I just started my first journal. I like that I can add what I need and nothing more. At first, I was thinking of all the trackers I could add, but many don't mean anything to me, so I am sticking with what works for me. This tip about the index was very helpful as I have also been adding EVERY PAGE to it. Thank you for sharing.
I definitely got stuck in perfection paralysis in my early journals trying to get everything “just right”-all the collections and setups and decorations and having just the right pages in just the right order, etc. I do still struggle with that to some degree (especially when setting up a new journal or for a new year), but I’ve gotten better at refocusing on the productivity and less on the performance when I do catch it happening!
That’s cool that you have learned to identify it when you get there. I feel you on wanting it to be perfect up front. I think we all still want a sense of order
I leave space for an index, but while I’m using the bullet journal I tab pages I want to refer back to. When I’m finished with the book, I review the contents to see if there’s anything unfinished to move forward or that I want to put in a separate permanent reference collection, and just to remind myself of everything I did accomplish … I find that’s the perfect time for me to fill in the index. While I like seeing how people layout their weeks, I did it for a couple of weeks and decided pretty quickly that the traditional unstructured, go-with-the-flow style works best for my personal bullet journal, while daily pages with separate project/topic sections works best for work.
I found the only tracker I really need is for my daily medication. I take 8 each day, and it’s easy to miss. I love that you wrote fail on that one tracker! I just drew a really nice autumn wreath on my October calendar page. I thought that I had gone over the branches with a brown flair pen - but when I looked at it in brighter light, it is a yucky pink! And my pen died on the bow. It’s a mess. I didn’t even try to fix it. I just wrote a note on the page that it looked so much better in my mind. 😂
My first bujo was actually ok (in 2017) but second (in 2018) was youtube/ instagram following era. So common mistakes like: 1. Beauty over function 2. Overuse of trackers and collections 3. Switching to digital bujo because “paper doesn’t work” and “everyone is doing it”
The switching! Yes! I bought an iPad mini and downloaded an organizer for it. It lasted about two weeks. I think I bought and wasted money on more organizers hoping for the perfect one. I finally gave up and went back to my bullet journal. I’m so much happier. I just need pen and paper!
Ahhhhh, the color coding of my first trackers. They make a really pretty burst of color on those pages. Absolutely no use, except to teach me what I didn't need.
Thank you for sharing your 1st bullet journal! I think you design great spreads, but I super appreciate more bare bones, functional spreads that don't need to be aesthetic all. the. freaking. time. I appreciate this soooo much! ❤
Thanks for checking out the video. I feel you on the more bare bones. I get in the mood sometimes when I just dont want to do anything extra and I am SO okay with that.
I fell into the tracker hole this year (second year) of bullet journaling. I have been trying to change them so they work for me but haven’t found the best solution yet. Work in progress. I also found that I don’t need weeklies, I never made them work for me. 😊😅
My biggest mistake was that i watched a lot of artistic bullet journal videos on youtube and bought a lot of pens, stamps etc. instead of fokus on meking it functional. But some pages became very artistic and beautiful. Soon I realised that it was to time consuming. And then I found Ryder and it took a new turn. Function over artistic.
That’s my take as well. I like the idea of BuJo/art but just not my jam. I really like seeing other’s though. I’m retiring in a few years and maybe when I’m not so focused on productivity I’ll try a more decorative bujo
I'm on my sixth year of have a notebook, I don't say Bujo because it changed shape and form many times. I'm still iterating, it still adapts to my life. While the first notebook might be the worst, I think you scale the scope of the question to all notebooks actually. The longest standing issue I have with my notebooks is my fear of wasted space and wanting it to be neat and clean from the get go. Life doesn't work that way so I keep being frustrated by my notebook getting messed up because X or Y changed and messed things up. For instance, I have a job with workload that varies greatly. The size of tasks is also unpredictable. Sometimes I have one task that lasts weeks, sometimes I can receive dozen of tasks for a single day. Which makes planning the space required very difficult. Threading works, but it's messy to look at. Still haven't found the solution to this that works for me!
Omg ALL. The. Trackers. 😂😂😂 I started in 2015 and actually really enjoyed the Boho Berry days, but yes I definitely went with the crowd and it’s still something I struggle with. Weeklies in your index! 😂 Well, you’ve come a long way!
I started in 2016 and also followed Boho Berry buying colored pens and pencils. I am not the artistic type so I went back to the bare minimum in 2020. I am using a dated planner by Endless this year. I like the flexibility of the Bullet Journal better so I will go back to an Endless undated dot grid next year.
@@annmackay8866 yeah I can’t really draw either so switched to Happy Planner in 2018. The predated planner makes it really easy, but after discovering A&O a year ago, I kind of want to switch back.
My biggest regret is that I didn't start earlier. My perfectionism held me back for a long time. I had a journal and other stuff, but didn't do anything with it for over a year. Until I was fed up with it. I decided to 'just' (as if it was that simple...) grab that journal and start. I wrote a page about how hard I found it to start and that was a perfect start. Or no, not perfect, I obviously didn't think it looked good enough. Still, I decided to persevere. Without obligations of how often and how much, without sharing on social media, without showing it to others, etc. And gradually, I started having more and more real fun with it. That was 3 years and 5 journals ago. ☺
It takes time to overcome that perfectionism thought for sure. My ah ha moment was struggling through a page with notes and I was like eff it! Just do what you need to do. That little self talk helped me get over it.
I also fell into the tracker trap. I had an entire journal with trackers that never got used. I also started comparing my journals to the influencer journals I saw on the Internet. Which caused me not to finish a journal or sometimes not even starting one. I'm at the point where I do what's necessary for me. My first two journals are a mix of a lot of different things. The one I'm working on now is also a mix of a lot of different things. But it has helped me unclutter my brain. So hopefully when I move into my next one it will be a better work in progress.
It’s so good to go back and take a look to be like… yeah what was I doing??? Eventually that I think we just come to terms with what we want and need vs trying to make it perfect. But I bet there are more people who give up before getting there.
Hahaha! My first journal, I thought I needed all my monthly logs up front, kinda like my future log. Except, I had both. I didn't like how it was working for me, and ended up changing it less than half way through that journal. I also thought I needed a whole bunch of up front collections. Which I didn't use, of course. I've already set up next year's journal (I use a B5, and I get an entire year in one journal), and I only have a handful of up front collection pages. Live and learn. And what might be useful today, could totally not work tomorrow, and vice versa.
B5’s are so great for full year. I’m with you on the upfront collections - i tend to use mine for 1:1s at work or program meetings. You are so on point - we live and learn and keep trying to make things a little better.
I tried to do it "by the book" and found a majority of it was useless. (However, I did learn many moons back that I enjoyed making my monthly a "highlights of the month" instead of "planning for the month"...using it to track what happened instead of what I was planning.) My biggest lesson learned is that I function better in a pocket size Bullet Journal. I keep coming back to this size, even after all of my flits with the offical Bullet Journal, hobonichi techo and weeks notebooks, and even a composition notebook. Sometimes, if it ain't broke, just leave it alone.
Creating the tiny calendars for a future log. And all the numbers down the page for whatever. Set it up and did not touch it after because I was sick of the thing. (2016) Tried again in 2021. Have never made any of those horrid, tiny calendars this go around.
Hahaha, i know a lot of people who feel you on those. It’s something we learn with the method - but the best thing I ever learned with that monthly was to use it to track what has happened vs what will be happening. Made a bit of a difference, but still not a heavily used page.
I always find my way back to the basics after a drive down super creative lane. Eventually it catches up with you and you are like, what am I even doing !?!
Bujo mistakes I’ve learned from… Thinking you have to cram a whole year into one notebook! Nope, you don’t! Too many trackers and failing to keep up with them. Hence I’ve cut down and simplified. They are activities I do or things I keep note of, but not every day, so bye bye trackers! Failing to consider paper thickness/ink type. I had some ghosting at times when I first journaled last year, but those notebooks were only 100gsm. Switching to 160 has been much better and also ensuring inks are water-based. For me, not being decorative enough, or not varying my design over weekly spreads, was an error. I need enough difference so I write events on the right date! 😂
It was definitely all of the unnecessary trackers for me! 😂 Also trying to make spreads perfect or artistic, but now I don’t even use a ruler for drawing lines 😂
I got sucked into (Thanks to RUclips) wanting to design great spreads... I have no design skills or talent... big fail! Plus all the "Trackers" I made lasted exactly the one day I made it LOL. Just the basics for me please. But now mostly digital except for daily journal in my Bujo.
RUclips is filled with cool stuff - but I feel you when you aren’t able to replicate it and feel like you should or need to. Awesome that you found your place and what makes you comfortable.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt like they needed all these trackers for things they couldn't care less about! Classic.
The workout tracker is the most relatable thing I've ever seen 😂💜
It cracks me up every time
I just started my first journal. I like that I can add what I need and nothing more. At first, I was thinking of all the trackers I could add, but many don't mean anything to me, so I am sticking with what works for me. This tip about the index was very helpful as I have also been adding EVERY PAGE to it. Thank you for sharing.
I definitely got stuck in perfection paralysis in my early journals trying to get everything “just right”-all the collections and setups and decorations and having just the right pages in just the right order, etc. I do still struggle with that to some degree (especially when setting up a new journal or for a new year), but I’ve gotten better at refocusing on the productivity and less on the performance when I do catch it happening!
That’s cool that you have learned to identify it when you get there. I feel you on wanting it to be perfect up front. I think we all still want a sense of order
I leave space for an index, but while I’m using the bullet journal I tab pages I want to refer back to. When I’m finished with the book, I review the contents to see if there’s anything unfinished to move forward or that I want to put in a separate permanent reference collection, and just to remind myself of everything I did accomplish … I find that’s the perfect time for me to fill in the index.
While I like seeing how people layout their weeks, I did it for a couple of weeks and decided pretty quickly that the traditional unstructured, go-with-the-flow style works best for my personal bullet journal, while daily pages with separate project/topic sections works best for work.
I think it’s cool that you go back when it’s done to mark what you need. That’s actually a really cool idea.
I found the only tracker I really need is for my daily medication. I take 8 each day, and it’s easy to miss.
I love that you wrote fail on that one tracker! I just drew a really nice autumn wreath on my October calendar page. I thought that I had gone over the branches with a brown flair pen - but when I looked at it in brighter light, it is a yucky pink! And my pen died on the bow. It’s a mess. I didn’t even try to fix it. I just wrote a note on the page that it looked so much better in my mind. 😂
It's all about having fun with it, and FAIL is exactly what it was.
My first bujo was actually ok (in 2017) but second (in 2018) was youtube/ instagram following era. So common mistakes like:
1. Beauty over function
2. Overuse of trackers and collections
3. Switching to digital bujo because “paper doesn’t work” and “everyone is doing it”
I like function with a twist. And I get the digital fad - i fall in and out of it all the time.
The switching! Yes! I bought an iPad mini and downloaded an organizer for it. It lasted about two weeks. I think I bought and wasted money on more organizers hoping for the perfect one. I finally gave up and went back to my bullet journal. I’m so much happier. I just need pen and paper!
Ahhhhh, the color coding of my first trackers. They make a really pretty burst of color on those pages. Absolutely no use, except to teach me what I didn't need.
Thank you for sharing your 1st bullet journal! I think you design great spreads, but I super appreciate more bare bones, functional spreads that don't need to be aesthetic all. the. freaking. time. I appreciate this soooo much! ❤
Thanks for checking out the video. I feel you on the more bare bones. I get in the mood sometimes when I just dont want to do anything extra and I am SO okay with that.
I fell into the tracker hole this year (second year) of bullet journaling. I have been trying to change them so they work for me but haven’t found the best solution yet. Work in progress.
I also found that I don’t need weeklies, I never made them work for me. 😊😅
Trackers are the issue for so many. It all seems like a good idea til you have to keep up with them. 🤣
My biggest mistake was that i watched a lot of artistic bullet journal videos on youtube and bought a lot of pens, stamps etc. instead of fokus on meking it functional. But some pages became very artistic and beautiful. Soon I realised that it was to time consuming. And then I found Ryder and it took a new turn. Function over artistic.
That’s my take as well. I like the idea of BuJo/art but just not my jam. I really like seeing other’s though. I’m retiring in a few years and maybe when I’m not so focused on productivity I’ll try a more decorative bujo
I'm on my sixth year of have a notebook, I don't say Bujo because it changed shape and form many times. I'm still iterating, it still adapts to my life. While the first notebook might be the worst, I think you scale the scope of the question to all notebooks actually.
The longest standing issue I have with my notebooks is my fear of wasted space and wanting it to be neat and clean from the get go. Life doesn't work that way so I keep being frustrated by my notebook getting messed up because X or Y changed and messed things up.
For instance, I have a job with workload that varies greatly. The size of tasks is also unpredictable. Sometimes I have one task that lasts weeks, sometimes I can receive dozen of tasks for a single day. Which makes planning the space required very difficult. Threading works, but it's messy to look at. Still haven't found the solution to this that works for me!
I feel the same way about things changing but I also really appreciate the fact that it can change when you need to .
Omg ALL. The. Trackers. 😂😂😂 I started in 2015 and actually really enjoyed the Boho Berry days, but yes I definitely went with the crowd and it’s still something I struggle with. Weeklies in your index! 😂 Well, you’ve come a long way!
I started in 2016 and also followed Boho Berry buying colored pens and pencils. I am not the artistic type so I went back to the bare minimum in 2020. I am using a dated planner by Endless this year. I like the flexibility of the Bullet Journal better so I will go back to an Endless undated dot grid next year.
Ah Boho Berry was so great. She was def a top talent when i started.
@@annmackay8866 yeah I can’t really draw either so switched to Happy Planner in 2018. The predated planner makes it really easy, but after discovering A&O a year ago, I kind of want to switch back.
My biggest regret is that I didn't start earlier. My perfectionism held me back for a long time. I had a journal and other stuff, but didn't do anything with it for over a year. Until I was fed up with it. I decided to 'just' (as if it was that simple...) grab that journal and start. I wrote a page about how hard I found it to start and that was a perfect start. Or no, not perfect, I obviously didn't think it looked good enough. Still, I decided to persevere. Without obligations of how often and how much, without sharing on social media, without showing it to others, etc. And gradually, I started having more and more real fun with it. That was 3 years and 5 journals ago. ☺
It takes time to overcome that perfectionism thought for sure. My ah ha moment was struggling through a page with notes and I was like eff it! Just do what you need to do. That little self talk helped me get over it.
😅That workout tracker! I use mine, but I understand…❤
I will forever remember that workout tracker. Those red boxes are burned into my brain
@@markyourpages 😂
I also fell into the tracker trap. I had an entire journal with trackers that never got used. I also started comparing my journals to the influencer journals I saw on the Internet. Which caused me not to finish a journal or sometimes not even starting one. I'm at the point where I do what's necessary for me. My first two journals are a mix of a lot of different things. The one I'm working on now is also a mix of a lot of different things. But it has helped me unclutter my brain. So hopefully when I move into my next one it will be a better work in progress.
It’s so good to go back and take a look to be like… yeah what was I doing??? Eventually that I think we just come to terms with what we want and need vs trying to make it perfect. But I bet there are more people who give up before getting there.
Love looking through my old journals - mine looks similar in 2017. I do like a weather tracker though 😂
It’s a favorite pass time for me! I love going back and looking at it all. Reading what was happening then. Like a little time capsule
Hahaha! My first journal, I thought I needed all my monthly logs up front, kinda like my future log. Except, I had both. I didn't like how it was working for me, and ended up changing it less than half way through that journal. I also thought I needed a whole bunch of up front collections. Which I didn't use, of course. I've already set up next year's journal (I use a B5, and I get an entire year in one journal), and I only have a handful of up front collection pages. Live and learn. And what might be useful today, could totally not work tomorrow, and vice versa.
B5’s are so great for full year. I’m with you on the upfront collections - i tend to use mine for 1:1s at work or program meetings. You are so on point - we live and learn and keep trying to make things a little better.
For me it was a future log I never referred to or my monthlies that were PAGES away from the current month.
My future logs have been rough over the years too. I’m trying something new this year in my Bullet Journal I am excited to test out.
@@markyourpages Yay! Can't wait to see it
I tried to do it "by the book" and found a majority of it was useless. (However, I did learn many moons back that I enjoyed making my monthly a "highlights of the month" instead of "planning for the month"...using it to track what happened instead of what I was planning.) My biggest lesson learned is that I function better in a pocket size Bullet Journal. I keep coming back to this size, even after all of my flits with the offical Bullet Journal, hobonichi techo and weeks notebooks, and even a composition notebook. Sometimes, if it ain't broke, just leave it alone.
I learned about the tracking what happened vs happening from Ryder in the Beyond Bujo course and that was such a game changer for me.
Creating the tiny calendars for a future log. And all the numbers down the page for whatever. Set it up and did not touch it after because I was sick of the thing. (2016) Tried again in 2021. Have never made any of those horrid, tiny calendars this go around.
Hahaha, i know a lot of people who feel you on those. It’s something we learn with the method - but the best thing I ever learned with that monthly was to use it to track what has happened vs what will be happening. Made a bit of a difference, but still not a heavily used page.
I Started simple like the original way…… tried fancy and soon found my way back to basic lol
I always find my way back to the basics after a drive down super creative lane. Eventually it catches up with you and you are like, what am I even doing !?!
Bujo mistakes I’ve learned from…
Thinking you have to cram a whole year into one notebook! Nope, you don’t!
Too many trackers and failing to keep up with them. Hence I’ve cut down and simplified. They are activities I do or things I keep note of, but not every day, so bye bye trackers!
Failing to consider paper thickness/ink type. I had some ghosting at times when I first journaled last year, but those notebooks were only 100gsm. Switching to 160 has been much better and also ensuring inks are water-based.
For me, not being decorative enough, or not varying my design over weekly spreads, was an error. I need enough difference so I write events on the right date! 😂
It took me a good while to get over 1 notebook for a full year. I think I only did it in my first one and then the last time I used a B5 notebook.
It was definitely all of the unnecessary trackers for me! 😂 Also trying to make spreads perfect or artistic, but now I don’t even use a ruler for drawing lines 😂
Whoa, rebel without a ruler
I got sucked into (Thanks to RUclips) wanting to design great spreads... I have no design skills or talent... big fail! Plus all the "Trackers" I made lasted exactly the one day I made it LOL. Just the basics for me please. But now mostly digital except for daily journal in my Bujo.
RUclips is filled with cool stuff - but I feel you when you aren’t able to replicate it and feel like you should or need to. Awesome that you found your place and what makes you comfortable.