Just realized my bullet journal habits changed completely after 6 months

I started a bullet journal back in January mostly to keep track of work orders for my flooring jobs. I was just using a basic notebook and a pen, nothing fancy. After about 3 months I noticed I was actually writing down random thoughts and ideas in between the spreads. Stuff like how much I spent on materials for a specific job or little notes about a customer's preferences. By the 6 month mark my journal went from a boring task list to something I actually look forward to opening every day. The big change was I stopped trying to make perfect pages and just started scribbling whatever came to mind. Now I have sections for job quotes, random measurements, and even a few pages of sketches for bathroom tile layouts. Has anyone else had their bullet journal evolve into something unexpected over time?

2 comments

2 Comments

shane7513d ago

@theabarnes I get what you're saying about structure but I think you might be missing one thing. The bullet journal method was never supposed to be this rigid prison where you can't adapt. Ryder Carroll himself talks about how the system should bend to your life not the other way around. My notebook went from a boring task list to something I actually look forward to opening. That's not lazy, that's the whole point of making a system that works for you. If you're still forcing yourself to follow rules that don't fit anymore, that sounds like its own kind of problem.

theabarnes3d ago

Oh wow, I'm gonna go the complete opposite direction on this one... Honestly I think you're just making excuses for getting lazy with your system. The whole point of bullet journaling is supposed to be structure and efficiency, not turning it into some emotional diary or scrapbook. If you wanted to doodle and jot down random thoughts you could have just bought a regular notebook and saved yourself the trouble of learning the method in the first place. Six months in and you've basically abandoned the actual system that makes bullet journals useful... feels like you just wanted permission to be messy and call it productive.