IMG_0441

I regret to report that the star of my last post, Samuel has still not signed up for the blog. I suspect that his emergency business trip has kept him busy.

The laptop is re-listed on eBay, so there is every chance I will have another long exchange with a fraudster. If I do, I’ll report back.

#BulletJournal. If you have not heard of this system, you can find out more at this excellent website. I am experimenting with several analogue productivity tools, and the bullet journal is the latest.

For the moment, I will not show you any of the internal pages. I need to learn how to electronically obscure some of the more private data.

IMG_0453

This is my index so far.

I use the # symbol for collections. These are pages where I track specific things. There is a log of my postal correspondence (if you are under 30, google ‘Letters’), a log of things that I am waiting for, a reading list and ideas for blog posts. I will soon add a habit tracker.

The BulletJournal, for me, acts as daily task manager, note capture space, and reference hub. I don’t use it much as a calendar or for reflective journaling. That’s my choice. Despite my love for the analogue approach to many things – I have yet to discover something that can compete with an electronic calendar. Accessible from anywhere, and most importantly, shareable.

Every day, I “rapid log”. I write down things that I need to get done, things that I need to remember, or just observations. It’s quick, it’s easy and forgiving. It doesn’t interrupt my flow. As I go through the day, items get ticked off, crossed out or processed in another way. At the end of the day, or maybe even at the end of the week, I review the logs.

This review is the key exercise. This is where I sweep up all open bullets and either carry them forward or deem them no longer relevant. There are no loose ends. The system has mechanisms for deferring and scheduling bullets, which can be as simple or as complicated as you wish. For me, the critical thing is to stop using my brain to store data, but to act on things.

The #BulletJournal system rewards. There is something very satisfying closing out a day with every bullet dealt with.

Yes, I know that there are some amazing apps for this. I own a decent share of them. Todoist, To do, Wonderlist, Any.Do are all brilliant and I have used them in the past. For me they all lapse quite quickly, as they cover only the task function. I then need to use another app for the notes. Somehow, pen and paper engages me more. It feels like commitment.

Ultimately, being productive and organised comes from within. Not from a book, or from a system.

Speaking personally, I need all the help I can get.