Bullet journals have really kept me afloat during my decade spent as a public accountant.
Personal bullet journals have kept me grounded, creatively connected, and generally on top of life. (In fact, here’s why I always recommend bullet journaling for busy creatives.)
But implementing one at work — just for my job — was a game-changer.
Especially as my role grew more senior, I felt more and more like I had one billion things to do at work, and the work is never done. There’s no finish line and no off-switch.
We’re usually juggling many clients at once, doing and reviewing the actual work (both recurring and one-off), attending meetings, working with mentees, contributing to projects, most with hard deadlines — you get the picture.
Burnt out musings from my last tax season: How to Beat Busy Season Burnout (…or Not)
Naturally, everyone has a different system. Some people use their Outlook for almost everything, thanks to the built-in calendar, reminders, task feature, and of course, the ability to email yourself.
Many of us spreadsheet junkies have an Excel open most of the time to track and plan for our upcoming and ongoing projects. I was one of these, until I realized… Couldn’t I rapid log in here?
If you’re familiar with the bullet journaling system and want to try using it digitally, you might enjoy my spreadsheet version → The Excel Digital Bullet Journal That Kept Me Sane at Work
The personal benefits of using a digital bullet journal at work
I’d been loving my personal bullet journal, so rapid logging had sort of become the way that I naturally function and process everything. I wanted to start a bullet journal for work in hopes that the magic would translate.
I’d say it did, up to a point. I found that rapid logging at work helped me move from:
Scattered → Feeling more on top of my work
Defaulting to “yes” → Understanding my capacity before committing
Reacting (scrambling) → Understanding project statuses and prioritizing at a glance
Decision fatigue → Systematic prioritization and ability to pivot with full clarity
It was also a great place to hold notes. Since I always had the spreadsheet open, I could quickly capture notes from random discussions (you know, when folks just pop by and just start talking about one of fifteen things you’re managing).
Once the notes were captured, there was almost always somewhere to put them — if not simply left in the daily log, it could be migrated to a collection for that project or client (a dedicated tab), or scheduled in the future log for an upcoming project. I’d take a couple of minutes to do this at the end of the day.
That’s all for workflow, of course. There’s also the personal development and career progression stuff to log, and it feels like having a dedicated space for this in the digital bullet journal gave it visibility alongside my daily routines.
In other words, much less “head down, grind on” — everything is connected.
Still considering which bullet journaling system would work best for you? → Bullet Journaling for Busy People: Digital, Analog, or Hybrid?
The practical side of the bullet journal spreadsheet
The privacy and security were probably the most important aspects of setting up the bullet journal.
I used Excel partly because it was just so familiar and I already used it frequently, but also because it was secure in my workstation. I wouldn’t introduce a third-party app to my work ecosystem unless it were already integrated into our workstations and approved for use by IT. (A little disclaimer for you.)
As to where it was saved, the bullet journal spreadsheet lived exclusively on my work laptop’s secure drive, just like any other sensitive client document.
The system worked pretty seamlessly. Most of us already have our “Excel to-do list” open on our computers throughout the day — mine just happened to work like a bullet journal.
I think the only awkward part about using it was handling deadlines. There are different types of deadlines: the “draft to client” deadline, the “submit for approval” deadline, and the actual filing deadline, for example, all of which are subject to change.
On a traditional Excel to-do list, most people would have columns for the project name, description, deadline, and progress or status notes so that they could filter and order their projects by deadline. I didn’t do this, opting instead for dates as a rapid log entry. If I had a light list, I’d use signifiers to prioritize my work. But since it’s just a spreadsheet, I’d often just reorder my Daily Log so that priority work was at the top of the list and go from there.
I’m actually not sure how this system would work for someone who is not me. (But if you do try my Excel bullet journal, please let me know!)
The key to bullet journaling, as with any system, is that it must work with your brain — and your brain is unique.
I also had a couple things that made the system shine:
- We work with 3 screens. One screen always had Outlook, Teams, and my Excel bullet journal open.
- I had been rapid logging long enough before starting a digital BuJo that it came naturally for me to log things, prioritize them, and move them around.
That being said, I think bullet journaling is so popular because it happens to work the way many of our brains already function.
The scattered thoughts.
The to-dos running rampant.
The attempt to connect the details of our daily lives with our greater ambitions and our authentic selves.
Bullet journaling doesn’t necessarily solve the whole puzzle, but it certainly puts the pieces down on paper in a systematic, intuitive way.
Thank you for reading!
You can download the Excel bullet journal here: Digital Bullet Journal Template
And there’s a blog post on how best to use it here: How to Use Excel as a Simple Digital Bullet Journaling System
Finally, if you’re new to bullet journaling, explore the rest of the guide: The Busy Creative’s Guide to Bullet Journaling (Start Here!)
