When I was pastoring local churches, I was able to come up with a relatively simple system for organizing my daily and weekly tasks. Due to the weekly rhythm of sermon and worship preparation, I discovered what parts of that process worked best to be accomplished on certain days. Then I could factor in regular meetings, identify visitation needs, and make shifts for occurrences that would arise out of the blue (e.g., funerals) or that had been on the calendar for a while (e.g., special church events, weddings, etc.).
Due to this predictability, I came up with a planning sheet to help myself see my week laid out. I could cross things off as another Sunday approached, and then start a new sheet the next week.
I’ve been in my current role for over four years, and have struggled that entire time to figure out what organizational system could serve me best. Outside of a handful of weekly or monthly meetings, there’s much less predictability to my days.
At first I thought I could adapt my weekly pastoring sheet, but that didn’t last. Listing ongoing concerns on a whiteboard or legal pad each had their seasons as well. But I had yet to discover a method that I could truly embrace.
And then, to my dismay, I considered the practice of bullet journaling.
I don’t know why I’ve avoided this option for so long. It could be because I already keep a journaling practice and mistook this for a Cliffs Notes shortcut version of it. It could also have been because it seemed to be everywhere for a while and I felt very contrarian about looking into it more closely. I also found some of it needlessly complicated, with all the different symbols or color-coded pens that some people use to designate tasks.
I didn’t want lazy. I didn’t want a fad. And I didn’t want complexity. I wanted a way to keep track of important ongoing concerns and projects, as well as daily administrivia, without any bells or whistles.
And then I started reading about what bullet journaling actually is (mostly this explanation), and found that it doesn’t need to be any of those things that I wanted to avoid. I discovered that this practice could be exactly what I was looking for, and I could leave all the stuff that I found unnecessary behind.
So I grabbed an unused notebook, and based on the above linked article, set it up as such:
- Index – where to find everything on subsequent self-numbered pages
- Future Log – All upcoming big events and meetings
- Month at a glance – All meetings and events listed for the month, with room for additions
- Daily log – Task lists for each day
- Project list – Big ongoing concerns at which to chip away a little at a time
- Special lists as needed – Whatever other work-related concerns I want to have a handy reference for
When I complete a task, I check it off. No filled in circles or triangles or whatever. Other bullet journal users can keep that.
As new months and special list ideas arise, I write them out. When I complete them, I check them off. Wash, rinse, repeat.
I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how well this practice is working for me. And I’m even kicking myself for not looking at this sooner.
So yes, my name is Jeff and I am now a bullet journal user. Please respect my privacy during this difficult time.
Jeffrey A. Nelson 