If you’re like me, a regular planner is never enough for you. It just isn’t organized enough. Lucky for me, I ran into a friend, who was just as hyper-organized as I am, with a bullet journal. These journals start out as blank pages with grid-like dots that help to guide your drawing. They can be used as art journals, a type of planner, or a little bit of both! I chose to use mine to keep myself organized and aware of my habits, but it’s really up to you to decorate it, since it’s personalized by your drawings!

There are a few things that people traditionally use a bullet journal for. In every journal you’ll see a monthly calendar and a weekly spread, which is kind of what you see in your regular planner. The weekly spread will have the days of the week drawn out however you want to create it! Some have the days written in calligraphy, on banners, or even with cute little plants drawn next to them. It’s all up to you and what you like.

I chose to make my bullet journal a little more personalized with inspirational quotes and poems to break up my weekly spreads and add a little art to my everyday life! You can also put in different things like notes, reminders, goals, shopping lists, lists in general, etc.

A big thing that differentiates bullet journals from regular planners are their trackers. Anything that you’d like to track, there’s a way to track it. You could put everything into a chart or make simple, creative trackers for specific things, moods, or activities. I like to track my water, so for every weekly spread, I make a half page in the middle. This page has 5 cups for each page that I fill in when I’ve drunk 1/5 of a gallon. Most bullet journals have mood and sleep trackers like as well which are oddly satisfying.

All in all, I find the journals both organized and therapeutic. It’s strangely relaxing in the same way that cleaning your room is (please remember I’m talking to the hyper-organized people here), and although it’s a little time consuming, bullet journaling is a way to both express yourself and feel as though you’re getting your life together at the same time.