My Bullet Journal Flip Through | December 2018

[@tia119]

Cindy I’m *HEAVY BREATHING* because I remember when you were such a skeptic of how this could work for you. You’ve come so far and I’m so proud!

[@VioletToadstool]

Maybe you could combine your monthly cover page with the rando doodles? That way you’d decorate it in bits over the course of the month rather than having to do a whole page at once.

[@darnthisusername]

This made me so happy! So often I felt like you were unhappy or forcing it. Just go with the flow! We aren’t here for fancy! Here for you!!! Edit: this has helped me. I’m so scared of my bullet journal when I just need to open it and use it for what I need. It doesn’t have to be beautiful ! No one looks at it anyways. Thank you!

[@alexreith4877]

I'm a big proponent of not setting pages up in advance. Also, not skipping pages because you might want to add something later. Part of the brilliance of the bullet journal system is that it allows you to just pick up and carry on wherever you are. I used to leave 2 pages each month for my spending tracker, until I figured out that I almost never needed more than 1 page. Then I switched to 1 page and on the rare occasions that I needed a second, I could just set it up on my next blank page and use page threading to link them. I'm starting a new journal and I'm considering taking that a step further and not even doing it as a monthly setup thing, and just threading them for the entire year. I hate having unused pages in my journal, they just seem so wasteful to me. You're right that the random serendipitous collections are the most satisfying. Probably why pre-made planners don't really speak to me. The "memory keeping" aspect of journaling only works when you regularly set aside time for it. Since those videos are probably some of your best, maybe you should consider scheduling them as a regular thing, unless you feel like it would be an invasion of your privacy/make the memory keeping more performance than personal fulfillment. Just a thought.

[@ldypngn]

I had to pause to say "THANK YOU" for believing Grease 2 is a great movie. I have long thought I can't be the only one who loves that movie.

[@wendydunn3964]

Heather McLaughlin I can recite it it along with the actors!

[@tangie06_33]

I don't start with the fanciness either. If I have time (and if there is room on the page) sometimes I'll go back and fancy things up. I think it's harder for you because you are on YT and IG and it's part of your job so you feel compelled to have the fancy shit. I think it would be equally as helpful to see how you do a real/basic Bullet Journal. I wish there was more of that on YT and IG. I think it would be helpful to a lot of people.

[@petaharwood2381]

I love your raw honesty with your bujo. I also am not a perfect bujoer, but that’s what makes each one unique

[@NamiNaeko]

I'm going to highly suggest you get a journal for SIMPLY swatches and long term collections. I have one like this and it's really refreshing to know all my important pages I go back to aren't scattered through out 50 journals and in random pages in random order. I keep a second journal for daily planning that looks like your old style of daily lists and its effective. I think it would be far easier for you to keep track of everything not essential in the moment, that way.

[@ItsASamThing]

I really like this idea! I think I tried it once and it was almost too hard to navigate a regular planner plus the swatch/collection bujo. But I'm game to give it another go!

[@maryregan6114]

I'm another vote for reading Ryder Carroll's book. At first I thought he was too late to the party--happy to say I was WRONG! Ryder has some powerful insights, and esp. would bolster your insight Cindy that getting back to writing daily lists filling up the page (I like the term 'rolling' weekly lists--don't know who in the community coined that one--but kudos to them!) is the way to go! I'm watching a bunch of Flip-thru's in the community to help me pull ideas I want to try for 2019 (after the basics, though I too am dropping Index & Future Logs). When I saw you were doing ALL your journals, I was like--'oh, this is going to be a goldmine'--and it was! Many thanks!

[@julieosborne3000]

Watched this with my daughter and it was amazing, and very helpful! Love that you love the unstructured versus the structured, Thank you so much and look forward to more videos!

[@ariellenathanson1640]

I Lol-ed your conclusions and instincts about what is more helpful is exactly what Ryder talks about in his book. Function before form on this. Good luck, merry Christmas and thank you for all the great content

[@hollycoffman2511]

!!! the best christmas gift has arrived !!!

[@EnchantedwithPoodles]

When I decided to separate things out from my bullet journal, I decided to use a Traveler’s style cover and put my “collections” (Netflix, books, color swatches, etc.) in thinner A5 dot booklets but also keeping my bullet journal in the cover, everything all together. Collections, especially color swatches, are pertinent all the time as you have discovered. When the bullet journal fills up, I can switch it out for a new one but my collections are still right there, handy. I’m enjoying watching your evolution, Cindy. I wish you, Jesse and the kids a very Merry Christmas.

[@gwenjks-1272]

I can’t handle remembering weekly chores for my three kids. So or chores last a month. Each month we rotate...dishes, floors, laundry (just washing, everyone folds and puts away their own clothes).

[@ChelleBeeby]

you have inspired me to go through my different books from this year and look at what worked and what didn't, tfs 💜💜💜

[@justdessely2371]

Reading the bullet journal method totally helped me to realize I needed to stick to the basics.

[@ladythorofmuffins]

Awww I remember when you did your first bujo! The memories!

[@Satire11117]

Getting so much motivation for my 2019 journals! :)

[@marycook2789]

Trying to find my way in this bullet journal/planner world and I think I really like the idea of just doing to do lists and what not for the day you need them. I have done that in the past and it worked really well for me as well. I have started a direct sales business in the past year and I think this is a plan of attack for me. Almost like much more small manageable bits! Thanks for the video

[@dianeandbrad529]

eugh yes, I resonnated with how you mentioned it is hard to focus on memory keeping when you are feeling crappy and just trying to get through the day... I am one year into a chronic pain condition and I really have not taken many people pictures at all this year. I have minimal pics with me in them and honestly just a lot of cat pictutes because they have been so amazing and intuitive and sweet during this awful journey - I do want to remember those moments... but even special occasions or trips, if I see a photo I just remember the struggles involved first... takes awhile for the good memories to surface... 😖🤷‍♀️

[@lola888ism]

I love to journal and had what I considered a bad habit of making to-do list in my regular journals. I tried using a happy planner and a bullet journal but never really used them as much. The only things ever used were the calendars and habit trackers.The planner had too much space for me so I rarely used the weekly pages. And I over did it with all the planned bullet journal spreads by coping what I saw online. This year I'm going to add a a calendar with a habit tracker and continue to incorporate daily to-do list at the top of each journal entry.

[@tapiocalist]

Wow, one bullet journal for 2 months? I love to hear your story and planning with your family and kids. xD

[@RunikusArts]

What helps me is to go back in my old journals and pick one or two monthly spreads/set ups that I liked, one or two weeklies that worked for me, and trackers, etc. it simplifies things to choose your favorite/what worked best!!

[@sagtaurian]

I did this same thing last week. It was interesting to see what was and was not working for me. And I still came away with a list of “things to try”. DOH!

[@victoriav.6619]

You should put sticky notes on the pages you want to go back to cause I notice you said it a lot throughout the video but I wonder if you'll actually remember all those pages later!

[@CodexPotter]

I would definitely watch a video of nothing but swatches setting up your swatch notebook lol

[@jodibradley6035]

Do it for you is the main take away. Yes a little something here in there to make it "fancy" where you like but the important thing is making it functional.

[@sha46327]

This was so helpful, thank you, I've been making my list for my 2019 bujo recently too. I had a lot of didn't work and skipped months in my last notebook, and despite having promised myself I'd finish one before starting a new - I'm as over my current bujo as I am 2018, lol. I'm going to take out the remaining pages (it's sewn) and make a small notebook insert so I don't feel wasteful. I'll also be moving my "collections" pages (books, movies, those sorts of more long running lists) into that smaller notebook and leaving my bujo for more planning (with my tracking and monthly challenges). But this is why I bujo in a TN, I need that bit of separation while also having everything in one place. I'm with you with weeklies working better for me than dailies, I don't always (er, usually) need that much space and really dislike all of the emptiness after the fact. - And post-it's are everything! 😄 A thought for your year in pixels, maybe create it near the front of your bujo, in place of your future log even - so you can flip to that page to color in your pixels and then on to your weeklies as usual. That may be a good place to stick your chores list also, or in a section of collections out of the way at the back. Tyfs! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday! My best of wishes to you and yours. ♥♥♥♥

[@cherylmcnutt1187]

Even though it's the end of January, I am just now getting around to setting up my 2019 BUJO because I am so intimidated by "fanciness" I am learning lettering and headers and dividers and all that CRAP but trying to figure out the perfect configuration of all of it has me super stressed! My last bujo I did a lot of opening and writing and I go back to it all the time.. You have me inspired to go simple and be happy with it! Maybe I'll read Ryder Carolls book too... Thank you for this! Just what I needed to see! You are becoming one of my go to youtubers!! Love your style!!

[@Annabel_Lee1809]

I have a small (9"x7") 3-ring binder from Wal-Mart with ALL my swatches, that way if I need to add something I can just pop it in where it needs to go. I made dividers for my alcohol markers, water-based markers, pens and pencils, watercolors, permanent markers, and my copious amounts of washi tape! I made my own template so everything is cohesive. If you go the route of making a book just for swatches, I hope this helps or gives you some ideas :)

[@BurntToastStars]

I loved watching this! I could actually see exactly when I started watching your channel lol. I thought I was pretty new, but I guess I started watching you in late 2017 🤷‍♀️😂

[@stephanielynn9808]

I'm just shy of being 60 pages from finishing my first bujo ever, that I started this past June. It's already cool to look through and see how much my style has changed.

[@SamDSo]

Its interesting you feel you have too much space I feel like I don't have enough, so for my next journal, ill be moving to an A4 size. Also, why don't you combine monthly cover pages and the doodle challenges? you won't get burnt out or bored with the cover page

[@skaerup]

On the index; I never remember to use the index at the front either. What works better for me is the DIYfish life mapping system, where you put a color code on the edge of the page you need to be able to find later, so when you flip through the book you can easily see all the pages where e.g. there is something related to one of the kids, the house, collections, or whatever it is you need to be able to scan to... I am not explaining it very well, I think, but it really is a cool system. Carie Harling made some videos on it when it was new, so in 2014~2015 I think 😊 it is not as detailed as an actual index ofc but it is enough for what I need anyway.

[@BethieD]

This was so helpful! I always want to do the fancy shit because I think that’s how it’s supposed to look. This video was a revelation of sorts!

[@cindycowan7439]

thank you I was not thinking when I put it there

[@makeupstop123]

I think sometime when I set up a beautiful page I only want to spend time filling it up if I have time to keep it beautiful ... my sloppy pages are much more realistic because I can put my slip all over it and haven’t ruined something that took me 15-40 min to “stage” ❤️

[@victoriat.similien4973]

I am here for the keeping shit real Cindy... fancy or no changes nothing to me watching you since it’s your attitude that keeps me here lol ... I am minimalist all the way and I took a break from journaling since I felt overwhelmed by how much pressure I put on myself. Also my last notebook is not don I have about 80 pages left and I don’t want to scrap it (to many pages blank) but I don’t want to stay in it either since I feel to much time has passed since I used it last so I don’t know man send help

[@StacyEspinoza]

Maybe try a B6 STM notebook. Maybe the A5 is too much space right now.

[@grumpypants13]

Super enlightening.

[@wonderwonder30]

Christmas has literally come early this year...hehe I think why I tryto bullet journal and keep failing is, you really have to take the time to hone in on your style. I want it to work right away and it doesn’t so that’s why I get frustrated. I truly love the endless possibilities but that’s what trips me up. So, maybe I should just leave it alone...I don’t know what I want tot do, haha.

[@watchthevideos56]

True followers don’t need you to be fancy. I don’t need fancy I need realistic.

[@puddytatpurr]

I LOVE that holo washi on the What Worked page - can you remember where it came from?

[@533134]

I need to switch to a smaller notebook!!

[@MusiCrazyEsperanza]

For the patreon setup bujo pages: what if you fill them in with a nice print out of your current patreons. Like with funky or pretty or whatever fonts? *not written but print by a printer

[@OdoriDances]

Conclusion: Cindy's Bujo style is more functional less fancy. As more of a functional planner myself...bwahaha. Seriously though, one of my favorite videos is the index card one 😂😂

[@carolcollett7330]

Remember your podcast name? The Uncurated Life, what I got from this flip through was curated (pretty, for YT or IG) don’t work/ get used by Cindy. Dah, she wants to know what the uncurated life looks like. If you listen to your podcast intro and apply that to your BuJo, I think you’ll find Planner Peace with the BuJo. If not, just blame me.

[@Amanda-qj5rn]

You are so relatable! ❤️

[@jenwessleman9317]

Okay so after watching your process I’ve come up with my own sort of way I’m going to incorporate my bullet journaling into my life. I thought I gave up the Erin Condren Life Planner, in turn for all of the petitions planners, but then went and got one last week and had the MOFO delivered to Ellensburg WA because were on a 3 week long road trip...ugh. I also went and got the Horizontal style, which is super weird as I was hourly 4 years ago, then Vertical last year, now I’m trying for the Horizontal. *rolling my eyes* Any who, I’VE determined that the Bujo method for me will be a more FUN creative style as that’s what I crave about the whole process. I will be doing the LLLEDD and the Rando Doddles, as well as memory keeping (I did buy the damn HP mini printer, sooo) and the rest of the planning will go into the other planners. PLUS I have like 6 mini 3 ring binders full of EC sized stickers, so you know have to use those somewhere. Hopefully they fit in the Horizontal? Oh shit, they probably don’t. Will I ever have Planner Peace? Probably not *sigh* but I’m having fun in the journey.

[@ItsASamThing]

Theres an app called year in pixels. Ive been using it to track my overall mood, but you can customize your colors and stuff. Super easy and you'll never have to transfer it from Bujo to Bujo

[@MacMoonie]

I did a similar thing- what worked, what didn’t, what worked but I don’t want to continue, and what I’d like to try

[@rachelethridge1976]

Xerox the Chore List spread and stick it on the fridge. Then you can just tell your kids which one is kid A and which one is kid B (or have that info that changes posted on a calendar they will look at).

[@cindygriffith7044]

Hey Cindy. First off, merry christmas! Here s a thought: you may do better just scribbling your lists and plans and then go back and film an after the fact spread like many youtubers do. Like a memory planner spread. Does that make sense? ❣❣😍😍

[@jennifersmith6259]

My ideas for you from watching this: 1. Have your bullet journal be for monthly challenges and memory keeping if you decide to keep on doing that. 2. Use your Erin Condren like you are now. 3. Get a journal just for swatches. 4. Instead of trying to use your bullet journal as a daily planner try getting a smaller notebook and you can use that along with your EC for daily note taking/planning. It can travel with you so you could make grocery list or whatever. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@srioti]

If the task list worked, you could also adapt the Alastair Method of future logging to your task list to mark if something is work, church, or home and keep one list. I think a modified version is also used by Sunshine & Stationary. Here's the link to the bullet journal site article. bulletjournal.com/blogs/bulletjournalist/future-log-the-alastair-method Or you just use bullets to denote work/church/home.

[@tinabrown6892]

I think writing as you go instead of setting up pages you may or may not use looks like it worked best for you. That way when you don't use them you don't feel unsuccessful. Setting up just your challenge pages might be best??? I don't know. Just a thought

[@plannergirl777]

I've got scribbles that matter watching your videos! But I dont know how to attach a pen loop to the notebook😖

[@puddytatpurr]

I think this was good for you to do - the whole point of your bullet journal is that it is YOUR bullet journal! Do it your way and fuck everyone else LOL I'll miss your cover pages though (if you decide to stop doing them) as they were inspirational to me! We all operate differently - I like to have a weekly setup ready to go, but I only use a bujo and having the whole week at a glance is helpful to me. Your preferred method freaks me out LOL. At the end of my weeklies, I have a day per page for memory keeping - sometimes I fill the page, sometimes I don't. I'm considering changing that setup slightly as waste pisses me off and I see blank bits as waste I dropped the Year in Pixels too - I was going to keep going until the end of the year and decided to not bother. I record my mood somewhere else anyway. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with in 2019! Merry Christmas (Happy Birthday to Jesse and Katie). I hope your week is fun and stress free

[@bodilnielsen9760]

Maybe the space saved by doing dailies as you go instead of a page per day you can spend on lettering instead and go though the notebooks at about the same rate xD

[@betterletterdesigns3022]

Been watching your vlogmas and thinking “girl you gotta let some shit go and take things a little easier” ... seems like “organic” works for you better than adding all the deco... and less to do too

[@wendyswank9577]

I ONLY have done a full month of daily pages I was when I incorporated a doodle challenge on each day. It was also not set up in advance....just used what was needed and start the next day on the next empty space. I’m also a terrible drawer so it was a very easy doodle challenge with a tutorial of how to draw the doodle. Anybody know where i can find more of these?

[@lisanaili]

I have come to realize that making my planner pretty for IG makes me want to not use my planner. I've been mostly doing my real planning in random notepads. Next year I want to try a Hobonichi to do real planning. Might stay away from IG altogether. I'm not a fan of Bujo but as I . have watched your journey I think that you should do your Bujo as your life changes, less structured. Maybe you should keep the fanciness to your EC and Bujo more as real life.

[@Obsidian_Iris_]

Which movie did you mention at the end of the flip through of the first journal? It was the one where you mentioned the LLLEDD and said you wanted to rewatch the movie? It sounded like Grease 2. Also, why did your minister resign? I understand if it’s private but I don’t know if you talked about it when it happened. I’m a UU too and went through losing a minister, as well.

[@RenskeAnimeFan]

sounds to me like you need to go back to a more basic list making and filling up the pages as you go. i like to separate my notes from the planning part etc. but for you it does not seem to work. going back to basics and reading the book might help? also choosing 1 or 2 colours to keep it simple might help? love your content anyways! hope you find your new planner groove soon!

[@Cissa_]

Why don’t you use your doodle spread as a cover that will gradually become whole. You could write the name of the month and during the month it would fill up.

[@BMad-we6qf]

I've been binging bujo content, including your older videos, and I have an observation/suggestion since you've said you are thinking of using only a bullet journal for the rest of 2020 and into 2021. Your BP tracker seems to be missing some love. So I wondered if you created a dutch door by cutting off the top of the daily/weekly pages and put your BP tracker in that top strip, where you could see it every day regardless of what page you are focused on, might you be more inclined to fill it in. It seems to my uneducated, inexperienced eye that even when you use your daily pages, the pages that are part of your monthly set up and independent from your weekly spreads might not be getting the attention they need. I thought perhaps you use your dailies...daily, but don't really start at the beginning of the month and flip forward every day to use all of the cool monthly tracking devices, and brain dumping, and etc. No criticism AT ALL, just thought it might be a helpful observation.

[@KayeReshaw]

I am not leading with fancy. I fill with fancy so I have no wasted space. If you fill with fancy then there is no room for function.

[@dianeandbrad529]

I have a lot of the same habits (or lack thereof) as you... Seems like just using it as needed and going back to the basics of bullet journaling is where youre at - incorporating all the fancy-fied things that have become standard for the youtube bujo world isnt actually all that functionable or rewarding for you ...

[@kimberlyduncan1053]

What's with all the cussing?! What church do you attend?