project goald
how to bullet journal
starting with the basics
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what is an alternative to bullet journaling?
The project GOALd video lessons show how to use yearly, monthly, and weekly logs to set goals and keep your life on track. But even though bullet journaling is a system meant to keep yourself organized, you don’t necessarily need to cram every single aspect of your life into it; especially if it’s easier to use a different tool. That's why I use digital planning alongside my bullet journal.
digital planning: notion
Currently, I use my journal to keep track of monthly events and goals, notes, habits, and tasks. But this year, I’ve also started using Notion to keep track of my school related tasks and events. I’ve found this to be much easier than using my bullet journal, since many of my school related to-dos are pretty repetitive. Notion is also more accessible at school, since I can access the app just on my phone.
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My notion setup for my classes consists of a simple calendar and lots of lots of weekly todo lists for homework. The feature of making different pages also makes this great for taking and organizing notes. Many other digital planning programs have similar features and layouts - research around and see what works for you!
In addition to school, I also use notion to plan out my larger projects, such as this video series and project GOALd.
Since there was a lot to keep track, I figured I should keep it separate from my bullet journal - and using a digital planning app made organizing my plans for this project much easier, since I didn't have a set system worked out yet for long term projects in my bullet journal.
benefits of the analog system
But even though going digital makes things more efficient, I really think there are still many benefits to analog systems like the bullet journal. Handwriting things out solidifies your goals and resolutions much more than if you were to type them. I think that filling out habit trackers, journaling, and seeing your progress on a physical page is much more fulfilling than if you were to do it digitally.
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I also believe that bullet journaling and starting from a completely blank notebook helps you to really think about the best ways to organize your life. Many digital planning apps don’t have this level of customization, with many giving you pre-made templates to work with and edit. While this still helps with basic planning, it doesn't give you the full opportunity to really think about and experiment with different systems, or figure out what will work best for you. Learning to bullet journal will not only give you a custom planner, but also skills on goal setting itself. It will provide a much deeper understanding of planning and what you hope to get out of it, rather than just writing events on a calendar or making to-do lists.
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Even if you find that the analog bullet journal system doesn’t work for you, you will still have picked up the basic skills and an understanding of planning to take with you on the search for the perfect planning method. It may be the bullet journal system, a digital app, a combination of the two, or even a pre-made planner. Whatever you find ends up working for you, I hope the things I taught about bullet journaling through this project help you make it into your own.