Is Bullet Journaling A Waste of Time?

Bullet journaling can be quite a fun hobby but it does require some degree of investment in time and energy. This begs the questions, is bullet journaling a waste of time?

No, bullet journaling is not a waste of time because it helps you to keep track of your goals, stay motivated, and accountable on a regular basis. It also promotes proper planning which is instrumental in achieving your goals.

I’m the kind of person who struggles to keep track of all my deadlines and responsibilities but bullet journaling has changed that.

I’ll be honest and admit that it can sometimes take up to an hour just to draw up the perfect spread, especially if you’re a sucker for creative elements like doodles and icons.

However, most of us waste countless hours on our phones and computers every single day.

If you were to track the amount of time you spend on social media sites or on streaming services like Youtube and Netflix, you would be shocked.

In comparison, bullet journaling is nothing more than a drop in the ocean compared to the wave of hours spent on the consumption of media.

Another thing to consider is the fact that bullet journaling is designed to keep you aware of all your goals, deadlines, and responsibilities.

Think about all the time you would save by remembering everything you need to do that’s stipulated in your journal compared to the time you may lose forgetting important things to complete.

Given that I’m such a scatterbrain, I’ve never missed a deadline in over a year since I started taking bullet journaling seriously.

Be that as it may, allow me to share some of my top tips on how to avoid wasting time with bullet journaling.

Tip 1 – Use Pre-made Spreads

There are countless bullet journal spreads for all sorts of goals that take into account the various elements that are required to be tracked.

I’ve featured a host of them on this site and will link to them below.

Pre-made spreads are designed to save you time by considering all the necessary elements for specific goals.

Personally, I use my Bullet Journal to specifically track my goals in regards to writing daily, exercising and making a daily list of creative ideas.

Related post: August Bullet Journal Ideas And Spreads

Tip 2 – Journal Before At Night Or Early In The Morning

Most of us don’t have the time to be journaling in the day when we are at work or dealing with the responsibilities of raising a family or running a home.

This is why it would be far more effective to journal when you are eating in the morning or on the subway to work.

Alternatively, you can journal when you get into bed at night.

Related Post: Should I Journal Every Day? (A Useful Guide To Daily Journaling)

This keeps you away from your phone which will also help you to fall asleep faster.

Journaling at night also allows you to plan your days in advance, making it incredibly easy to be productive by prioritizing your most important tasks in advance.

Tip 3 – Keep It Simple And Straight Forward

If you don’t have much time on your hands, it would be far more effective to keep things short and simple.

Make use of lists and bullet point goals and deadlines instead of drawing up elaborate spreads.

This will only require a few minutes of your time on a daily or weekly basis.

Tip 4 – Focus On The Purpose Of Bullet Journaling

Bullet journaling is a means to an end.

Don’t get wrapped in the endorphins and rush of dopamine from drawing up a beautiful spread of your goals rather than actually taking action in real life.

Your journal is just a supplementary tool used for staying accountable and keeping track of your progress.

Used correctly, you could save a ton of time in real life via bullet journaling.

Minimize your to-do list and it will save you time

I was running this article by my brother who is obsessed with self-development and he mentioned something that struck a chord with me.

Have you ever noticed how we tend to complicate things in life because we add so much complexity to simple things?

This is one of the reasons why he has become a huge advocate for minimalism.

And this is something I realised that we can use in bullet journaling.

Instead of compiling a massive list of unnecessary tasks in your day, make a list of 3 – 5 tasks in your bullet journal at the beginning of every month and arrange them in order of importance.

Prioritize those 3 – 5 tasks above everything else and track them daily with a journal calendar.

If certain tasks don’t fall within that list and they are eating up your time, get rid of them.

This is a great way of minimalizing your goals and to-do list in a way that ensures that you make progress on the most important goals in your life that will generate the most significant results.

By doing this, you won’t need to create an elaborate bullet journal that requires much time and effort to maintain.

Related Post: How To Start A Minimalistic Bullet Journal (12 Layouts To Try)

In Conclusion

In summary, is bullet journaling a waste of time? No, it is not a waste of time because it can help you track your goals, be accountable and stay motivated by measuring your progress.

This can be achieved by simplifying your bullet journal.

You can do this by using pre-made spreads, only journaling in the morning or at night and by keeping track of your most important goals and deadlines.

I would just like to add that bullet journaling can be very therapeutic. An investment in your mental health is worth any amount of time.

I hope you found this article on whether bullet journaling is a waste of time to be informative and conclusive. Feel free to drop any questions you have in the comment section below.