By Sara
Have you ever used a bullet journal, or “BuJo” as all the cool kids call them? Bullet journaling lends itself PERFECTLY to documenting wellness journeys! It forces you to slow down, take a beat and do some introspection. They allow you to better see where your habits go awry and areas for growth and opportunity.
You can make faster progress when you use bullet journaling for wellness as one of your strategies. This makes goal-getting that much easier for busy women.
“The Bullet Journal Method is a mindfulness practice disguised as a productivity system.”
Bullet Journals are Fully Customizable:
First of all, a bullet journal can be as simple or elaborate as you’d like. You can just use a notebook and whatever pen or pencil you’ve got on hand. Or, you can get a special journal. You can use brush pens of a variety of colors to make your BuJo as pretty or as simple as you prefer. Color code certain sections, or fill the whole thing to bursting with colors.
You can track items daily, weekly, monthly or even annually. Carry forward tasks you haven’t yet managed to complete to the next day, week, month. It keeps your to-do list at your fingertips, and is a great option to utilize to prevent losing all those post-its that you write down all your ah-mazing ideas in! Total WIN!
If you don’t believe you can create your own, try purchasing a printed journal. These an make a BuJo easier to use. They will have writing and thought prompts to help you get started, and make it easier for you to put pen to paper in a meaningful way.
However you decide to proceed, using bullet journaling for wellness helps you to better visualize where you are and where you’re going.
Bullet Journals are Great for Keeping Lists:
You can keep shopping lists, a list of books you’d like to read, movies you’d like to watch. List out ideas for gifts for those you love (this is great so that you are prepared when their next Birthday or Christmas comes ’round). Make a collection of places you want to visit, activities you’d love to do. A bucket list. Self care ideas. So. Many. Lists.
Journaling allows you to clear things out of your mind to make space. Your trusty BuJo helps to lessen worry, as you can burden it, taking those worries off of your mind.
Thus it’s great for mental health! Not only that, but I’ve found that having a written tracker helps me to more clearly see “big picture” for my goals also. This is something that using apps on my phone never allowed me.
Tracking different things in a visual format also helps you to see patterns in the habits you have or are trying to establish. By helping to see the overall big picture, you get so much more insight into yourself. It allows you to course-correct making reaching your goals easier.
Jotting down a quick note or idea ensures it is saved where you can reference back to it later.
Setting up a Bullet Journal is Easy:
The first thing you’ll want to do is decide what you want to include in your bullet journal. Spend a little time doing a brain dump and thinking of all the habits you’d like to track. Look on social media such as Instagram or Pinterest for bullet journal ideas and to find some easy ways to set up your journal.
This is a good time to make some goals for the year to work towards. They don’t have to be grandiose. The important thing is to just make the bullet journal work for you. Create a list of habits you are working towards and figure out the easiest way to document these.
I like using my BuJo as a wellness journal. Using it for a sleep tracker, to track water intake, exercise, daily movement, steps, meal planning, you name it and you can track it!
It can be a great mood tracker, weight loss tracker, and a great way to document the positive change you make throughout your wellness journey.
Bullet Journals for Habit Tracking:
Think of habits you have a hard time being consistent with. It can be as simple as tracking your water intake to be sure you are getting enough water throughout your day.
For example, I have a favorite 24 ounce stainless steel water bottle that I use daily. I want to be sure I am drinking at least three of these daily, and this changes with my level of activity and the seasons. Having a spot on my weekly spread with three check boxes to help encourage me get all three really helps.
You can have a daily to-do and important task reminder list, daily goals or even daily routines to track. Then add a weekly spread for things like meal planning, fitness goals, etc. Weekly goals can include household chores as well, if this is something you’d like to track.
You can use a monthly log for tracking sleep, steps, water intake, etc. Follow these with future logs to keep track of all the big beautiful goals you will crush!
Using a bullet journal as a habit tracker works wonders. Also having a daily log, such as a to-do list has increases productivity. We all like it to become a Done list by the end of the day. (And doesn’t crossing things off your list bring you joy?)
It is such a simple thing: helping you to visualize your progress. For this reason, it is a good idea to start one, when you start a new habit. Bullet journaling for wellness is a powerful strategy for your toolbox.
Bullet Journals Can Increase Your Productivity:
You likely have one of the many health trackers like a Fitbit or Apple watch. These can assist in your journey, but being able to see a larger picture like you can with tracking in your own bullet journal just makes the results easier to see all of your wellness goals.
Healthy habits are easier to maintain once you can see your progress and you know that your efforts are working.
Your physical health will improve with this powerful tool, as long as you use it regularly and create goals, breaking them down into reachable pieces throughout the year.
The Bullet journal method allows you full control of what you want to track.
I like to look up some inspirational quotes, which I’ll pepper throughout my journal, also.
Bullet Journals Don’t Need to Take a Lot of Time:
Make sure to list out your annual goals, and break these down into smaller, more attainable monthly goals. Your long-term goals are just a matter of consistent, daily actions towards your long-term goals. And your tracking need not take much time out of your day.
Just spend a few minutes at the end of each day, during your wind down routine to mark your progress, and keep track of your habits that day. Mark what things in your daily routine are going well and what needs tweaking to create the life you love.
You could even leave some space for a daily gratitude journal. This is a simple way to clear your mind before going to bed, allowing you to get these thoughts out of your head. The result is more restful sleep, and reduced stress levels. You’ll find bullet journaling for wellness will increase your mental well-being.
Bullet Journals Encourage Organization:
You can throw some ideas in there for your bucket list and life goals as well as your health goals. Have an all-in-one, or you can create a separate notebook to track a different aspect of your life.
Next time you have a great idea, grab your BuJo and write it down! No more ideas lost on a sticky note somewhere. With a little bit of preparation you can have quite the amazing BuJo! They are a good place to keep so many different things to remember!
Ultimately, who doesn’t enjoy crossing items off a list once they’re done? This is one of the things that makes bullet journaling so satisfying.
At the end of the day, you want this to be quick and easy to use. It only works as a productivity tool if you make it something that is sustainable, and that you will actually use.
If you use this for an entire year, you’ll be able to look at where you started and where you currently are. What a great tool for reflection!
I hope if you aren’t already using a bullet journal that you feel this will be an effective way to document your wellness journey.
Please share below what your personal experience with a bullet journal was like, and if you’ve found it helpful. Within a short time had it become your best friend?
If not, what got in your way? Is there anything you can do to make it easier and try again?
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