I started a bullet journal at the beginning of this year, after reading The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll. We are now halfway through 2023, and I thought I’d do a mid-year check-in and share my journaling journey.
I’m happy to report that I’ve been really consistent with bullet journaling. I use it as a one-stop shop for work and personal notes, events, to-dos, as a brain dump to unload my mind, and most importantly, as a self-reflection tool, writing down what went well and not so well in the week, and what I could have done differently. The physical act of writing feels truly meditative. I am now in my second book and have experimented with different monthly and weekly layouts. I really enjoy the flexibility of the bullet journal and my favourite thing to do these days is to scroll through Facebook and Instagram and get inspired by the creativity and lovely handwriting of the journaling community. Nothing beats the originality and individuality of handwriting.
Being reacquainted with physical writing inspired me to start a second type of journal – my reading journal (yes, I have this online blog as a reading journal, but I also keep an analog reading journal to write in and play with decorative tapes). Having now recorded 2 months’ worth of reading and filling half the book, it feels great to sometimes flip through and feel a sense of accomplishment for having read a number of books in a month, seeing a mixture of fiction and non-fiction books, and with notes summarizing learning points.
And because I’ve been obsessively following the journaling community online, I’ve also been initiated into the world of Hobonichi planners! These planners look fantastic with well thought-out layouts and good quality papers. I’m impressed as usual by the detail-oriented approach the Japanese have towards product design. However, we are halfway through the year now and I’ve got my bullet journal anyway, so it didn’t make sense to purchase a regular planner at this point (although I’m super tempted to get one for next year!).
Nevertheless, having now studied the entire Hobonichi product line, I did convince myself to buy the 5-year techo (yes, halfway through 2023). I backfilled for the first half of 2023 from my bullet journal notes and am using this 5-year techo for memories keeping. We don’t keep physical photo albums anymore in this digital age, so I find myself really liking the idea of a 5-year journal where I can write my thoughts and memories, and add some photos, decoration, or random snippets to illustrate the days. It feels like a photo album, but more.
I’m really glad to have embarked on this journaling journey – maybe one day I will show you my pages. Would be lovely to get to know your journaling styles too!
Rin Ranger 