Overheard a guy at Starbucks say bullet journals are just 'glorified to-do lists'

I was grabbing coffee last Tuesday and this guy near me was talking to his friend about how he tried bullet journaling for a month and quit because it was 'just writing down stuff you gotta do but with extra steps.' I almost choked on my latte. I mean yeah on the surface you could say that but its like saying a house is just a pile of wood and nails. The whole point is the system behind it. Ive been using a modified version of the Ryder Carroll method for like 3 years now and its the only way I actually follow through on stuff like my crew schedule or even remembering to call my mom back. But his comment made me think about how easy it is to tell someone else their hobby is dumb when you dont get the deeper habits. Have any of you had a conversation like that where someone just totally missed the point of why we do this?

2 comments

2 Comments

william_taylor25d ago

Yeah the "extra steps" part is what most people don't get. Those extra steps are what make it work. I do the rapid logging and the monthly migration and without that specific structure I just have a pile of sticky notes and missed appointments. Its like saying a calendar app is just a list of dates, technically true but totally missing how it helps you plan.

miller.avery25d ago

My friend Janet tried the BuJo thing a couple years ago. She bought the nice notebook, watched some videos, and started filling pages. But she skipped the monthly migration because it seemed like busywork. By week three she had appointment reminders mixed in with grocery lists and random thoughts about her cat's vet visit all on the same page. She just gave up and went back to her phone calendar. I think that migration step is the part that forces you to actually look at what matters and what doesn't. Without it you're just writing things down, not organizing them.