My family and friends have always thought I’m super organized. They think I have it all together. That I miraculously remember everything.
What they haven’t seen behind the scenes, is the graveyard of sticky notes scattered across my desk, the stack of journals and notebooks I scribble to-do lists in, and the 1381 lists in my iPhone notes app. (That’s the real number of notes on my phone.)
The reality is for my entire adult life I’ve been a highly functioning disorganized person.
Sure, I’m a natural at planning and project management, but I’ve never actually been good at the organization part. I survived by templates and digital project management tools.
The problem is every time a shiny new tool came along I had to try it. Maybe it would be the one to rule all others. I haven’t found that magical unicorn yet. Instead, I’ve adopted dozens of organizing tools and systems. But I’m more disorganized than ever.
I’m a complete mess. Ever since having kids, I can hardly remember to take a shower if I don’t write it down.
I’m sure you’re thinking, get a planner, lady. But I’ve never been a planner person.I’ve tried to be one of those people that take their planner everywhere, but I always abandon them after a month.
Planners don’t work for me. There’s never enough space. They try to force me into a tiny box — a system someone else designed that doesn’t fit my life.
But the jumbled notes and scraps of paper don’t work either. I was desperate for some structure and a designated place for everything in my brain.
I’ve joked in the past that Evernote is my digital brain. Or Trello. Or my notes app. Or my calendar. What a scatterbrain I am!!
I’ve finally found the solution. One place, perfectly customized to me to keep everything in my life organized.
It’s my Brainbook.
In October, my friend Kalyn sent me an advanced copy of her new book Brainbook: Bullet Journaling Your Way to a More Organized Life. As soon as I finished reading BrainBook, I couldn’t wait to create my own. (Now I’m a proud affiliate of Kalyn’s book because it’s changed my life and made me the organized person I always wanted to be.)
I’d heard of bullet journaling and admired pictures of pretty hand-drawn planners on Instagram, but I never realized how practical and functional it is to create your own planner. Without Kalyn’s guidance and inspiration, I never would have tried bullet journaling.
In Brainbook, Kalyn explained step by step how to create and maintain my planning journal. She teaches all the basics and beyond. I’ve stopped using post-it notes, random journals, and the notes apps on my phone to track ideas and to do lists. Now, I keep everything in one place in my Brainbook. It’s my external brain!
Earlier this year I discovered the healing power of adult coloring books and learning hand lettering for relaxation – two hobbies I now love. I also have used hand-written trackers and reminders for years to develop new habits.
Now, Brainbook brings all those activities (and more!) together to keep me organized, build good habits, and to relax and have a creative outlet.
I’ve never been into journaling, and I’ve always felt a little guilty about it. I think it’d be cool to have a daily log of my life, but I don’t have the patience to write it. But now I have my BrainBook. In addition to being a planner, it becomes a beautiful record of life’s events, my interests at the time, and important memories.
Here’s a look at my Brainbook:
Are you rolling your eyes at the screen right now? Think you could never create a bullet journal like this? I get it. I felt that way at first too.
A couple of my girlfriends saw inside my Brainbook the other day and made remarks like, “I’m not that detailed,” “I can’t draw,” or “I wouldn’t have time for that.”
I have to admit I was a little defensive because I know none of that is true and partly because I feel like my Brainbook is now an extension of me. I’m lost without it.
I didn’t think I could do this either. But Kalyn makes it easy to set up your Brainbook and to make it your own. If doodling isn’t your thing, you can have a doodle-free bullet journal. You don’t even have to use colorful pens. It’s up to you.
If you love doodles, but can’t draw, Brainbook Starter Package comes with a bonus guide called Doable Designs. You can print and trace the doodles if you need to. Kalyn also shares some quick tips on hand-lettering (along with full alphabet examples), seasonal doodles, frames, and dividers. The header lettering and doodles on my weekly spread are straight out of the Doable Designs companion guide.
So I explained to my girlfriends that I don’t spend a lot of time on my Brainbook compared to what I was doing before. In fact, I probably wasted more time before trying to find my notes and to-do lists in random notebooks and digital files. Add to that the time I was already spending, 10-15 minutes a day, enjoying adult coloring books or hand-lettering for relaxation.
Now it’s like I’ve combined the not so fun task of planning with fun hobbies like coloring and lettering. The result is better than a colored picture or hand-lettered quote; it’s a customized planner that makes my life run more smoothly.
As a side benefit, I still get to relax and experience mindfulness while I fill out my Brainbook.
I only spend about an hour a week making my weekly spread and any other lists I want to add. Then I spend just 5-10 minutes a day filling out my daily tasks and events and crossing them off when they’re complete.
A little bit of time here and there quickly adds up to a beautiful planner that makes me feel put together and becomes a record of my life. I feel like it’s time well spent.
How I Use my Brainbook to Stay Organized
I’ve been using my Brainbook for over a month now. I’ve filled the first 33 pages of my journal in one month. I LOVE it. I feel more put together than ever, and I enjoy working on my Brainbook. Here’s how I use it on a monthly, weekly, and daily basis:
Monthly
The week before new month starts, I create a monthly title page with the name of the month and my goals for the month in two lists; home goals and work goals.
Then, I create a two-page monthly spread. It looks just like a calendar. I use it to record events for the upcoming month. I also got into doodling little designs to commemorate each event, like drawing the Wonder logo when I got to chaperone a field trip to see the movie.
I leave space to the side of the calendar for a monthly tracker – a few things I want to track every day of the month. If I do them, I make an X for the day. Throughout the month I try not to break the chain of Xs. For November I tracked working out, cleaning, laundry, no eating out, and using my Brainbook.
One thing I love about Brainbook is the opportunity to learn about our own habits. I thought I wanted to be one of those people that does a little laundry and a little cleaning every day, but it’s clear from this tracker that I gravitate toward a once a week rhythm. I could continue tracking daily and try to change that habit, or I could change it up next month and only track those things weekly.
At the bottom of my monthly calendar, I have a small notes section to log important dates for the upcoming month. When I get ready to set up next month’s calendar, I can refer to the events I’ve already noted here.
Weekly
Every Sunday, I spend about an hour on my Brainbook. I create my weekly layout and fill in any tasks or events I’m planning for the week. It took me a few weeks to discover a layout I liked, but now I just make minor changes to the set up each week. On my weekly spread, I include a cleaning tracker, a water tracker, and our dinner menu for the week.
When my weekly spread is ready if I have extra time I refer to my list ideas and see if there are any new lists I want to create in my journal. Last Sunday I decided to add a “Binge-Worthy” list to track the TV shows my husband and I watch together – there are lots of new seasons coming out soon.
Lists are my favorite part of the Brainbook system. Lists (also called Collections) are unlike anything I’ve ever had in a planner. You can make lists for anything – tv shows to watch, books to read, a travel packing list, a bill tracker, Christmas gift ideas, and so on. Those are just a few of the lists I created in my first month using my Brainbook.
The cool thing is lists are not specific to a month, week, or day. You can refer back to them anytime, and many of these I will continue to use and reference throughout the next year and beyond. Next year, I’ll be able to look back and see what I got so-and-so for Christmas. In addition to keeping all my ideas in one place, I’m excited to have these lists to look back on years down the road. It will be a neat time capsule of our lives.
Daily
Day to day, I keep my Brainbook open to my weekly spread. I add tasks, check off completed tasks, and keep any scheduled events or appointments front and center.
There are very few things in my business that I have to do at a set time of day, so I don’t use a block schedule – one of the reasons I don’t like some daily planners. Instead, I make a list of the essential tasks I need to do for the day, and the goal is to check everything off by the end of the day. This process leaves me the flexibility to work on the tasks in any order I want.
If your day revolves around meetings or set appointment times, you could add time blocks to your Brainbook weekly spread. That’s the beauty of this system; you can tailor it to your needs.
On my weekly spread, I include a water tracker and cleaning tracker, as well as plan our dinner menu for the week. The cleaning tracker helps me remember to do my chores throughout the week. The dinner menu helps me plan my grocery shopping and each day I can see at a glance if there’s anything I need to prepare ahead of time for dinner.
Why You Should Start a Brainbook
- I think you’re more likely to use your Brainbook than any other planner because you created it just for you. There’s a sense of pride that comes from planning your weekly layout and then using it to manage your days. You want to cross things off, fill in your habit trackers, and record your memories.
- You won’t ever be locked into an inflexible planning system ever again. If you try a layout in your Brainbook and it doesn’t work out, you can try something different the next week without buying a new planner.
- It’s a fun way to practice hand-lettering and doodling, even if you’re not good at either one. It’s a reason to keep trying. Each page is a new opportunity to create a different header, play with drawing fonts, and try a new color scheme. And no one has to see it but you.
- Not only will a Brainbook keep you more organized, but it becomes a beautiful record and keepsake of your day to day life. It’s part planner, part diary, part journal. My kids love peeking inside my Brainbook – looking at the monthly spread and remembering the fun things we did, as well as looking at the lists where we’re tracking favorite meal ideas and Christmas gift ideas.
Kalyn’s book explains what to do step by step and includes a lot of inspiration pictures and ideas for personalizing your Brainbook. With her help, you can set up your bullet journal in 15 minutes or less.
I recommend the Brainbook Starter Package which includes three extra resources to help you start and maintain your bullet journal:
- Doable Designs companion guide – all the creative doodle, lettering, and header ideas you need to start your Brainbook. You can print this off and trace the designs if you want.
- Access to an exclusive Brainbook Facebook group where you can ask questions, chat with other bullet journalers and share your Brainbook pages (or get inspired by other people’s layouts)
- 11 printable Brainbook layouts sized to fit in your journal – this includes all the layouts you need to start your first bullet journal without having to draw your own layouts. Huge time-saver!
Get Brainbook: Bullet Journaling Your Way to a More Organized Life now
How do you keep track of things that happen more than a week in advance? I’m thinking of teeth cleaning appointments (made months in advance), school band concerts (teacher sends the schedule at the beginning of the school year), the soccer/play practice schedule (that changes week to week or month to month depending on the season or the cast schedule). I’ve printed my own calendars on card stock (so they will stand up to erasing and changes) and put them in a 3-ring binder (the type with a flexible-ish plastic cover that isn’t so rigid) but I struggle with my lists. I HAVE to jot reminders in my phone or I will completely forget. Then I sit down once a week (or more often) and double check that everything from my phone is on my calendar. I don’t feel like my To Do lists are very organized but certain things on my To Do lists pertain to the events on the calendar. My To Do lists tend to be binder size paper but I don’t put them in my calendar binder. Egggcccchhhh! I feel the same, like I try and try and try to be organized but I’m not!
Great question, Penny. There’s a couple of ways you could handle your event schedules with a bullet journal. First is the future log – one spot to record all upcoming events until you make your monthly calendar. Second, is to make your monthly calendars for the entire year, but that removes some flexibility for updating the system as you go. That’s what most people do a Future Log and don’t make the monthly calendar until the end of the previous month. Also, notes related to events on the future log can be “linked” with symbols or color coding. Kalyn goes over all the options for organizing your bullet journal in the Brainbook guide. For you, this would help you keep notes and event calendars together. Plus, a journal would be a lot more compact than your three ring binder.
Ok, yes, I rolled my eyes. I look at this and think, “Wow. Not now, not ever will there be enough time in my homeschooling, mom of four 8 and under, 2 job having, married life to do something like this.” It’s really, really beautiful, and I like the general idea. But I am pretty sure if I have an extra hour on Sunday, I’m going to be taking a nap. It’s hard feeling like there isn’t enough time already, and this feels like one more thing on the to-do list. I have a planner, and I include things there. Is this really that different? I would definitely need more information to see how this would actually fit into my life instead of making it harder. I’m not trying to sound critical, but I want to be honest about this, especially with myself.
Angie, I get it. I worried about that too. I hope you can see past the pretty doodles to the heart of what bullet journaling is. Yes, I like to embellish mine, but that is not necessary. If you go look at the Brainbook page you’ll see other examples from Kalyn’s bullet journal that are simpler than mine.
With so much going on in your life, bullet journaling would give you a way to track everything (work schedules, homeschooling schedule, chores, work tasks, home tasks) all in one place. Unlike a regular planner, you can customize this to fit your unique needs. If you’re scribbling in the margins of your planner or adding sticky notes or running out of space to right all of your tasks, a bullet journal can help. If you don’t want to color it and doodle on it, you don’t have to. It can be as minimal as you want and then it won’t take anymore time than your current planner.
Hey, I’m a homeschooling mum too! Trust me, you don’t HAVE to make the journal this pretty (although you’ll find it a great way to relax and take a bit of “me time” if you do). There are “minimalist” Bullet Journal formats…that’s the beauty of it, it’s totally flexible to suit your needs!
As for the longer term events, I use Google Calendar for all my appointments, which I share with my husband so we are on track with each others’ schedules. Each week I sit down to review the week ahead, and note in my Bullet Journal any appointments coming up. It’s really that simple. :-)
You had me at running out of space! Thank you so much.
I have been using my Bullet Journal for almost a year now, and it is hands-down the best planning tool I’ve ever tried. I’m not sure what the difference is between that and a “Brainbook” – perhaps just a marketing thing? I started by following Boho Berry on YouTube, she has tons of great videos and, like you Jackie, is really into hand-lettering (she also likes doodles). Here is an Intro to Bullet Journalling page she created: https://www.bohoberry.com/bullet-journal-101-intro/
The very best thing about my Bullet Journal, besides the fact that doing my spreads is very meditative and relaxing, is that the jumble of thoughts and “to do’s” in my head is gone, no anxiety over “what if I forget?” or “where did I put that scrap of paper with that information?”…it’s all in one place.
Here is a blog post I wrote soon after I started Bullet Journalling…the designs have changed a bit over the months but the concepts are still the same. https://freelearners.wordpress.com/2017/02/16/bullet-journal-tour/
Glad to see you spreading the word, Jackie!
Thanks for sharing your bullet journal Mariah!
I love Kalyn’s friendly way of explaining how her Brainbook has revolutionized her routines and the way she invites the reader into experiencing the same. Love the look into your own Brainbook, Jackie! :)
I love this! I’m not a journal person but do love lists and tend to use my phone for them. Definitely going to try this. Thank you!
Jackie, I would love to share your blog post on my Facebook biz page but can’t see how I can do that. I don’t see this post on your Facebook page either.
Is there anyway I can share without just providing the link?
Thanks
Wendy
Wendy, Thank you for sharing. At the end of the post, click the small blue Facebook icon. It will open another window. At the top where it says “Share to Facebook” click the arrow to reveal a drop down menu, then click Your Page. That will allow you to choose which Facebook page you want to share it to. You can write your own caption and click Post.
Oh doh! Thanks! 😉
Hi Jackie,
I always enjoy your blog posts, and recently purchased Amy Latta’s book per your recommendation. I LOVE it and I think this would tie right into my new hobby. Some quick questions: what kind of pens/markers do you use for your Brain Book? Also, do you always have it with you? What do you do if you have an idea to add, but you don’t have it with you? I am always writing things down on scrap pieces of paper, but would worry about making more work by then transferring my chicken scratch notes into my Brain Book. The solution would be to carry my Brain Book with me all the time, but that doesn’t seem the most practical. Thoughts?
Gail, I’m so glad you’re enjoying hand lettering. For coloring in my doodles, I use the same Tombow Dual Brush Pens I use for hand lettering. But I’ve found they are too thick for writing. So for creating my layouts and writing my tasks and lists, I use Staedtler Triplus Fineliners (the pens you see in most of my pictures). I also know people who love to use colored pencils, like Crayola Twistables. Kalyn gives a lot more suggestions in her book.
I do carry it with me everywhere. It’s smaller and more compact than any other planner I’ve ever had. On the off chance I don’t have it, I have ONE more on my iPhone where I log things I need to add to my bullet journal.
Jackie – Thank you for your wonderful review of the Brain Book, after reading your review, I was sold on the concept and ordered the book. I love reading your blog posts and walk away with lots of information. I love your doodles!!