Planning ahead of time is an important part of college, the world of work, and life and general. I have been doing it for about a year and have found it to be quite an effective method in promoting productivity and keeping things in track. I have recently bought a new planner since my old one wasn’t doing the job for me and I have started the year off on a dynamic note. My favourite part of bullet journaling or just planning out each day with a simple to-do list is that it is quite customisable and personal to the person. Some put many aspects of their lives into their journals, like financing, shopping lists and more, whilst for others such as myself, simply keeping track of important dates and projects can suffice. I also find it rather satisfying to be able to check off a task once it’s done, and for me, who procrastinates a lot, seeing my projects broken down into individual little tasks can really help with motivation and consistency.

I have included a photo of a week from my old planner and a photo of this current week in my new planner. The new one isn’t completely filled in, because I like to plan out everything I need to do and make my list, at the start of each day.

 

 

As you can see, it looks a little jumbled and messy. This is because the layout wasn’t suited to my needs: the boxes for each day were clearly designed for events and dates, not task lists. The only to-do list was at the side, which meant a weekly overview instead of daily. Because of this, I struggled with the organisation and I wasn’t motivated to go back to my planner and actually use it as it should be.

 

 

With some experience up my sleeve, I made sure to compare the contents and layouts of different planners before purchasing a new one. This one has worked brilliantly so far. I like the space given for each day of the week, and there are even checkboxes for a to-do list, which I use every day. The space on the side isn’t always used, so I like to put any lists or notes there that I want to remember. Currently, because of the pandemic, there aren’t many events to keep track of, so the planned out week is looking a little empty, but I make sure to fill it with all the work I would like to get done by the end of the day, come the morning when I actually make my to-do list. I also plan to schedule in online lessons next week, when we start.

Overall, bullet journaling is a complete success and I will continue to use it for project management and otherwise, in the future.