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Are you starting a bullet journal? If that is the case, you may be looking for ideas about all the things that should be a part of your bullet journal. But, have you thought about the information that should never be written in your journal? Let us help you with it.
The bullet journal should never contain your personal and bank details. You should also refrain from writing impossible goals, long-term plans, and inconsistent hobbies. Also, the journal should not have secrets you wish to hide from others.
In this article, we are going to teach you about the things you should never write in your bullet journal and how you can develop a habit of successful journaling. We will also discuss the potential risks that can become an obstacle in your journal writing journey.
What Not to Write in Your Bullet Journal
You will find tons of ideas about the things you should write in your journal, but nobody talks about the stuff you should never write. So, here is a list of everything you should refrain from discussing in the journal.
Personal Details
Your bullet journal should never contain personal details like your home address, phone number, job details, etc. Sharing to many personal details in a journal can be dangerous, because you can lose them. If your bullet journal does get lost and has a lot of personally identifying information, they can be used for identity theft. So, it is best to avoid sharing personal details for privacy concerns.
Bank Details
Your bank details are crucial and should be kept secret. It is advised not to share your bank details with anyone, including your journal. Many people carry a journal with them, which can be dangerous if they leave it somewhere. Hence, you should never write bank details in your bullet journal.
Secrets
Do you have secrets? Everyone does. However, writing those secrets in your bullet journal can be a bad idea. How will you feel if you lose the journal and your friend, a relative, or even an unknown person reads it? So, don’t write your secrets in the bullet journal if you want to hide them from the world. If you don’t won’t someone else to read the information, don’t put it in there.
Unattainable Goals
People often overestimate themselves, due to which they create unrealistic and unattainable goals. They write these goals in their journals and feel unsuccessful whenever they open them. With time, it proves to be extremely demotivating, so you should avoid writing impossible goals. Try to be realistic and set goals that you can achieve soon. Or it you do have a gigantic goal to achieve, break it up into smaller goals as well that you can tick off on your way.
Planning Way Ahead of Time
Planning is excellent; you can make plans you wish to achieve in the future, but do not write them down in your journal. Keep your journal for daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly planning, not for decade planning. There will be a lot of chaos and confusion in your journal if you choose to do so.
Difficult to Follow Hobbies
Every person has a hobby that they enjoy doing every day. Hobbies like cycling or book reading can be a part of a bullet journal where you log the timing or the book’s name. However, you should avoid tracking too many hobbies if you cannot be consistent and tend to skip them. Doing so may wither your motivation to use your journal too.
Unhealthy Motivations
You should not write about unhealthy activities in the journal because they might become a motivation for someone else. Your journal should not discuss drug usage, alcohol consumption, or other harmful activity.
Overloading the Journal
Adding too much information to your journal can become difficult to organize. In the end, you will become overwhelmed and stop using the journal. Try not to overload the journal; write necessary information only.
Things That Stop You From Journaling
Journaling is difficult for anyone who lacks consistency and routine in life. Many people struggle with writing journals daily because they fail to maintain a routine. Some of the reasons why maximum people stop journaling are as follows:
- Too Overwhelming: A bullet journal contains a lot of information, and each page has a different log, which can confuse some people. They cannot decide on the journal’s contents because it is too overwhelming for them. So they don’t continue journaling in the long run.
- Time Shortage: Journaling demands time and commitment as it is not a one-day thing. Once you start writing a journal, you must be consistent. Even if you have a tough schedule, take out time for journaling. However, journaling might suffer and ultimately stop if you fail to manage time.
- Bad Day: When you are having a bad day, journaling can feel like a burden, and you may want to skip it for a day or two. But in this situation, journaling can actually be the most beneficial. Reassure yourself that writing a journal and letting your feelings out will only help you feel better and positive.
- Zero Motivation: To be consistent with journal writing, you need only one thing, and that is motivation. If you lack motivation, you can never become a regular journal writer. So, motivate yourself to write the journal even when you do not feel like it.
- Lack of Creativity: Writing a bullet journal should involve your creativity and interest so that you can customize it according to your preference. If you do not customize the journal and just follow someone else’s ideas, you will soon lose interest in it.
How to Avoid Being Overwhelmed by Your Journal
Bullet journals can make you feel overwhelmed quite easily. If you are going through such feelings and are on the verge of leaving journal writing, don’t stress; we are going to help you out. Here are a few pieces of advice that you can apply:
Take Small Steps
As soon as you get a bullet journal, commit to yourself and make a promise that you are going to make it a habit. Once you are determined, start creating the basic pages like the index. At this point, do not think about other pages or customizations. Focus on the first page and take small steps toward other pages. It will help you to remain calm and avoid being overwhelmed.
Organize the Journal
Organizing the journal gives you a feeling of accomplishment and motivates you to write every day. A journal with random information all over the place makes you feel anxious and overwhelmed. So, focus on organizing the information intelligently.
Carefully Analyze the Pages to Create
Do not rush to create the logs and write information. Instead, sit back and imagine the kind of journal you would prefer to use. Carefully consider all the information you want to include and create the pages accordingly. Analyze your daily routine and create the most relatable logs to keep track of your progress.
Create Meaningful Logs
A bullet journal can have as many logs as you like, but they must be meaningful. Do not create vague logs that you will not use in your daily routine. Be mindful and make the logs that you can use every day.
Minimalism is the key
The key to successful bullet journaling is to keep it minimal. Do not try to be too creative and implement every idea you come across. Instead, use limited ideas and keep your journal neat and clean.
Do Not Compare
Everyone has a different taste in creativity, which means you should not compare your journal with others. You shouldn’t try to follow someone else’s ideas because it is likely that they will overwhelm you. Think about the things you like in a bullet journal and add them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Should I Write in a Bullet Journal?
In a bullet journal, you can write about everything that makes you happy and grateful. You can write about your short-term and long-term goals, to-do lists, monthly and weekly logs, and much more. Basically, you can write about your routine and how you are feeling.
Should I Write My Personal Details in My Bullet Journal?
No, in your bullet journal, you should never write personal details like home address, phone number, work address, etc. Since you can lose your journal, it will be too dangerous if a stranger gets your details. So, you should avoid discussing such information in the journal to be safe.
How to Make Bullet Journaling a Habit?
To make bullet journaling a habit, you need to have realistic expectations. You should avoid being overwhelmed by taking small steps. Do not burden yourself by creating all the logs in one day. Try to make the journal as interesting as possible, so you do not get bored easily.
Conclusion
Usually, people get confused about what they should or should not write in their bullet journals. In this article, we discussed the information you should never write and how to avoid being overwhelmed by your journal. Using the tips we provided, we are sure you can have a successful bullet journaling experience. Happy journaling!
TOOLS TO GET STARTED BULLET JOURNALING:
I wanted to share some of the best and most affordable tools available for bullet journalling.
- This notebook which is almost identical to the cult favorite and has raving reviews for a fraction of the cost!
- This pen that won’t bleed through the page and is great for inputting your dailies
- This Pen for art work and faux calligraphy
- These Markers for decorating and color coding your journal
- Stencils for making layouts quicker, or if you’re not handy at drawing
Also not necessary but this MEGA pack of PRINTABLES is amazing!
Obviously the only things that you need to get started is a notebook and pen and you will use them the most. However, the markers are useful for colour coding your journal and the stencils will save you time in creating beautiful layouts!
Read my full Bullet Journal Supplies Recommendation post here!
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