Mastering the Art of Bullet Journaling for Entrepreneurial Success

A bullet journal is a way to organize your life using a notebook, invented by Ryder Carroll, a digital product designer from Brooklyn. Instead of buying a pre-printed planner, you create one yourself in a blank journal to track your plans, work, and activities.

What I love about bullet journaling is that it combines lists, project planning, and daily tasks all in one place. Even though I’m usually all about digital tools, writing things down really helps me. Since I’m on computers and mobile devices all day, switching to pen and paper helps me brainstorm and analyze better, while also making things easier to remember.

Starting a bullet journal is simple—you only need a notebook and a pen. You can get fancy with expensive pens or specialty notebooks, but it’s not necessary. I’ve used both Moleskine notebooks and cheap ones from Target, and they all work well.

First, add an Index or Table of Contents, which is a few pages where you list what’s on each page so you can find things easily later. Then, fill out a monthly module with a list of days and events for the month. Next, create daily pages for each day of the month, dividing the pages however you like. Personally, I create all the daily pages for the month at once so they’re organized.

You can add pages for lists, notes, or journal entries whenever you need them. Every month, I include a “wins” page for accomplishments and things that made me happy. I also create a yearly page where I list my goals for the year and break them down by month.

When filling out your daily and monthly pages, you can either come up with your own symbols and codes or use the original ones designed by Ryder Carroll.

If you dive into YouTube for bullet journaling ideas, you’ll see some amazing and complex journals, but don’t let that intimidate you. Your bullet journal should be useful to you, not anyone else.

It might take some time to find what works best for you. For example, I skip the monthly calendar because my schedule changes a lot, so I prefer using Google Calendar for that. Instead, I start each month with a list of goals and tasks, leaving space for other ideas that might come up but aren’t immediate priorities. Find what makes sense for you, and remember, that’s perfectly okay.