You have a lot of things you need to accomplish on a daily basis. You constantly seek for some new alternatives to get you out of this horrendous cycle. You’ve tried everything. From every single app out there, to post its and reminders. The turnout is almost always the same: very few things –and sometimes even none– done. The truth is, being productive is not easy.
There is a solution. This new tool is making a significant change in people’s lives, helping them day after day to organize their tasks and goals. What I am talking about is The Bullet Journal. It is a diary/to-do list/calendar/planner system that is becoming popular. The Bullet Journal website is filled with testimonials of how this tool has transformed people into having a productive life.
What seems to be confusing is the fact that the creating a Bullet Journal is not an easy task. “The thing I’ve noticed is that the complexity of the system is inversely related to the number of people who will adopt it,” established Daniel Levitin (behavioral neuroscientist), author of The Organized Mind. What he means is the more difficult the system is, the fewer people will try it, and of course fewer people will stick to it.
This tool is kind of complex, and it does require effort. But once you get used to it, change and success seem to be guaranteed.
Ok, so the Bullet Journal is made up by building blocks that are called “modules,” that are divided in:
- Future Log: For the big-picture planning.
- Monthly Log: For the regular calendar functions.
- Daily Log: For a detailed schedule.
These three modules are held together by an index page and a system of symbols that allows you to write down notes, appointments, reminders, and anything else you might want or need to do.
The success of this tool might be possible because it makes it easy to accomplish what Doctor Daniel Levitin calls “externalizing your memory.” This means, anything that you have in your head needs to get out of it.
Most people can only pay attention to three to four things at a time. So if you are thinking of all the chores you need to do at home, it is possible that you might miss your math teacher’s explanation on how to solve that complicated AF exercise, for instance. So, once you write it down, the process does “empty” your mind, leaving space for the actual things that you need to do at the moment.
It might take some time, but it could also transform your life completely! You know what they say, it only takes 21 one days for an activity to become a habit. So give it a try. What’s the worse that could happen?