A Fresh Way to Organize Your Work – And Your Life

Do you think of journaling as a pastime from a bygone era, filled with run-on sentences and ink blots? Think again.

Bullet Journals are gaining huge popularity as an “analog system for a digital age.” If you understand the saying, “I won’t remember it unless I write it down,” yet you’re tired of losing inspired thoughts and post-it notes, then the Bullet Journal will resonate with you.

With a Bullet Journal, according to its creator, you can: track the past, organize the present, and plan for the future. If creativity appeals to you, click here for a work-based example of how to harness the power of this tool to more easily balance your work and personal life.

What You Need

To experience the benefits of a Bullet Journal, all you need is a dot-grid journal (one with an inner perforated edge can help for rearranging pages later – or you can purchase a pre-made Bullet Journal), a good pen, and a ruler.

Click here for a quick guide to setting up your index, key, and monthly organizational structure.

What to Write

Once you have created your index, etc., you can divide your goals and ideas into two categories, Collections and Trackers. Here are some ideas for ways that freelance instructional designers and technical writers can plan projects and track important aspects of a job:

  • Collections
    • Project plan
    • Action items
    • Supplies list
    • Motivational quotes
    • Incremental goals
  • Trackers
    • Progress tracker
    • Expense tracker
    • Meetings tracker
    • Due-dates tracker
    • Client invoice tracker

As you can see, the options and ideas are endless!

You can find more exciting, creative ideas on Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube. Or you can join a Facebook group dedicated to Bullet Journals, where you can ask questions and learn fun new ways to keep your career and your life more organized.