Staff writer Olivia Mitchell is a bullet-journaling professional of 1 month and uses this type of planning solely to feel in control of at least one aspect of her life.

Before this guide starts, I’d like to note another way of bullet-journal planning, which is the monthly planning method. I use both the monthly and the weekly, as I can put down all of the long-term occasional events and obligations in the monthly and pretend I’m not wasting my life in school trying to get a degree for a job that doesn’t exist, and then I put all my detailed assignments and day-to-day living in the weekly, so I don’t forget everything.

Materials*:

• Journal (Preferably cheap and/or used; I bought this fancy notebook that normally costs $25 for $10 because a lot of the papers had been ripped out)
• Pilot G2 0.38 mm black pen
• 0.5mm mechanical pencil (Off-brand)
• BIC highlighter markers
• Ruler (Mine is cheap, wooden, and broken–hence the tape)
• White-out (Again, off-brand)

1. Measure the height of the page and using a pencil, lightly divide into 3 equal sections, making sure to leave a small margin on the top and the bottom. Do the same thing on the adjoining page, making 6 sections in total. Label each section with the day of the week and the date.
   • I combine Saturday and Sunday into one section labeled “weekend” as it looks nice and symmetrical, also because I can’t really tell the difference between the two days anymore, so why separate them.
2. Split up each of the 6 sections into two equal halves, creating a total of 12 subsections. Label one half “to do” and the other half “assignments”
   • On the assignments list, I write down the projects or readings I’m assigned on that day because when I write them on the date for when they’re due, I get really confused and forget to do them.
   • On the other side, I write the sequence of the day’s events, like classes and appointments. I like to write my classes down because even though all I did was show up, you still get a little bit of satisfaction from checking off a box.
3. After everything is mapped out in pencil, ink all the different sections, and write down all your assignments and events of the week that you know of. Use a ruler to make sure that the lines are straight and even. Leave to dry for a minimum of 30 minutes.
   • At this point, you might start to cry from all the stress you’re under finally hitting you. Try to navigate your crying away from the notebook as your tears can make the ink bleed and smudge, causing you to cry even more.
4. After drying, erase the pencil marks from the notebook and color and decorate your pages.
   • I like to use highlighters to color and decorate because it brings at least one nice aspect of brightness into my life.
5. Have a complete mental breakdown because you have so much stuff to do and no time to do it in.
6. Repeat next week and every week for the rest of your life.

*I bought the cheapest materials available because, again, I’m in college and cannot afford anything that makes me happy

bullet journal via bwog staff