Tippetarius

My 2021 bullet journal is ready to go. I decided to put in some effort to make it look more pretty with stickers and washi tape. Some spreads I've set up so far:

( See image )

* Year at a glance: More of a finishing touch than anything, but I like having this as the first page of my journal.

* Future log: For appointments and events throughout the year. Four months to a page in rows divided by strips of thin silver washi tape.

* Mood tracker: Though I've decided to continue tracking my moods for now, I'm not sure there's much point. Okay, I can see my mood hit rock bottom on these days, but why? Because work sucked? Because I had a crappy night of sleep? Because I wasted hours watching talking animal videos on YouTube? Without details to give the moods context, it's hard to know what's consistently making you miserable, let alone do anything about it.

* Wish list: One of my favorites. Before I kept a wish list, I'd often think of things that would be nice to have (like a little lamp for my desk so I can read or write or draw there without ruining my eyes), and then I'd keep forgetting to buy them. Or I'd forget the exact brand I wanted, and then I'd have to do my research all over again. Keeping a list like this has been extremely helpful.

* Books read: Every book I read gets added here along with the date I finished it. Having the exact date is nice because sometimes it jogs my memory about else was going on when I was reading a particular book.

* Books to read: This is the most labor-intensive thing for me to copy over from one journal to another, because even when I weed out titles I'm feeling so-so about, it's always a huge list. But I feel it's worth doing, because it helps me find and read more books I either love or learn a lot from.

* Devices: Laptops and mobile devices in use. I include information like brand, model, when I bought them, and sometimes notes about what they're for.

* Master grocery list: I've been meaning to do one of these for a long time, because it seems so useful. But I couldn't decide how to categorize everything, and I knew I'd probably forget something or change my mind about the layout. So I wrote my categorized lists on little squares of paper and stuck them into the journal with washi tape.

* Words and phrases: For several years I've been writing down words and phrases that crop up repeatedly in news articles, forum posts, etc. Collect enough of these and you start getting a feel for what the year was all about. (Murder hornets, toilet paper, pandemic, zoombombing? Must be 2020!)

* Milestones and accomplishments: I dislike going back and looking at goals for a given year, because the unfinished goals make me feel guilty and take something away from the goals I did finish. And really, a lot of the goals I've set for myself ended up not mattering very much. Sometimes my interests or needs changed, or I had lukewarm feelings about the goals to begin with. So instead I'm going to write down the things I actually accomplished-- hopefully things worth remembering.

Lately my bullet journal is like the news: almost nothing but coronavirus updates. I can flip back and see when I first started noticing signs of this thing creeping into daily life-- the people wearing masks and gloves, the sanitary wipes and toilet paper disappearing from the shelves, the growing numbers of confirmed cases and deaths. There's a special section about symptoms to watch for and numbers to call in case... well, just in case.

Maybe there's some value in tracking these things, but sometimes I feel myself going over the edge and have to pull myself back. I can't control what's happening out there, and thinking too much about it is zapping my energy. It's harder to read, harder to write, harder to stick with the routines I've set for myself.

Then again, maybe this means it's time to stop trying to be a productive human being for the moment. Maybe it's time to binge-watch Fraggle Rock or something.

Got my bullet journal for 2020 started. I've been keeping a bullet journal for a couple of years now, so I have a system that I'm pretty happy with.

What makes a bullet journal (or "bujo" for short) different from a regular journal? For me it's like a planner, a daily journal, and lists of important things all rolled in one. I use it to track appointments, tasks for the month, books I've read, books I want to read, things I've learned, new words and phrases and memes that keep popping up, and so on. It doesn't have to be the same from month to month-- you can change the system as you go. Articles like this one explain it better than I can.

I don't use my bullet journal for everything. I still carry a regular notebook for jotting down notes and ideas, but these scribblings are mostly useful in the moment, and I rarely reread them. But because the bullet journal is more organized and focused, I often go back to previous entries to remind myself when I did something, what books I want to read next, whether I've been staying on track with a particular habit, etc.

Lots of people make their journals into works of art, filling the pages with cute doodles and beautiful calligraphy. My handwriting is sucky and my doodles are crappy, so until I put in the time and effort to change that, I accept that my journals will never be pretty. But so far it's fun to do and it works for me, and that's all that really matters. Besides, there are always glittery stickers...