How to Master Your To-Do List with Bullet Journaling

I recently read a book about Bullet Journaling.  Have you ever heard of it?  I had no idea about it and now, I’m interested in trying it to see if it’s the right planning system for me.  I like that I can adapt it to my specific needs.  I’m not one for traditional planners that you buy.  I want to be able to customize it to my life and schedule.  And I believe bullet journaling can offer that.

If you are unfamiliar with bullet journaling, please keep reading.  Otherwise, please skip to “To-Do List” below.

About Bullet Journaling

Bullet Journaling is essentially a planner that you create and maintain yourself using a notebook and a pen (or pencil).  Ryder Carroll developed it in 2013.

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Bullet Journaling will take all of your thoughts, organize your crazy, overwhelming schedule, combat your massive to-do list, and present itself in an organized way.  And it’s completely customizable to you and your needs.  You decide what goes in it and what has no place to be there at all.  And when your life changes, your journal changes with you.  There’s no need to buy a new planner just because your life takes a different path.

When you use the bullet journaling method, you can plan your schedules by months, weeks, and days just like a traditional planner.  You can keep track of lists, habits, or anything else you want to track for better organization.  You can gather all of your thoughts and ideas to keep as a memory log.  And you can create an index on the first page to easily reference anything you put into your journal.

If you would like to learn more about building your own bullet journal system, please check out Kalyn’s site who is the blogger who taught me about bullet journaling.

To-Do List

When it comes to our to-do lists, we typically start them when we have a bunch of things to get done. We do this so we don’t forget anything important and necessary. But how do you know what to work on when you’re staring at a huge list of 15 or more things that need your attention? And everything has equal importance at that moment so you’re left to pick something that looks fun or urgent to do.

Sure, that might seem like a good idea at the time since you’re taking something off your list, but is it the productive thing to do?

Probably not. And that’s the problem when we don’t prioritize our to-do list. We’re picking the urgent and fun things we see on our list. And most times, we’re neglecting the important things that typically have to do with us accomplishing our goals.

So how do you know what to work on?

It starts with prioritizing your tasks and here’s how I prioritize my to-do list.

Related: How to be Productive When You Feel Stuck

Prioritizing My To-Do List

I divide my tasks into 3 different categories or lists and I do not add more than 5 tasks to each list (I usually only add 3 items to each list at most but allow myself up to 5 when needed).

For my 3 categories, I have a Must Do task list for things that need to get done. A Should Do task list for things that should get done.  Lastly, things that I would like to do but are the least important are on my Want To Do task list.  Seeing my to-do list broken out into sections makes it feel less intimidating and gives me a clear plan on how to get my tasks finished.

Then, when I’m ready to start my to-do list, I start with my Must-Do task list.  When that list is finished, I’ll work on the rest of the lists if there’s time, starting with the Should-Do task list and then finally the Want To Do list.

Writing my tasks in this way each day allows me to never feel overwhelmed with my to-do list.  Instead of looking at a list of 15 or more different things and not knowing what to begin with, I know by looking at my top 3 – 5 must-do tasks, I know what I should start with and what comes next.

If you’re having trouble figuring out what your top 3 – 5 must-do tasks are, ask yourself what your big goals are in your life. Do the tasks that bring you closer to your goals.

How to Master Your To-Do List with Bullet Journaling

Mastering Your To-Do List

Now, each day I may not finish all of my tasks and that’s okay because of the system I use from the bullet journaling method to keep me organized.  How I do this is by giving each task that I write out, a bullet mark right next to it like this:

•  Task 1

When I finish a task, I put an X through the bullet mark.

Χ  Task 1

Now, when you don’t finish everything on your to-do list, that’s okay.  We usually put too much on them and there just aren’t enough hours in the day to get it all done.  With the bullet journal method, I love the easy notation used for tasks that aren’t finished.  Just add an arrow pointed toward the task where the bullet mark is.

→ Task 1

Putting It All Together

This is how your to-do list should look at the end of each day, give or take the numbers of x’s and arrows.

Χ  Task 1

Χ  Task 2

→ Task 3

Χ  Task 4

→ Task 5

In this example, you would move over task 3 and task 5 to the next day.

Another thing I like about this method is you can easily see if you are moving a task repeatedly from day to day.  If this happens, you should find out why.  Is the task too big and would be easier if it were broken up into manageable tasks?  Or, is the task not important enough right now and it could be moved to a master task list to be dealt with later?

Using this system should allow you to get more done on your to-do list.  Don’t spend anymore time not knowing what to do next and end up not accomplishing anything.  I know how frustrating that feels. 

Remember, prioritize your to-do list into manageable chunks.  Then, use the bullet journaling method to take control of any tasks that aren’t finished in a day.

Tell me, do you have any other problems when it comes to your to-do list?  I’d love for you to share them in the comments.

Be sure to pick your favorite pin to reference later!

GET YOUR LIFE IN CONTROL!


Ever feel like you're spinning out of control? Are you longing for a calmer life? My Happy Life Starter Guide will give you the 3 steps to beat overwhelm so YOU can start living a happier life. Get it now while it’s free!

One Response

  1. Belia Chieffo July 5

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