what I wish I knew when I started a bullet journal // my mistakes, beginner tips & a flip through!

I started bullet journalling in 2017 and 4 years and 10 notebooks later, these are the lessons I'd share with myself.
In today's video I'll be flipping through my bullet journals from 2018 - 2020 and sharing my mistakes and what I wish I could have gone back in time and told myself to do when I first started. Most of these mistakes were created through my own self perceived ideas of what was the "right" and "wrong" way to bullet journal so I hope by sharing my own realizations about this limiting way of thinking it will help others who may be feeling stuck!
► Timestamps
0:00 intro
0:47 tip 1
2:54 tip 2
5:12 tip 3
7:22 tip 4
9:07 tip 5
11:10 outro
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2021 mid year bullet journal setup - • a minimal & simple mid...
2020 bullet journal flip through - • 2020 minimal bullet jo...
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[@KaitlinGrey]

Hey homies, hope you liked today's video! Its kinda wild to think that my 2022 bullet journal will be my eleventh notebook since starting bullet journalling, but I bet some of you can beat me haha! Let me know how many notebooks you've filled up!

[@melaniejones2002]

I bullet journal with ADHD and I have learned that is okay to stop being creative with the design if that isn't how I feel this week or day, and I don't have to do habit trackers.

[@KaitlinGrey]

Such a good lessons, thank you for sharing your experience Melanie! I hear you, some weeks my bullet journal is super fun and others, just writing out my daily logs is enough.

[@l-h2406]

Drawing and doodling can be an afterthought in empty spaces at the end of the month or later, reflectively, instead of decorative embellishment before the month starts.

[@ghiblies]

This video really resonated with me, tip 4 especially. I'm a relative newbie to bullet journaling, I'm only on my second notebook but my experience in this book has already been much more enjoyable, and it's because I made similar realisations to you earlier this year. I think it is amazing to take inspiration from other's journals and to weave their ideas into your own journal, but what I find equally as important is staying mindful of whether your journal and its systems are still working for you. In my last book I *only* used weeklies and I decorated my spreads using loads of fun brush pens and highlighters. But I've since made the staggering discovery that weeklies do not work for me, like, at all. So that was a year and a half of me stubbornly using that weekly just because someone else said it was the best weekly ever! And weirdly, it was hard admitting that that system wasn't working for me when it worked so well for an established bujo-er! Now I look at my much simpler and (arguably) very bland, monochromatic journal and see beauty in the fact that the journal and its systems are actually working for me now. And it's such a satisfying feeling.

[@KaitlinGrey]

Thank you for sharing your experience Sarah, I'm so glad you're having a better time in your journal now, and for going for it and listening to yourself! Team dailies for the win haha!

[@mickiiee3450]

Tip 4 & 5 are what I learned this year from mine, for multiple reasons. I kept comparing my journal to those overly decorated, beautiful Instagram spreads and wondering why mine couldn't look as good. It just so happened that I don't have the patience to sit there for hours adding more and more, and that's fine. Another thing (that almost made me quit) was the whole "monthly theme" thing. It's cool when other people do it, but I simply couldn't think of anything after a couple months, and it drove me insane. And if I did find a theme, I wouldn't have the patience to carry it through the entire month, since I don't wanna sit for hours setting up a weekly, or simply would forget to sit down and do it on Sunday, then the whole week was "ruined". And last, but also very important, the useless spreads. I have no use for habit and mood trackers. None. They don't change my life at all and are just wasted space in my hands. But I kept doing them every month cause I saw everyone else doing them, so maybe I just needed to try a little harder. Took some time, but realized it's simply not true, if it serves no purpose (and frustrates you for it) then don't add it. TLDR: The journal is there to serve YOU, don't stress to make it fit the Instagram vibe, it will be ok ♥

[@KaitlinGrey]

I hear you Lavs, I don't really do a monthly theme anymore either. I find adding a new vision board for the month gives me that feeling of novelty and variety that I look for without having to brainstorm theme ideas, which like you I've realized isn't something I enjoy right now! Thank you so much for sharing you experience and takeaways!

[@Yosoydom]

I love this comment. I quit bullet journaling for these exact reasons. Now I have a minimal spiral planner for planning, and a journal for journaling when I ACTUALLY feel inspired instead of forcing it.

[@aladdinkayqubad1645]

I think the most important tip to know; before starting to journal, is to know how to read and write....

[@KaitlinGrey]

HA yes, that is an important criteria for sure hahah

[@blehblehbleh1156]

Damn! Now I can't start a journal.

[@lenas.5681]

I've been bullet journaling for about 6 years now and it also took me some time to realise that you don't NEED a monthly theme or certain pages for your bujo. For example mood trackers, that many people do and like, don't work for me. And the "original" bujo isn't artsy at all too. This artsy bujo thing just somehow suddenly appeared :D As pretty as some bujos are, personally I just like to add craft paper as decoration and sometimes switch up my accent color for the month. And if I spontaneously feel like drawing/doodling/creating something more, I just flip to the next blank page 😊

[@KaitlinGrey]

Thanks for sharing your experience Lena! It took me a while to realize I don't love doing monthly themes either 💕

[@CharlieMansfield]

Thank you for this advice. I fully agree, I often did not journal an idea simply because it did not fit the theme of the journal. It seemed unproductive, but then it was an idea that was lost forever.

[@KaitlinGrey]

Well said 🙌🏻

[@thalitaviegas7964]

p e r f e c t reflections! I started bullet journaling this year in may and I'm trying to look what's work for me yet, but it's a construction and I loved see how you progress with your own. I'll like to see how it goes with mine throught the years. The most beautiful thing in this system is the flexibility which it's not possible with a pre made planner. I'm enjoying this process of self-discovery. Thank you for sharing your journey!

[@KaitlinGrey]

Thank you Thalita! Its so true, your bullet journal IS this every evolving thing and I think its awesome that you've gone into your journalling journey with the knowledge that your journal will change and grow with you! Best of luck with you own journalling practice homie!

[@grogers511]

Great tips. I’ve been using a bullet journal since April 2016. One thing I realized about myself - my journal is a sort of environment. My head is in a certain place… a certain mindfulness when I’m working there. I tried doing financial tracking in it. But, it didn’t feel right. When I switched my financial matters to a different journal dedicated to budget & finance - I created a different environment for thinking about those matters, it felt more grounded. I approach with a clearer mindset. I also keep a separate self-care journal. A daily one page journal to check-in with myself and start my day off with clear intentions for the day. For self-care I use 80 page field notebooks. I can usually fit a full quarter in each field notebook. My bullet journal is more like my annual planner - mostly productivity. It’s a graph composition notebook, My Budget book this year is a Clever Fox book. I’ve customized it to meet my needs. I draw in my bullet journal occasionally when inspired. But, I’m more likely to add images or mini photos. I do a little memory keeping there. I enjoyed watching your video. TFS! 👍🏼

[@KaitlinGrey]

Thanks for sharing you system Ginger, I never thought about creating different notebooks based on environment and mindset but it sounds like a really great way to add structure and boundaries to your journals! Glad you liked the video!

[@4c_aperture]

I wish I’d internalized that it’s okay to change the way you set up certain spreads, and that what works ebbs and flows depends on your season of life. Sometimes I set up weeklies in notion, gcal, sometimes I don’t set up weeklies at all, sometimes I don’t set up dailies, sometimes my future log is tiny or big depending how far I have to think in the future. This was an excellent video, thank you!

[@KaitlinGrey]

Yes! Such a important insight! Glad you liked the video :)

[@MsRamona7]

Yes, theatre vacations mean less ´outsideˇ work for me just as December through February for a local culture movement (because it´s freaking cold in the synagogue for events to be happening while still being comfy). On the other hand, December is hectic in my day-to-day job where we have a peak season and, well, the Christmas time´s approaching... Each month is different, the load od tasks fluctuates and the BuJo looks more or less decorated depending on ´free´ time.

[@MagicMaggiez]

I just recently started bullet journaling. These tips were very helpful! I went down the rabbit hole of journaling a few weeks ago, and I think I'm getting too caught up in aesthetics (washi tape, duel brush pens, stickers, etc.). I started journaling at the start of this month, and I'm still trying to figure out my style and what is a realistic for me to do (brush lettering right now is no good, and my hand writing is not pretty :P). So I was getting a little jealous or envious of youtubers who have such pretty lettering and beautifully laid out pages and colors. These tips are great for grounding me and reminding myself it doesn't matter how my journal looks, I just have to be me and do what makes the most sense for me at this moment.

[@KaitlinGrey]

I think that’s a really beautiful revelation and reflection Magdalena. I hope you find peace with your journal and you’re own style that makes you happy!

[@fatboycarnivore8649]

Kaitlyn, Thank you for your detailed bujo information and your experience and tips.

[@KaitlinGrey]

You’re welcome :)

[@rikuapologist788]

my personal advice would be to look into the original bullet journal method by ryder carroll? not because you necessarily need to adhere to the original method, but because it opens your eyes to how FLEXIBLE the bujo method can be and how the "popular" method of bujoing is not the only way to bujo. since i started looking into the ryder carroll method and incorporating more of his principles (i.e. flexibility and reflection) into my bujo practice, my personal bujo method has settled comfortably somewhere between the two - the more "structured", aesthetic, planning-focused form of bujoing seen in popular bujo videos, and the more flexible, reflective form of bujoing created by carroll - to work with what *i* need from my bujo to help support my ADHD brain 💕

[@KaitlinGrey]

It’s so true, Ryder’s method really is super flexible! Thank you for sharing your experience ❤️

[@arindasleeze]

I like how everyone in 2021/2022 realising their own ways of bullet journaling, me as well !!

[@KaitlinGrey]

Me too Arri, me too 👌🏻👌🏻

[@dumplingofspice]

This whole video just solidified what I've been trying to convince myself for like the past month. I've been trying to make bullet journaling work for me for like 3 years and have only just started to realize these things; i used to tell myself that I was just not creative enough or not good enough for it, that it was just me being lame lol. So thank you for eliminating those doubts

[@KaitlinGrey]

I'm so glad the video resonated with your Brooklyn, and in case you need to hear it from someone else, I don't think you are in any way not good or creative enough to bullet journal!

[@dumplingofspice]

omg thank you so much! that means a lot, i really do appreciate it!

[@acfmiller]

I admit to loving other people’s artwork in their journals. And I like the stickers. I don’t use them and can barely draw stick figures but I can enjoy looking at other people’s spreads. It’s almost like going to an art gallery. I can enjoy the beauty without attempting it myself.

[@KaitlinGrey]

That’s a great analogy, I feel the same way when I look at more artistic bujos ☺️

[@julchapters]

I love your content sm!! ✨ I'm not a newbie in bullet journaling as I've been doing it for ~5 years already but these days, I just don't feel the usual spark I feel whenever I journal (both for writing journal entries and bullet journaling for productivity). It almost feel like it's a task now rather than something I would do for myself that would make me happy. The thing is, I really need a journal because it serves its purpose in my life but I don't like how I'm doing it now. I'm looking for inspo to help me somehow strip the process back to basics and start from that again and that's how I found this video! The tips are really helpful and I would've told these to my younger self. 💙

[@KaitlinGrey]

Thank you Julia, and thanks for sharing your experience with us all ❤️ I totally get you, it can be deceptively easy to forget that keeping a journal should be you choose because you enjoy it! I've definitely forgot that at times as well, especially with socials and trying to fit my journal into a specific niche/box. I hope your journalling spark comes back and you find a way to journal that makes you happy 🥰

[@BlushnBlue]

I love your simplistic ways of setting up your journal. Thank you for sharing.

[@KaitlinGrey]

Thank you!

[@fossilimprint2954]

Wonderful and sensible tips, thanks!

[@janicehollman5791]

Thank you for this. As I am about to start my first bullet journal your tips have helped me to not be overwhelmed.

[@KaitlinGrey]

Glad it was helpful Janice! Best of luck with your first bujo 💕

[@Em-di3jq]

I’m starting mine too! Good luck with yours🤗❤️

[@KaitlinGrey]

@@Em-di3jq Good luck Katie! Sending you all the good journal vibes!

[@Em-di3jq]

@@KaitlinGrey Awww! ❤️thank you so much!🥰

[@pameehanson3866]

Thanks for sharing your BUJO. I have been an off and on bullet journaler since 2015 . You have great ideas and loved the share as I tried to make it all beautiful and then it became too timely to keep up with the spreads. I have done several thru the years and now it has become my everyday carry.

[@KaitlinGrey]

Cool! Thanks for sharing your experience Pamee!

[@coco_plans]

Such a fabulous video!! Thank you for sharing your tips, #4 spoke to me!! Appreciate you❤️❤️

[@KaitlinGrey]

Thanks Coco! awww I'm so glad, number four was by far one of the hardest lessons but we got though it!

[@Amelclock]

Just discovered you a few days ago. Love all your videos and your minimal approach. You've inspired me a lot in my new bullet journal spreads. Thank you!

[@KaitlinGrey]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you've found the video helpful, welcome to the gang!

[@kerijeter]

Super helpful, thank you! I’m so glad I found your videos, and the warning you gave in one that it wasn’t the place for beginners ☺️. I’m still trying to get used to using the bujo and the productivity parts of it, but I look forward to adding more art and decoration.

[@KaitlinGrey]

I'm glad the video was helpful ❤️

[@Ednoria]

Exactly the video I needed today. Thank you!

[@KaitlinGrey]

Happy to hear that, thank you!

[@a.e.joensen1086]

I honestly love your style, and the simplicity of it is what makes it super nice! #goals

[@KaitlinGrey]

Thank you so much!

[@Orgbeeka]

This begins so well that I will pause it...go get myself a coffee and come back to ejoy/benefit from it. thank you :)

[@KaitlinGrey]

I'm so happy to hear that, thank you! ahaha and yes, coffee/tea makes any video 1000% more enjoyable!

[@jessicaladd85]

I think your notebooks are simple and beautiful!!!

[@KaitlinGrey]

Thank you!

[@Amyduckie]

Omg 100%! I’m an artist, but I don’t paint or draw in my bujo at all, it’s never really felt right to include that unless my long-form journalling is in the same book. But that doesn’t feel right to me either. As far as how many books? I’d say at least 6 or 7. Not sure tbh.

[@KaitlinGrey]

Oooh nice, that's a solid number of notebooks and wow, you are the second artist hanging out in the comments to share that they don't draw/paint in their journal! I think that's super inspiring and such a unique perspective I'd never thought of, thanks for sharing!

[@the.ashi.]

Thank you for these tips! You earned yourself a subscriber!💙💙💙

[@KaitlinGrey]

You’re so welcome and WELCOME, I’m so happy to have you here, Happy 🥰

[@bodine219]

As a beginner, I wish ai’d known that it’s a bad idea to immediately post on instagram. I enjoyed looking at everyone else’s journals but I was influenced by them more than I should have been. I’m going back to that now, but after a long break and much more tuned into my purpose for journaling. Knowing your purpose is probably the tip that resonated the most with me.

[@KaitlinGrey]

Thank's a really great point! I think especially when you're still customizing your bujo and figuring out what works for you, seeing lots of inspo online can be helpful but also super overwhelming!

[@kellydiane5672]

Ok this was amazing❤️❤️

[@KaitlinGrey]

why thank you 🥲

[@clairec1560]

Such a fantastic video, thanks for sharing! I have been switching planning methods throughout the past 10 years since 2012 when I began, and I am just reflecting on my overall preferred style/methods, and pretty much in line with what ur saying, I’m thinking i just need different styles for different tasks/times. "Boundaries for certain books", as you say. It works well for me, I’m always productive. But reflecting on it is helping me to think up ways to have a bit more structure to it all, which is a fun thing to focus on next. :)

[@KaitlinGrey]

Thank YOU friend for the lovely comment! I love your point that you need to set boundaries for each journal but also its so key to have fun :) Best of luck with your journalling journey

[@geminidragonreads]

This looks very me, and more functional than that fancy over decorated stuff. I look at some of that stuff and think, “Where do they write anything?”

[@leonardracin]

I get overwhelmed with more then one journal so I'm the opposite 😂

[@KaitlinGrey]

Hahaha then I would NOT go for multiple journal lol no need to confuse the brain!

[@leonardracin]

@@KaitlinGrey I’ve tried it once and did nothing in either for a year 😂 I’m loving how my 2022 journal is turning out though 🥰

[@KaitlinGrey]

Thank you Leonard!

[@lindahigham5317]

Good morning 👋😊 Kaitlin 🌹 Thank you for sharing your flip through and your tips they are all very welcome as in January I will start a journey into journaling after watching your videos and some others I so get looking at others who can draw and doodle so well it's scary but I all in now to try and what you said really helped me alot thank you stay safe and be careful 🙏✍️🖌️🎨💌🌹👋 enjoy your weekend too 👍🦄 and I am saving this video as a pep talk reminder 💌🌹

[@KaitlinGrey]

ahhh I love that Linda, thank you! Best of luck with your new journal!

[@lindahigham5317]

@@KaitlinGrey Thank you too 🌹☺️🦄

[@wendywilltrout]

Hey Kaitlin, I only recently found you so I'm very new to your channel but I've subscribed! I really appreciated this video as it's exactly where I am right now. I'm not new to journaling but new to the bullet journal movement and am working on figuring out what will work best me. I've been trying to figure out how to best combine thoughts, memories, and the creativity/beauty of bujo setups all together in an aesthetic that suits me without having to use it as a planner. I do much better going digital for my planner and tracker (I use Asana for that) but really want to figure out a way to incorporate a paper journal for other things that are fun, more creative, and that won't feel like a chore. Your video resonated with me, because I have already been slowly figuring out some what you said here. It was nice to hear your process and tips for sorting all of this out. 💖

[@KaitlinGrey]

I'm so glad the video resonated with you Wendy! I use an icalendar with my bujo and it works great so it is definitely possible to combine analog with digital.

[@wendywilltrout]

@@KaitlinGreyThanks for your reply! I was using my Google calendar primarily before but switched to Asana for tasks and trackers but still use my G cal for appointments linked to a time. Even though I really love the look of bullet journal planners, I think I'd really like to use my journal as a philosophical, memory, creative outlet instead. I know I will figure it out when the time is right.

[@pyenygren2299]

The only thing I wish I knew when I started is that a binder is the only bullet journal that _works_ for me.

[@KaitlinGrey]

OH another solid lesson!

[@akaErma]

Yes! Before I stumbled backwards into minimal bujo (including your channel, haha) all the beautiful elaborate artistic spreads are what I thought bullet journaling *was* . It's incredible what people can do with a few pages, some tape, and markers, but as a full-time fine artist, I was just like... nope. Minimal bujo was my gateway drug and now I have 3 planners for next year on top of my bujo and a couple journals lol. Oh god, just typing that out makes me feel like *too much* but relative to what I've seen on here, I'm pretty moderate in my need to externalize and compartmentalize my thoughts for organization via paper and stickers lol.

[@KaitlinGrey]

hahaha yes, there's a thin line between compartmentalizing and getting a bit extra with too many compartments (definitely guilty of that myself!). I find your situation so interesting as well, the fact that you're an artist but choose to use a more simply journal, its a perspective I never considered!

[@akaErma]

@@KaitlinGrey Maybe because my personal style is very abstract, I find illustration to be "work", and my planner/journal system is to make my life feel less like work, haha. Also it just takes a lot of brain power to come up with spread themes. I don't like the idea of copying other artists, even if it's something as personal as a bujo that no one else will see. I mainly use tape and stickers to make my books more fun, without having to make the effort of drawing everything myself.

[@KaitlinGrey]

@@akaErma I hear you, I stopped drawing and painting for that same reason as well! It makes a lot of sense that because art is your job, it would feel like work, and I think its really cool you realize that and set boundaries that make you happy!

[@joana6020]

what a wonderful video! thank you for the kind words. i wish i knew it was fine not to be able to fit an entire year in a single notebook, it would have made it easier

[@KaitlinGrey]

Glad it was helpful Jo Ana! Oh yes, the great thing about bullet journalling is there's no limit to how many notebooks you can use, I generally use 2-3 per year but some people stick to just one, or even need 4, its all based on when you need :)

[@lindastevens6686]

Thanks!

[@KaitlinGrey]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@lauemiands]

I find that decorating means I can't include the memories/journaling. If I do draw it is related to whatever I am putting in my journal and becomes part of my daily entry. I stopped using weeklies because dailies and monthly spreads are sufficient. Stickers take up space so I rarely use stickers. To me bullet journaling means writing. I enjoy watching bullet journal videos but I know what works for me and am not swayed by videos. I wish I had the same control for pens! I have decided to stop looking at pens in hopes of keeping me to the pens that work.

[@KaitlinGrey]

That's a really neat solution, I love that you draw your memories I bet that's so cool to look back on!

[@karencolum]

Great tips Kaitlin as always ☺️. I have been bullet journaling about as long as you but I really can’t make a fair comparison in the number of journals completed because I used a traveler’s notebook for a while and used one insert per month. So that skews the notebook count. I am wondering in looking back at your notebooks what was the best think that you liked that are not doing now that you might consider integrating back into your practice? Also, I noticed that you know are using mostly cursive when you used to print in all caps.

[@KaitlinGrey]

Ooooh that's a really good question Karen, I had to think about that one for a minute! I'd say one big thing and one smaller thing I'm thinking about bringing back in 2022 is my index and using tabs to mark of important collections, monthlies, etc. Even though I don't use my index much for referencing pages (this is the reason I chose to remove it this year actually), I kinda miss it and its ability to provide an overview of everything that happened and all the collections and months that are in the journal itself. So i'm thinking next year I may bring this back! The other thing which isn't super big is tabs, I used to use tabs a lot in my journal to mark off the month and important collections but I stopped that this year and really miss it, it was such a useful and easy way to get to pages I use frequently, so that would be the second thing! And yes, this year was the first year I started writing in cursive and man I love it, definitely not going back to printing in the near future!

[@katiehill4216]

Loved this video. Question: how do you use a bullet journal for self-care and mindfulness?

[@KaitlinGrey]

Thanks! Oh and I gotcha, so for me, I get really stressed and overwhelmed when I have a lot of thoughts in my head so bullet journalling (specifically my daily logs) allow me to dump out all my thoughts about the day on a page which helps clear my head and make me feel at ease bc everything is written down! There’s definitely other mindfulness related spreads you can add on too like a mood tracker, gratitude log, etc but I know that for me, the biggest way I can help myself be the best me is thought getting stuff out on the page and emptying my mind 😊

[@loveys_plans]

Nice tips. I am trying to get the whole I appreciate their style but it's not for me thing 😭

[@KaitlinGrey]

ahhh it was honestly the hardest lesson for me to learn too and also, not a linear thing because even now I still get caught up in other people's stuff! Something that kinda helped me was applying this mindset I heard the queen herself Rupaul talk about with his drag. Essentially in an interview he said how he likes his drag the best even when compared to everyone elses and I kinda took that and instead of drag thought about it in the sense of my journal. I found that mindset shift really helped me focus on being unique and only doing stuff that made me really happy! lol sorry for the ted talk there, but I hope it helps a little!