When I first started bullet journaling, I struggled with organizing my tasks. They seemed to be all over the place, and I didn’t have a solid system to keep track of them.
That was until I got used to using bullet states!
These are what keep your system flexible, your day focused, and your entries clear at a glance.
In this post we’ll go over what bullet states are and how to use them effectively!
Still need to get acquainted with bullet journal bullets and the rapid logging system? Check out: How to Use a Bullet Journal: Key Spreads & Basic Methodology
What is a bullet state?
A bullet state is a visual representation of the status of your journal entry, denoted by a simple modification to the bullet itself.
(This is in contrast to signifiers, which are symbols added before the bullet to give it context.)
Most states apply to tasks, but notes and events can be modified to reflect status as well.
Some states are easy to implement, while others take a bit of practice to get used to.
In this post we’ll walk through the “official” bullet states for tasks, and when and how to use them.
We’ll wrap up with note and event states, which can help you tweak the system to suit your workflow.
Task states
Ah, tasks – the powerhouse of the bullet journaling system. There’s little more satisfying than drawing that “x” through your completed task bullet! But what about the tasks that we didn’t complete?
Don’t worry – there’s a state for that!
Here are the basic task states and how they’re typically denoted:
- Open (•) This is the default state! The task has yet to be done.
- Completed (x) You’ve finished the task.
- Cancelled (-) The task is no longer relevant. To add clarity, I like to strike through
the entire entry, rather than just the bullet. Tip: Strike through neatly with a single line so that you can still see what the task was. - Migrated (>) This means that we’ve moved the task to an upcoming date (e.g., to a daily, weekly, or monthly log).
- Scheduled (<) Task moved to a future date, far enough ahead that it goes into the Future Log. The arrow points backward because the future log is usually at the beginning of your journal. I playfully refer to this as going “back to the future (log)” in my bullet journal key!
You can mark a task as completed or cancelled in real time, or later on when you sit down with your journal to reflect on your daily log entries.
If the task isn’t done or cancelled, you can move it using migration or scheduling.
Task migration/scheduling: What’s the state of your bullets?
Task migration is fundamental to the bullet journal system. It’s how your tasks get around, and how your journal stays flexible!
It’s also what makes bullet journaling a mindfulness practice.
A commonly asked question is whether you actually have to re-write your open tasks every day.
No, you don’t! But you could, and that’s the point.
When you’re reviewing your daily log and scanning your open tasks, you have to consider whether the open tasks are still worth doing.
If not, feel free to cancel them.
If they are still important, then you can migrate them forward to your next daily, weekly, or monthly spread.
You could also migrate a task to a collection! For example, if you’ve been jotting down ideas for your “dream garden”, you could create a Dream Garden collection in your journal, and that collection could also include tasks if you wanted. Those tasks would be to get that garden growing!
If the task is worth doing, but doesn’t need to be done in the immediate future, you can schedule it by writing it in your future log under the appropriate month.
It’s this built-in review process that helps you get clear on your goals, what’s worth your time, and what’s just getting in the way.
Workflow: When to migrate/schedule a task
When to migrate or schedule a task depends on your workflow and how you use your bullet journal.
Daily
At the end of each day, you can review your daily log and check for remaining open tasks. That way each day gets “closed out”.
This method either requires a fair bit of re-writing, OR it encourages you to get the leftover tasks from today done tomorrow so that you don’t have to re-write them again!
By pages filled
I like to have my journal open all day to add to as-needed. I would usually fit two to four daily logs across the two open pages.
In my system, I look for open tasks to migrate, schedule, or cancel after I fill the two pages. This way, I can always see all open tasks from the last few days at a glance.
By week or month
You can also just leave all of your open tasks open, and make a habit of flipping back through your daily logs to review them.
You could do this weekly; for example, each Sunday you sit down to review the most recent week, see which tasks are unfinished, and decide their state.
This review can also be done at the end of the month, perhaps in combination with preparing your monthly log. This method makes it easy to forget tasks though, so it’s important to use signifiers to highlight any priorities!
What about notes and events?
These “forgotten bullets” tend not to have states because they’re meant to be logs of things or thoughts that happened, rather than something you must attend to.
That being said, you can come up with states for notes and events as well. Get creative!
Note state
I take a lot of notes in my bullet journal to capture information, thoughts, ideas, or reflections. While I rapid log throughout the day, some notes beg to be expanded upon!
So one state I often use is taking the note bullet (–) and adding a line so that it looks like this: (+)
This state means that I’ve expanded on that note in long-form further on in my bullet journal.
How do I find the long-form entry?
I usually do my long-form entry that day or the next day in the next available space in my journal, so they’re usually pretty intuitive to find.
If you try this and find that you’re writing a lot of long-form entries, you could add a page number to the note so that you can quickly flip to the long-form entry. (This is a form of threading, a concept we’ll discuss in a future post!)
Event state
Personally, I don’t use states for my events because the event is either upcoming, or it’s already happened. Some events just exist; holidays or birthdays, for example.
If there was something that I had to do for an event beyond showing up, likely I’d have task bullets beneath the event indicating this.
The exception is if an event was cancelled or I did not go – then I’d strike it through.
You could customize the system to create your own event states, though. This might be great if you have particular events that you go to frequently, and there are specific actions associated with them.
Do you use event states? Let me know in the comments below!
Parting words
Bullet states make your journal dynamic and reflective.
When I first started playing with the idea of bullet states and migration/scheduling, I was put off by how many times I felt I was re-writing tasks… But I was missing the point. I had to reflect on exactly why I was re-writing so many tasks.
What was keeping them from getting done?
Did I really need to do them, or was I just creating busy work for myself?
Answering these questions helped me to filter out unnecessary burdens that I had been putting on myself, needless “busy work”, and anything that wasn’t helping me move in the direction I wanted.
This is why I like to say that bullet journaling helps you mindfully organize your life.
Are you ready to integrate bullet states into your journaling practice?
If the many bullet states feel overwhelming, just start with one or two!
Better yet, come up with a state or two of your own that reflect the way you want to use your BuJo.
And of course, for more beginner bullet journal tidbits, head back (<) to the start of the guide: The Busy Creative’s Guide to Bullet Journaling (Start Here!)
Happy journaling!
