I haven’t even written about my digital bullet journaling experience yet, but I’m already back to my analog bullet journal.
I suppose I never truly left paper journaling. I digitized the bones of my bullet journaling practice a couple of years ago, but I kept my paper notebooks around (mostly for creative projects and morning pages).
I love bullet journaling – it really has helped me get grounded and organize my life. I also like to think that it was the support system I needed to start reacquainting with my creativity. So I wanted to write about it on the blog, and I managed to squeeze out some Bullet Journaling Basics (which really needs a re-work, I know!), but I hadn’t revisited this idea since.
I got stuck in the “busy season burnout” headspace instead. Like a train of thought that I couldn’t debark, a trail of blog posts followed in its wake. Since January, I’ve been swirling on busy seasons, burnout, stress management, and balance. (Here’s the series, if you need it!)
It’s June now.
So ironically, while blogging about balance, stress management and self-care, I was feeling sort-of depleted and ungrounded one morning. Despite my digital to-do list, I just couldn’t seem to focus. It felt like I had too many things to keep tabs on, and too many ideas buzzing around wanting attention. I found myself in a frustrating post-busy season liminal space, sitting in uncomfortable uncertainty.
But I had to get to work. How was I supposed to operate with all of this mental clutter?
I spotted the answer out of the corner of my eye – my sage green Leuchtturm1917 that I had been using mostly for ideation and daydreaming. Only 25 pages in, and beckoning to be cracked open again.
Hello, old friend.
The beauty of the bullet journal is that you can pick up right where you left off. I turned to my most recent entry – a creative brainstorm from January – and added the date to the page that followed. As I emptied my mind out onto the paper (by “rapid logging”), I could practically feel the grounding effect, bullet by bullet.
There’s something magical about the feel of pen on paper.
One of those bullets lingered in my mind, calling for more. So later on, I flipped to the next page and scribbled out a mind map. I ended up pulling together scattered ideas from a dozen digital notes I had made over the last year on a topic. It was so clarifying, and it felt like such a relief. It was not unlike returning home after a long journey!
I also remembered the joy that is flipping back through your own hand-written notes. This is something I took for granted before I started bullet journaling digitally. My writing isn’t the most legible, yet I can journey back through pages of my journals, and I’m sort-of transported. The connection to the words on the page just can’t be replicated by clicking on digital files or swiping through notes on the screen.
I don’t know if I’m logistically ready to transition back to a fully analog bujo. (I’m not convinced I ever will – Google Calendar and Tasks are such an efficient power combo for me!) But being back in my analog bullet journal did remind me of how much I enjoy the tactile experience of writing. Perhaps more importantly, It reminded me how beneficial that pause to write really is.
That quiet, grounding home for my thoughts.
I do have an idea for integration between digital and analog bullet journaling, though – I’ll test it out and report back!
Funnily enough, I was just writing about the seven types of rest. I have to give myself a pat on the back, because on that morning I noticed the racing, scattered thoughts and the lack of focus and realized that I specifically needed mental rest.
My old bullet journal provided exactly that. The practice is calming and gives all the mental clutter a chance to escape onto the paper. It’s where thoughts can go to get organized, synthesized, or simply released.
Bullet journaling really is a “mindfulness practice that works like a productivity system.” (From the official Bullet Journal FAQ: New to Bullet Journal? Start here!)
That moment of mindfulness is exactly what I need to transition from mom-mode to accountant-mode and back again. It helps to refocus my energy, and only takes a minute or two!
I don’t know about you, but for public accountants in Canada, June is a bit of a tax season aftershock. I’m going to take this opportunity to go ahead and continue practically exploring the other six types of rest.
I think I’m going to need it – I feel an expansion of the Bullet Journaling series coming on!
Update: I created a reset routine inspired by this post! If you haven’t already, join my monthly newsletter and pick up the free 5 Minute Reset, a grounding one-page practice that helps to declutter your mind, and move forward in your day with clarity.
