The Bullet Journal Method is a must-read for every Bullet Journal junkie. For those who are just starting out and for the ones who have their notebook collection spread out already!

The Bullet Journal Method

For years Ryder Carroll tried countless of organization systems, all without success. Until he decided to create his own system. A system to track the past, order the present and design the future. A little system that would grow to be a worldwide phenomenon, The Bullet Journal Method.

In this book, Ryder Carroll takes the reader along for the history of the bullet journal. How it works and how the system has started to lead its own life in the bullet journal community. 

“It’s part organization, part soul-searching, part dream-weaving.” 

For every reader

I love that Carroll was very aware of the reader that was going to read The Bullet Journal Method. 

The book is split into two parts. The first section talks about the very basics of the system, the second answers the ‘why’. Quite early, in the beginning, Carroll mentions how this book works for starters, but also for the readers that are familiar with the method. He lets the second reader decide if they want to read the first section of the book. Or if they’d like to just browse those sections as a reference for parts they’ve forgotten about. And then go straight to the second part. 

I went ahead and did a combination of both, I read some of the basics and took some advice and skipped some other parts I’m good at in my own bullet journal. 

Sometimes some parts about reflection and giving meaning to what you’ve written down went a bit too far for me. I use the system for it’s practically and that’s kinda where it stops for me. Although I did appreciate hearing Carroll’s thoughts on the reasoning. 

What The Bullet Journal Method gave me

By the time I read this book, I’m currently working in my 4th bullet journal. So you’d expect me to have found my footing with the system quite well. And that is true. I don’t need to look at outside sources to use the bullet journal and have the system down quite well.

But I still took up some advice from The Bullet Journal Method. For instance, the section about rapid logging. Which is the act of writing down simple bullet points about your day, with things to do, but also diary-like entries. I stopped doing this after my first bullet journal, using my bullet journal as more of a traditional diary with little reflection. But for the last week, during my reading, I’ve made the original rapid logging part of my daily routine again. And I’m loving it.

I was also reminded to only add spreads and information in my bullet journal that are of use to me. And that’s definitely not the case now. Looking through my bujo, there are some spreads that don’t add value. And once I move into my new bullet journal, I will definitely simplify it.

“You can track the decisions you’ve made, and the actions you’ve taken that led you to where you are. It encourages you to learn from your experiences. What worked, what did not, how did it make you feel, what’s the next move?”

In short

A great read by a great creator. And while not every page was of great value to me, it has once again reminded me why I love using a bullet journal. And why this method works so well for me. The Bullet Journal Method is definitely recommended reading for every bullet journal junkie!

Other blog posts I’ve written about the bullet journal method: Introduction. Monthly spreads. Day in the bujo. Personal Spreads.

Details

Title: The Bullet Journal Method (De Bullet Journal Methode)
Author: Ryder Carroll
Translator: Marjet Schumacher
Publisher: Lev 
Date: November 2018
Pages: 256
ISBN: 9789400510500

Sources and inspiration.

www.bulletjournal.com

www.leuchtturm1917.us (the notebook I use)

www.winsornewtown.com (markers I use)

Pigma MICRON fineliners in 02, 04 & 06. (pens I use)