My eyes fixed on this golden radiating book cover at the Eslite Bookstore back in January this year. I had been keeping personal journals five years ago, documenting my everyday accounts and feelings through words and sketches. But this quote from the Bullet Journal (BuJo) is mind-blowing:
"Why we're doing what we're doing?"
It's about Intentionality, or acting according to our beliefs. Intentional living, the key to sustainable happiness, is built by Productivity and Mindfulness. Productivity is about doing less to achieve more. Being productive is not being busy, but focusing on what truly matters, especially in the era of information overload and digital distractions. Mindfulness is awareness of the present, observing and understanding how we spend our time and energy. To achieve this consciousness, BuJo, a handwritten notebook, offers an offline practice to declutter our mind.
What is BuJo?
Planner
In addition to ordinary planner of Monthly log and Daily log, BuJo threads every detail in pagination, beginning with Index and Future Log for easy locating and longterm planning. These different sections are called Collection.
Task (Todo) list
Todo list is often expressed with Bullets, the key element of BuJo, because lists shows clarity and efficiency compared with whole sentences. Bullet styles are differentiated by contexts, including Tasks, Events, Notes, and other Customized signifiers.
Journal
BuJo can also transcribe and record our wants and needs, hopes and dreams, or fears and sorrows. It's a haven for free expression and self-growth, a bridge to our inward discovery.
How to BuJo?
Mental Inventory
Mental Inventory on a sheet of paper is a preparation process of distilling important tasks into the BuJo notebook.
Rapid Logging
Rapid Logging is the BuJo language of writing in keywords (eg. 5W1H) and symbols instead of sentences for efficiency.
Migration
Migration is a timely routine to reflect on the "whys" of each task, and to move the unfinished but important ones to the next Monthly Log (>), the Future Log (<) or the next notebook.
Practices
Practices are fundamental to the BuJourney. Some concepts like goals and time are relevant to productivity, while others are mindfulness insights such as gratitude, control, and imperfection. The following are my favorite quotes and take-aways in the book:
Goals: "Goals give us the opportunity to define what we want."
(1) Create a goals collection
(2) Categorize and prioritize goals with 54321 exercise (5 years, 4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, 1 hour)
(3) Run a Sprint: break down big goals into smaller tasks with simple entry, clear definition, and short completion time
(4) Evaluate the outcome and keep iterating (Deming Cycle: Plan, Do, Check, Act)
Time: "We can't 'make time', we can only 'take time'"
Create Flow or fully engagement with a task, and use time-boxing to avoid being overwhelmed by challenges beyond our skill level.
Gratitude: "We need about five compliments to balance our every negative remark made toward us."
Celebrate completed tasks (cross-off) and keep a gratitude journal can boost our confidence and momentum.
Control: "...Accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference."
Pause and let go of our control toward tough people and situations (reacting with emotions vs. responding with senses) or toward our own goals (holding on to outcomes vs. keeping track of processes)
Imperfection: "By accepting that we can't be perfect and that we will fail, we can get back to work."
Mastery is the state of incremental learning and improvement to surpass our former self, so embracing imperfection is necessary for us to stay resilient and proactive.
For more info, visit BuJo website, read the BuJo book, or join the BuJo community.
My BuJourney
My BuJourney started on January 14, 2019. To keep it simple and easy, I bought this spiral notebook for NTD 49/US$1.5 (so I had nothing to lose) and designed the cover with pencil. In fact, all my notes were written in pencil, because it's easy to erase and the scribbling sound is meditative. The pressed lines in the notebook allowed me to organize bullets neatly and leave spaces for random sketches. I also customized bullet styles such as emotion, finance, and meal.
BuJo gets my life back to order and brings me peace and joy accordingly. I used to be a person living merely at the present, worrying about the endless things I should do without planning it as soon as I can. Because I was overwhelmed with responsibilities and the fear of failure, I had no time to think about my wants and needs. In other words, my life was running in autopilot, dominated by something or someone else. Now I can reboot my brain by pouring out every todo and event, or my thought and feeling into BuJo, like being taken care by an efficient manager and a thoughtful friend. There were times when I was too tired or lazy to log in to BuJo, but I can always flip to the next blank page and start over.
So what's my goal for the next BuJo? How can I improve to live more intentionally? I want to make better use of the Reflection and Migration techniques to differentiate and filter vital and trivial matters; I want to keep my Goals Collection active and diverse. This SS Portfolio is my first completed goal; other goals on the waiting list include: learning UI animations on After Effect to improve my skills at work, learning hand lettering on Lettering Daily to design my next BuJo cover and headers, and of course, continuing my SS Blog to share my exploration and learning. So stay tuned!
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