January 2018 Simple Bullet Journal Setup

I’ve looked at quite a few bullet journal pages and for the most part am overwhelmed by the artistic/flashy/scrapbooks that most try to call bullet journals.   I will never be one of those types of people.  I married one of them and that is close enough for me.

I’m more of an effectiveness guy.  I’ve studied time management and planning for many years and may eventually get a handle on how to do it.  I’ve carried Daytimer planners and Franklin planners for many years.  I was an early adopter of Palm technology and have tried to use my smart phone for personal planning, but I still come down to paper and pen/pencil for the best connection to my brain.

However, the older I get, the less I want to be bound by someone else’s ideas of organization so I’ve not carried a pre-printed planner for at least 10 years.  I have, however, carried a pocket notebook (primarily Field Notes ) for at least the past 5 years.  I came upon the Bullet Journal concept around 2012 and have adapted and massaged the ideas until they fit where I am at any given moment.

I am trying to use 1 notebook per month this year.   The books may last longer and I will update as the situation warrants.

Here is my set-up for January 2018.  I’ve started planning out a few things. I start out with a Table of Contents and then 2 monthly calendars. My future log is 6 months.  I have a master task list that incorporates items from my December brain dump and is a good placeholder for ideas until I start my daily pages.   I’m trying out a small habit tracker to make an effort at keeping those pesky New Year’s resolutions for longer than a few days.

Most of my tasks will find their appropriate priority in my daily pages that start after the tracker.   In my next post, I’ll discuss daily and weekly planning.