The bullet journal is an analog system, meaning you don’t need anything more complicated than a notebook and a pen or pencil. While it’s very customizable, and you’re certainly welcome to change things around, in this article, I will walk you through the setup for a traditional bullet journal as first introduced by Ryder Carroll from BulletJournal.com. Use it as a starting point, get comfortable with the basic system and then change it from there.

You’ll need a notebook, a pen, and a little bit of time to get started. The type of notebook you use is up to you. The traditional style is grid or dotted paper, but I find even ruled or blank pages work just fine.

The Key

The first page of your bullet journal will include your key. This will record the shorthand you use for your bullet entries. Here’s the traditional codes used. Feel free to add to it, or modify it as needed. Continue reading →

You’re ready to give bullet journaling a try. Before you start your first bullet journal, you need to decide on the type of journal you want to use.

In this post, I’ll give you a quick overview over the three main styles of bullet journals in use. This should make your decision easier.

Most importantly just start, get your feet wet and if needed switch to a different type of journal until you find the one that’s right for you.

A Plain Notebook

The easiest way to get started is with any notebook that you have lying around. Of course, you can also pick up an inexpensive one at the store.

If you just want to give this a try, it doesn’t matter if it’s ruled, lined, or has blank pages. Any type of notebook will work. Continue reading →