BuJo Like No One’s Watching

Okay, my final thought on my bullet journal is this:  BuJo like no one’s watching.

There are many artistically talented people who bullet journal.  That is great.  I love looking through the hashtag when I’ve got a few minutes of waiting to do (but not enough to pull out the knitting!).

There are many people who post their amazing journals daily on Instagram, etc.  That is also great.  It’s great that they feel okay sharing that with the world.

At the end of the day, my bullet journal is for ME and me alone.

My bullet journal is private.  Not every page is a masterpiece.  Most pages are just black ink on a white page.  I may sometimes share something I’ve drawn, if it’s fantastic or fantastically terrible or just a sentiment I want to share.  That is also great.

I do this because it makes me happy, more productive, more focused, less likely to be self-critical and helps me recognize patterns related to my health, emotional and physical.  And I can’t do that if I’m second-guessing every pen stroke for public consumption.

I doodle, I rant, I make mistakes, cross things out, misspell words, run out of room on a line.  But I don’t reach for the white out.  I strike-through and move on.

I buy supplies as I see the NEED for them.  I do have a few stencils and a monthly grid stamp.  I used the last of my scrapbooking pen stash and as I’m killing those jelly roll pens off, I’m moving on to a pack I grabbed for $5 on Amazon.   If I feel like using something, I use it.  No saving things for when the queen comes to visit.

Same goes for notebooks.  I bought this AWESOME leather journal cover (with a plain Dick Blick sketch book inside) YEARS ago, but never used it because I was afraid of it not being perfect.  I can literally replace it anytime I want. Why was I afraid to write in it?

Yes, that is a Weeping Angel from my favorite episode of Doctor Who – Blink

Anyway, who cares if I ‘mess it up’?  I’m human.  I’m allowed to mess things up.  You are, too.

I added this train wreck right here to keep it real.  I’d been watching too much Bob Ross and believing him when he said ‘happy accidents’… This isn’t a happy anything – this is a hot mess! But I left it in there.

If you feel like you need a way to get yourself together, grab a $5 notebook from Amazon or Walmart and a pen you like to write with and just start.  Don’t think about it, just start writing.  You may be surprised with what appears on the page.