When was the last time you wrote anything down and actually put pen to paper? It’s 2016 and more and more of our common practices are becoming digitalized. We take our tablets to meetings to take notes, we have our online calendars synced up with our phones and we use our second brain tools to keep track of our to-do lists. You’d think that pen and paper are obsolete, right? After all, hitting the backspace when you’ve made a typo is a lot easier than getting the Tipex out for your notebook or marking a big cross on your planner.
However, pen and paper might be making a comeback with the innovative yet simple idea of the Bullet Journal.
Described as the analogue system for the digital age, the Bullet Journal is an organizational tool that could reignite your love for the simple pen and paper. It’s a place where you can keep all your to-do lists, calendars, shopping lists, spending trackers, mindfulness pages, cleaning rotas… You name it! Whatever you need to keep track of you can do so in a Bullet Journal.
Essentially, it’s a modern day Filofax, a DIY journal with a coded system for you to organize everything and anything in your life. At first it will take a little while to set up, but in the long run you’ll thank yourself for doing it. Check out this super handy tutorial on how you can do so.
So, is it better than an online second brain tool? Some would think so.
“Whether they realize it or not, many people approach computers and tablets with a state of mind less conducive to learning than the one they bring to paper.” – The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of
Paper vs. Screens from Scientific American
Have you ever printed out an email to flip through it and make notes? You do this because it engages your brain and encourages more of a thought process than sitting down at the computer. The Bullet Journal does this and allows you to engage with your creative side too by making the journal your own. Perfect for any stationary addicts out there too as there are countless items you can buy to jazz up your journal.
Of course, online tools will always be a preference for some people but reinventing the journal for those that enjoy writing things down goes a long way in ensuring that pen and paper doesn’t die!
So, when are you giving the Bullet Journal a try? Do you already have one? Show off your Bullet Journals @thinkproductive