I feel like effective journaling/planner use is really a lot more simple than we're led to believe by those who want us to spend a lot of money on the extra frills. Recently I came across an inexpensive basic planner with a habit tracker, and I have to say that the habit tracker was a game changer for my tendencies to be inconsistent with healthy habits. You can create a habit tracker using any paper, or just in a document on your computer. I use it mostly to track health and fitness habits, sticking to my budget, and practicing my hobbies. When I see myself checking these things off each day it makes me want to stick to my goals.
Yes to this! Planning can be as simple or as complicated as we want it to be. There are tons of options, systems, and styles out there that can make it feel overwhelming. I'm glad the habit tracker works for you!!
For me, the trick was a mood tracker planner. It had plenty built into it, such as a chart and legend to keep up with emotions, sections for weekly highs and lows, and prompts for reflecting on self-improvement...but it didn't require any "accessories," unless you count a couple of spare pens for the prompts, colored pencils from who knows what stage of school for the legend, and a random bag I had laying around so my pens and pencils stayed in one place. So simple, and yet it was a game changer from me, especially after being diagnosed with clinical depression and generalized anxiety in early 2020.
I have been bulletjournalling since 2017, and have fallen into the overconsumption trap, too. But eventually I noticed that I felt suffocated by all the stationary options, so I stopped buying anything. And for each month I create a small kit, that mostly consists of a thick and a thin black pen (for headers and regular text), 2-3 colors, and maybe 1 or 2 washi tapes. the rest I put away. It saves the mind energy that I used to waste on deciding what to write with, which makes a massive difference.
Great idea! You use up what you have without getting overwhelmed by all your stuff and you don’t get tired of your stuff cause it’s not all available to you all the time. Smart.
Fantasy me loves all things stationary related. Real me uses a spiral notebook and ink pen. If I am feeling wild, I will highlight. No extra purchases for me.
Thank you for your most recent videos on being intentional about consumption. RUclips can almost feel like HSN with the hauls and try this not that videos. Now I’m drawn to using what I have and being grateful for it.
I’ve been bullet journaling for 3 years now and it’s the first time in my life I’ve felt truly organized. So many more years of trying to figure out a system that worked. I love that it’s 100% customized. I definitely don’t feel the need for anything but the pen and notebook. I tried stencils for a little but I just didn’t care enough to use them. 😅
Can you also talk about the overconsumption of stationery and planners? I'm not into the usual restocking stuff like makeup/bathroom/groceries, but it's seeing other people with their planner/washi tape/pen hauls, and specifically Jetpen videos that make me feel like I need to buy aesthetic stationery or planners when I don't even need. Especially now that it's planner season too.
It’s always good to remind yourself that jet pens is an explicit storefront advertising their products. It’s like a video version of a Sears catalogue.
So glad you've been finding success with bullet journaling so far 😄 Loved your point about not needing to do the typical index, future log, whatnot at the start and just getting in with daily logs 💪 and heck yeah for a master list; that was super essential for me for a time and I love that with bullet journaling I could change things up when it was no longer as essential (or even just on the weeks I didn't really use it) 💜 Also loved the idea of creating novelty in ways that aren't buying new things, that's something I really value! Great video, Shawna 😄
The thing I like most about my bullet journal is the minimalist- maximalist aspect. You can really go all out with monthly, weekly and daily spreads plus trackers and quotes and mood boards etc. or you can be like me with a monthly calendar and only have a list of tasks for the days where you actually need it. I also have trackers for my health which cover a full year and it has helped so much with diagnosing my illnesses. Since it’s in my planner I will never loose it and it’s easier to wip out my planner at the doctors than fiddling with apps or spreadsheets.
I'm so with you on this! I love how folks can bring what they want to their bujo. Even though I don't do the art thing I still enjoy seeing all those spreads and different options for what you can do if you so choose!
Bullet journaling was NOT the answer for me...the closest thing to "planner peace" I've experienced (as someone who has been searching for the best one since middle school, probably) is the Hobonichi line. I need 'em predated! Having to set up a bujo is too much. I use the A6 daily and the weeks. Just give me some date boxes, skip the cutesy habit tracking, etc.
I definitely agree about bujo curbing the need to buy everything. I use Ryder Carroll's method which is just pen and paper and I am at peace. My mind is decluttered. I have space for my thoughts, feelings, and tasks. There is no need to decorate. It's why I downsized planner stacks this year. ❤ I just subbed! Love your content.
Back in school I had a tiny notebook just to write if any homework was assigned, the class, the date and if it was completed. Being able to see it at a glance helped me to not forget. I later applied it to other areas and reminders I needed, but always as a notebook and a pen. As I'd love to write and journal, I'd have a separate notebook for that. As I finished school, I stopped doing the "planner" notebook, keeping only the one for writing. Years later, watching one of the very first Ryder Carrol's videos, I had a deja vù sensation and a more structured way to reinvent what I was already doing before. I loved the washi tape as a way to create structure (making tabs, adding folding pages), but it didn't take me long to realize that it didn't work for me. I love that the bullet journal goes along with whatever is happening. Does my life get so busy and my tasks assign digitally that the only thing I set up is the month and a few tasks? That's okay. Do I want to reflect a lot and spend 10 pages writing and musing? That's also ok. My last bujo started in 2021 and ended last week. Pen, paper, a marker sometimes. It really becomes what we make of it.
Videos on stationery are my favorite) especially back to school overconsumption. I’ve watched it many times and hope you’ll make similar commentary again❤ I often find myself wanting to participate somehow into this stationery-back-to-school-overconsumption activity, but instead of going and buying stuff that I don’t need I feel satisfied by watching your videos about it)
I've been bullet journaling for over a year. Today I thought about adding a $50 book of stickers and then realized the stickers don't work for my style. I bought a roll of $4 washi tape instead. It's so much less consumerism and less money overall for me. I love the flexibility of the BuJo; it works perfectly for my life. When I start feeling overwhelmed with it, I go back to the basics... works everytime.
yes yes yesss! I love this video. I went through a dozen planners over the years, spent tons on sticker books at $20-40/each, small business stickers, etc. Then, one day...I totaled it all up and had spent a few hundred bucks. Now, I've narrowed it down to just one simple planner that is about $40 for the year and just simple cute icon stickers (rather than full on deco)
I love love love my bullet journal. It's cheap, easy, and I can put as much time into it as I want or can. I started bullet Journaling in 2018 and Def recommend for those who have never found a planner they could stick to.
I’m a bullet journaler who fell into the trap of having a pretty bujo and ended up buying way too much stationery. I’m on a permanent stationery no-buy and have transitioned away from my preferred minimalist style to use up all of the supplies I spent entirely too much money on 😅
If you don’t really want to use the stuff see if your local school wants them. I have line away to my daughter’s class and it’s very cute to see their crafts with washi or stickers I gave.
I started planning in 2019. With a Happy Planner, I hated the style of it. And I thought it was over priced. So then I feel down the Chick Sparrow TN rabbit hole, ( cuz that's cheaper)😅. Those things go for _160.00 easy you buy five, do the math. I couldn't afford them realistically. I spent probably two thousand on leather travelers notebooks. Then the dashboards and vellumn and acetate die cuts stickers omg it got crazy expensive. Simply Guilded subscriptions ETC. I went into DEBT. Kept consuming. I wanted to be like who I saw in the videos. And back then these girls were not honest or transparent. No one admitted they were sent these unattainable things for free from the company to promote them. So I was like what's wrong with me that I can't afford this but they can. Then I feel into the Stay ology B6 phase which is very sticker kit heavy and excessive consumption. I still wasn't happy. I kept feeling like this isn't me. But I love stationary, I love the feeling of controll planning ahead gives me. Buying stuff was definitely fun. Then the style of what was popular changed again and these adult women were using stickers and deco like they were reliving their childhood. It was ridiculous. I couldn't afford the style I finally found that I like which is Baum Ketchum. I'm not spending ten dollars for one rubber stamp. I mean the prices have become discusting. I'm watching people put a pen and gear cheap notebook in a fifty to one hundred dollar cover. WHY???? So in 2023 I found minimalism. I realized that all the above is distracting and stressful for me. And that id rather spend my money on living life. So I actually just recently decluttered all my simple Guilded, washi and sticker kits from various shops. The vellumn, acetate, all washi, die cuts, planner cover's. ALL OF IT. That yes I spent a lot of money on. But YES!! New stuff won't make you do new things!! I feel like a weight has been lifted. Especially the guilt of not using what I spent so much money on. Keeping it these past five years hasn't made me use it. I accepted Me. I got rid of my fantasy self. And I will be saving sooo much money on my future with a simple pen and paper notebook. Sorry for how long this is!
I am really happy you found a system and style that works for you! I bought a lot of expensive planners so I definitely f have had that feeling of wasting money or like what I bought was a waste of money or too expensive if I don't use it regularly.
That is my project since I moved a year ago and all that stationary stuff moved with me and don’t have the room anymore. Going to sell my TN’s, donated my stickers and stuff to vacation Bible School and keep my filled journals and have my minimal BUJO going forward. Thanks for sharing many of us 😂 took awhile to find the way out of that rabbit hole 🕳️ 🐇
I did bullet journaling for a couple of years, in the end I did switch to a premade (but with blank days/months) planner because I realized I work better with a bit of structure and having to make monthly and weekly spreads in avance just didn't go well with my ADHD. But! Bullet journaling still was SO VALUABLE for learning what information I need, how it is displayed/organized, etc., and thus allowed me to look for a journal that truly suits my need. I've been using the same one for two years and I'm very happy with it, while I keep using bullet journal methods to keep track of tasks at work. I definitely think BJ is a method that is very helpful for a lot of people and even if you find out it's not for you, it will probably teach you what is important for you in a journal.
this is a really wonderful and insightful comment. Even if someone isn't sure a bujo is for them it could still be a tool to use to help them find out what is.
Thanks for this! Content over form! For those who don't want to draw in their own calendars, you can try a customizable system or add a calendar and/or weekly insert (you could also print your own calendars). A big plus for BUJO is that it's easily accessible to anyone. BUJO is approachable for all ages, abilities, and financial means. But TBH, many, many successful people I know, don’t use a planner or journal at all. I personally benefit from and need to regularly write, messily or neat, art or not. While planners/journals can be helpful AND fun, they are meant to help us live our best lives, not be our lives.
I did the aesthetic bullet journal in hs and it actually worked well because I wanted to use my diary all the time, but studying I just don't have time for those setups anymore, luckily using my diary so much in hs got me in the habit, and now I've got a very simple layout that actually helps me and motivates me. I think poor experiences with bullet journals come from having layouts or setups that don't work for you specifically, and not being in the habit of using it every day constantly. It's difficult to get into, I won't lie, but it can really help, especially considering it was a system originally made for people with executive dysfunction
One of the best Bullet Journaling for a beginner. I have been doing BUJO off and on since Ryder Carroll wrote his book. I gobbled it up But I have come to realize his BUJO would be the pen and book! When I re-read his book I see chapters of ideas he developed thru the many years of creating a BUJO. Many of us, me fell into having it be like everyone else’s. Your approach is spot on, make it work for you! My BUJO today changes as I change this is the secret to success in this type of planner, journal, and in my case my doodling. Thanks ❤🎉😅
I very much enjoyed this video. I agree, some people go waaay over the top buying planners, planner covers, stickers, washi tape, little photo printers. It’s crazy. But I have my fair share of supplies, too. I just don’t feel like I’m “up there” in the planning community. I like watching videos about bullet journaling and collection ideas, as well as watching how some people set up their spreads, etc. but some of it is like planners on crack! I’m simple with daily appointments and some rapid logging. Thanks for the video. I will check out other videos you have. Peace.
I'm relatively new to bullet journaling and I love it because (as you've shown) it's very flexible and doesn't have to be complicated. Really enjoying it.
I'm only half way through but have already some things to say. 1. Yes you can use a blush over 900 times of it's high pigmented and baked. 2. Skipping days or weeks is such an annoying thing with premade planners. 3. Yes buying cute stickers is a trap. I got a subscription for monthly sticker packs from a small creator at one point. 4. Ended up being overwhelmed at one point for all the stuff I could write into it. Just like you I stopped writing most of it down, because like you I don't need it for work. 5. Now I use my planer with undated or dottet pages I can rearange more like a planning diary. It is a mix of stuff I am supposed to to and some notes about my health.
I fell into the planner overconsumption trap and bought way too much for a few months, without really recouping that value in the functionality. Then I started watching bullet journaling videos and saw how simple and effective and flexible it could be. I'm not an artist, and I enjoy a beautiful or whimsical spread but that can be achieved with FAR less spending and fewer supplies than I was buying. So I'm now using a bullet journal and a FEW stickers and pens, and destashing the rest. Lesson learned.
I did bullet journalling for ages years ago. I started off with all the fancy layouts, title pages and artsy stuff, couldnt keep it goijg consistently though. Ended up more like yours, which i found way more sustainable. When i had 2 children very close together I stopped having time for it and little need since the kids needs outweighed my own. My youngest is turning 2 soon and I'm wanting to get that organisation back into my life. Literally picked up a notebook i was using for business stuff, and will start my planner/journalling again today 😂 definitly inspired to get back to it.
10:20 I totally agree with you on this. I find most planners not being minimalist enough. There are too much fluff and sections I’m not interested in filling out. All those blanks staring back at me are just giving me unnecessary stress.
As someone who was deeply entrenched in the planner community who has started shift focus and priorities recently hearing your insight was fascinating! Loved this video 🤍🤍
I was so happy to see your name in the comments! You've been in the planner community much longer than I have and have actually made videos in it. I've noticed a shift in your content over the years. Not just the inclusion of more makeup content but also in your planner content like the video you made on creativity and contentment
I’ve finally made peace with it. I use a happy planner with tons of stickers and glue in photos of my kids and make it a memory keeper or like a scrapbook. It helped me be more present and savor the little daily joys worth writing down or taking a photo of. I do these on Friday’s or Sunday’s as a way to reflect on positive things from the week. Then for actual planning ahead and tasks I use the Makselife goal setting planner, no stickers nothing, just pen and highlighters. That one is pure functional and all about getting stuff done and enjoying physically checking it off on paper for me.
I feel the same way you do about overconsumption! Your video has resonated with me in a subconscious level too. Thank you. Talking about brings such a clarity!
I’ve always been a planner girl, discovered bullet journaling back in 2015 and been using it since, for some of my busy years I used a bullet journal and a planner together It’s interesting to see how bullet journaling appeals to new audience now especially with how much it changed through the years and what’s popular and what’s not( the change is crazy, not just with the supplies used but also in the type of popular layouts etc) Planner and bujo communities both have their own way of overconsumption In planner communities it mainly consists of sticker hoarding and buying multiple planners when you don’t need most of them In bujo community it’s the expensive notebooks that most people tend to at least change twice a year and the new art supplies that lots of people buy even if they won’t use them or use them only once Both planners and bujos can be super minimalistic or maximalistic depending on how you approach it Other thing that really affect people is the type of content they consume like you’re more prone to want to buy things if you watch the content that promates that
Awesome video. It speaks to me ! I recently moved to simplest bujo system with just a B6 notebook. I am really so happy and at peace. My paraphernalia for the bujo is just a pen and a book mark which I use to mark where I am in the book and as a scale too.. But I did get a nice notebook cover in which to house my basic b6 notebook... Happy happy - joy joy !!
I have been using a bullet journal consistently since October 2023. I change it every month, ever so slightly... sometimes tracking my diet for instance, other times prioritising what kind of workout I am doing or RUclips ideas for videos etc. I love that I can randomly throw in outside of the month sorta trackers like tracking my level or quest progressions on Old School Runescape in between 2 months lol. At first I brought A4, then A5 and currently happy at B6. In October I brought 4 different packs of stickers. I'm still using them up and no where near finishing them, heck unless I decide to give up and declutter any, they will probably still be with me this time next year. I tried bubble writing, colouring, pictures, and now stickers. And I ended up enjoying just a few highlighters to separate 'fail, middle, great' for example and to highlight the differences between appointments or nursery etc in my monthly diary. So after 6 months, I use 5 highlighters, 1 thin pen, 1 ruler every month without fail and when the stickers do eventually run out, I won't replace them as I only 'enjoyed' 1 of the 4 packs anyway, as they were better quality and super cute in comparison.
I *love* Sterling Ink (and the Hobonichi Weeks). Size options max out at A5 (but go as small as passport, and everywhere in-between), the calendars and weeklies are dated, the weeklies are extremely customizable, the paper is extremely thin so my 520 page planner is only 19mm thick (there's also a 12mm 'compact' option with less notes pages), and the back notes pages are great for whatever a person needs them for. I do my major planning in the front and have tons of bujo-style collections, lists, notes, trackers, etc in the back. I agree that general Western planners are huge, thick, and over-structured - my neurodivergent brain absolutely cannot tolerate them. I tried to do pure bujo for years, but I just can't keep up with forward-planning or writing out monthlies - the SI planners give me the structure I need with ample flexibility and freedom. Bujo isn't the singular solution to planner overconsumption because overconsumption isn't simply an issue of something being not functional or a person being indecisive. It's an issue of a consumerism mentality in general, and that's why even people that get into bujo for simplicity often end up with a huge Tombow or washi collection. Despite being unsatisfied for years with Western planners and my fight with bujos, I never bought multiple planners in a year or endless supplies because that's simply not my mentality. People buying 12 planners in a year aren't doing it because they aren't happy with any of them - they're doing it because there's a void they're trying to fill, or because they simply like constant change. For some people it's a hobby more than a functional system, and that's okay too. I enjoy watching planner/stationery YT but I don't feel the need to buy new materials, as I'm much more likely to copy a layout or an idea that I saw - but comparing myself to a person with a huge collection isn't helpful, as we are 'in it' for different purposes.
I totally agree that bullet journaling is the singular option or solution to planner overconsumption, and I mention this in the video and present it as an option. Your comment and so many others demonstrate that there are a lot of perspectives and options out there where people can find planner peace. What I hope for people is exactly that regardless of what the solution is, so thank you for sharing your experience!
Wish I would’ve seen this months ago. I never thought bullet journaling would be for me because I didn’t feel like making my own layouts. Like I thought it was basically making your own planner and just seemed like too much work. I had a 50 hour job and then when I quit, I had two kids back to back. WHO HAS THAT TIME TO MAKE YOUR OWN FANCY LAYOUTS?! Then I looked into it and found the bare bones original function of the daily log for the bullet journal and have been using it for two weeks and omg I love it so much. I have my monthly task list to write down things that I don’t wanna do in the next day or two and then I log the things I wanna get done each day as I go and then if random thoughts pop in my mind that I need to look into something or research something, etc., I just WRITE IT DOWN in my daily log. Like oh hey I just thought about the meals I want this week and just write it down…don’t need any special layout or find extra space in a planner that I’ll forget I ever even wrote it down. All my events and stuff I have in my google calendar so having a regular planner felt to me like I was just copying what I already had in my google calendar and it just wasn’t working for me. But the bullet journal works soooo well for my brain. No frills and purely functional. After spending thousands throughout the years, I’m hopeful I feel like I found something that might actually work for me.
I'm getting to this one a bit late, but you are the smart little sister I never had :) I was hoping you would get to journaling/journaling supplies at some point in your videos. I first started Bujo in 2013 and it was wonderful! Then after watching Bujo videos I got tempted with stamps and stickers and washi... ironically I love "the idea" of stickers because I watch a lot of Traveler's Notebook and Bujo creators in the planner community, but I don't actually like having stickers in my book. I also get overwhelmed with too much decor or more than 1 planner, so it's a constant struggle to remind myself that I can appreciate someone's journal but it won't be right for me. But the less I have the more I enjoy what I have, if that makes sense. I used the Hobonichi in 2020 which was good for that year because I had so much more time being at home. But after that I keep coming back to simple Bujo. I have donated so many planner supplies to art studios and art teachers because it was too many supplies and overwhelming and no longer enjoyable. Even with my art supplies, I notice I feel most at ease with 1 favorite fountain pen, 1 sketchbook, and a simple palette of a few watercolors. I can appreciate other's art or sketchbooks or journals without trying to duplicate it. Thanks again! ❤
i can totally relate and i love your take on novelty and functionality,,, i started bullet journaling untli i created my own hybrid of bullet journal and hourly weekly planner so that i dont keep writing the hours of the day.. whatever works but for braindumps and mindmaps,, nothing beats the blank notebook :D
I am a linear planner as well. I like to put my whole life in my Bullet Journal as I live it. I liked your point about creating novelty by different layouts or lists instead of new washi, stickers, etc. 😊
I got overwhelmed by all the choices, so I pulled out an A6 Stalogy and started my own form of bullet journaling. It’s so freeing because I can flip to the next page and draw or take notes, or I can use stickers if I want or not. I also found d that I was using my sticker stash more and more. Now my stash is used up and I’m slowly and intentionally buying more stickers that I love!
i switched to a digital planner this year and really enjoy how it's curbed my desire to buy stickers and stationery trinkets. i can add any photo from my phone and screen cap artwork i like for decoration. there's even digital sticker packs from small creators or available from apps like LINE and i don't have to face the anxiety of "oooh i can only use it once"!' the original rabbit hole of "aesthetic" bullet journaling eventually turned me off but i appreciate the original intention to incorporate multiple functions so you can brain dump and switch it up as needed.
Very interesting video! I find bullet journaling to be the most consistent planning and reflection method for myself, since I've been doing it for roughly seven years now. However I find in the creative niche of it, stickers, washi tapes etc are a huge thing as well and can also lead to a lot of overconsumption, especially with shops like temu and so on. Personally I have bought a bunch of things in the past from stickers over washi tapes to stamps and pens that I rarely to never use. But I resonated with what you said about finding the type of videos that are helping and not making you feel shit / like you always have to buy more stuff 👍
Thank you so much for sharing your perspective! There are so many bullet journaling styles and amounts of effort people put into them that there's just about a style for everyone, or at least a mix of content that may work.
I need my journal with me at all times. I do bullet journal very minimalistic. So I use the pocket notebooks. But then they filled up to quickly. So now I use a travelers notebook with a weekly insert for weekly planning and the other insert I use for daily logging
I'm prob gonna have to go back to basic basic basic bujo system in order to use the lined notbooks i have. I don't have a planner problem but there is nothing more wonderful than an empty notebook. And I'm a writer so i always think i need more pages to fill. I now avoid office supply stores and back to school sales. 😬
My job has changed in the last few months, and a lot of my work is going to be items with extended timelines and deadlines, opposed to the more reactionary work I had been doing. I had to find a way to keep everything organized, plotted out, and easy to adjust. My planner needs are fairly simple, but specific - monthly and weekly layouts, room to write notes without having to have a separate notebook. I didn't want stickers, habit trackers, gratitude/spiritual stuff, etc. I need it for tracking work stuff mainly, and not personal growth. I was online the other night looking at custom planner creation sites when I heard your voice in my head: is this a purchase you know you will really utilize? And for the full year? I closed those tabs, found a suitable planner at Target and told myself if I use it for the year, and stick with it, I can invest in a custom planner next year. I only recently found your channel, but appreciate how you can help me rethink a purchase - is it a want or need, will you actually use it, do you already own some that could work?
Sorry for the late reply on this Sophie, I don't check in with older videos as much. I'm glad my videos have helped you think more critically or consciously about what you buy! I want to congratulate you for noticing in the moment that you don't have the track record and wanted to build one. This is SUCH a huge win!!
Believe me, I’ve tried bujo many times before finally caved in and joined the Japanese planners gang. I’m currently using a Hobonichi a6 for daily planning and a weeks to track the progress of a personal project. I had been using the weeks as the main planner, but as school year ended, my schedule no longer works in weeks. So I repurposed the planner and changed my system. Bujo didn’t work for me as much as I wish it did (those planners ain’t cheap). I don’t have the patience to draw out all those layouts. It stressed me out. I just want the structure to already be there so I could focus on actual planning. That being said, I’m mostly using plain notebooks for any other writing or drawing. Journaling, doodling, exploring art, doing collages, brain dumping, media journal, daily log…I’ll just write the date on what I’ve done that day. It doesn’t take much and I don’t need an extra planner for that. The lack of structure is actually preferable because I wouldn’t feel pressured to do certain activities everyday (well, except for the daily log). I guess I’m still guilty though, for having 8-9 books running in the background at the same time 😅
9:48 i want to journal, mainly to help keep me in check with my weight loss journey. I previously lost 17.5 stone (245lbs) but got sick and gained a lot of it back. Im starting to recover now (a year on) and feel lost at where to start. So i wondered if journeling would help?
I don’t like bullet journalling but I love this video :) it’s so tedious for me to draw the same spread over and over. My planner (a modified Planner Pad vertical weeks and big monthly view) is exactly wha to want, I’m glad to be stuck with this layout :) I’ve used one for 5 years. BUT I think that the system that I make to-do lists and plan for being productive in a spiral notebook is essentially the same type of thing as others bullet journals….which I love.
I gave up on physical planners this year and went completely digital. Google calendar for appointments, notes app for brain dumps, plus an app for habit tracking and vision board set as wallpaper. No need to carry a heavy planner around with me, no more struggling to decipher my handwriting, no more forgetting appointments because I forgot to check my planner that day. I think planners and bujos are great for people who enjoy the creative aspect but it's just not for me.
I need my planner to be set up. If I need to date it or create a layout before I plan, the planning won’t happen. My planners help me to organize my life, set goals and keep track of important tasks. I do love the fun of stationary and I don’t delude myself. A lot of times, I am just playing with stickers… which is also okay.
I love my basic monthly/weekly planner because it already has all of the layouts there. I use my planner as a tool to organize my life having to add an additional step of drawing out calendars isn't going to happen.
I refreshed the page before reading “is bullet journaling the reason for planner illiteracy” and I was like “WAIT I NEED TO FIND THAT VIDEO” and then I realize it’s not about what I thought it was.. 😭
I've bullet journaled from 2020-2021, then in 2022 i got a planner i didn't use all the way through. in 2023-2024, I messed around with different digital systems and I feel like analogue is still the best for me (plus i need to reduce my screen time! using a digital system usually ends up with me on Instagram lol) I already bought a planner for 2025, but there's this feeling in the back of my mind that I'm not happy with the format. I'm still gonna try to use it up, but if it comes down to it I might go back to bullet journaling. At least I can make layouts that work best for me and not have to planner hope. Just adjust the layout when needed.
I have always loved the idea of planning but so many planners just DO NOT work with my ADHD. I need to see my month and my week at the same time. I finally found one that works for me in the Laurel Denise planners. It's the only system I've remotely stuck with and I've tried A LOT. I'll be sticking with it next year too. I liked bullet journaling but my ADHD had a really hard time going through the motions of setting up my templates every week/month.
Oh! And their templates are flexible enough (at least in the undated version) so I can tweak the formatting to suit me. It's seriously a game changer for me.
Hey! I've been loving your content recently. I'm about to go on vacation and wondered if you had any recommendations for intentional living/shopping/minimalism books I can read by the pool! ❤
I feel like I don't understand bullet journaling. What is it exactly? What you're doing, while it works, I love the flexibility and I might give it a go myself some day, it doesn't come across as bullet journaling to me. Maybe we should just let go of certain terms because they create expectations and all of us just go look for a system that works for us that doesn't need a label
I disagree that what I'm doing isn't bullet journaling, most especially because I'm using a classic bullet journal technique - the daily log. In my opinion if someone is only using monthly logs, that's bullet journaling. I'm with you that labels don't matter a whole lot. In my case, I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing regardless of what the label is. However, I do think in this circumstance calling it bullet journaling is helpful because a lot of bullet journaling are pieces of art or really showcase the art aspect to it, and this can put a lot of people off from even trying it. The style I showed is super simple and is just one way someone can bullet journal. I also think we should just let people call things what they want. If someone thinks future logging only is bullet journaling I don't quite see the problem with letting them call it bullet journaling, especially if they see themselves as part of a community.
This resonates so much with me and I have come to the same conclusion. I need a planner for work cause I wear lots of hats in my corporate job and without noting and categorizing things they fall through the cracks. But yeah there’s just no planner that accommodates my needs so there’s actually no point buying them. I started thinking of switching to a ring planner but the all searching for inserts and printing also seem like unnecessary friction. For now I still want to make my current planner work just because I feel i spent a lot of money on it but yeah I’m definitely gonna move to a BuJo next…it seems like the most logical and sensible thing to do
As someone who has a ruler, i actually prefer freehanding my lines in my journal. It was really hard for me to have nice crisp lines so to make my experience more enjoyable I just stopped using it for that purpose. It gives my journal a more organic feel that i like and helps take off the pressure of messing up. I use a brush pen and it makes wavy uneven lines that i like.
@shawnaripari did you put stickers or magazines cut outs in your bullet journal? The flowers are beautiful 😍 Also, would you consider doing a bullet journal flip🤞
I have been a paper planner since 2015. I used an ECLP for the first 5 years, then I got a Hobonichi and I’ve never looked back. I only shop from one planner sticker shop and it’s my friend’s shop, it’s a small business, and she’s basically the only one I ever buy from unless there’s a washi tape I want. I’ve never heard of overconsumption regarding planner supplies, but if there is one, I’d assume it’d be within the bullet journal community more than anything seeing as how there’s nothing in them. No dates, no lines, therefore more room for needing supplies to make them cute and unique. I don’t count junk journaling as planning at ALL. It’s simply not planning in any way, shape, or form.
My reaction to the "artistic" planners I see it that I have the choice - either I can do the artistic thing or I can get the tasks in my lists done. Any paper planner I use is nothing but ink, generally purple (I love the EnerGel pens in purple.) I have one notebook that I use in stitchery classes only. I generally use all three sizes of the Rocketbook for my lists and day-to-day notes to myself - they do required Frixion pens, but you can wipe them clean and reuse the pages, so for transient things, this is fine.
As a stickers shop myself I love you are talking about this! 😅 theres definetly overconsumption 🤷♀️ but I also try to share the project pan mindset of using your supplies and not just hoard them 😅 I find bullet journal overwhelming, the blank pages scare me 🤷♀️ it has taken me a while to find planner peace... I think thats normal, as you learn what works best for you and how to get you to be most productive 😊
I totally get what you mean with the overwhelm of the blank page! When I first started my bujo I didn't have that because I knew my task was just to daily log, but now that I've established my habit and want to set up my first month I'm a bit like... what now 😅
i still have washi tape samples i bought in 2018, which will never get used. it's easy to buy stuff and try to find a use for it instead of waiting to see what you need. but when it's all about decoration, there is no such thing as a need..
I'm not that active into planning/journaling but still I have more stationary than I need.... I was hoping to use my calendar/planner more this year. I even put some effort decorating 😢But as usual I have hardly used it at all which is really disappointing... It's the same every year 😐just once I'd like to actually properly use it and not waste it
Funny that this video comes out after the Temu one. Stickers are pretty much the only item I get from Temu. The quality is the same, and they all come in a single tiny package twice or three times a year. I also get them as rather minimalist gifts for the kids in the family. As for the carbon footprint, it's not any worse than people ordering plain journals from Japan, just because the brands there are trendy. Now, I do realize that some of the designs are stolen (though the trend now is more towards AI). I have a few favorite small businesses I support, but honestly sometimes can't justify the price, particularly related to multiple shipping fees. I'm thinking of getting more into the non-physical items they sometimes sell and figuring out how to print my own stickers. That said, the trend is definitely going towards less extravagant journals. There was a big wave of "why I'm quitting bullet journaling" videos a year or two ago, with people expressing fatigue over the race towards having the most aesthetic pages, which defies the original idea of a bujo in the first place. Now I see a lot of videos about the planner overconsumption and the inevitable "decluttering" content. I would be interested in a second hand market for stickers, but again it would have to be centralized somehow. I like your planner. It has the organic vibe of being used effectively. Mine looks similar. If I ever start to get stressed over skipping a day or having IG unworthy pages in it, I'll probably quit. I have it to reduce anxiety, not the other way around.
I was bullet journaling for maybe 6 months, but making a monthly calendar and weekly layouts every month was too much for me. I now have a planner that has a monthly, weekly, and daily layout that I can bullet journal in. As far planner consumerism goes, there can be over consumption in any habit that people enjoy doing. I feel it is not my business how other people spend their money. Everyone should do what works for them .
I'm an aspiring artist and I do zero art in my Bullet Journal. The BuJo is not a creative activity for me. It's a tool to get my thoughts straight so I can concentrate on my creative projects, amongst other things. I don't want to spend a lot of time setting things up, I just want to get my thoughts out quickly and have something that is easy to refer back to. I think the waters have been muddied too much with the planner community crossover. It was originally called rapid logging for a reason. I just use a ballpoint pen and some basic chunky neon highlighters that I already had. The kind that you see in office supplies. I put a strip of pink highlighter either side of the month title and page number at the bottom, and a thin line of pink between the daily entries. Then I just alternate a scribble of neon green or neon yellow over the date in the margin. You could easily use a couple of colour pencils instead if that's what you have to hand but you don't really need it. I just do it so there is a bit of visual separation between days. No stickers, no pretty layouts. I do use the future log near the beginning. Mainly for birthdays but sometimes for appointments or events that are arranged quite a while in advance. The monthly log I used to make a grid layout on a separate piece of paper and stick it in, but now I don't bother and just write a list of numbers 1-30/31 over two pages with a notes section at the bottom. This is mainly used again for appointments or events but not much actually gets written in there so it's not worth spending a lot of time on. You can maybe use some page tags if there's a page you want to refer back to often but the index works just as well if the aim to stay low consumerism. The beauty of the system for me is that it is a place for my daily to-do lists and brain dumps which become searchable when you use the index so I do recommend using the Index part of the system. I might have pages of daily pages for example and then two pages of notes from an online talk I watched, add the page numbers to the index and I can easily refer back to it later. As you touched upon you can leave out days or even weeks and just pick up right where you left off. No wasted pages as you are allocating the pages as you go and no guilt for wasting pages or "doing it wrong". Just jump in where you are.
thanks so much for sharing your experience on this. I may eventually install an index, perhaps if I stick long enough with bullet journaling to go into a new new notebook. I have yet to find a need for it, but I think a large part of why is because I've only done it for a month. Not much to index. I also totally agree with the just get it out mindset. I want to brain dump and be done with it 😅
Bullet journaling is the biggest reason I buy anything new any more. So for me, it makes me overconsume easily. I like to use a lot of different highlighters and pens and stickers and washi tape. I also make my plans again and again, so I end up buying more journals. And as it is easy to tell myself that it is important to do this, then I don't feel as bad to buy new pens etc. for it. So I easily have bought 10 journals in a year because of writing the whole thing in a month and I can't use the ones without dots because then my writing is not straight and I will not use it. I have tried to take old pages and glue them on top of the ones I want to rewrite, but doing that to 100 or more pages is hard. ^^"
I'm a lister, so an hourly planner or dashboard layout works for me. I've had planner peace for over10 years. That said, I still love to check out new planners.
I've tried bullet journaling but it doesn't work for me, I wish it did. I just use my notes app. I have my schedule for the next few weeks, I have my budget for the next few weeks, and a couple other things pinned to the top. I always have my phone so don't need anything extra. I've also tried Notion and all those other digital organization things which don't work for me either, I feel like it overcomplicates everything for me.
Before I started bullet journaling, even I fell down the rabbit hole on sticker books but in my defense, I used them for memory keeping in a happy planner for a long time. But I started bullet journaling with one el cheapo black pen and a $7 notebook from Michaels, gradually adding other tools like highlighters and colored pens over time. 5 years in and I'm content. My only impulse to buy comes from the squirrel brain that tells me to stock up my favorite notebooks before Michaels discontinues them.
I got into Bullet Journaling back in 2015-2016 and I'm still using the same markers I bought in 2017!! It was a 100-pack of Fibracolor markers (pretty much like Crayola).
I'm not a bullet journal user, the work has to be done for me if I'm going to ever fill anything out. But 💯% agree that the overconsumption in the general planner community is a real con to even being part of it. I had to finally give up Instagram, Pinterest, etc.
I started my foray into planning with a bullet journal back in 2018. A couple of years ago, I decided to jump into a Hobonichi Cousin, and I am finding that my spending has gone way up. I ended up buying a planner for different occasions. My Cousin is my main drive (I am a student, work full time, have a family... life is busy). But I also have a drawer full of washi and started purchasing so many stickers. Don't get me wrong, I love them and I have the means to purchase them, but I am finding that the multiple planners for different aspects are not working for me. I have been toying with going back to my simplistic One Book to Rule Them All (aka bullet journal) is where it is at. I also think that being subscribed to so many different channels doesn't help much. It truly feeds the FOMO. Here I sit with all these planners and look at my little bujo and feel that is where it is at. I appreciate your thoughts and am a new sub. Thank you for sharing!
Creating that novel experience I think was kind of the point of Ryder's original system because he specifically developed it for his ADHD brain. And what ADHD brains crave is novelty and specific stimulation.
yo uso mi agenda ..desde la secundaria solo con lapiz y postings y unas pocas cosas le hago dibujos y disfrutoe es funcional y ya esta gran ayuda para ser organizado Trato de no ser tan excesiva porque aunque se veria mas bonito quizas ya no me seria funcional
I only use my planner for my project pan 😊 I never got used to those yearly journals with day and weeks... For homework in school it was great but now Its not functional for me. And I also don't like day writing because my days aren't that interesting and adventurous 😂
Honestly I went from Happy Planner, to an "Offical" bullet journal to a Spiral Notebook at thus point in my life. I like that I don't care if I mess up the $.99 Notebook with my planning
I have adhd so the answer is no for me. I hate bullet journaling so much. I have multiple notebooks for different things and I'm not ashamed, but I also don't think I'm over consuming anything because I technically use all of them. I need one in every room or I will get distracted looking for one.
Interesting points although it feels a little "us vs them" putting bullet journelers vs planners, painting every planner as a frivolous overconsumist and the bujo users as enlightened creatives - every craft hobby has its pitfalls and I don't think the bujo community is the exception. I think both the bullet journal and planner communities suffer similar pains - you can malign stickers but one can also have too many Tombows and Leuchturms on their shelves just as easily. I've failed multiple times at using a bullet journal, just doesn't work with my ADHD despite it coming so easily to others. I need pre-printed dates and calendars 🤷🏻♀️ I think the takeaway for me is that productivity should be at the forefront of planning (the act not the hobby or community) and the individual should decide what is the right balance of creativity, novelty, accessories, function etc and unless you find yourself regretting purchases or choices, then it's all good.
Ok, over consumption is a problem but planning is very unique to each person. So, it's great if this works for you or others but it won't for everybody...and you know what...that is ok. As far as planning a certain way making you feel good...I'm not sure anything is wrong with that? If someone feels better because they enjoy planning with certain approaches...good for them. Idk...this feels very much like...someone pointing fingers and saying some are doing it "wrong", so do it like I do. Which is weird. What I do think is that the "planning community" doesn't make enough space for people who do NOT want to spend a ton of money and who just want to have minimal plans and tools. I also it seems that many in the "planner community" I see on RUclips are far more interested in selling a sticker book than actually planning. So, while I do agree with the consumption piece being out of control, I would just encourage people to not judge others, worry about yourself and do what makes you happy and allow others to do the same. As an fyi, I am new to bullet journaling and I LOVE it...but I can not use it for my planning because I don't process my time and needs in that way. But I LOVE it for it's simplicity and it has taken my personal journaling to a new level. Overall...people are different and let's just enjoy that and consume what works for you and ignore the rest.
If someone out there wants to plan with stickers and washi I have no problem with that. And, if someone in the comments or in the real life told me that they plan with lots of stickers and washi I'd say good for you and genuinely mean that. With that said I do care about content creators, and if this comes across as pointing fingers at them I will own that because they have so much power to influence people. If someone (an average viewer) looks at how they plan and don't see a problem then that's fine, but the overconsumption in the planner space is wild, and the people fueling that fire are influencers. This video is a reminder of that and that there are alternatives if someone wants to explore them.
@shawnaripari I agreed that influencer can be problematic. I also agree that having a variety of planning approaches visible is definitely needed. I have been a "planner" my whole life and knew nothing about this community til last year...because my need for planning has nothing to do with anyone else. And yes, I quickly noticed a peovlem woth hawking any and everything for an "affiliate code". But I do think you should be very clear about who you are "pointing fingers at". For some people, their planning needs may align with what you consider "over consumption". And that's their choice. But this video came off as pointing a finger at THEM. And that's extremely unfair considering you have no knowledge of why people may choose to do the things they do.
@@Soho389 I really appreciate this distinction! I agree with the sentiment that planner RUclipsrs have shifted from "watch me make a cool spread!" To "use my code for 10% off on the third sticker book release video of the week!" It's annoying as someone who's in this hobby for the videos of someone rolling up their sleeves and planning, brainstorming or decorating - NOT selling. There used to be honest reviews and now it feels like every video is #sponsored
I feel like effective journaling/planner use is really a lot more simple than we're led to believe by those who want us to spend a lot of money on the extra frills. Recently I came across an inexpensive basic planner with a habit tracker, and I have to say that the habit tracker was a game changer for my tendencies to be inconsistent with healthy habits. You can create a habit tracker using any paper, or just in a document on your computer. I use it mostly to track health and fitness habits, sticking to my budget, and practicing my hobbies. When I see myself checking these things off each day it makes me want to stick to my goals.
Yes to this! Planning can be as simple or as complicated as we want it to be. There are tons of options, systems, and styles out there that can make it feel overwhelming. I'm glad the habit tracker works for you!!
All you really need are paper and pen, maybe a ruler. That’s it.
For me, the trick was a mood tracker planner. It had plenty built into it, such as a chart and legend to keep up with emotions, sections for weekly highs and lows, and prompts for reflecting on self-improvement...but it didn't require any "accessories," unless you count a couple of spare pens for the prompts, colored pencils from who knows what stage of school for the legend, and a random bag I had laying around so my pens and pencils stayed in one place. So simple, and yet it was a game changer from me, especially after being diagnosed with clinical depression and generalized anxiety in early 2020.
i use notion for my habit tracker and to-do list. very easy to update and check
I have been bulletjournalling since 2017, and have fallen into the overconsumption trap, too.
But eventually I noticed that I felt suffocated by all the stationary options, so I stopped buying anything. And for each month I create a small kit, that mostly consists of a thick and a thin black pen (for headers and regular text), 2-3 colors, and maybe 1 or 2 washi tapes.
the rest I put away. It saves the mind energy that I used to waste on deciding what to write with, which makes a massive difference.
this sounds like a lot of fun and like something I would absolutely do if I had a lot of supplies
I love this idea!
Great idea! You use up what you have without getting overwhelmed by all your stuff and you don’t get tired of your stuff cause it’s not all available to you all the time. Smart.
Fantasy me loves all things stationary related. Real me uses a spiral notebook and ink pen. If I am feeling wild, I will highlight. No extra purchases for me.
If I'm feeling wild I'll highlight 😂I love this
This is such an awesome comment, I can relate!
Thank you for your most recent videos on being intentional about consumption. RUclips can almost feel like HSN with the hauls and try this not that videos. Now I’m drawn to using what I have and being grateful for it.
❤
All these things give us the illusion of productivity. That’s why we get obsessed with planners and accessories
I’ve been bullet journaling for 3 years now and it’s the first time in my life I’ve felt truly organized. So many more years of trying to figure out a system that worked. I love that it’s 100% customized. I definitely don’t feel the need for anything but the pen and notebook. I tried stencils for a little but I just didn’t care enough to use them. 😅
Can you also talk about the overconsumption of stationery and planners? I'm not into the usual restocking stuff like makeup/bathroom/groceries, but it's seeing other people with their planner/washi tape/pen hauls, and specifically Jetpen videos that make me feel like I need to buy aesthetic stationery or planners when I don't even need. Especially now that it's planner season too.
It’s always good to remind yourself that jet pens is an explicit storefront advertising their products. It’s like a video version of a Sears catalogue.
So glad you've been finding success with bullet journaling so far 😄 Loved your point about not needing to do the typical index, future log, whatnot at the start and just getting in with daily logs 💪 and heck yeah for a master list; that was super essential for me for a time and I love that with bullet journaling I could change things up when it was no longer as essential (or even just on the weeks I didn't really use it) 💜 Also loved the idea of creating novelty in ways that aren't buying new things, that's something I really value! Great video, Shawna 😄
I can't believe this video made it to you, Jashii! Thanks so much for being a part of my bullet journaling journey
The thing I like most about my bullet journal is the minimalist- maximalist aspect. You can really go all out with monthly, weekly and daily spreads plus trackers and quotes and mood boards etc. or you can be like me with a monthly calendar and only have a list of tasks for the days where you actually need it. I also have trackers for my health which cover a full year and it has helped so much with diagnosing my illnesses. Since it’s in my planner I will never loose it and it’s easier to wip out my planner at the doctors than fiddling with apps or spreadsheets.
I'm so with you on this! I love how folks can bring what they want to their bujo. Even though I don't do the art thing I still enjoy seeing all those spreads and different options for what you can do if you so choose!
Bullet journaling was NOT the answer for me...the closest thing to "planner peace" I've experienced (as someone who has been searching for the best one since middle school, probably) is the Hobonichi line. I need 'em predated! Having to set up a bujo is too much. I use the A6 daily and the weeks. Just give me some date boxes, skip the cutesy habit tracking, etc.
I'm so glad you found a system/method that works for you!! That matters way to me and Iit makes my heart happy to hear ☺
I feel like using a bujo is the culprit for consumption if anything is! Considering they’re not dated or anything!
I definitely agree about bujo curbing the need to buy everything. I use Ryder Carroll's method which is just pen and paper and I am at peace. My mind is decluttered. I have space for my thoughts, feelings, and tasks. There is no need to decorate. It's why I downsized planner stacks this year. ❤ I just subbed! Love your content.
thanks for sticking around! I'm so glad you found a method that works for you
Back in school I had a tiny notebook just to write if any homework was assigned, the class, the date and if it was completed. Being able to see it at a glance helped me to not forget. I later applied it to other areas and reminders I needed, but always as a notebook and a pen. As I'd love to write and journal, I'd have a separate notebook for that. As I finished school, I stopped doing the "planner" notebook, keeping only the one for writing. Years later, watching one of the very first Ryder Carrol's videos, I had a deja vù sensation and a more structured way to reinvent what I was already doing before. I loved the washi tape as a way to create structure (making tabs, adding folding pages), but it didn't take me long to realize that it didn't work for me. I love that the bullet journal goes along with whatever is happening. Does my life get so busy and my tasks assign digitally that the only thing I set up is the month and a few tasks? That's okay. Do I want to reflect a lot and spend 10 pages writing and musing? That's also ok. My last bujo started in 2021 and ended last week. Pen, paper, a marker sometimes. It really becomes what we make of it.
Videos on stationery are my favorite) especially back to school overconsumption. I’ve watched it many times and hope you’ll make similar commentary again❤ I often find myself wanting to participate somehow into this stationery-back-to-school-overconsumption activity, but instead of going and buying stuff that I don’t need I feel satisfied by watching your videos about it)
I've been bullet journaling for over a year. Today I thought about adding a $50 book of stickers and then realized the stickers don't work for my style. I bought a roll of $4 washi tape instead. It's so much less consumerism and less money overall for me. I love the flexibility of the BuJo; it works perfectly for my life. When I start feeling overwhelmed with it, I go back to the basics... works everytime.
I love this 😀 thanks for sharing
yes yes yesss! I love this video. I went through a dozen planners over the years, spent tons on sticker books at $20-40/each, small business stickers, etc. Then, one day...I totaled it all up and had spent a few hundred bucks. Now, I've narrowed it down to just one simple planner that is about $40 for the year and just simple cute icon stickers (rather than full on deco)
so glad you've found something that works for you!
I love love love my bullet journal. It's cheap, easy, and I can put as much time into it as I want or can.
I started bullet Journaling in 2018 and Def recommend for those who have never found a planner they could stick to.
I’m a bullet journaler who fell into the trap of having a pretty bujo and ended up buying way too much stationery. I’m on a permanent stationery no-buy and have transitioned away from my preferred minimalist style to use up all of the supplies I spent entirely too much money on 😅
If you don’t really want to use the stuff see if your local school wants them. I have line away to my daughter’s class and it’s very cute to see their crafts with washi or stickers I gave.
I started planning in 2019. With a Happy Planner, I hated the style of it. And I thought it was over priced. So then I feel down the Chick Sparrow TN rabbit hole, ( cuz that's cheaper)😅. Those things go for _160.00 easy you buy five, do the math. I couldn't afford them realistically. I spent probably two thousand on leather travelers notebooks. Then the dashboards and vellumn and acetate die cuts stickers omg it got crazy expensive. Simply Guilded subscriptions ETC. I went into DEBT. Kept consuming. I wanted to be like who I saw in the videos. And back then these girls were not honest or transparent. No one admitted they were sent these unattainable things for free from the company to promote them. So I was like what's wrong with me that I can't afford this but they can. Then I feel into the Stay ology B6 phase which is very sticker kit heavy and excessive consumption. I still wasn't happy. I kept feeling like this isn't me. But I love stationary, I love the feeling of controll planning ahead gives me. Buying stuff was definitely fun. Then the style of what was popular changed again and these adult women were using stickers and deco like they were reliving their childhood. It was ridiculous. I couldn't afford the style I finally found that I like which is Baum Ketchum. I'm not spending ten dollars for one rubber stamp. I mean the prices have become discusting. I'm watching people put a pen and gear cheap notebook in a fifty to one hundred dollar cover. WHY????
So in 2023 I found minimalism. I realized that all the above is distracting and stressful for me. And that id rather spend my money on living life. So I actually just recently decluttered all my simple Guilded, washi and sticker kits from various shops. The vellumn, acetate, all washi, die cuts, planner cover's. ALL OF IT. That yes I spent a lot of money on. But YES!! New stuff won't make you do new things!! I feel like a weight has been lifted. Especially the guilt of not using what I spent so much money on. Keeping it these past five years hasn't made me use it. I accepted Me. I got rid of my fantasy self. And I will be saving sooo much money on my future with a simple pen and paper notebook.
Sorry for how long this is!
I am really happy you found a system and style that works for you! I bought a lot of expensive planners so I definitely f have had that feeling of wasting money or like what I bought was a waste of money or too expensive if I don't use it regularly.
That is my project since I moved a year ago and all that stationary stuff moved with me and don’t have the room anymore. Going to sell my TN’s, donated my stickers and stuff to vacation Bible School and keep my filled journals and have my minimal BUJO going forward. Thanks for sharing many of us 😂 took awhile to find the way out of that rabbit hole 🕳️ 🐇
I did bullet journaling for a couple of years, in the end I did switch to a premade (but with blank days/months) planner because I realized I work better with a bit of structure and having to make monthly and weekly spreads in avance just didn't go well with my ADHD. But! Bullet journaling still was SO VALUABLE for learning what information I need, how it is displayed/organized, etc., and thus allowed me to look for a journal that truly suits my need. I've been using the same one for two years and I'm very happy with it, while I keep using bullet journal methods to keep track of tasks at work. I definitely think BJ is a method that is very helpful for a lot of people and even if you find out it's not for you, it will probably teach you what is important for you in a journal.
this is a really wonderful and insightful comment. Even if someone isn't sure a bujo is for them it could still be a tool to use to help them find out what is.
Thanks for this! Content over form! For those who don't want to draw in their own calendars, you can try a customizable system or add a calendar and/or weekly insert (you could also print your own calendars). A big plus for BUJO is that it's easily accessible to anyone. BUJO is approachable for all ages, abilities, and financial means. But TBH, many, many successful people I know, don’t use a planner or journal at all. I personally benefit from and need to regularly write, messily or neat, art or not. While planners/journals can be helpful AND fun, they are meant to help us live our best lives, not be our lives.
ouuuu help us live our best lives, not be our lives. Love it!
I did the aesthetic bullet journal in hs and it actually worked well because I wanted to use my diary all the time, but studying I just don't have time for those setups anymore, luckily using my diary so much in hs got me in the habit, and now I've got a very simple layout that actually helps me and motivates me. I think poor experiences with bullet journals come from having layouts or setups that don't work for you specifically, and not being in the habit of using it every day constantly. It's difficult to get into, I won't lie, but it can really help, especially considering it was a system originally made for people with executive dysfunction
One of the best Bullet Journaling for a beginner. I have been doing BUJO off and on since Ryder Carroll wrote his book. I gobbled it up But I have come to realize his BUJO would be the pen and book! When I re-read his book I see chapters of ideas he developed thru the many years of creating a BUJO. Many of us, me fell into having it be like everyone else’s. Your approach is spot on, make it work for you! My BUJO today changes as I change this is the secret to success in this type of planner, journal, and in my case my doodling. Thanks ❤🎉😅
I very much enjoyed this video. I agree, some people go waaay over the top buying planners, planner covers, stickers, washi tape, little photo printers. It’s crazy. But I have my fair share of supplies, too. I just don’t feel like I’m “up there” in the planning community. I like watching videos about bullet journaling and collection ideas, as well as watching how some people set up their spreads, etc. but some of it is like planners on crack! I’m simple with daily appointments and some rapid logging. Thanks for the video. I will check out other videos you have. Peace.
JashiiCorrin is absolutely fantastic 💖 She's one of the best people to watch for bullet journaling 💖
I'm relatively new to bullet journaling and I love it because (as you've shown) it's very flexible and doesn't have to be complicated. Really enjoying it.
I love this creator, her bullet journal basics playlist is great and her she really encourages doing what suits you and your lifestyle ❤
I watched this too! She really is awesome and makes it so approachable
I agree she is amazing but a little tooooo over the top for me!
I'm only half way through but have already some things to say.
1. Yes you can use a blush over 900 times of it's high pigmented and baked.
2. Skipping days or weeks is such an annoying thing with premade planners.
3. Yes buying cute stickers is a trap. I got a subscription for monthly sticker packs from a small creator at one point.
4. Ended up being overwhelmed at one point for all the stuff I could write into it. Just like you I stopped writing most of it down, because like you I don't need it for work.
5. Now I use my planer with undated or dottet pages I can rearange more like a planning diary. It is a mix of stuff I am supposed to to and some notes about my health.
I fell into the planner overconsumption trap and bought way too much for a few months, without really recouping that value in the functionality. Then I started watching bullet journaling videos and saw how simple and effective and flexible it could be. I'm not an artist, and I enjoy a beautiful or whimsical spread but that can be achieved with FAR less spending and fewer supplies than I was buying. So I'm now using a bullet journal and a FEW stickers and pens, and destashing the rest. Lesson learned.
I’m feeling the same way
I did bullet journalling for ages years ago. I started off with all the fancy layouts, title pages and artsy stuff, couldnt keep it goijg consistently though. Ended up more like yours, which i found way more sustainable. When i had 2 children very close together I stopped having time for it and little need since the kids needs outweighed my own. My youngest is turning 2 soon and I'm wanting to get that organisation back into my life. Literally picked up a notebook i was using for business stuff, and will start my planner/journalling again today 😂 definitly inspired to get back to it.
10:20 I totally agree with you on this. I find most planners not being minimalist enough. There are too much fluff and sections I’m not interested in filling out. All those blanks staring back at me are just giving me unnecessary stress.
As someone who was deeply entrenched in the planner community who has started shift focus and priorities recently hearing your insight was fascinating! Loved this video 🤍🤍
I was so happy to see your name in the comments! You've been in the planner community much longer than I have and have actually made videos in it. I've noticed a shift in your content over the years. Not just the inclusion of more makeup content but also in your planner content like the video you made on creativity and contentment
I’ve finally made peace with it. I use a happy planner with tons of stickers and glue in photos of my kids and make it a memory keeper or like a scrapbook. It helped me be more present and savor the little daily joys worth writing down or taking a photo of. I do these on Friday’s or Sunday’s as a way to reflect on positive things from the week. Then for actual planning ahead and tasks I use the Makselife goal setting planner, no stickers nothing, just pen and highlighters. That one is pure functional and all about getting stuff done and enjoying physically checking it off on paper for me.
Your video found me! I just started bullet journaling last month so far it's good for all the reasons you noted. TY
I feel the same way you do about overconsumption! Your video has resonated with me in a subconscious level too. Thank you. Talking about brings such a clarity!
I’ve always been a planner girl, discovered bullet journaling back in 2015 and been using it since, for some of my busy years I used a bullet journal and a planner together
It’s interesting to see how bullet journaling appeals to new audience now especially with how much it changed through the years and what’s popular and what’s not( the change is crazy, not just with the supplies used but also in the type of popular layouts etc)
Planner and bujo communities both have their own way of overconsumption
In planner communities it mainly consists of sticker hoarding and buying multiple planners when you don’t need most of them
In bujo community it’s the expensive notebooks that most people tend to at least change twice a year and the new art supplies that lots of people buy even if they won’t use them or use them only once
Both planners and bujos can be super minimalistic or maximalistic depending on how you approach it
Other thing that really affect people is the type of content they consume like you’re more prone to want to buy things if you watch the content that promates that
you're very right about the changing styles and overconsumption in both communities
Awesome video. It speaks to me ! I recently moved to simplest bujo system with just a B6 notebook. I am really so happy and at peace.
My paraphernalia for the bujo is just a pen and a book mark which I use to mark where I am in the book and as a scale too.. But I did get a nice notebook cover in which to house my basic b6 notebook...
Happy happy - joy joy !!
I have been using a bullet journal consistently since October 2023. I change it every month, ever so slightly... sometimes tracking my diet for instance, other times prioritising what kind of workout I am doing or RUclips ideas for videos etc. I love that I can randomly throw in outside of the month sorta trackers like tracking my level or quest progressions on Old School Runescape in between 2 months lol.
At first I brought A4, then A5 and currently happy at B6.
In October I brought 4 different packs of stickers.
I'm still using them up and no where near finishing them, heck unless I decide to give up and declutter any, they will probably still be with me this time next year.
I tried bubble writing, colouring, pictures, and now stickers.
And I ended up enjoying just a few highlighters to separate 'fail, middle, great' for example and to highlight the differences between appointments or nursery etc in my monthly diary.
So after 6 months, I use 5 highlighters, 1 thin pen, 1 ruler every month without fail and when the stickers do eventually run out, I won't replace them as I only 'enjoyed' 1 of the 4 packs anyway, as they were better quality and super cute in comparison.
I *love* Sterling Ink (and the Hobonichi Weeks). Size options max out at A5 (but go as small as passport, and everywhere in-between), the calendars and weeklies are dated, the weeklies are extremely customizable, the paper is extremely thin so my 520 page planner is only 19mm thick (there's also a 12mm 'compact' option with less notes pages), and the back notes pages are great for whatever a person needs them for. I do my major planning in the front and have tons of bujo-style collections, lists, notes, trackers, etc in the back. I agree that general Western planners are huge, thick, and over-structured - my neurodivergent brain absolutely cannot tolerate them. I tried to do pure bujo for years, but I just can't keep up with forward-planning or writing out monthlies - the SI planners give me the structure I need with ample flexibility and freedom.
Bujo isn't the singular solution to planner overconsumption because overconsumption isn't simply an issue of something being not functional or a person being indecisive. It's an issue of a consumerism mentality in general, and that's why even people that get into bujo for simplicity often end up with a huge Tombow or washi collection. Despite being unsatisfied for years with Western planners and my fight with bujos, I never bought multiple planners in a year or endless supplies because that's simply not my mentality. People buying 12 planners in a year aren't doing it because they aren't happy with any of them - they're doing it because there's a void they're trying to fill, or because they simply like constant change. For some people it's a hobby more than a functional system, and that's okay too. I enjoy watching planner/stationery YT but I don't feel the need to buy new materials, as I'm much more likely to copy a layout or an idea that I saw - but comparing myself to a person with a huge collection isn't helpful, as we are 'in it' for different purposes.
I totally agree that bullet journaling is the singular option or solution to planner overconsumption, and I mention this in the video and present it as an option. Your comment and so many others demonstrate that there are a lot of perspectives and options out there where people can find planner peace. What I hope for people is exactly that regardless of what the solution is, so thank you for sharing your experience!
Wish I would’ve seen this months ago. I never thought bullet journaling would be for me because I didn’t feel like making my own layouts. Like I thought it was basically making your own planner and just seemed like too much work. I had a 50 hour job and then when I quit, I had two kids back to back. WHO HAS THAT TIME TO MAKE YOUR OWN FANCY LAYOUTS?! Then I looked into it and found the bare bones original function of the daily log for the bullet journal and have been using it for two weeks and omg I love it so much. I have my monthly task list to write down things that I don’t wanna do in the next day or two and then I log the things I wanna get done each day as I go and then if random thoughts pop in my mind that I need to look into something or research something, etc., I just WRITE IT DOWN in my daily log. Like oh hey I just thought about the meals I want this week and just write it down…don’t need any special layout or find extra space in a planner that I’ll forget I ever even wrote it down. All my events and stuff I have in my google calendar so having a regular planner felt to me like I was just copying what I already had in my google calendar and it just wasn’t working for me. But the bullet journal works soooo well for my brain. No frills and purely functional. After spending thousands throughout the years, I’m hopeful I feel like I found something that might actually work for me.
I'm getting to this one a bit late, but you are the smart little sister I never had :) I was hoping you would get to journaling/journaling supplies at some point in your videos. I first started Bujo in 2013 and it was wonderful! Then after watching Bujo videos I got tempted with stamps and stickers and washi... ironically I love "the idea" of stickers because I watch a lot of Traveler's Notebook and Bujo creators in the planner community, but I don't actually like having stickers in my book. I also get overwhelmed with too much decor or more than 1 planner, so it's a constant struggle to remind myself that I can appreciate someone's journal but it won't be right for me. But the less I have the more I enjoy what I have, if that makes sense. I used the Hobonichi in 2020 which was good for that year because I had so much more time being at home. But after that I keep coming back to simple Bujo. I have donated so many planner supplies to art studios and art teachers because it was too many supplies and overwhelming and no longer enjoyable. Even with my art supplies, I notice I feel most at ease with 1 favorite fountain pen, 1 sketchbook, and a simple palette of a few watercolors. I can appreciate other's art or sketchbooks or journals without trying to duplicate it. Thanks again! ❤
i can totally relate and i love your take on novelty and functionality,,, i started bullet journaling untli i created my own hybrid of bullet journal and hourly weekly planner so that i dont keep writing the hours of the day.. whatever works but for braindumps and mindmaps,, nothing beats the blank notebook :D
I am a linear planner as well. I like to put my whole life in my Bullet Journal as I live it. I liked your point about creating novelty by different layouts or lists instead of new washi, stickers, etc. 😊
I got overwhelmed by all the choices, so I pulled out an A6 Stalogy and started my own form of bullet journaling. It’s so freeing because I can flip to the next page and draw or take notes, or I can use stickers if I want or not.
I also found d that I was using my sticker stash more and more. Now my stash is used up and I’m slowly and intentionally buying more stickers that I love!
I love that you're having this experience!
i switched to a digital planner this year and really enjoy how it's curbed my desire to buy stickers and stationery trinkets. i can add any photo from my phone and screen cap artwork i like for decoration. there's even digital sticker packs from small creators or available from apps like LINE and i don't have to face the anxiety of "oooh i can only use it once"!' the original rabbit hole of "aesthetic" bullet journaling eventually turned me off but i appreciate the original intention to incorporate multiple functions so you can brain dump and switch it up as needed.
Very interesting video! I find bullet journaling to be the most consistent planning and reflection method for myself, since I've been doing it for roughly seven years now. However I find in the creative niche of it, stickers, washi tapes etc are a huge thing as well and can also lead to a lot of overconsumption, especially with shops like temu and so on. Personally I have bought a bunch of things in the past from stickers over washi tapes to stamps and pens that I rarely to never use. But I resonated with what you said about finding the type of videos that are helping and not making you feel shit / like you always have to buy more stuff 👍
Thank you so much for sharing your perspective! There are so many bullet journaling styles and amounts of effort people put into them that there's just about a style for everyone, or at least a mix of content that may work.
I need my journal with me at all times. I do bullet journal very minimalistic. So I use the pocket notebooks. But then they filled up to quickly. So now I use a travelers notebook with a weekly insert for weekly planning and the other insert I use for daily logging
I'm prob gonna have to go back to basic basic basic bujo system in order to use the lined notbooks i have. I don't have a planner problem but there is nothing more wonderful than an empty notebook.
And I'm a writer so i always think i need more pages to fill. I now avoid office supply stores and back to school sales. 😬
My job has changed in the last few months, and a lot of my work is going to be items with extended timelines and deadlines, opposed to the more reactionary work I had been doing. I had to find a way to keep everything organized, plotted out, and easy to adjust. My planner needs are fairly simple, but specific - monthly and weekly layouts, room to write notes without having to have a separate notebook. I didn't want stickers, habit trackers, gratitude/spiritual stuff, etc. I need it for tracking work stuff mainly, and not personal growth.
I was online the other night looking at custom planner creation sites when I heard your voice in my head: is this a purchase you know you will really utilize? And for the full year?
I closed those tabs, found a suitable planner at Target and told myself if I use it for the year, and stick with it, I can invest in a custom planner next year.
I only recently found your channel, but appreciate how you can help me rethink a purchase - is it a want or need, will you actually use it, do you already own some that could work?
Sorry for the late reply on this Sophie, I don't check in with older videos as much. I'm glad my videos have helped you think more critically or consciously about what you buy! I want to congratulate you for noticing in the moment that you don't have the track record and wanted to build one. This is SUCH a huge win!!
Believe me, I’ve tried bujo many times before finally caved in and joined the Japanese planners gang. I’m currently using a Hobonichi a6 for daily planning and a weeks to track the progress of a personal project. I had been using the weeks as the main planner, but as school year ended, my schedule no longer works in weeks. So I repurposed the planner and changed my system.
Bujo didn’t work for me as much as I wish it did (those planners ain’t cheap). I don’t have the patience to draw out all those layouts. It stressed me out. I just want the structure to already be there so I could focus on actual planning.
That being said, I’m mostly using plain notebooks for any other writing or drawing. Journaling, doodling, exploring art, doing collages, brain dumping, media journal, daily log…I’ll just write the date on what I’ve done that day. It doesn’t take much and I don’t need an extra planner for that. The lack of structure is actually preferable because I wouldn’t feel pressured to do certain activities everyday (well, except for the daily log).
I guess I’m still guilty though, for having 8-9 books running in the background at the same time 😅
9:48 i want to journal, mainly to help keep me in check with my weight loss journey. I previously lost 17.5 stone (245lbs) but got sick and gained a lot of it back. Im starting to recover now (a year on) and feel lost at where to start. So i wondered if journeling would help?
I don’t like bullet journalling but I love this video :) it’s so tedious for me to draw the same spread over and over. My planner (a modified Planner Pad vertical weeks and big monthly view) is exactly wha to want, I’m glad to be stuck with this layout :) I’ve used one for 5 years. BUT I think that the system that I make to-do lists and plan for being productive in a spiral notebook is essentially the same type of thing as others bullet journals….which I love.
glad to hear you have a method that works for you!
I gave up on physical planners this year and went completely digital. Google calendar for appointments, notes app for brain dumps, plus an app for habit tracking and vision board set as wallpaper. No need to carry a heavy planner around with me, no more struggling to decipher my handwriting, no more forgetting appointments because I forgot to check my planner that day. I think planners and bujos are great for people who enjoy the creative aspect but it's just not for me.
I need my planner to be set up. If I need to date it or create a layout before I plan, the planning won’t happen. My planners help me to organize my life, set goals and keep track of important tasks. I do love the fun of stationary and I don’t delude myself. A lot of times, I am just playing with stickers… which is also okay.
I love my basic monthly/weekly planner because it already has all of the layouts there. I use my planner as a tool to organize my life having to add an additional step of drawing out calendars isn't going to happen.
I refreshed the page before reading “is bullet journaling the reason for planner illiteracy” and I was like “WAIT I NEED TO FIND THAT VIDEO” and then I realize it’s not about what I thought it was.. 😭
I've bullet journaled from 2020-2021, then in 2022 i got a planner i didn't use all the way through. in 2023-2024, I messed around with different digital systems and I feel like analogue is still the best for me (plus i need to reduce my screen time! using a digital system usually ends up with me on Instagram lol) I already bought a planner for 2025, but there's this feeling in the back of my mind that I'm not happy with the format. I'm still gonna try to use it up, but if it comes down to it I might go back to bullet journaling. At least I can make layouts that work best for me and not have to planner hope. Just adjust the layout when needed.
I have always loved the idea of planning but so many planners just DO NOT work with my ADHD. I need to see my month and my week at the same time. I finally found one that works for me in the Laurel Denise planners. It's the only system I've remotely stuck with and I've tried A LOT. I'll be sticking with it next year too. I liked bullet journaling but my ADHD had a really hard time going through the motions of setting up my templates every week/month.
Oh! And their templates are flexible enough (at least in the undated version) so I can tweak the formatting to suit me. It's seriously a game changer for me.
Hey! I've been loving your content recently. I'm about to go on vacation and wondered if you had any recommendations for intentional living/shopping/minimalism books I can read by the pool! ❤
I feel like I don't understand bullet journaling. What is it exactly? What you're doing, while it works, I love the flexibility and I might give it a go myself some day, it doesn't come across as bullet journaling to me. Maybe we should just let go of certain terms because they create expectations and all of us just go look for a system that works for us that doesn't need a label
I disagree that what I'm doing isn't bullet journaling, most especially because I'm using a classic bullet journal technique - the daily log. In my opinion if someone is only using monthly logs, that's bullet journaling. I'm with you that labels don't matter a whole lot. In my case, I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing regardless of what the label is. However, I do think in this circumstance calling it bullet journaling is helpful because a lot of bullet journaling are pieces of art or really showcase the art aspect to it, and this can put a lot of people off from even trying it. The style I showed is super simple and is just one way someone can bullet journal.
I also think we should just let people call things what they want. If someone thinks future logging only is bullet journaling I don't quite see the problem with letting them call it bullet journaling, especially if they see themselves as part of a community.
This resonates so much with me and I have come to the same conclusion. I need a planner for work cause I wear lots of hats in my corporate job and without noting and categorizing things they fall through the cracks. But yeah there’s just no planner that accommodates my needs so there’s actually no point buying them. I started thinking of switching to a ring planner but the all searching for inserts and printing also seem like unnecessary friction. For now I still want to make my current planner work just because I feel i spent a lot of money on it but yeah I’m definitely gonna move to a BuJo next…it seems like the most logical and sensible thing to do
I appreciate that you're using what you have and have also come up with a game plan. I hope you can make your current planner work
I love bullet journalling. More specifically, journalling without a specific layout! I also love my reading journal!
As someone who has a ruler, i actually prefer freehanding my lines in my journal. It was really hard for me to have nice crisp lines so to make my experience more enjoyable I just stopped using it for that purpose. It gives my journal a more organic feel that i like and helps take off the pressure of messing up. I use a brush pen and it makes wavy uneven lines that i like.
@shawnaripari did you put stickers or magazines cut outs in your bullet journal? The flowers are beautiful 😍
Also, would you consider doing a bullet journal flip🤞
I have been a paper planner since 2015. I used an ECLP for the first 5 years, then I got a Hobonichi and I’ve never looked back. I only shop from one planner sticker shop and it’s my friend’s shop, it’s a small business, and she’s basically the only one I ever buy from unless there’s a washi tape I want.
I’ve never heard of overconsumption regarding planner supplies, but if there is one, I’d assume it’d be within the bullet journal community more than anything seeing as how there’s nothing in them. No dates, no lines, therefore more room for needing supplies to make them cute and unique.
I don’t count junk journaling as planning at ALL. It’s simply not planning in any way, shape, or form.
My reaction to the "artistic" planners I see it that I have the choice - either I can do the artistic thing or I can get the tasks in my lists done. Any paper planner I use is nothing but ink, generally purple (I love the EnerGel pens in purple.) I have one notebook that I use in stitchery classes only. I generally use all three sizes of the Rocketbook for my lists and day-to-day notes to myself - they do required Frixion pens, but you can wipe them clean and reuse the pages, so for transient things, this is fine.
As a stickers shop myself I love you are talking about this! 😅 theres definetly overconsumption 🤷♀️ but I also try to share the project pan mindset of using your supplies and not just hoard them 😅 I find bullet journal overwhelming, the blank pages scare me 🤷♀️ it has taken me a while to find planner peace... I think thats normal, as you learn what works best for you and how to get you to be most productive 😊
I totally get what you mean with the overwhelm of the blank page! When I first started my bujo I didn't have that because I knew my task was just to daily log, but now that I've established my habit and want to set up my first month I'm a bit like... what now 😅
i still have washi tape samples i bought in 2018, which will never get used. it's easy to buy stuff and try to find a use for it instead of waiting to see what you need. but when it's all about decoration, there is no such thing as a need..
I'm not that active into planning/journaling but still I have more stationary than I need.... I was hoping to use my calendar/planner more this year. I even put some effort decorating 😢But as usual I have hardly used it at all which is really disappointing... It's the same every year 😐just once I'd like to actually properly use it and not waste it
Funny that this video comes out after the Temu one. Stickers are pretty much the only item I get from Temu. The quality is the same, and they all come in a single tiny package twice or three times a year. I also get them as rather minimalist gifts for the kids in the family. As for the carbon footprint, it's not any worse than people ordering plain journals from Japan, just because the brands there are trendy. Now, I do realize that some of the designs are stolen (though the trend now is more towards AI). I have a few favorite small businesses I support, but honestly sometimes can't justify the price, particularly related to multiple shipping fees. I'm thinking of getting more into the non-physical items they sometimes sell and figuring out how to print my own stickers.
That said, the trend is definitely going towards less extravagant journals. There was a big wave of "why I'm quitting bullet journaling" videos a year or two ago, with people expressing fatigue over the race towards having the most aesthetic pages, which defies the original idea of a bujo in the first place. Now I see a lot of videos about the planner overconsumption and the inevitable "decluttering" content. I would be interested in a second hand market for stickers, but again it would have to be centralized somehow.
I like your planner. It has the organic vibe of being used effectively. Mine looks similar. If I ever start to get stressed over skipping a day or having IG unworthy pages in it, I'll probably quit. I have it to reduce anxiety, not the other way around.
I was bullet journaling for maybe 6 months, but making a monthly calendar and weekly layouts every month was too much for me. I now have a planner that has a monthly, weekly, and daily layout that I can bullet journal in.
As far planner consumerism goes, there can be over consumption in any habit that people enjoy doing. I feel it is not my business how other people spend their money. Everyone should do what works for them .
I'm an aspiring artist and I do zero art in my Bullet Journal. The BuJo is not a creative activity for me. It's a tool to get my thoughts straight so I can concentrate on my creative projects, amongst other things. I don't want to spend a lot of time setting things up, I just want to get my thoughts out quickly and have something that is easy to refer back to. I think the waters have been muddied too much with the planner community crossover. It was originally called rapid logging for a reason.
I just use a ballpoint pen and some basic chunky neon highlighters that I already had. The kind that you see in office supplies. I put a strip of pink highlighter either side of the month title and page number at the bottom, and a thin line of pink between the daily entries. Then I just alternate a scribble of neon green or neon yellow over the date in the margin. You could easily use a couple of colour pencils instead if that's what you have to hand but you don't really need it. I just do it so there is a bit of visual separation between days. No stickers, no pretty layouts. I do use the future log near the beginning. Mainly for birthdays but sometimes for appointments or events that are arranged quite a while in advance. The monthly log I used to make a grid layout on a separate piece of paper and stick it in, but now I don't bother and just write a list of numbers 1-30/31 over two pages with a notes section at the bottom. This is mainly used again for appointments or events but not much actually gets written in there so it's not worth spending a lot of time on. You can maybe use some page tags if there's a page you want to refer back to often but the index works just as well if the aim to stay low consumerism.
The beauty of the system for me is that it is a place for my daily to-do lists and brain dumps which become searchable when you use the index so I do recommend using the Index part of the system. I might have pages of daily pages for example and then two pages of notes from an online talk I watched, add the page numbers to the index and I can easily refer back to it later. As you touched upon you can leave out days or even weeks and just pick up right where you left off. No wasted pages as you are allocating the pages as you go and no guilt for wasting pages or "doing it wrong". Just jump in where you are.
thanks so much for sharing your experience on this. I may eventually install an index, perhaps if I stick long enough with bullet journaling to go into a new new notebook. I have yet to find a need for it, but I think a large part of why is because I've only done it for a month. Not much to index. I also totally agree with the just get it out mindset. I want to brain dump and be done with it 😅
Bullet journaling is the biggest reason I buy anything new any more. So for me, it makes me overconsume easily. I like to use a lot of different highlighters and pens and stickers and washi tape. I also make my plans again and again, so I end up buying more journals. And as it is easy to tell myself that it is important to do this, then I don't feel as bad to buy new pens etc. for it. So I easily have bought 10 journals in a year because of writing the whole thing in a month and I can't use the ones without dots because then my writing is not straight and I will not use it. I have tried to take old pages and glue them on top of the ones I want to rewrite, but doing that to 100 or more pages is hard. ^^"
I'm a lister, so an hourly planner or dashboard layout works for me. I've had planner peace for over10 years. That said, I still love to check out new planners.
ten years is incredible! I still enjoy peeping new planners just to see what's up so I feel you 😂
I've tried bullet journaling but it doesn't work for me, I wish it did. I just use my notes app. I have my schedule for the next few weeks, I have my budget for the next few weeks, and a couple other things pinned to the top. I always have my phone so don't need anything extra. I've also tried Notion and all those other digital organization things which don't work for me either, I feel like it overcomplicates everything for me.
Before I started bullet journaling, even I fell down the rabbit hole on sticker books but in my defense, I used them for memory keeping in a happy planner for a long time.
But I started bullet journaling with one el cheapo black pen and a $7 notebook from Michaels, gradually adding other tools like highlighters and colored pens over time. 5 years in and I'm content. My only impulse to buy comes from the squirrel brain that tells me to stock up my favorite notebooks before Michaels discontinues them.
If using sticker books works for you I'm happy to hear that!
@@shawnaripari They did work for a while! But times change. 😅
I got into Bullet Journaling back in 2015-2016 and I'm still using the same markers I bought in 2017!! It was a 100-pack of Fibracolor markers (pretty much like Crayola).
I love this so much!
@@shawnaripari 💕. I've replaced some colors with Crayola markers as they dried out. I'm also still using my 2018 Mildliners haha
I spent over $1000 on planner/journal stuff last month looking for the perfect “system.” I have also spent countless hours researching. 🤦🏻♀️
I thought I was bad! I spent just over $200 🥴😂😂
I'm not a bullet journal user, the work has to be done for me if I'm going to ever fill anything out. But 💯% agree that the overconsumption in the general planner community is a real con to even being part of it. I had to finally give up Instagram, Pinterest, etc.
I started my foray into planning with a bullet journal back in 2018. A couple of years ago, I decided to jump into a Hobonichi Cousin, and I am finding that my spending has gone way up. I ended up buying a planner for different occasions. My Cousin is my main drive (I am a student, work full time, have a family... life is busy). But I also have a drawer full of washi and started purchasing so many stickers. Don't get me wrong, I love them and I have the means to purchase them, but I am finding that the multiple planners for different aspects are not working for me. I have been toying with going back to my simplistic One Book to Rule Them All (aka bullet journal) is where it is at. I also think that being subscribed to so many different channels doesn't help much. It truly feeds the FOMO. Here I sit with all these planners and look at my little bujo and feel that is where it is at. I appreciate your thoughts and am a new sub. Thank you for sharing!
Thank YOU for sharing your experience with the community!
I bullet journal and it's very easy for me to get sucked into buying things I don't need. When I used a planner, I was buying a lot less
Creating that novel experience I think was kind of the point of Ryder's original system because he specifically developed it for his ADHD brain. And what ADHD brains crave is novelty and specific stimulation.
yo uso mi agenda ..desde la secundaria solo con lapiz y postings y unas pocas cosas le hago dibujos y disfrutoe es funcional y ya esta gran ayuda para ser organizado
Trato de no ser tan excesiva porque aunque se veria mas bonito quizas ya no me seria funcional
I only use my planner for my project pan 😊 I never got used to those yearly journals with day and weeks... For homework in school it was great but now Its not functional for me. And I also don't like day writing because my days aren't that interesting and adventurous 😂
I feel this so much! I do a lot of the same stuff everyday 😅
Honestly I went from Happy Planner, to an "Offical" bullet journal to a Spiral Notebook at thus point in my life. I like that I don't care if I mess up the $.99 Notebook with my planning
Thank you….
i always lose motivation a couple weeks in to consistent journaling
I have adhd so the answer is no for me. I hate bullet journaling so much. I have multiple notebooks for different things and I'm not ashamed, but I also don't think I'm over consuming anything because I technically use all of them. I need one in every room or I will get distracted looking for one.
I stopped by journals altogether
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Interesting points although it feels a little "us vs them" putting bullet journelers vs planners, painting every planner as a frivolous overconsumist and the bujo users as enlightened creatives - every craft hobby has its pitfalls and I don't think the bujo community is the exception.
I think both the bullet journal and planner communities suffer similar pains - you can malign stickers but one can also have too many Tombows and Leuchturms on their shelves just as easily.
I've failed multiple times at using a bullet journal, just doesn't work with my ADHD despite it coming so easily to others. I need pre-printed dates and calendars 🤷🏻♀️
I think the takeaway for me is that productivity should be at the forefront of planning (the act not the hobby or community) and the individual should decide what is the right balance of creativity, novelty, accessories, function etc and unless you find yourself regretting purchases or choices, then it's all good.
Lucky me I got 2 dogs to feed
I can't commit to planners. It just ain't in my DNA.
Ok, over consumption is a problem but planning is very unique to each person. So, it's great if this works for you or others but it won't for everybody...and you know what...that is ok.
As far as planning a certain way making you feel good...I'm not sure anything is wrong with that? If someone feels better because they enjoy planning with certain approaches...good for them.
Idk...this feels very much like...someone pointing fingers and saying some are doing it "wrong", so do it like I do. Which is weird.
What I do think is that the "planning community" doesn't make enough space for people who do NOT want to spend a ton of money and who just want to have minimal plans and tools.
I also it seems that many in the "planner community" I see on RUclips are far more interested in selling a sticker book than actually planning.
So, while I do agree with the consumption piece being out of control, I would just encourage people to not judge others, worry about yourself and do what makes you happy and allow others to do the same.
As an fyi, I am new to bullet journaling and I LOVE it...but I can not use it for my planning because I don't process my time and needs in that way. But I LOVE it for it's simplicity and it has taken my personal journaling to a new level.
Overall...people are different and let's just enjoy that and consume what works for you and ignore the rest.
If someone out there wants to plan with stickers and washi I have no problem with that. And, if someone in the comments or in the real life told me that they plan with lots of stickers and washi I'd say good for you and genuinely mean that.
With that said I do care about content creators, and if this comes across as pointing fingers at them I will own that because they have so much power to influence people. If someone (an average viewer) looks at how they plan and don't see a problem then that's fine, but the overconsumption in the planner space is wild, and the people fueling that fire are influencers. This video is a reminder of that and that there are alternatives if someone wants to explore them.
@shawnaripari I agreed that influencer can be problematic. I also agree that having a variety of planning approaches visible is definitely needed. I have been a "planner" my whole life and knew nothing about this community til last year...because my need for planning has nothing to do with anyone else. And yes, I quickly noticed a peovlem woth hawking any and everything for an "affiliate code". But I do think you should be very clear about who you are "pointing fingers at". For some people, their planning needs may align with what you consider "over consumption". And that's their choice.
But this video came off as pointing a finger at THEM. And that's extremely unfair considering you have no knowledge of why people may choose to do the things they do.
@@Soho389 I really appreciate this distinction! I agree with the sentiment that planner RUclipsrs have shifted from "watch me make a cool spread!" To "use my code for 10% off on the third sticker book release video of the week!" It's annoying as someone who's in this hobby for the videos of someone rolling up their sleeves and planning, brainstorming or decorating - NOT selling. There used to be honest reviews and now it feels like every video is #sponsored