Bullet Journal: How to master journalling trend going viral on TikTok

Greetings card marketplace, thortful, has created a step-by-step guide on how you can start your own bullet journal, with additional inspiration on how you can personalise to make it unique to you!

What is a bullet journal?

A bullet journal is a customisable notebook that combines a calendar, planner, and diary. Its popularity comes from the freedom to tailor it to your needs, making it as creative or straightforward as you like.

How to start your bullet journal

Find a suitable notebook: The first step is choosing your bullet journal. Whether you opt for a classic paper notebook or a digital tool, both have pros and cons. A paper journal offers a personal, hands-on experience, while digital options are quicker and easier to manage, especially for those on the goDecide your goal for this journal: Once you've chosen your notebook, decide how to use it—whether for daily logs, monthly plans, or doodle pages. You can focus on one area or mix it up depending on what you want to track. If you need inspiration, we’ll share some beginner-friendly bullet journal ideas later.

Make it your own: Personalise your journal and make it unique. You can choose how creative you want to get with your bullet journal’s design. Some keep it simple with a few doodles, while others prefer vibrant, eye-catching pages. For those who love stationery, here are some supplies: pens, highlighters, coloured pencils, rulers, stencils, stickers, rubber, pencil case, and washi tape.

Your first page: You don’t have to do anything specific with the first page of your bullet journal, but some ideas include purposely messing it up to avoid perfectionism, adding contact information in case it’s lost, turning it into an index for easy navigation, or filling it with creative doodles.

Whether you choose to focus on just one area or mix and match to meet your needs, Experts at thortful have collated ideas to inspire beginners on how they can start their journey:

Monthly log

A monthly log helps you organise plans, from meetings to birthdays. It’s like a personalised calendar, where you can track information daily or week by week, depending on your preference. There are many ways to design a monthly log, so explore different layouts to find what works best for you.

Self-care pages

If self-care is your focus, use your bullet journal to track daily well-being or write positive affirmations. There are many ways to incorporate self-care into your journal routine. A few examples include sleep monitoring, fitness logs, meal logs and emotional care.

Reading log

If you’re a book lover, your bullet journal can be the perfect place to track your reading. Create dedicated pages to log the titles you read each month, including details like your ratings, the genres, and the number of pages. This way, you can quickly reflect on your reading journey and discover patterns in your literary preferences.

Doodle pages

Enhance your bullet journal by adding doodles, mini "how-to" drawing tutorials, or dedicated doodle pages for an artistic touch. For inspiration, check out Pinterest for a wealth of doodle ideas and tutorials. You can also unleash your creativity by experimenting with your own designs.

Reminders

Remembering important days or special occasions can be challenging. If you often forget to pick up cards for loved ones’ birthdays or anniversaries, use your bullet journal to set reminders in advance. It’s a great way to stay organised and ensure you never miss a meaningful celebration!

Now that you’ve got your step-by-step guide and some inspiration on how and what to use your journal for, it's time to get acquainted with the correct terminology.

If you want extra tips on how you can perfect your bullet journal, please visit the thortful blog: https://www.thortful.com/blog/how-to-bullet-journal/