You should start a bullet journal if…

1. You Want A Creative Hobby

Arguably the greatest appeal of bullet journaling is the fact that you can make your journal to be whatever you want it to be. If you want a page each week to just free draw and color, do it. If you want to tape or glue in pages you find online, you totally can. You can include pictures, stickers, write whatever (and wherever) you’d like. There are no rules until you make them! If you are looking for a creative outlet, a bullet journal might be the perfect choice.

2. You Feel Disorganized

If you find you are constantly late to appointments or forgetting that you had them in the first place or you just have a million thoughts racing through your mind every second, a bullet journal could help with that. You can choose to make your bullet journal be your planner where you write every single appointment you made (or need to make), or you can dedicate space to write all your To Do’s. Your bullet journal can be your filter to help you sort out what tasks are actually important and which ones can wait. You can even use it to help you notice trends like if you tend to want to schedule a coffee date with a friend on Fridays; then you can plan to actually make those happen! There are SO many ways a bullet journal can help you stay organized that I can’t possibly list them all here, so look out for a dedicated post about that.

3. You Want To Change/Create A Habit

Bullet journals are great tools to track habits. If you tend to eat too much or too little when you are stressed, for example, you can use a bullet journal to record when you feel stressed and then how much you ate as a result of that stress. Or maybe you are always late to everything (like me). You can use a bullet journal to record your arrival times and what happened leading up to your arrival that either made you late or early. Tracking habits alone can fill an entire bullet journal!

4. Be More Grateful

This is very similar to the second reason, but it definitely deserves its own spot on this list. Many faith traditions and scientific research have pointed to the conclusion that having an “attitude of gratitude” is a crucial part of living a fulfilled life. Using a bullet journal to record the small victories and happy moments even in the midst of chaos can not only dramatically shift your worldview, but it can also serve as an encouraging reminder when you have those days that nothing seems to be going right. You can go back into your bullet journal and recall all the reasons you have been grateful until now to help snap you out of your funk.

5. Have Some Time To Be Unplugged

Life can get crazy, and responsibilities can pile up so quick, but bullet journaling can be almost meditative once you get it set up. You can even use your journal to write out some reflections and get all that stuff out of your head. Last year, for example, I noticed that I just went through the motions, never stopping to think about how I felt or what I thought about certain events. I wanted the year to just be over and not have to think about it, and when I was thinking about my goals for this year, that really bothered me. So I dedicate a space in my bullet journal to reflect on each week, and I have already learned more about myself and felt so much peace just from the first week of practicing this!

You should not start a bullet journal if…

1. You Would Risk Neglecting Other Responsibilities

Starting any new habit or activity definitely takes some adjusting, so it is okay if the first few days into bullet journalling you find that you sleep a little extra or have a bit of your routine thrown off. It is certainly not ideal, but it is normal. However, if starting a bullet journal would result in little to no time spent with your family, no time to treat yourself (which is most certainly needed), not eating as well as you were, etc. on a consistent basis, then this might not be the season of your life that you should be bullet journaling. I will be writing more posts in the future about time management and learning how to adjust your schedule for new hobbies, but let’s go to the next point for now.

2. There Is A Better Solution For Your Needs

Before even considering a bullet journal, you need to know WHY you want to do so and what purpose(s) it will serve for you. But let’s say you already have organizations systems you really like and that work well for you, you have another kind of creative outlet you enjoy, and you don’t have a need for a place to write in on a regular basis. That’s awesome! Maybe starting a bullet journal is not the best fit for you right now, and that is totally okay!

3. It Will Create More Clutter

If you are like I was not too long ago and already have a collection of notebooks with only a few pages filled out in each one, but none of them are “perfect” enough for a bullet journal, really think about if a new journal would definitely be worth it for you and if you would stick to writing in it on a regular basis. After all, one of the greatest joys of bullet journaling is the regular practice of writing or tracking whatever it is on a consistent basis and having a peaceful cleared mind once you are done.

4. All Your Favorite Internet Personalities Are Doing It

The internet is a beautiful and wonderful place where we can learn about many different hobbies and activities we might never have thought of on our own, and we all have specific bloggers, YouTubers, Instagramers, etc. that we like and are inspired by. However, just because our favorite internet personality is doing a particular activity, that does not mean that we have to as well! For example, I will be talking a lot on this blog about bullet journalling and many other topics, but I am not by any means trying to sell this idea to you. I want to share what I enjoy in the hopes that you might enjoy it too, even if it only goes as far as enjoying reading what I have to say and not trying it for yourself. Do what you enjoy and what enriches your life!

So, with all that said, what are your thoughts? Will you be starting a bullet journal this year or passing on it for now? Let me know in the comments, and be sure to share this post with a friend, pin it on Pinterest, and follow! I look forward to meeting you all in the comments 🙂

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