Bullet Journaling: The Ultimate Productivity Planner

You might be wondering why we would be talking about bullet journals at Shop709. If you haven’t heard of them, bullet journals have taken social media by storm. They’re the ultimate productivity tool for keeping track of your short- and long-term goals, but with more creativity than your typical store-bought planner. For adventurers, travelers and enthusiasts of all kinds, bullet journals offer flexibility and creativity that standard calendars can’t.

There are a few simple conventions that most bullet journals have, although they are by no means necessary. These include an index, a year overview calendar and a weekly or daily planner. While these are simple ideas that you can easily find in a traditional planner, the benefit of using a bullet journal lies in its adaptability. Need multiple to-do lists for your work and personal life? Done. Want to add motivational quotes throughout your hectic schedule? Easy. Hoping to track your New Year’s resolutions on a day-to-day basis? Simple. Add what you need to, skip what you don’t and expand as you go along.

If this type of productivity planner sounds like something you’d like to try, here are a few things you can consider adding to your pages.

Habit Tracker

Whether your goal is to drink more water, exercise, or eat in more often, a habit tracker gives you a clear visual of how you’re keeping up with your goals. Create boxes to check off or leave space to write in how you succeeded that day. There’s plenty of room for whatever works for you.

Gift List

Instead of waiting until the last week of November to start buying holiday gifts (we all do it), keep a running list in your journal for each of your loved ones, adding ideas to it throughout the year. Your future self will thank you for eliminating the chaotic hunt on Black Friday!

Vacation Planning

This is one of our favorite ways to make use of a bullet journal. Rather than wishing and wanting, start planning! Add a checklist for things that need to get done, when you need to buy plane tickets, names of restaurants you want to try and everything else in between. You can even paperclip photos of your dream destination to the pages for some fun inspiration.

Travel Map

There’s no need to empty your wallet for one of those personalized scratch-off maps that costs a fortune. With just a pencil, graphite paper and a printed map as a template, you can easily draw your own map into the journal, marking cities and countries you’ve been to or that you want to add to your bucket list. Make it as basic or as detailed as you want — the possibilities are endless!

Meal Planner

Make life simpler by planning your meals ahead of time and adding them to a weekly calendar. You can even add recipes and grocery lists so everything is in one spot for easy access.

For people who live actively, have a lot on their plate or just love looking forward to their next trip, bullet journaling is a great option for tracking productivity and planning weekly, monthly and even yearly goals. The customization and flexibility that come with creating your own bullet journal allows it to fit to your needs, rather than the other way around.

How do you use your bullet journal? Share with us in the comments below!