Bullet Journaling for Greater Clarity, Intention and Alignment with Purpose
November Review and December Set Up
I was introduced to Bullet Journaling in October 2016. I was attracted to the idea of being able to keep everything, all aspects of my very full life, in one place. I’ve become a Bullet Journal evangelist because in addition to helping me manage my entire life, it helps me expand my quality of life. Every month I share how the Bullet Journal helps me live with greater clarity, intention and alignment with purpose. I hope you discover at least one idea that helps you live more grounded and true to you.
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November was an interesting month.
I’m a creature of habit. I’m at my best when I’m able to get into a routine. Anyone else like that? I traveled to Austin, TX for the Tableau Conference for my day job. While I’ve loved attending the conference the last couple years, I find the disruption to my routine, well, um, disruptive. Toward the end of the month, I found myself a bit overloaded with school deadlines and learning goals. I just never got myself on track this month. One of the things I love about this create-as-you-go system is that you’re sort of forced to review and evaluate the previous month, and you get to hit reset on the new month. For me, that’s very powerful.
Here are my main takeaways from November:
- HABIT TRACKER, FOOD LOG, AND GRATITUDE LOG – I’m going to start referring to this as my Clarity and Intention Trifecta. The Habit Tracker gives me quality information about how I’m caring for those areas of life that are important to me. Do you ever find that weeks can go by in the blink of an eye, and you’re not really conscious of what you’ve done and what you haven’t? Giving daily attention to my self-care habits (Habit Tracker) and my intake (Food Log), helps me stay in reality (instead of fantasy-land, do you feel me?) about how I’m living. And the Gratitude Log keeps me grateful. It’s so funny how we can get so caught up in the “struggles” of day-to-day existence and lose site of the big picture – how much we have to appreciate. This is one of the key ways I stay centered (grounded, clear, tranquil).
- MEMORIES SPREAD – As someone high in Achiever, I can get quite focused on pursuing my goals. While others might be recharged by stopping to smell the roses, I’m energized and recharged by getting stuff done! So I have to be careful to make sure I’m also out experiencing life. It may seem trivial, but the memories spread let’s me see at-a-glance how I’m maintaining that balance.
- WEEKLY TO DO LIST – When I started my Bullet Journal, I was tracking my to do items daily. I very quickly recognized that for me, a weekly to do list was going to be much more effective. I found myself combing through all my notes (I like to take comprehensive notes where necessary) to find my remaining to do items. Now I keep my tasks in a weekly list. I started November color coding my tasks according to the different areas of my life. Now, I segregate my tasks by the different areas of my life – all my work items are in one place, business items in another, and personal items in yet another. The thing I love most about my weekly to do list is how I’ve been able to get things done in little unexpected windows of productivity. For example, I find myself on a commuter bus with WiFi. I look at my list, and there’s something I can get done and cross off on my commute to work. When I was keeping my work tasks on my work computer and my other tasks on my home computer, these little windows of opportunity were wasted.
Looking forward in December:
- Later this month I’ll publish a post about why I don’t set resolutions, and I’ll create a spread in my Bullet Journal to help me prepare for 2017.
- My intention has been to send real birthday cards through snail mail rather than sending birthday messages by text or Facebook. So far, it’s been an epic fail. In December, I’ll be including upcoming birthdays in the “Coming Up” section of my weekly spread.
Check out my YouTube video for more information on how I use my Bullet Journal to live with greater clarity, intention and alignment with purpose.
I’ve listed below my go-to bullet journaling supplies:
- Notebook: Leuchtturm 1917
- Black Pens: Faber-Castell Pitt artist pen; Uni-Ball Jetsetter
- Colored pens: Tombow Dual Brush Pens; Staedtler Color Pens
- Movable tabs: Avery Printable Repositionable Tabs
- Washi tape
- Ruler: Westcott Technical Drawing Template
Loving the journey,
