days; just start where the last one ended.

4.Add collections

Collections are pages for anything that isn't date-based: books to read, meal plans, a gift list, a garden plan, a savings tracker. Give each a title, add it to the index and carry on.

5.Migrate at month end

At the end of each month, look back at unfinished tasks. Either move them forward (>), schedule them further out (<) or strike them out if they no longer matter. This monthly review is the quiet superpower of the method.

Making it pretty (optional)

Headers in brush lettering, a strip of washi tape across the top of each month, a colour key for categories: all lovely, none required. Many long-term users keep things plain and functional.

Get the kit