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Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Bullet Journal notebook changeover

I am very pleased to report that I have been so happy with my modified Bullet Journal system, I have filled my first notebook and am continuing on to a new one!

First, some background if you haven't been following along: Back in December when things got really busy I started using my large plain-page Moleskine notebook as a modified Bullet Journal and experimented with three different types of indexing to see what I would actually use. You can see that experiment and its results in this post here.

I learned that I work best recording my daily stuff from the front of the book and putting lists and non-day-specific notes in the back of the book, not mixing lists and notes into my daily records. When the daily stuff from the front meets the lists and notes from the back, it's time for a new notebook!  You can see other journaling lessons I've learned in this post here.

So now it's time for the changeover to a new notebook!  I've enjoyed the freedom of blank pages so much I went for another blank-page notebook. And even though Moleskine paper isn't my favorite paper in the world, I went for another Moleskine because the narrow book is lighter than a Leuchtturm or other similar-size books, and I liked this green cover for spring!

December 2013-February 2014 in Yoda notebook, March onward in green!
 I love how the ivory paper looks with the green cover.

The only indexing system I'm using is creating a quick overview of chronological events in the monthly booklet I wrote about in this post here. The monthly booklet holds January - December 2014.

On the front of the booklet I write when each notebook starts and stops so I know which book to look in for the details of any particular day or event.

I'm so happy with my planner for planning and my notebook for recording, I plan to use this method indefinitely. I love the freedom of being able to jot whatever into my notebook without worrying about filling up the day's page.

Yesterday this arrived in the mail: the new Moleskine softcover notebook in Orchid Purple.
This notebook has plain pages, but it also comes with dotted pages which is new for Moleskine. I pre-ordered this notebook from Amazon UK and it shipped when it became available. This notebook has 196 pages, so in page number and overall book weight it is between the normal hardcover notebook (240 pages) and the Volant notebook (96 pages). It has a placemarker, an elastic closure strap and back pocket, which the Volant notebooks do not have. Because it is lighter than the notebook I'm using now, I plan to use this one in the summer when I'm on the go a lot. The green one should get me through June, so that will be perfect timing.

It feels great to be happy with my system!

6 comments:

  1. I'm so happy that this is working for you! I'm going to give it a try for my personal life. The one system that has worked for me consistently this year is the food and health log I keep in my Plannerisms planner! Still going strong.

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    1. So glad to hear you're enjoying your Plannerisms planner! Great idea to use it as a food and health log. :)

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  2. This is so cool, Laurie! I had missed the update to your Bullet Journaling, so I'm glad you had a link to that post. Your simplified system (lists instead of indexing, and the grid monthly calendar that gets moved from notebook to notebook) is very elegant in its simplicity. It might even work for me! The standard Bullet system has always intrigued me, but I know I don't do well with symbols and anything like an index. Yours seems much simpler. So please remind me how this notebook integrate with the rest of your planner system...? Your daily/weekly to-dos, goals and appointments still go in the Plannerism planner, and the front end of your Bullet notebook is your daily record/journaling? If you don't mind, would you write a post sometime giving a typical blow-by-blow of how you use your system on an average day? I'm trying to get a picture of it "in the field" to see how I could make it fit my needs. Thanks!

    - Tina

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    1. Hi Tina! I wrote a post last year on how I used my Plannerisms planner with my day per page planner, and my current use is very similar except with a notebook instead of day per page planner. You can see that post here: http://www.plannerisms.com/2013/02/how-i-use-my-weekly-and-daily-planners.html

      I just now started to write a "short version" of how I use my system, but it got really long! So I will just reply as a separate post. :)

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  3. I echo Tina's request for more deetails! Your system is not clear to me because the other posts indicate a state of experimentation and so im not clear on your final selections. Maybe photos are the quickest approach? Blurred? We love your photos! Thank you, i feel like we are on parallel paths!

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    1. Hi Nancy, see today's post for lots of details! http://www.plannerisms.com/2014/03/how-i-use-my-planner-bullet-journal.html

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