To Bujo or not to bujo
I often tell people I bullet journal (aka #bujo), which seems like a fairly accurate description of what I do:
-I do use a dotted bullet journal
-I do plan my schedules and goals in said journal
-I do insert inspirational quotes in artsy font (as it appears all bullet journals require)
But I while was sketching in my journal this evening, I realized the little blue booklet is so much more than a fancy planner: it’s where I seed story ideas, where I take notes on my engineering classes, where I outline chapters, doodle sketches, and yes, also plan out my days/weeks/months. It’s where I scribble down that verse that’s been chasing through my mind all day and where I lists “To Buy” hauls.
As such, I’ve decided to start calling my bullet journal my catch-all journal, because that’s exactly what it does: catches all the odds-and-ends snippets of my thoughts.
The holistic Approach
I guess my holistic approach to writing things down in a journal really started back in high school. It’s also a direct product of my, ah, laziness, with beneficial consequences.
I had one notebook I used for all my classes. What happened prior to that, is I would have 7 notebooks for each class, and ended up forgetting to grab the right notebooks for school from my house in the morning (I like love sleep and would sleep in as late as possible). I decided it would be a lot more convenient to have a huge, 5-subject notebook for everything.
I haven’t regretted that choice since. Having my psychology notes right beside my statistics formula, my biology diagrams alongside with kinematics equations helped me approach learning from a new angle. It made me more aware of how all the subjects are interconnected instead of limiting them to their respective sectors.
And I guess this approach has carried through the rest of my life. I love incorporating science/engineering into my artistic mediums, and vice versa. I love mixing play into work, and work into play. Sure, limits and boundaries should be established where appropriate, but I do believe at least starting out with an all-encompassing mindset truly helps create a more holistic and enriching lifestyle.
So what do you think? Do you think it’s better to start out with separate topics and see how they may be linked together? Or is it better to let everything simmer in a big mosh-posh and determine what things should not mix together/limited afterwards?
T A Chan 