I just found my old bullet journal from two years ago and cringed so hard

I was looking for a receipt in my closet and pulled out my 2022 journal. Every single page was a perfect, color-coded work of art that took me HOURS. My friend saw it and said, 'Wow, you must have had so much free time.' That was the tip-off. I was making pretty pictures instead of actually planning my life. Has anyone else fallen into the decoration trap and how did you get out?

4 comments

4 Comments

nelson.wren19d agoMost Upvoted

Oh I know that feeling. I had to switch to a plain notebook and a single pen. The rule is if it takes more than five minutes to set up a page, the system is broken. What helped me was asking "will this help me do the thing" before adding any color or decoration. If the answer is no, I skip it.

the_viola19d ago

Totally agree with that five minute rule, it's a game changer. But what happens when you DO think the color coding will help you do the thing, and then you still get stuck making it look perfect? I've fallen into that trap where the system feels helpful in theory but becomes its own time suck. How do you stop yourself from over-engineering a simple system once you start?

derekhunt18d ago

So you hit that point where the system itself becomes the job. How do you even start to fix it once you're already deep in, like @nelson.wren was?

angela_patel7518d ago

Honestly that color coded journal sounds awesome though lol. I get what @nelson.wren is saying about keeping it simple, but for some people the pretty part is what makes them want to open the thing at all. Maybe you just needed a better balance.