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Can a Bullet Journal Help Your Mental Health?
2021-02-10
This crafty journal helps my mental health— tips to get you started
Author's photo
The Bullet Journal method was created by Ryder Carroll, a New York Times best-selling author. Many people find that this creative way to organize thoughts, categorize activities and interests, and work towards personal goals, is a helpful tool when it comes to mental health. Whatever your diagnoses or personal mental health goals, I encourage you to discuss bullet journaling with your therapist or try it for yourself. You may find that this unique form of journaling helps you to find a greater sense of control in your life, while growing your creative energies in a positive direction, all of which can have a positive impact on your emotional well-being.
While most people find the version of bullet journal that works for them, tweaking the style to suit their own needs, I encourage you to study the original method and try it first. Then, take the idea and roll with it in the direction that best suits your needs and best shapes your life and attitude in the direction you want to grow as a person.
Seriously who doesn’t need a little bit of help keeping their schedule organized? Yes, I do keep a calendar in my cell phone, and I am not knocking our super-techy norm, but one day this week my phone wouldn’t charge and there was a brief moment of absolute panic. It helps to have a calendar in my cell phone but there’s something very special about writing an activity down that makes it real for me. I am often saying to someone that if I don’t write it down, it does not EXIST in my world.
Bullet journaling appeals to your inner list-maker
Is there anything more satisfying than to check off a box on your to-do list? The feeling of accomplishment when you can scratch off an item from your to-do list will continuously feed your self-esteem, while the list-making itself will help you organize those racing or disorganized thoughts. If you are a list-maker like me, then get your pen (or in my case multiple pens, containers of markers, metallic, gels, etc.) ready! Because the bullet Journal is yours… designed by you and for you. Your list can be whatever font, length, or topic you choose. And it won’t get lost in the car, buried in the bottom of your purse, or misplaced in your stack of mail. And let’s face it, your phone already has UMPTEEN tasks going on and doesn’t give you that nostalgic, smell-the-paper experience.
Bullet journaling helps you take a look at your life and set goals
Your bullet journal combines several things in one place to help you compartmentalize, and look over your life stats according to YOU…not according to likes, comments, and the often unkind online community. It is an organizer, a tracker for anything that you would like to keep track of, a creative outlet, a reference tool for all sorts of important information that you want to keep track of, a dream journal, A Prayer Journal, a mental health tool, a scrapbook, a memory keeper… the list goes on. It is a place to organize both your life and your thoughts into one awesome place where you can go to get your head together. It helps you to achieve your goals and focus on your strengths. It is an excellent resource to use for self- improvement in any area of your life.
Author's photo--Creating feature pages such as this Book Log, you can keep track of fun things you enjoy doing or set goals for your year.
Bullet journaling is, quite frankly, the cheapest hobby I have ever adopted
All you need is a blank journaling notebook of your choice and your favorite pen and you are all set! I would suggest a few other things… but I will get to that in a moment.
Bullet journaling allows you to be your own best cheerleader
Encourage Yourself, be good to yourself, collect favorite scriptures and quotes all in one place. Does the color yellow make you happy? Do yellow! Whatever inspires you, fills you, and makes you do YOU more fully…embrace it in the pages of your Bujo.
Bullet journaling is perfect for the obsessive mind
If you are a worrier or over-thinker this is the perfect hobby for you. It helps you to simplify things that you are mulling over and over into something that looks organized, neat, and efficient. I have often told my children that worrying is a symptom of mental boredom, and that getting creative is the perfect way to relieve that boredom. Worry is merely creativity gone wrong. Capture that mental energy in the pages of your Bujo and organize those wandering thoughts into charts, or doodles, or plans.
Bullet journaling is easy and can be personalized to your taste
It can be as simple and minimalist as you want it to be, or it can get crafty, go all out and be covered in washi tape, polka dots and accordion style pull outs! (Warning here…looking up bullet journal page ideas on Pinterest is a WORMHOLE).
Bullet journaling allows you to work on your handwriting
You can practice your script, learn some new fonts or doodles, or maybe learn to do calligraphy. It gives you an excuse to use those fun colored pens that you’ve been storing up in your desk drawer. (Another warning here, new pens can become an addiction!).
Bullet journaling DOES NOT HAVE TO BE PERFECT
And neither do you! This is YOUR LIFE IN PROGRESS so make your journal any way you want.
It is created BY YOU… FOR YOU!!! THERE ARE NO RULES!!!
Does any of this appeal to you? Well it certainly does to me. It appeals to all of those little OCD corners of my brain that shout when something isn’t quite right and urges me to make a list, clean a room, organize a bookshelf or stay up all night jotting down ideas. It allows me to reign in my SQUIRRELY BRAIN and put it into little neat boxes that help me feel grounded. I am able to compare my sleep patterns to the patterns of my headaches, compare my exercise patterns to see if on those days I notate better sleep or happier mood, organize my pen pals, and notate some of the harebrained ideas that bounce around in my head.
You never know when those ideas may come to fruition!!
So with that as a brief introduction to Bullet journaling, I hope you've been making some mental notes on how this whole thing might be fun or might give your brain something creative to do rather than squirrel around in anxiety. For all your mental health goals, there are many ways to find that helpful tool that works so well for you. Bullet Journaling is certainly worth a try.
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