As I grow older, I'm more and more a fan of intentional living. To me, this means being honest with myself about what's important to me, and actually making space for these things in my life. This means all those things that I used to wish I had time for, or that I admire others doing, or that I saved only for vacations or New Year resolutions - these are the things I choose to fit into my life in whatever way I can. And the best tool I have found to remind myself of what I want in life and to keep trying my best to choose for it, is my bullet journal.

Now bullet journalling isn't new, and you may have even tried it before. But I think a lot of people use it as just another productivity tool, whereas I use it as an ideal life designer and tracker.

My bullet journal is not a place to feel bad about the things I didn't find time or energy for. It's also not the place to encourage feeling good about myself solely based on how many things I ticked off a list.

It's a place where I can dream my biggest dreams of what I'd like my life to look like. A place where I can make commitments to myself to make space for things that matter. Somewhere that serves as a reminder, each and every day. "Hey Joanna," it says to me, "you SAID you wanted to read more books - how about you take 10 minutes and read something?"

My bullet journal is also my creative outlet. I don't have to wait until I have time for a creative project - my bullet journal IS my creative project. As is my whole life, of course. 

If you want to learn about 'proper' bullet journalling, go here.

But here's how I do it, and what I include:

• I start with lists of things I'd like to do in an ideal world... my current notebook has a list of 24 things to do before 2024, but I'll be making a longer list for the new year. My lists include both small and big things - one I checked off recently was to make a Polish plum cake, just like my Mom's 🙂
  
  
• Then I write down lists of things I'd like to do daily, weekly, monthly, and at other regular intervals. Actually writing these out in a place I can add to when I remember or realise something new has been really useful. Otherwise life gets busy and I literally that I, for example, wanted to cook or bake something from scratch at least once a week!
  
  
• I also include some manifesting journal entries - descriptions of what I want to experience in my life, as if it has already happened.
  
  
• After these foundational pieces, I set up each month with a calendar, goals, and anything else that I want to make sure happens... like a Fall Bucket List for example.
  
  
• And then I set up every week with whatever I want to include or achieve.

I make sure to include things from my foundational lists in my monthly and weekly set-ups... otherwise there was no point making them 😉

And I never, ever let my bullet journal make me feel bad. It's supposed to be my companion, not my judge. 

When something I wanted to include doesn't happen, I notice but don't judge. Was there something I could have done differently? Usually not. Is there a theme happening, am I always skipping the same things? Why is this? How can I help myself fit them in? Not because I SHOULD but because I choose to. For example, recently I noticed that I have real trouble drinking enough water - I could probably live on coffee and wine lol. I'm currently experimenting with ways that could help me have the water I know would be good for my body.

When I have made the changes I wanted to make, I no longer track these things in my bullet journal. For example, I'd been keeping a food log to encourage myself to eat better, and I feel that it's no longer needed... I'm making good choices so I don't need the reminder anymore. If this changes, I'll keep a log again to help me get back on track.

Lastly - I should mention that my physical bullet journal isn't my only notebook (I also have a journalling notebook and a tarot notebook) and it's not the only piece in my organisational system (I also use google calendar for appointments and Notion for longer term collections of ideas and plans). 

But it's definitely the piece that helps me be more intentional about my time on a daily basis.

Do you keep a bullet journal too?  Or do you have other systems/tools that help you stay intentional about your time and energy? Let me know in the comments!

Love,