Bullet Journal

Keefy

Anyone use this? Any good?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm15cmYU0IM

thecolourbox

I started using one at Christmas, as the other half is a prolific list maker and I thought it would be good for us both. I could learn from her list making, she could learn from my reckless abandon towards finishing things. It is quite effective but you need some determination to keep it going.

I stopped mid Feb, not sure why but I just stopped. I'd imagine it would have been a good way to keep your mind healthy if you'd started at the beginning of lockdown, sort of like a 21st century short form Samuel Pepys. 

The Mrs still does hers I think, seems effective if you're that way inclined

Keefy

thecolourbox said:

I started using one at Christmas, as the other half is a prolific list maker and I thought it would be good for us both. I could learn from her list making, she could learn from my reckless abandon towards finishing things. It is quite effective but you need some determination to keep it going.

I stopped mid Feb, not sure why but I just stopped. I'd imagine it would have been a good way to keep your mind healthy if you'd started at the beginning of lockdown, sort of like a 21st century short form Samuel Pepys. 

The Mrs still does hers I think, seems effective if you're that way inclined

Cheers Matt. I kept a practice diary for a few months once and it was quite enlightening. Thinking of giving this a go.

thecolourbox

Keefy said:

thecolourbox said:

I started using one at Christmas, as the other half is a prolific list maker and I thought it would be good for us both. I could learn from her list making, she could learn from my reckless abandon towards finishing things. It is quite effective but you need some determination to keep it going.

I stopped mid Feb, not sure why but I just stopped. I'd imagine it would have been a good way to keep your mind healthy if you'd started at the beginning of lockdown, sort of like a 21st century short form Samuel Pepys. 

The Mrs still does hers I think, seems effective if you're that way inclined

Cheers Matt. I kept a practice diary for a few months once and it was quite enlightening. Thinking of giving this a go.

Yes I think they would be great for that actually. The other half has been using it for tracking wedding planning and ideas etc, it certainly helps to have a focus for it.

Grunfeld

Yes, created a bullet journal last year.

Creative and enjoyable -- also helped keep me on track.

Moved on to something else though which is slightly different.

There's not enough time to run the bullet journal and what I'm doing now.

However, the legacy of doing bullet journals is a love of dotted paper.

Keefy

Just ordered an inexpensive dotted page notebook which I’m intending to use to organise all my musical endeavours - guitar, bass, keyboards, e-drums, singing, recording, gigs (hah!), and possibly electronic builds.

I tend to be quite organised anyway. I frequently make lists of stuff that I need or want to do, which can sometimes be overwhelming; and try to jot down ideas before they fade away. Occasionally I have drawn ‘mind maps’ to help me set out all the things I have going on,

I’m hoping a bullet journal will make me more productive in the sense of defining and achieving my musical goals.

Keefy

I'm a couple of weeks into this now, and I must say I am feeling the benefit.

I've only done it for music-related stuff. I have several 'collections'  on the go (2-page spreads where you collect ideas etc) including guitar, bass, piano, electronics, e-drums, songs (to cover), and stuff to buy and sell. Without gigs coming up I don't have a task list for the month, which is fine. Each day I pick 3 or 4 tasks to do, depending on the time I have available. Today I had -
   Piano practice (worked on Sgt Pepper and With a Little Help From my Friends)
   Country guitar (finished working on Take It Easy)
   80s bass (worked on Pump It Up - yes I know it was 1978 but it's in the band's set list)
   Metalwork for 5E3 Micro re-build (made a start with cleaning, measuring, marking)
   Also re-strung a guitar (not on my list, but recorded that I did it)

I'm definitely getting more done this way. Previously all this stuff was on lists, but I never really brought it together in a flexible way before. I might do one thing, then fritter away time wondering what to do next. My self-allotted tasks for each day are pretty arbitrary, but once they're in there, I'm accountable to myself to get them done. Occasionally there are tasks I don't complete, so I just migrate them forward, no biggie.

Some people who blog about this seem to turn their bullet journals into little works of art - nothing wrong with that, just not fro me.

The the few minutes spent reflecting on what's done and what's to do are well worthwhile, as things that would otherwise get overlooked are brought to mind again, and I get a mental pat on the back from the progress I'm making.

In short, it's working for me.

Funkfingers

thecolourbox said:

like a 21st century short form Samuel Pepys. 

Have you read much of Pepys’ diaries? A busy chap. Fingers in many pies.

Keefy

Funkfingers said:

thecolourbox said:

like a 21st century short form Samuel Pepys. 

Have you read much of Pepys’ diaries? A busy chap. Fingers in many pies.

Is that a euphemism for his busy sex life?