A Planner by Another Name

Ever since the beginning of the new year my journal has been staring at me from across the room. I think it has been questioning my loyalty. That’s because my eye has been wandering. Yes, I’ve been looking at other journals.

I’m not tired of my journal. We’re comfortable with each other. It was the hype about bullet journals that turned my head. I became intrigued by the color coding, the lists, and the symbols. Is this new thing a journal or a daily art project? I had to know more.

I read multiple how-to’s on setting up and using a bullet journal, but I found the definition to be vague. If the bullet journal is as complicated as the instructions, I knew I might never figure it out.

I believe the original premise was to record daily information in a simple way, but the simplicity got lost. The simple looks complicated to me. To use a bullet journal I’ll need to devise a list of symbols and a key to help me remember what all those symbols represent. On the up side, I can use pretty colors of ink.

This fancy new kind of journal bears a strong resemblance to my daily planner. It contains a list of appointments, a list of what to do that day, and anything I need to remember. The only thing my ordinary planner is missing is the art element.

Some have noted that a bullet journal saves them time. That’s great, but I can’t see it working for me. I may be misjudging the bullet journal, but I view it as a modified planner. My journal can’t be replaced by a planner, no matter how cutesy the planner might be. My journal serves one distinct purpose and my planner serves another.

I hope my journal will forgive me for even entertaining the crazy idea of replacing it. Others may not agree, but my conclusion of the matter is that bullet journals are planners masquerading by another name.