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Productivity methods and focus

Bullet journal

Ryder Carroll's notebook method for tracking tasks, events and notes with short entries and symbols, organized into an index and daily, monthly and future logs.

What It Means

A bullet journalJournalingWriting down your thoughts and feelings, in a notebook or an app, to understand them more clearly and to see what's behind your stress. See more is a notebook kept with the Bullet Journal method, created by Ryder Carroll. Entries are short and marked with simple symbols for tasks, events and notes, a style the method calls rapid loggingRapid loggingThe Bullet Journal's shorthand: short entries marked with a dot for tasks, a circle for events and a dash for notes, plus symbols for priority and status. See more. The notebook is organized into an Index at the front, a Future Log for the months ahead, a Monthly Log and a Daily Log, and at regular points you move unfinished tasks forward, which the method calls migration.

Try It: Set Up Your First Bullet Journal

The core pieces of a first Bullet Journal, in the order you set them up. Tick each one as it's done.

Set up0
Out of5

Any notebook and pen will do to start.

How People Say It

  • "It's in my bujo."
  • "I migrate my tasks on the last Sunday of the month."
  • "I finally set up a future log for next year."

The Breakdown

The parts of a Bullet Journal

PartWhat it holds
IndexA contents list at the front, so you can find any section
Future LogEvents, tasks and deadlines beyond the current month
Monthly LogThe month at a glance, with its events and tasks
Daily LogToday's tasks, events and notes, written as they come
CollectionsPages on one topic, such as a project or a list

How to start

  1. Pick any notebook and leave the first few pages for the Index.
  2. Set up a Future Log for the coming months.
  3. Add a Monthly Log for this month.
  4. Start a Daily Log and write entries with rapid logging: a dot for a task, an open circle for an event, a short dash for a note.
  5. As you add sections, list their page numbers in the Index.
  6. At the end of the month, go through open tasks. Carry forward the ones still worth doing, mark them with an arrow (>), and let the rest go.

Short version to try today. On a blank page, write today's date and log everything you need to do or remember as short entries with a dot, a circle or a dash.

Where It Comes From

Ryder Carroll created the Bullet Journal. The method's official site says it started as his personal way to keep on top of tasks and ideas, and that he refined it through experiment as a tool to help with his attention deficit hyperactivity disorderADHD in kidsAttention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children: ongoing trouble paying attention, sitting still or controlling impulses, beyond what's usual for their age. See more (ADHD).

Good to Know

Migration is the heart of the method. The official site describes it as the moment to ask whether each task still matters, so things that aren't worth rewriting by hand tend to drop off. Pages can look as plain or as decorated as you like; the method itself only needs short entries, the symbols and the logs.

FAQ

Who invented the bullet journal?

Ryder Carroll. The official Bullet Journal site says he built it to organize his own tasks and ideas and to help with his ADHD.

What is migration in a bullet journal?

Moving open tasks forward into a new Monthly Log or a collection. You turn the task's dot into an arrow (>) to show it moved, and drop tasks that no longer matter.

Do I need a special notebook?

No. Any notebook and pen will do, since the method lives in the symbols, the logs and the Index.

Do It in Buhata

Notes and Tasks

Keep your daily log as a day page in Notes (Premium) in Buhata, and move tasks you migrate into Tasks with a date.

Open Buhata

Related Terms and Categories

  • Rapid logging

    The Bullet Journal's shorthand: short entries marked with a dot for tasks, a circle for events and a dash for notes, plus symbols for priority and status.

  • To-do list

    A written list of the tasks you plan to do, checked or crossed off as each one is finished.

  • Habit tracker

    A simple record, on paper or in an app, where you mark each day you do a habit so you can see your progress at a glance.

  • Commonplace book

    A personal notebook of passages, quotations and ideas copied from what you read, filed under topic headings so you can find and reuse them.

Productivity methods and focus

Sources

Bullet Journal, "What is the Bullet Journal Method?"; Bullet Journal, "How to Bullet Journal"; Bullet Journal, "Ryder Carroll"; Bullet Journal, "Migration 101: Why and How We Migrate the Contents of Our Bullet Journal"

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