Well I’ll be darned if isn’t my favorite time of the month!
It’s time to talk Favorite Things and then to give one away!
Are you ready?
? Let’s Play Oprah! ?
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Before we get started I do need to make a confession.
Remember a couple of months ago when one of my Favorite Things was my Erin Condren personalized planner?
WELL.
I have a whole new paper love in my life.
This new love runs deep. It happened slowly and all at once and now my heart cannot deny it. I want to shout it from the rooftops, I want to monogram our initials together on bathroom towels. I want to get weird like Tom Cruise and jump on Oprah’s couch. The flames of this fire cannot be quenched.
I’m talking about my new Bullet Journal.
I’m ashamed to admit that I was anti-bullet journal as soon as I heard it was a thing. But I’m even more ashamed to admit that I was only anti because I didn’t fully understand it (talk about loaded metaphors, amiright?)
It seemed complicated and crafty, two things I was born with a built-in aversion to. But then my sister got one and showed it to me and just like that, my whole world was changed.
It bears mentioning that my sister has a secret power over me. She’s 7 years ahead of me in life, which is just far enough ahead to be undeniably wiser, but not so far ahead that she becomes unrelatable. It’s perfect.
If you don’t have a sister who is 7 years older I highly recommend getting one.
Anyway, she’ll occasionally offer up nuggets of wisdom like, “Sister, you need to have a microplaner in your kitchen”, or “Sister, you’re 30 now, it’s time for a magnifier mirror”, or “SISTER. You should not wear athletic socks unless you’re headed to a gym”, and I always nod like I’m paying attention but then proceed to ignore the nugget of wisdom for about 3 years before eventually coming around.
At which point I’ll accusingly ask her why she let me go so long without a microplaner while wearing white socks to a social event.
So when she showed me the wonderful world of the Bullet Journal, I didn’t hesitate. Two Amazon clicks and one zip of a credit card later, I had my very first BuJo. (I can call it that now. Because I have one so I’m in the club.)
HERE’S WHY I LOVE IT:
1: It’s like a calendar and a journal loved each other very much. So much, that they eventually had a baby, and that baby was darling and dotted and also kept track of your tasks, ideas, and projects for you. Like, a genius-magic-paper baby.
I’ve finally traded in all my different calendars and notebooks for just the ONE and I could not be happier.
2: I have to slow down enough to handwrite. I thought I’d be annoyed by the extra time it took, but I LOVE it. I actually missed handwriting and I didn’t even know it. I also seem to remember things much easier now. For some reason, writing things down rather than typing them into my icalendar files them away in a different part of my brain. A part that I can access quickly and with more ease.
3: Someday when I’m old and gray, my bullet journals will be the best glimpse into my right-now life. It houses all my events, appointments, ideas, projects, and even my inner monologue. Life happens fast, y’all. Do yourself a favor. Capture it in a BuJo.
Now that I’ve sold you on how wonderful they are (I can’t help it! I’m a pusher!), if you’re going to start a bullet journal,
HERE ARE A FEW THINGS TO REMEMBER:
1: Let it serve you, not the other way around.
The point of a bullet journal is that it can be whatever you want it to be. It can change with you and your needs. Some people like to get super fancy and scrapbooky with it, but that’s just not my speed. I take a very minimalist approach to mine, using all black ink, small, lower case writing (because it’s easier for me in a hurry), and no foo-foo designs.
Here are a few of my pages so far:
I have a calendar and a “to-do” list, but I also try to fill it with fun stuff that I actually want to write. Like a “Gratitude” page,
a “What I’m into” page, (you can’t see that one yet, because it’s next month’s Favorite Things list). A “What I’m reading” page,
a “Life-Giving VS Life-Draining” list (because writing it down helps me process),
and even “What I’m Watching” because we all know how much I love my TV.
By doing it this way, I find that I approach it with glee rather than dread.
2: Perfection Does Not Live Here.
I have terrible handwriting, my ideas are scattered, and I keep a sort of stream-of-consciousness theme in my daily logs. In other words, it’s not always pretty. The point of the journal is not to make me seem put together.
It’s a running log of my real life.
The pages are filled with my real goals, dreams, struggles, appointments, tasks, and plans. Just like me, it ranges from hopeful and deep to banal and indulgent.
(Now, if only I could figure out a way to draw GIFs in there my life would be complete…)
3: If you must err, err on the side of simplicity.
If you’re curious about this whole bullet-journaling concept but you’re avoiding it because it seems like a whole thing that you probably (definitely) don’t have time to learn, then take heart. You can set up your journal in 5 minutes flat.
Just start simple, with a basic future log, (so you can see your year or month or week at a glance), a bulleted list of tasks you know you need to complete, and an index. Here’s what mine looks like so far.
It does not need to be fancy or complicated. In fact, the simpler it is, the more you’ll not only enjoy it, but actually use it.
AND OH MY GOSH, DID I REALLY JUST WRITE 1,000 WORDS ON BULLET JOURNALING?
I told you, my love runs deep.
The BuJo clearly hijacked my Favorite Things (and my heart) this month, and I find in these instances it’s best not to fight the funk.
SO, HERE ARE MY FAVORITE TOOLS FOR BULLET JOURNALING:
1: The Leuchtturm 1917 dotted medium notebook.
I love it because it already includes an index and numbered pages, it’s hardcover (ergo, durable) and it also comes in every color imaginable. So fun!
You really only need two things to start bullet journaling, and one of them is a pen, so choosing the right one can be tricky. I should know because I’ve tried roughly 17 different pens. Le Pen is by far my favorite. (Another recommendation by Sister that I ignored at first.) (How are you so smart, Sister?)
3: These 2 Guides to the Bullet Journal ??:
?BulletJournal.com where you can get the scoop on Ryder Carroll, who started this whole deal, shop products, and watch short videos explaining the whole concept much better than I can.
?How To Bullet Journal: The Absolute Ultimate Guide by the Lazy Genius Collective
Kendra is funny, real, and her guide to the BuJo really is the ultimate. If you don’t know where to start, START HERE☝?. Her approach mirrors my own in that, it shouldn’t be so fussy or high maintenance that you couldn’t quickly jot it down in your sweats in the two minutes before your head hits the pillow.
I suppose now is a good time to mention that I’m giving away one of the Leuchtturm 1917 journals and a black Le Pen to one lucky subscriber this month!
I wouldn’t make you read 1000+ words on a paper product without at least offering one for you try.
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If you’re new around here and wondering how you can enter the giveaway: All you have to do is enter your email address. There’s a blue lighted bar at the end of this post as well as on the sidebar of this blog- just type in your email and Voila! You’re entered.
So easy.
I’m all about keeping it simple, which means you don’t have to reenter each month, or follow me and 7 different other people on Instagram, or tag a friend, or stand on your head.
If you’ve already entered your email in the past, then you’re good to go.
At the end of each month I draw a name out of my big red Tupperware bowl, (because I’m super professional like that) over on FB live. You can follow along and watch HERE.
In the meantime, hit me up with your Favorite Things this month! Dish! What are you loving right now?
Paul A Schoenborn says
Though I am older than your dad (he fixes my glasses), I enjoy reading your blog.
ambersalhus@msn.com says
Hey thanks, Paul! I’m so glad!
Mary Henderson says
I know I did not need to ‘enter’ again but dang, I’d like to win!
Robin says
Not sure I’ve ever literally prayed I’d win Oprah before… but you know. Always a first time.
Abby Buter says
I think you may have convinced me to start a bullet journal! I’ve been so intimidated by them and felt like I never got quite it, but your post made it seem doable!!
ambersalhus@msn.com says
I totally know what you mean. But it’s like they say, you never know til you try! Let me know what your thoughts are if you do wind up doing it!
Marian Vischer says
I’m a BuJo convert as of 2016 and had avoided it for all the same reasons. It looked complicated. But then I made it my OWN and haven’t looked back. Also, must get myself that pen! Stat! Also also, I am loving my BEANIE! : ) My teenage daughter wants it for herself but I put my foot down. #allmine
ambersalhus@msn.com says
Yay! I’m so glad you love the beanie! I wear mine all the time. Like, too much probably. You can order them on Amazon for a much better price than the boutiques sell them for!