Muji stationary hauls, inspirational quotes for study motivation, daily to-do lists, and self drawn calendars. If you have ever stumbled across social media posts of journal pages laying out various tasks in a often colorful and creative way, you may already be familiar with bullet journaling. Created as a way to clearly organize what needs to be completed day by day, bullet journaling has transformed into an unexpected online phenomenon. Platforms such as Youtube, Pinterest, Reddit, and Instagram have fostered a strong community of people who find entertainment and joy by sharing, making, or watching others share their journals. Accounts dedicated to bullet journaling can reach well over a million Youtube subscribers and hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers. The growing popularity of bullet journaling has allowed millions of people to organize their lives for maximum productivity and even provides a simple and personal artistic outlet for some. While the method has no doubt led to improved organization for millions across the world, the influence of social media may lead to some concerns for the average bullet journaler if they set their satisfaction based on what post will get the most likes. The quintessential image of bullet journaling on social media can discourage many from picking up and staying with the method due to the very high standards and expectations set by almost all of the popular images of bullet journaling on the web.
Bullet journaling is fairly difficult to briefly describe, as it varies from person to person. The contents of each journal depend on the needs of the owner and can range from habit trackers for hours you spend studying, exercising, or reading to vision boards, future goals, and even spreads dedicated to K-pop stars. The creator of bullet journaling, digital product designer Ryder Carroll, created the technique to aid the Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) that he was diagnosed with early in life. Like many with the condition, Carroll’s learning disorder made it difficult for him to focus on one thing at a time. With limited resources and information about ADD during his early development, he developed methodologies to make organizing and completing tasks easier. Calling it “the art of intentional living,” Carroll began to share bullet journaling through his website and Youtube videos. Carroll’s vision of bullet journaling was one of simplicity, with his first tutorial consisting of only a black pen and a blank journal. Entitled “Bullet Journal,” Carroll’s video racked up almost 2.5 million views. In this first video, he showed himself creating only an index as well as both a monthly and daily to-do list; what the average bullet journal tutorial has evolved into is a significant departure from Carroll’s initial simple design. If you look up almost any recent “plan with me” video on Youtube, it would become evident that these recent videos aren’t at the same level of simplicity or relatability as Carroll’s tutorials.
Where bullet journaling loses its relatability is exactly what gives it the ability to be so extraordinary and engaging. The most popular journal pages are ones that have elaborate drawings outlining the titles and borders of the page, which no doubt take hours to create. While this type of artistic expression can be calming and therapeutic for some, it may feel like another form of procrastination for others. Even though almost all social media content can be used as procrastination, employing bullet journaling for this purpose is puzzling for a community that emphasizes productivity. Given social media’s pressure to have perfect photos, bodies, and makeup—in other words, lives—it is no wonder that the bullet journaling community has fallen into a similar competitive trap. This form of procrastination likely stems from members of the community feeling like they would be unable to reach the same level of skill that some of the most popular posts have. Instead, they would rather view the journal of someone else who is able to achieve beautiful calligraphic handwriting and draw intricate images, knowing that they are either incapable of doing so or do not have the time or dedication to reach the same level of skill. Bullet journaling is an incredibly individual experience, and for that experience to be maximized, it’s better to embrace our imperfections and limits, rather than aim for the unattainable abilities of our favorite Instagram bullet journal star. Whether you prefer bullet journaling creator Ryder Carroll’s singular black pen or whether you find comfort in having dozens of muji pens and highlighters surround you as you craft elaborate journal pages, these are both valid preferences if they aid in your organization and focus as intended.
On the other hand, creating the actual bullet journal might serve as a distraction for some. Spending more time to create an aesthetically pleasing journal page instead of actually completing the tasks that you write down is almost a common joke in the online community. In the subreddit r/bulletjournaling, one user posted a picture of their impressive drawing of Gandalf from Lord of the Rings and captioned it with a fitting quote for the broader journaling community: “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” and captioning it with “Sometimes I procrastinate by making inspirational pages.” Despite the journal’s main objective to make organizing tasks simple, for this redditor and many others, the creative expression which may seem counterproductive may actually be a form of stress relief. Most of us at Princeton are often suffocated by an environment that pressures us to always be busy and preoccupied through coursework, activities, and friends. Taking some time out to not only write down what needs to be done, but also possibly adding in some artistic flair may serve as the short pause that we all need to stay in the present moment and relax, even if some may categorize it as procrastination.
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