Bullet Journaling for Writers


By Edie Melson @EdieMelson

There�s a new organizational craze making its way around the world�Bullet Journaling. This process was created several years ago by Ryder Carroll as a way to �Track Your Past, Order Your Present, Plan Your Future.� I highly recommend watching this short video that explains the bullet journaling process. 

Below is the video I made to introduce you to my bullet journal. Further down is a list of Bullet Journal basics, along with a list of resources, websites, and Instagram accounts. 



I came a little late to this organizational process and discovered bullet journaling almost two years ago. Frankly,  it has revolutionized my life. Up until this tracking system, I had never been able to keep up with a planner or a calendar with any consistency. I couldn�t even seem to find a way to keep dates accurately in my iPhone. 

Why does it work so well for me? Because it is flexible and customizable. 

Today I�m going to do more than just fan-girl over this way of keeping track. I�m going to break it down and share why I think it is so perfect for writers in particular. 

BuJo (Short for Bullet Journal) Basics
At the core, the beauty of bullet journaling is something called rapid logging. This is the ability to organize tasks and information in a concise and precise way using lists and qualifiers (symbols).
  • Future Log
  • Monthly Log
  • Daily Log
Symbols
�    Bullet is used to denote a task   
o      An open circle is used to denote an event   
-      A dash is used for notes
>   Task migrated
-->
<   Task scheduled

Collections
This is everything else, from lists, logs, daily tasks & goals, etc. Collections can include
  • Books
  • Films
  • Character Names
  • Bucket Lists
Logs could include
  • Word count
  • Article ideas
  • Memory verses
  • Goals
  • Meals & meal planning
Tips for Developing Personalized Daily Tasks & Goals
  • Write x number of words
  • Edit x number of words
  • Write/edit for x amount of time
Ideas for Planning
  • NaNoWriMo
  • Scene Mapping
  • Freelance Log
Other Ideas
  • Blogging calendar
  • List of publishers for a particular project
  • Checklist before submitting
  • Editing checklist
  • Checklist before publishing a blog 
Places to go for BuJo Inspiration
Instagram Accounts
TWEETABLES


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