Just read that the original bullet journal method only needs two pages to start

I was looking at the official bullet journal site and Ryder Carroll says you just need a future log and a monthly log to begin. That's literally it, no fancy trackers or art. I always thought I needed to set up a whole book first, lol. Has anyone else actually started that simple and stuck with it?

4 comments

4 Comments

kim_mason551mo ago

Yeah, that "no fancy trackers or art" bit is the real key to making it actually work long term.

hannah9261mo ago

My bullet journal is just a cheap notebook and a pen.

matthew_walker1mo ago

My own bullet journal is just a dollar store notebook. I tried the whole fancy layout thing for about two weeks before I gave up completely. Kim_mason55 is totally right that the simple way is the only one that lasts. All that extra work just makes you not want to open the book at all. The goal is to get your plans out of your head, not to make a piece of art. A cheap pen and some paper does that job perfectly.

shane_hernandez1mo ago

You're right about keeping it simple. The fancy stuff just adds steps, and steps are where habits die. @kim_mason55 hit on the real problem: people burn out on upkeep, not the actual task. It's about making the system invisible so you just do the thing without thinking. That's the only way it sticks for years.