How to Process the Information You Write in Your Everyday Notebook
This is what I do instead of using a Bullet Journal-Style Index.
Photo by Green Chameleon on Unsplash
I want to be a Bullet Journal person. I really do. I’ve tried and tried and tried. It just never works for me.
The Bullet Journal hinges on the idea of keeping an index for all of the information you put into it. Pages 1–2 are a schedule for the week of January 1. Page 3 is a pantry inventory. Page 4 is notes from a phone call with your boss.
And so on.
Here’s the thing. My brain doesn’t work that way. I last about half a day and then forget to add something to the index. Or make a random note at the bottom of page 3, and how the hell am I supposed to find that later? Do I go back and squeeze it into my index?
No. I’m not an index person. I mean, if I was that organized, I’d have taken over the world by now and I’d just hire a majordomo to follow me around and take dictation and remind me of all my important shit on demand.
But I’m not that organized. And Bullet Journals, I’m sad to say, are nearly useless for me as a result.
But I love my Everyday Notebook. I just take my notes in order, as needed. No index required. No fancy, art-project layouts. No rules.
And then, about once a week, I process what I’ve written down. In this post, I’m going to share with you how I do that processing, because it’s the heart of the system.