Though that wasn’t an actual Bullet Journal, per se, once accepted in a group, Gurdjieff‘s students were (often) taught to live every day with a peculiar goal written on a list. The idea was to increase mindfulness and self-awareness while (presumably) combating entropy. Whether this is their origin, similar practices are part of various systems.
In New Thought, experiencing a new reality begins with writing it down, as some view this as (actually) superior to the so-called vision boards. According to N.Hill, getting clear about what you want and writing it down is vital.
“Spoken words leave impressions. Printed words leave tracks…”
— N. Hill
This aligns your being and aspirations, allowing you to reverse-engineer them into long-term (‘bigger’) and smaller actionable goals. When it comes to the latter, Bullet Journaling is a powerful tool for staying on track.
Bullet Journaling
Popularized by the New York product designer Ryder Carrol, Bullet Journaling is a Mindfulness practice designed as a productivity system. It helps you process the past, organize the present, and create a desired future. Also, to practice Marcus Aurelius‘ wisdom of ‘removing the essential from the non-essential,’ and live in the now, connected to your vision as according to Ralph Waldo Emerson:
“When there’s no vision, people perish…”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
Also, to experience more life by identifying with and moving toward (exactly) what you perceive as “supreme good.” According to the Psycho-Cybernetics inventor Maxwell Maltz:
“Whatever your conception of supreme good may be, it is experienced essentially as more life…”
— Maxwell Maltz
Magick
While magick books offer techniques and correspondences, intent declarations put those into action. Resonating with the attributions, the latter sets in motion the probability shift. By setting goals and bullet journaling, you develop the habit of cultivating an intent. This can be viewed as an extension of your Pure Will, which is something I’d suggest to my younger self, as it teaches one of Magick‘s ultimate goals, i.e., intentional living.
Bullet Points
All your goals, rituals, declarations of intent, and actions/habits must align. Magick is the art and science of causing a change in consciousness so a proportionate one can happen in the external world. Bullet Journaling allows you to track how much your rituals (actually) contribute to feeling the ‘right emotions,’ encountering the ‘right things,’ thinking the ‘right thoughts,’ and engaging in the ‘right’ activities. Also, whether you tend to be more often than not be in the right place at the right time.
Litmus Test
Magick is an empirical science. So, BUJO can be used as a Litmus Test just as crucial as your dream and ritual journals. These two tape your dreams and what happens in the 30 minutes of practicing. The Bullet Journal increases awareness of the rituals’ actual impact on your work and days.
Habits
Speaking of action, the bullet points are usually small tasks with different priorities. While this serves many, I find myself more productive when (also) tracking habits. This means tracking work sessions as bullet points using the Pomodoro technique. What I encountered is that goals like writing, editing, or designing for four hours are far more productive and healthy to my psyche than obsessing over particular results. Let me know if that resonates.
Depression
BUJO can be part of an effective strategy for combating depression. It brings clarity to what you can do now, as your bullet points are perfectly doable. This (almost) automatically sets you into action, which, as many agree, is an antidote to depression. Then, by the day’s end, when depression may or may not become more severe, it confirms that progress has been made. If not removing them entirely, this substantially replaces feelings of hopelessness and stagnation with courage, fulfillment, and purpose.
Anxiety
It can also reduce anxiety by showing you that when broken down into tiny tasks (or working blocks), your goals are not that frightening. Especially when you witness progress taking place in (both) your journal and life. Besides, BUJO may include or be used alongside a gratitude practice, which, according to numerous studies, helps with depression and anxiety.
Least Resistance
A key to remember is that, like any productivity, mindfulness, or even magickal technique, Bullet Journaling is not the goal. That is doing the actual thing. If Bullet Journaling requires effort or willpower, you should keep it to a minimum, focusing on engaging with reality.
Flexibility
I personally appreciate BUJO’s flexibility. The first part of this is that while there are ones specially designed for it, you can use any journal. The second is that, unlike daunting to-do lists, it operates with several signifiers, letting you prioritize, postpone, or migrate a task.
Symbols
Standing for tasks (and, in my case, working blocks), the dot (.) is BUJO’s primary tool. It turns into X when a task is completed, a forward arrow (>) when a task is migrated, and a backward one (<) when moving something into the Future log (or rescheduling).
The circle (O) represents events scheduled for the Future or marked after they have taken place. The dash (—) stands for notes and comments, such as thoughts, ideas, reflections, and/or not-immediately actionable tasks.
The star (*) is for anything with utmost priority.
Apparently, the system can get pretty sophisticated or quite simple which I prefer, focusing on the now, approaching one thing at a time. Combined with the ‘Rapid Log,’ i.e., getting an idea maximally concisely and swiftly, these are more than enough (especially) when used in conjunction with Marcus Aurelius’s advice:
‘Ask yourself at every moment, is this necessary?’
— Marcus Aurelius
The same can be the key to getting the most out of your Bullet Journal and days. But that’s just my opinion. Let me know if you agree. Check my products and books. Subscribe to the channel. And Thank you for your time.
