IT’S THE SYSTEM, NOT THE STATIONERY

You can be successful with BuJo® no matter what stationery you use. Any notebook, and any writing implement can and has been used to successfully implement the Bullet Journal® Method.

As I like to say: It’s the system, not the stationery, that matters. “

Lots of great “planners” exist, but if you’re like me, most of them failed and that is probably why you’re interested in The Bullet Journal® Method. So don’t get caught up in stationery binges at the expense of implementing the system.

But if you purchased something, and decide you don’t like it, that’s ok too. If it no longer serves you, forgive yourself and begin again.

Over the years, I’ve collected a list of items that I have either personally tried or want to try and I want to share them with my clients and with you.

Please note: while all Amazon and BulletJournal.com links earn me a small commission, my recommendations are not influenced by the payments. My “Day Job” as a marketing consultant provides the bulk of my income, and my work as a certified Bullet Journal® Method Trainer is the primary way I am paid for my work with Bullet Journaling. Purchasing items via these links are a way of thanking me for sharing my time and experience and in some cases, you’ll get a discount too!

OFFICIAL BULLET JOURNAL® RESOURCES FROM BULLETJOURNAL.COM

BulletJournal.com has a shop with notebooks, pens, pencils, and a few accessories. (We’ll cover the courses in another post). My links will give you 10% off your purchases there.

THE OFFICIAL BULLET JOURNAL NOTEBOOK:

What I said above is true: you do not need this notebook to be successful.

My stack of Bullet Journals. Some official, some are not. There are many ways to be successful!

I have been using the Bullet Journal Method® almost since it was publicly launched, which is close to a decade by now. In the interim, I used many kinds of notebooks: Hobonichi, Leuchtturm, generic planners and books, and even free notebooks from the companies I worked for! I feel like I have tried them all: size, shape, page design, paper styles, price points…

So when I say I can wholeheartedly recommend the official Bullet Journal® Notebooks, you will understand why. I have used them ever since they were originally released.

Here are the reasons I love to use the notebook designed by Ryder Carroll especially for The Bullet Journal Method:

The pages are numbered. This is critical if you want to maximize the utility of the Index collection. I hate numbering pages!
Intention page: I love having a spot for my intention(s) right up front.
Symbol Key upfront to keep track of how you annotate your logs
Index pages and future logs up front -no special layout required.
To me, the dot grid is the best type of paper marketing for Bullet Journal®. It makes it easy for my messy handwriting to be somewhat more contained and to do precision layouts, while at the same time allowing for the freedom of sketchnoting and drawing. In addition, the Official Bullet Journal Notebook® provides little marks on each page to make it easy to subdivide the page into halves, thirds, etc.
Personally, I hate writing out all the days of the week and days of the month because I know I’ll screw it up, but the notebook includes handy vertical stickers for both, making it easy to do each month’s layout in a snap. (my tip: use a small highlighter or a different color pen to draw a box around your weekends for handy visual reference.
The included Bullet Journal® Method reference guide is a handy ruler for drawing straight lines
Elastic band keeps the cover closed in my bag
If you love pen loops, buy them, but Ryder also shows how to use that elastic band to wrangle your pen or pencil.
The spine label makes it so easy to add a title and year when I’m complete, for easy reference on my book shelf.
The paper itself is classic Leuchtturm density and quality, with a lovely soft pale color that is easy on the eyes, and makes every pen easy to use. Most pens and highlighters will not bleed through the paper, but you should always test. And frankly, few notebooks are great for felt tip markers.
I love being able to put stickers on my journals from my travels during that time.

Every year, the Bullet Journal Team does a community debate on what the color of the year is . Of course this year, I’m in love with the green, since it’s almost an exact match for Fiddlehead®’s brand! If you are a member of BuJo U, the paid community, you’ll get to vote, too!

Here are some photos of some of my recent Bullet Journals. (What can I say, I’m a Ted Lasso fan!)

OFFICIAL BULLET JOURNAL PENS AND PENCILS

I haven’t yet tried using the official Bullet Journal Pen or the official Bullet Journal Pencil; but both get excellent reviews, and the former is on my birthday wish list. This pen is a special edition Leuchtturm Drehgriffel which gets phenomenal reviews. and the community loves it very much.

I’m not a pencil user for the most part, so I’m unlikely to try that, but if you have, let me know what you think in the comments!

Speaking of the community, I’ll be talking about the Official Bullet Journal membership and training programs in future posts; along with my own recommendations of unofficial resources. Let me know in the comments if you have specific questions or tools you want to know more about.

Til then, may you make continual progress towards your true intentions.

-Melinda