Bullet Journaling Isn’t Just Doodles

Journaling has seen a significant resurgence in recent years.

Studies continue to emerge about the mental and physical health benefits of journaling. That said, the idea of starting a journal can seem daunting to some.

It takes a lot of time, requires artistic talent and a lot of pens, and is draining. True. It can be all these things, but it doesn’t have to be. It can be much easier.

Before you start journaling, ask yourself what do you wanna get out of journaling? You can journal about anything, but it’s important to have an intention to anchor your practice around.

What makes you curious about this practice?

Clarity , organization, calmness, less forgetfulness, self-awareness or better mental health. There are no wrong answers here. Something that speaks to you.

Could you take a moment to think about it? See if you can write it down in one or two sentences. This intention will provide the lens and the purpose for your journaling practice.

Make your journaling practice meaningful by having a clear purpose that resonates with you.

When we write down our thoughts, feelings, and experiences, we have a chance to reflect on them and learn from them. Don’t worry if you need to change your journaling style as you become more comfortable with it.

Both good and bad experiences are lessons for us to learn from. Our lives are very complex, with many things to keep track of.

Rapid Logging solve this by helping you categorize your thoughts into three main groups: tasks, events, and notes to remember.

Each category has its own symbol. Which helps you turn an essential bulleted list weather digital or analog into one with more context and function. These symbols allow you to capture and give context to your thoughts in real-time throughout the day. This method also allows you to locate specific entries later on.

The Bullet task is represented as a dot, making it faster, cleaner, and more flexible to use than a traditional checkbox.

Tasks can have different states. They can begin, pause, end, resume, or be moved. This makes it easy to transform the representation of a task to reflect its current state.

An open task starts as a dot. Once it’s completed, it changes to an X. If you need to move a task within your notebook, the dot transforms into an arrow pointing in the direction of the move.

If a task is no longer needed, it can be stricken out.

For tasks that need many steps to complete, you can set it up as a master task with several nested sub-tasks. This approach allows you to break down a task into smaller, more manageable steps.

This format turns your task into a progress bar, allowing you to visualize your progress as you work through it.

Events are represented by a circle bullet. These entries are related to experiences. You can use them to write down things before they happen, but I usually note them down after they occur to create a record of the event.

For example, if you want to write about something you’ve already done, it would be categorized as an event rather than a task. This approach helps you keep track of actions you didn’t plan in advance.

When logging experiences, we want to keep it simple. Instead of trying to capture the emotional complexity of an experience, just write down what you observed.

Examples:

- Last day of work.

- Had a big fight today; closed on the house.

I write things down this way not because I’m a robot, but because it’s faster and easier. This increases the likelihood that I will actually write things down and continue recording events. As a result, my record remains more complete and accurate over the long term.

Pair each event bullet with a corresponding note represented by a dash to add context to the event.

Notes can include facts, ideas, thoughts, and observations. Their purpose is to capture noteworthy information that isn’t actionable.

This type of bullet works well for classes, meetings, and emotional reflections. Notes can also be nested under tasks and events to highlight important details.

Using this method is a quick way to add depth and context to your entries, such as your key takeaways or any strong emotions that were present at the time.

The notes bullet allows us to quickly capture these responses. Over time, a record of these responses can help us correlate how we feel with our actions and experiences.

To establish a minimal yet effective journaling practice, start by setting an intention. This will help frame your thoughts and give your practice a sense of purpose. Throughout the day, write down the tasks you need to complete, things you want to remember, and experiences you encounter.

Use short, bulleted sentences to make it easier to continue logging your thoughts. This is the core of your practice.

By implementing these two steps, you’ve created a solid foundation for journaling.

Over time, this will provide an accurate record of what worked, what didn’t, what you want more of, and what you want less of.