The Bullet Journal Method Ryder Carroll

Questions for outcome reading

What are the limitations for bullet journalling?

How can it help bring change & focus in my life?

How do you get the most from it?

What are the assumptions when bullet journalling?

What are five really useful techniques for me to achieve my goals?

Which techniques are quite different or new to how I currently do things?

How do I manage my bad habits?

GOAL

Identify key techniques in bullet journaling that will be useful for me

Leap words :

Fusion of philosophies

Valuable resources

Intentionality

Appreciate fruits of your labour

Artificial constructs

Decluttering your mind

The system

Subtasks

Events

Let it sink in

Migration

Weed out distractions

Migrating mental inventory

Reflection

Know thyself

Reactivity

Choice, agency, purpose

Radiance

Break sprint

Functionality

Sustainability

Small steps

Impact bias

Intentionality

The System

BuJo = way to champion intentions & keep you organised

Regular habit introspection

Define what’s important

Why it’s important

Figure out how to best pursue

Reminded of these insights each day

Power of mind to direct itself toward that which it finds meaningful

Worked hard on something to discover it leaves you feeling empty

Steady cultivation of self-awareness

Keeping your actions aligned with your beliefs

Mental Inventory

Decluttering your mind

3 columns

1) Things presently working on

2) Things should be working on

3) Things would like to be working on

Dig deep. Get it out of your head and your heart

The Test

Does this matter to you (or someone you love)?

Is it vital?

What would happen if this didn’t get done, ever? Would there be any real repercussions?

Any item that doesn’t pass the test is just a distraction

Be ruthless

Left with...

Things you need to do

Things you want to do

Task List

Journal

Planner

Rapid Logging

Collections

Migration

Monthly Migration

Review state of last months tasks

Ask why each task might still be incomplete

Does it matter?

Is it vital?

What would happen if you didn’t do it?

If it is irrelevant, get rid of it

Enjoy feeling of reclaiming time

If still relevant migrate to next month

Monthly tasks

Custom collection

Future log

Taxes, job, rent, etc

Migrate mental inventory

Decide what things want to work on for next month

Ensure everything listed is worth the time & energy it will take to rewrite it!

Filter out meaningful from meaningless

The Practice

Action

Belief

Better > Perfect

The obstacle is the way

Reflection

Daily reflection of daily log

Active introspection

Morning

Time to plan

Afternoon / evening

Time to review

Monthly & yearly reflection

Through migration

Meaning

Impact bias

Chronically underestimate our ability to adapt

As we race towards our goals we learn new things & our circumstances change

The harder we try to be happy the more elusive happiness becomes

A tale of two lives

The well worn path

The path less travelled

Take 15 mins, write obituary for each path

Postmortem

Write letter

Select the life you liked best

Identify accomplishments most proud of

Migrate in Goals collection

What excited you?

What realisations, emotions, questions, positives or negatives came up?

What saddened or scared you?

Goals

Break down goals into Sprints

Sprint requirements

Fixed relatively short time-frame for completion

Goals

Sprints

Tasks

No barriers preventing start

Keep Sprints focused, actionable & manageable

Brainstorm What & Why of Goals

What about this goal sparked my curiosity?

What motivated me to invest my time & energy here?

What am i trying to accomplish?

What will it require?

What is my definition of success with this goal?

Plan sprints into calendar

Will then have better idea of goals requirements, scope, milestones & why it's important to you

Lock in time to work through Tasks

Longer goal takes to accomplish, more it taxes your motivation

Sprint projects reduce the load

Daily Reflection after each Sprint

What am I learning about my strenghs, my weaknesses?

What's working, what isn't?

Small Steps

Ask small questions

Actionable steps, or Tasks

why do I want to do it?

What small thing can I do right now to get started?

What do I want to do?

Also suitable for standstill in project

What small step can I take now to move this forward?

What could I improve now?

When run into issues

What exactly did not work?

Why did it not work?

What small thing can I improve next time?

Iteration

Plan

Do

Check

Act

Better day

What tiny thing could I do tomorrow that would make my life a little bit better?

Beginning

Daily log to capture thoughts

tendency to overestimate intensity of future feeling states

Clearly defined actionable tasks

Create tasks through the lens of curiosity rather than giving yourself commands or ultimatums

Time

Gratitude

Control

Radiance

Endurance

Deconstruction

Inertia

Imperfection

5, 4, 3, 2, 1

5 years

4 months

3 weeks

2 days

1 hour

Defining amount of time & energy (perseverance and passion) your goals require

Timeboxing

Awareness of the things that make life more enjoyable

Responding vs Reacting

Nature of our radiance is a reflection of what is going on inside

Manage process to complete tasks

Identify what is outside of our control & letting go, we can reclaim our attention & reinvest into things that are important

Daily Log & Gratitude Log = evidence to contrary of faults & criticism

Radiance is a 2-way street

Who you surround yourself with will shape you

What is impact of those who you spend time with?

What am I learning?

What lesson have they taught me, or inspired me to learn?

What do I want to know more about? How will I go about learning it?

What

Why

How

Context helps us understand how some unpleasant or painful responsibilities actually benefit us

Clarity Log

Challenge

Purpose

Observant patience

5 Whys

Tasks completed = successful blow landed in the battle with your dragon

Rubber Ducking

Write a letter to "Dear Duck"

Your problem

What's not working

Why it isn't working

What you've tried

What you have not yet tried

What you want to happen

Importance is to get it out of your head

Break Sprints

Self-contained micro-projects

Purpose of helping your mind get unstuck

Rules

Unrelated to problem /project that is troubling you

Have a defined end (clear beginning, and middle too)

Exposed to something new, used your mind in a different way, have thoughts you would have not had otherwise

Regain some purpose, disengage your mind by focusing on something else

Take 2 weeks or less to complete

The Art

Custom Collections

Examine your motivations

Sources

Goals

Challenges

Tasks

Brainstorm

5 Why

Sustainability

Ensure maintaining a collection doesnt feel like chore

Learning what you're curious about & naturally gravitate towards

Evaluating collections during migrations quickly reveals kind f things that hold your attention & what you struggle with