The Bullet Journal Method: Track the Past, Order the Present, Design the Future Hardcover – Illustrated, 23 Oct. 2018

I love this book and method for its simplicity of approach but also for the huge impact it can have on your productivity and ability to get organised. As the digital world around us expands, the volume of information grows and our ability to keep up diminishes. The Bullet Journal method helps us to slow down and keep everything in focus, shifting us from reactivity to intentionality. Try it - it may just change your life.

I almost didn't buy this book, because of the other reviews suggesting that all the information is available for free online, especially on the author's webpage. It's true that all the basics are on the author's page and Youtube channel, and I went through it all before deciding to buy the book.You can start by yourself without buying the book, but you'll get so much more from the process if you read the book. The free resources tell you about that "what" but the book adds the all-important "why".i've tried lots of productivity approaches, like GTD and the Pomodoro method, and I feel much more enthusiastic about this method, partly because of its flexibility, partly because it forces you to think about why you're doing what you're doing. I would say half the book is a literature survey of various self-organisation and motivational methods, which doesn't aim to be a universal theory, but it covers a lot of familiar territory about collecting ideas into one place and regularly reviewing lists that will be familiar to anyone who has read "Getting Things Done"For me, the advantage over GTD is the flexibility of the approach, and the ability to make your system into an artefact, which is what your bullet journal becomes. The bullet journal generates a physical record of your life, while GTD is more forward looking. I'm not saying that bullet journals are better than GTD, but they may well resonate better with some people.In any case, yes, you can get a fair way with the free resources, but you'll get a lot more out of it if you read and re-read the book.

A dear friend recently showed me their bullet journal and explained how they thought the method would work for me, so I nabbed this the original book for my Kindle, to get my head round it. It isn't all cutesy washi tape and crafting which had put me off, but a solid way to get organised and use the journal to plan goals. I now feel armed to give it a solid crack with some surprising gems of psychology to get me going.

I've been a consumer of time management, life hack, prioritization, organizing, organizing for ADD, mindfulness, cognitive-behavioral systems and books for literally decades. Throughout it all, I've been remarkably productive ---I've been an exec at a major entertainment company, a writer, an Emmy winning producer, a novelist with a Big Five, and on leadership committees for various arts organizations. I've struggled with prioritization my entire life, something invisible to most who know me. This system has been an eye-opener. I was initially put off by the "BuJo" nickname, by a photo of the young author in his buttoned-up persona, and by the rigidity of the artwork and look of the journal examples. As if I didn't know better than to judge only the surface of things! I'm embarrassed by this admission!. Well, I got over myself and gave this thing a chance. Hello! I now put it up with the only other time management tool I recommend: How to Get Control of Your Time and Life by Alan Lakein. Like that book, Ryder Carroll's system isn't just about managing time, it's about really understanding what you want from life, where you are going, and how you actually spend your time. . And if the surface look of the examples does not speak to you, look past the tiny handwriting and instead, seek out variations on youtube and find what works for you. I could not recommend this more highly. This book is nothing short of profound.

Very good printed book although most of the process is covered in Youtube videos by author itself.