c/bullet-journaling

Used to track every single coffee I drank, now I just log the morning one

I used to have a whole spread for coffee consumption. Date, time, brew method, beans. It was exhausting. Then my favorite mug broke last Tuesday and I just stopped caring. Now I only log my first cup of the day and it actually tells me more about my routine than the full list ever did. Anyone else ditch a complex tracker for something simpler?

1 comments

carter.laura•1d ago

I used to think a $5 notebook was fine for bullet journaling, then I tried a $20 Leuchtturm and the paper quality made my pens stop bleeding through completely.

Way less ghosting and my layouts actually look clean now, has anyone else noticed a huge difference with nicer paper?

2 comments

drew_bennett24•3d ago

Warning: My whole weekly spread fell apart because of one bad pen choice

I was at a coffee shop last Tuesday, sitting next to a girl who was showing her friend a bullet journal. She said 'never use a gel pen on cheap paper, the ink bleeds through everything.' I thought she was just being fancy. Well, I got home and tested my favorite gel pen on my new journal's paper. Every single line soaked through to the next page and ruined my weekly layout. Has anyone else found a pen that works good on thinner paper without bleeding?

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taylor_miller10•4d ago

Read that bullet journaling actually helps with memory recall

I came across a study from the University of Texas about how writing things down by hand improves memory retention by around 30 percent. They tracked students who used bullet journals versus those who typed notes. It made me rethink my whole system since I always thought digital was faster. Have any of you noticed better recall since switching to analog?

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jamesm38•5d ago

I found a stat that totally changed how I track reading in my journal

Was looking up reading stats online and found out the average person only reads about 12 books a year. I had been tracking how many pages I read each month instead of books finished, and now I realize that number is way more useful for my bujo spreads. Anyone else ditch page counts for something simpler?

3 comments

wesley385•6d ago

Found out most people don't actually use all 5 modules in the original system

I was reading Ryder Carroll's book last night and he literally says the future log, monthly log, daily log, and collections are the only essential parts - the habit tracker is just a suggestion, not a requirement, which surprised me since every bujo post I see has one, so who here actually skips trackers entirely?

3 comments

averymartin•7d ago

My bujo nearly got destroyed by a coffee spill at the station

I was detailing my weekly spread at the firehouse kitchen table last Tuesday when my mug tipped over. Coffee went straight across my April monthly log before I could even react. I blotted it with paper towels but the pages were already warped and some ink bled through. I ended up cutting out those pages with a craft knife and redrawing them on new paper. Now I keep my drink on a separate table at least 3 feet away. Has anyone else had a similar disaster and found a way to salvage wet pages?

3 comments

david562•7d ago

Was dead set against premade collections until my cousin showed me her weekly spread

My cousin visited last Saturday and showed me her bullet journal with these templates for tracking expenses and meals. I always thought premade collections were cheating, but she saved like 3 hours a week not drawing them out. Has anyone else given up on making everything from scratch?

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laura_allen•9d ago

My messy weekly spread finally clicked after 9 months of trying to be tidy

Honestly, I was so against using a minimalist style because I thought it looked boring. But I saw a before and after from someone who just used a black pen and a ruler with no colors or doodles. Their old spread was cluttered like mine, and the new one was way easier to scan in the morning. I tried it for two weeks and now I actually track my habits without skipping days. Has anyone else found that less decoration actually makes them stick with their journal?

2 comments

hugomurray•9d ago

Stuck on a 15 minute daily habit for 6 months, then a cashier at the grocery store just said something that clicked

I was standing in line at the Kroger on Elm Street last Tuesday, and the cashier noticed my bullet journal peeking out of my bag and asked if it was a 'brain dump book'. Instead of just saying yes, she told me she uses a single dot to mark days she even opens her journal, no pressure to write more. Has anyone else had a total stranger give them a simpler way to think about their system?

2 comments

mark_mitchell•10d ago

Am I the only one who spent 2 years writing the same collections over and over?

I started bullet journaling back in 2018 and for like the first two years I was rewriting my future log, monthly log, and habit tracker every single month from scratch. I thought that was just how you did it, you know? Then last spring I was at a coffee shop in Denver and this girl next to me had a bujo where she just kept the same weekly layout for like 6 months straight with tiny tweaks. I asked her about it and she looked at me like I had three heads and said, "You know you can just migrate the format, right?" That was the moment. I felt so dumb. I had been wasting like an hour every month redrawing boxes and headers when I could have just flipped the page. Has anyone else had that moment where you realized you were overcomplicating a simple system in your own head?

3 comments

jordan_webb•10d ago

Tracked my monthly coffee spend for 3 months - hit $94 in January alone

I started a little spending tracker in my bullet journal back in November just for fun. By January I hit $94 just on coffee from the shop near my job. That number shocked me because I thought I was only going maybe twice a week. Turns out I was stopping by almost every day without even thinking about it. I drew up a simple graph in my journal showing the spike and it made me cut back to just Fridays. Has anyone else used their bujo to track a single habit like this and found a surprise?

3 comments

finley_price24•10d ago

My attempt to track my water bottle refills went off the rails

I decided to log every time I filled my Hydro Flask last month to hit 8 cups a day. But I kept forgetting to mark it down, so I ended up estimating, which made my whole spread look like a mess. After 3 days of this nonsense, I realized I'd spent more time fixing the layout than actually drinking water. Has anyone else given up on a tracker that seemed simple at first?

3 comments

emmawood•11d ago

My coworker was right about using a ruler for spreads and I was wrong for 6 months

I used to freehand all my weekly spreads because I thought rulers made them look too stiff or whatever. My friend Derek kept telling me it would save time in the long run if I just measured things out first. Finally tried it for my November layout and wow, I spent way less time fixing crooked lines and erasing mistakes. The columns actually line up now and I don't have to redo the whole page when a margin is off. Has anyone else fought against using tools that seem too basic? What other simple stuff took you forever to try?

3 comments

wells.karen•12d ago

That coworker who showed me her minimalist weekly spread changed my whole setup

Last month during lunch break, Sarah pulled out her journal and it had one single page for a whole week. She said she stopped tracking habits and just uses dates and tasks. Has anyone else tried cutting out all the trackers and extra collections?

2 comments

nancythomas•15d ago

That week in January when my bullet journal actually kept me on track

I had a week where every single task got done on time, including renewing my car registration which I usually forget for months, because I finally used a weekly spread instead of my usual monthly layout, has anyone else found that switching formats can make or break your whole system?

3 comments

finley_price24•15d ago

Bought a nice pen set for $30 and it changed how I use my journal

I spent 30 bucks on a set of four fountain pens from a local stationery shop, and they make writing in my bullet journal feel completely different from the ballpoints I used for years. Has anyone else found that a specific tool made you actually want to journal more, or did it just sit in a drawer?

2 comments

the_elliot•16d ago

I think the whole "no mistakes allowed" thing in bullet journals is overrated

I kept seeing these perfect layouts on Instagram with zero crossouts and I felt like I was failing. Then my buddy (who journals way more than me) told me I was treating my bujo like a museum instead of a tool. He said "your journal should look used, not framed." That got me thinking. So I stopped erasing and started just crossing stuff out messy. Now my weekly spread has coffee stains and scratched out tasks everywhere. It actually feels more honest. Anyone else just let their pages get ugly?

2 comments

lopez.jana•16d ago

Spent 3 hours trying to find a weekly layout that clicked, finally gave up and went back to basics

I kept seeing these elaborate spreads on Instagram and tried like 4 different ones over the course of a month, but each one took me forever to set up and I never stuck with it. Turns out my simple Ryder Carroll original took 15 minutes to set up and actually works for me, so I'm sticking with that from now on - has anyone else wasted way too much time chasing aesthetic layouts?

2 comments

jake638•16d ago

I finally realized my layout was killing my momentum

I was at a coffee shop near my place last Tuesday and overheard this girl telling her friend she spent 45 minutes every morning just decorating her weekly spread. It hit me that I basically do the same thing with colors and washi tape but never actually track what matters. I looked back at my journal from the last 3 months and saw maybe 5 entries with actual data like sleep or habits. Has anyone else caught themself spending more on the art than the actual logging part?

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karen_roberts4•17d ago

Dropped my whole bujo in the sink last Tuesday

I was filling in my habit tracker at the coffee shop near my work when my drink tipped over and soaked the whole spread. The ink bled through about 8 pages and the cover is still crinkly. Anyone got tips for saving a water damaged journal without starting over?

2 comments

sandraflores•17d ago

Overheard a girl at Starbucks change my whole view on weekly spreads

I used to be all about these super detailed weekly layouts with trackers for water, steps, everything. But last Tuesday at the Starbucks on Main, I overheard someone say she just uses a single line per day with one task. At first I thought that was way too bare bones, but then I tried it for a week with my three kids' schedules. Now I just jot down the one must-do for each day like "library books due" or "grocery pickup" and it actually frees up space for random notes. My bullet journal went from a chore to something I actually want to open. Has anyone else scaled way back and found it worked better?

2 comments

alice89•23d ago

Question about setting up a monthly layout

I spent 3 hours trying to figure out a better way to log my habit tracker. Kept flipping between the wrong pages in my Leuchtturm1917. Ended up using a simple 2 page spread with washi tape dividers. How do you guys handle the migration between months?

4 comments

cora863•24d ago

Digital vs paper weekly spread. Paper wins.

I spent 6 months doing my weekly log in Notion. Looked great on screen. But I kept forgetting to check it. Switched back to a simple two page spread in my Leuchtturm. The act of physically writing my tasks makes them stick in my head way better. Anyone else bounce between digital and paper and end up back with a pen?

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davis.ruby•24d ago

That habit tracker I spent 3 hours designing took 10 minutes to abandon

I spent a whole Sunday afternoon making this really elaborate habit tracker for my bullet journal. I used colored pens, drew little icons, and had 20 different habits listed out. Then I realized on Monday that I only actually wanted to track like 4 things. I kept it up for a week but by Friday I had skipped filling it in completely because it was too much work. Has anyone else gone all out on a spread and then just given up on it fast?

3 comments