How to Start a Bullet Journal: A Beginner's Guide

Open your notebook to the first blank spread. Title both pages as Index. That's it for setup.

The Index is what makes a bullet journal searchable. Anything you add later (a monthly log, a packing list, a project plan) gets a page number and a one-line entry in the Index, so you can find it again in 5 seconds without flipping through every page.

Turn to the next blank spread. Title both pages as Future Log. This is where anything dated more than a month out lives until you're ready to act on it.

For a simple six-month version: count the lines on a page and divide by three. Use a ruler to draw two horizontal lines across the spread, splitting each page into three boxes. Label the six boxes with the next six month names. That gives you 3 months per page, 6 months total.

Go back and add page numbers to every page you've used so far (most dotted notebooks already have them, but if yours doesn't, write them in the bottom corners).

Now flip back to the Index and add an entry for the Future Log with its page numbers. Example: "Future Log ... 3-4". Every new spread you add from here on gets the same treatment: number the pages, then log it to the Index.

Turn to your next blank spread. Write the name of the current month at the top of both pages. The left page is your monthly calendar.

Down the left margin of that page, list every date of the month (1, 2, 3 ... all the way to 30 or 31). Next to each date, add the first letter of the day (M, T, W, T, F, S, S). That gives you a vertical month-at-a-glance you can scan in 2 seconds.

The right page of the Monthly Log spread is your task list for the month. Write down everything you need to get done in the next 30-ish days.

In front of each task, draw a small dot. That dot is the task bullet, and you'll use it the same way every time you log a task anywhere in the journal. Add page numbers to the spread, then log this month back to the Index.

The Monthly Log gives you a bird's-eye view of everything you need to do this month and exactly how much time you have left to do it.

On the next blank page, write today's date at the top. This is your Daily Log. Every entry goes in as a short bulleted sentence using one of three bullets:

• Task: a solid dot
• Event: an open circle
• Note: a short dash

If a task is high priority, draw a small star to the left of its bullet. That star is a signifier, and you can add others later (idea, inspiration, etc.). When you finish a task, X out its dot. Capture as you go - the whole point of rapid logging is that it doesn't slow you down.

At the end of each month, set up your next Monthly Log on a fresh spread. Then scan back through the month's daily logs.

For every open task dot, ask one question: is this still worth my time? If yes, and it belongs in the next month, turn the dot into a right arrow and copy the task into the new Monthly Log. If it's months away, turn the dot into a left arrow and copy it into the matching month in the Future Log. If it's no longer worth doing, strike it out completely.

This is migration, and it's the most important habit in the system. Re-writing a task every month is friction on purpose. If a task isn't worth 30 seconds of copying, it isn't worth doing.