For those of you who have your own lil nuggets, you know that as they reach developmental milestones, progressively gaining more independence due to their advancement in modality and acquisition of language, they begin to express their
First they LOVE their dinner,
then half way through the meal, they can't stand the sight of it.
I've come to accept that taking care of tiny humans requires one to figure out how to live amongst organized chaos.
I was having a hard time getting the house management in order while adjusting to having two lil nuggets and needed a way to feel like I had things more under control. I just didn't know what that system was going to be. My husband kept urging me to use my phone's reminders and calendar, but when the alert went off I would just glance at the reminder and have to direct my attention to whichever lil nugget was screaming or crying or just wanting a cuddle. So the reminder went unheeded and the task was usually forgotten.
When I was in college, I relied so heavily on my monthly planner. That awesome little book that held my life in its pages. I made sure to find one with enough space for me to write out my tasks for the day, color-coded no less so I knew which task was for which class, and tabs so I could quickly find my place. I had a system and it worked very well. But once I got into the unpredictability of parenthood, the organization of a planner with a defined layout and limited space was not going to serve me well.
Then one day as I'm browsing through Facebook, BuzzFeed has a post about Bullet Journaling, immediately it caught my attention.
I quickly watched the video they included from the creator of bullet journaling and was hooked. It turns out all I needed was a blank notebook and a pen (or 20 if you're like me). I don't know how your brain works, but I find that when I stop and try to connect the dots of my stream of consciousness, I often am surprised how I got from my first thought to the final thought. There are some recommended components that make up the nexus of the journal, a key, an index, a future log, and daily log, but essentially you have the freedom to include whatever you want, however you want. It can be a layout of your stream of consciousness. It's also a chance to exercise you're creativity.
There are lots of awesome examples all over Pinterest, Instagram, and personal blogs that showcase elaborate layouts and doodles, but don't get intimidated by all the bells and whistles if you're not artsy. The journal is supposed to serve as a reflection of you and your thoughts to better serve your productivity. And if you are a talented doodler, I recommend getting comfortable with the function before you start adding your own flair. Here are some pics of mine to give you an idea of what a beginner's looks like:
The first picture shows my November blog tracker and grocery shopping list for the month. The second picture shows my December meal planner. The last picture shows the Daily Log layout I have currently adopted, which includes a water intake tracker that I created. As you can see my blog tracker happens to be next to the shopping list, because creating that type of shopping list came to me after I had input the tracker.
My favorite pens for journaling. They don't bleed and are vibrant. I purchased them at our local art store, Allard's. You can also find them on Amazon.
If you would like to see some amazing examples of expert bullet journaling, you can search Instagram #bulletjournal or search Pinterest for tips and inspiration. Check back here for a follow up post on my progress!
I know there are many other methods to stay organized. I would love to hear about what you do to stay sane and make sense of life!
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