Do You Bujo? Why I Love this New Fad and Plan to Keep it Around

If you are not sure what Bujo is then you are in for a wonderful surprise. This isn't your newest craze involving ice buckets or acting like a mannequin; this is a new way to plan. And as a "professional" organizer and planner (what mom isn't?) this new fad is one that I intend on keeping around for a long time. "Bujo" stands for Bullet Journal, and it's just a simple, yet comprehensive planner/journal with immense possibilities. And that is what I like so much about it.

I think I've tried every single planner out there--EVERY SINGLE ONE! And I didn't really like any of them. Some were too intensive. Some didn't offer enough of the things that I needed. I ended up just using an electronic calendar with dozens of categories and lists. It worked fine, but lists would get buried, and I never really had a good sense of the whole picture.

Enter the Bullet Journal.

With my Bujo, I not only have all my lists organized, but I also have the overall, longer range plan in mind. Perhaps my best discovery of the bullet journal is how I use it as a way to express and track that spiritual side of me.

All this in one place!

[tweet "Is a #bulletjournal too good to be true? @CatholicFC recommends it!"]

Too good to be true? So far for me it's been truly good. I really, really like it. All I can say is--try it.

I've made a series of videos about my bullet journal that I want to share with you. If you google "bullet journal" you will get many, many ways that you can bullet journal. In my first video, I give you a brief view of what my Bujo looks like and go on to share with you my top 3 reason why I like it so much. One of the reasons is that it is so flexible. For example, many people use their Bujos in very artistic ways. I love this--and I am slowly trying to incorporate some art into mine. Sometimes I just don't have the time to be that fancy. Other times, let's face it, I just don't have the skills. I am hoping that I can develop more skills as I practice. That's what they say, "Practice makes perfect." But here is the beauty of the Bujo: it can be plain and simple or extremely elaborate. You can write books of information in yours or stick to very brief bullet points. It's completely up to you!

https://youtu.be/NgBO86f-JQk

Probably the most important way that it is flexible is in the types of planning you can put into yours. It's limitless. The bullet journal can be used for things such as: long term projects; exercise goals; appointments; event planning; household chores; menu planning; brainstorming: vacation ideas: bucket lists: reading lists:and my favorite, prayers and spiritual goals.

My second video takes a peak inside of my bullet journal to show you how I set up mine. There really is no "right" way. However, there is the "official" way that can be found at BulletJournal.com. After trying many ways of setting it up, starting with the "official" way, I've fallen into my own set-up that works best for me with my lifestyle and my personality. Again, this is the beauty of the bujo. My way won't be what's best for you either, but after you try a few ideas, you'll eventually figure out what will work best for you. One example of this is not needing a full page or even a half page for every day. I use a full page spread for an entire week. Take a peek inside of mine to see what I mean. Watch the Video on Youtube Here: https://youtu.be/T3oF5P28o2g

https://youtu.be/T3oF5P28o2g

In my last video, I talk about how I use the bullet journal to help me grow in my faith. So far I have at least 14 uniquely Catholic/Spiritual ideas that I use in my Bujo that can help me with my spiritual life. (But I know there are many others---you will probably think of some.) These can be especially helpful with Lent around the corner. In fact, one of the pages is to help you to plan/pray about what you are going to do this Lent.

Another one of these types of pages, probably most obvious, is a prayer concerns page. It has been so helpful to have this page so handy--I can easily write those prayer concerns down whenever I come across one. And also, I love how easy it is to pray for them. My bullet journal is always around. In fact, this is another one of the reasons I like it so much. It's the perfect size to carry around and keep with you.

Another way I use my bullet journal in a Catholic way is to keep track of the feast days. It's not that I always get around to celebrating them, but at least I can easily see that a feast day is coming. And if we are too busy that day for our family to even say a prayer together to St. Scholastica, I can remember to pray to her throughout my day begging for her intercession as I am referring to my bullet journal. On my website, I've included a complete list of these Catholic bullet journal ideas.

So if you've been on the fence about starting one, I hope that this will give you the push to give it a try!

If you're an old hat with this, then I hope that this may have given you some new ideas to use your bullet journal in those uniquely Catholic ways. If you have some other "Catholic" or "Spiritual" ways that you use your Bujo, I'd love to hear about them. Please share.

And finally, if this is like, whoa, new to you, I am so glad that you stumbled across this article today! Using a Bujo has truly been a blessing to me. Won't you give it a try?