How to start the ultimate Bullet Journal

Why keep a Bullet Journal?

Bullet journals keep you sane. We start them for a million reasons – from goal-trackers, reading journals and to-do list bibles: to mood-trackers, gratitude journals, or memory keepers. They’re as much a creative outlet as a way of ordering your goals, your emotions or your life experiences. “My journals are my escape from the chaos of family life,” laughs Alex, one of our original Zebra Brand Ambassadors. “I’ve been journalling since I was a child – back when a journal was called a diary!”

“Bullet journalling is a wonderful outlet for me to express my creative instinct,” agrees another ambassador, Lois. “I’ve loved drawing and creating ever since I was a little girl.” And once you get bitten by the bullet journalling bug, you could end up with a collection of treasured bullet journals like Alex and Lois have, to look back on.

In this blog, we want to share some of our top tips to help you start bullet journalling without tears! There’s no right or wrong way – it’s a really flexible format so you can make it yours, any way you want.

Make your journal personal, practical – and purposeful

Firstly, find your ‘why’. Why do you want to keep a Bullet Journal or BuJo, and what do you want to achieve? Keep it simple and specific and resist the temptation to get over-ambitious and end up giving up.

A strong starting point is to ask yourself whether you want your journal to track the past, order the present, or design the future? Do you want it to be a place to record events and experiences, a way to organise daily life, or track future goals, such as improving your wellbeing or fitness.

The more practical and purposeful your Bullet Journal is, the more meaningful it will be. Staying on track and on top of your life is at the heart of living mindfully.

Here’s where the fun starts!

Designing a BuJo the easy way

You don’t need to re-invent the wheel! Not every journal has to be an artistic masterpiece designed from scratch – you can buy journals with readymade templates for the week or month, or dot matrixes to get you started. Create an index page at the front, and decide if you’re going to journal daily, weekly or monthly. Or a combination of all three!

Embrace the shortcuts! Experiment with stickers, inkpads and stencils, and washi tape to extend your creative theme. “I like to vary my Bullet Journal by using a range of different styles, such as scrapbooking, drawing, and changing colour schemes regularly,” says Amber, one of our ambassadors. “It’s whatever resonates with you.”

Alex says she’s often asked where her Bullet Journal themes and designs spring from. “Frequently I’m inspired by stationery or journal accessories – stickers, stencils or stamps that I’ve already bought, so I check what I already have – that can spark a theme, even if it’s a year later.”

“Then, I assemble all my thematic stickers, stamps and washi tape. I often pick a font stencil to save time and create a sense of uniformity to my pages and spreads.”

Picking a palette, choosing a pen

Each theme should have a new palette – you might choose to change to celebrate the start of a new season, a new term or job, or even a new month. Don’t be tempted to have more than three colours to start with! You’ll create a more harmonious effect by keeping to a more restricted palette.

Zebra pens are a journaller’s best friend – try our Mildliner Brushes and Sarasas as a creative double act. Sarasas are perfect for writing longer entries, and detailed decoration, and Mildliner Brushes were designed to give calligraphy or title pages a stunning finishing touch.

Why purposeful journalling increases our sense of wellbeing

Research reveals that journalling is a powerful way to enhance your emotional wellbeing. Writing helps us reconnect with ourselves and process our emotions.

And looking back on those carefully composed pages and detailed entries shows you how far you’ve come. It celebrates your goals, your achievements and your purpose, all at the same time. Your journal is a celebration of you.

Take it slowly to start

People often start bullet journals for the sake of their emotional wellbeing, but it’s good to remember that you can stop one for exactly the same reason. If journalling ever starts to feel like yet another thing on your ‘to-do’ list that’s nagging to be done – it’s time to pause. Maybe you’ve over-committed on the goals, or over-estimated the time you’ll have. That’s fine. Just make sure that you do make space for regular me-time in your life – even if you’re not journalling.

Becoming a proficient bullet journaller

If we’ve inspired you to join the BuJo community, here’s what to keep front of mind:

• Start simple, stay focused.

• Make it yours – it’s for you and nobody else.

• It doesn’t have to be a work of art.

• Treat yourself whenever you hit a personal best!

Bullet journals are a place of creative freedom and self-expression. A space to free your mind, set your goals (and smash them!) and organise your life the way you want it.

Welcome to the brave new world of bullet journalling!