Hot take: my bullet journal was way too complicated for too long

I used to do these elaborate spreads with washi tape, 15 different colors, monthly calendars, habit trackers, everything. Then last month I spent 45 minutes setting up a weekly layout and realized I hadn't even looked at my journal in 10 days. That's when it hit me - I was spending more time decorating than actually using the thing to track my life. Has anyone else had that moment where you stripped it down to just the basics and found it worked better?

2 comments

2 Comments

patel.leo1d agoMost Upvoted

The whole "bullet journal as art project" trap is real. I went through that phase with like 8 different trackers for sleep, water, steps, mood, everything. Ended up just stressing about filling in the boxes instead of actually living my life. Now I just do a simple weekly spread with a task list and a tiny section for notes. Funny thing is, I actually check it every day now because its not buried under layers of washi tape and doodles. The minimalist approach forces me to actually use the thing instead of just making pretty pages to post on Instagram.

phoenixb6621h ago

Yeah I feel you on that. I went hard on the habit trackers too, had pages for water intake, steps, reading, even flossing. After about two weeks I was just coloring in boxes to keep the streak going, not even thinking about what I was tracking. It turned the whole thing into a chore instead of something that helps.