The 6-month switch from rapid logging to full spreads changed my bujo completely

I started bullet journaling with just rapid logging and collections, thought that was the whole point. But around month 4 I got bored and started doing full monthly spreads with trackers and habit grids. By month 6 my productivity went way up because I actually looked at the pages instead of ignoring a list of scrambled notes. Anyone else find that the visual layout makes you actually use your bujo more?

3 comments

3 Comments

noah13524d ago

Haha yeah my first three months were just walls of scribbled nonsense. Looked like a crazy person's conspiracy board. Then I made a simple habit tracker and suddenly I was actually checking in every day. Turns out pretty colors and boxes trick my brain into caring.

christopher_singh9224d ago

The color coding thing is honestly genius. Our brains are just dumb little reward systems that bright colors activate. I did the same thing with a simple red yellow green system and suddenly I actually wanted to keep my streaks going. Pretty boxes and check marks are basically adult stickers.

nancy15424d ago

Color coding is just dressing up the same bad habits with a fresh coat of paint. You're not actually fixing the root problem, you're just making a game out of checking boxes. The real test is whether you still stick with things when the novelty of the pretty colors wears off, which it always does. Most people go back to ignoring their system after a few months because the colors lose their magic and the streaks stop feeling exciting. It reminds me of those diet fads where people buy fancy meal planners then give up after week two because the real work is in doing the thing not decorating it. You've just found a fancier way to procrastinate on the actual hard part.