Imagine you wake up at night and your home is on fire. You have to get out of here. In a panic, you look around frantically one last time. So many material things that we accumulate around us in the course of a lifetime. Which of these is important? You can only carry one item and take it with you – an item that you can rescue from the flames. What are YOU taking with you? For me, the answer has been crystal clear for about six years and it will probably remain the same for even longer: My wooden box full of bullet journals from the last few years. They contain all the experiences, thoughts and emotions of countless days – the past, wishes, worries and organizational matters. These sometimes tattered, well-worn books have helped me so immensely to bring more mindfulness and fulfillment into my life that I would never want to leave them in the ‘flames’.

But let’s take a few steps back. Back then, when I hadn’t owned a single bullet journal and the wooden box was still filled with other trivialities. Even as a teenager of fourteen, as a classic ‘over-thinker’, I often felt stressed by all the thoughts and to-dos that were running through my head every second. “Later, I have to do another assignment for school. Oh – and I should actually check my email so I don’t miss any important information. Sport. I mustn’t forget to go for a run later.”

By chance, I read a blog post on the topic of ‘Organization with the Bullet Journal’ at a time when, as a student who was always very ambitious in terms of good grades, everything became too much for me and I kept forgetting important things. I was quickly inspired by the idea of clearing my head by writing down all my to-dos, thoughts and feelings. There was also the fact that even as a child I liked to record my experiences in colorful diaries – to a certain extent with the desire to leave something personal for posterity to read, whether my life was exciting or not.

So I bought myself a simple notebook and a good ballpoint pen – that was all I needed to get started. I started by finding out more about bullet journals and their structure and function, so that I could then decide for myself what I wanted to achieve with my bullet journal and what design options I had. I learned that a bullet journal was essentially a planner, similar to a calendar, that you could design and use according to your own needs.

So I started filling my bullet journal with pages of different categories: an index, future plans, idea pools, monthly overviews, daily overviews, wish lists, affirmations, book lists, vision boards, gift ideas, travel wish lists, shopping lists as well as an overview of all school and later university assignments and to-dos for my job at COX Coaching & Consulting. I soon began to reflect on my feelings and experiences during the day in writing every evening and to record my tasks for the next day. After that, my head was empty and I was able to ‘be present’ again in a calm and relaxed way, without constantly thinking about what was still to come. Over time, I enjoyed journaling so much that I also printed out small photos as reminders and designed the pages more and more creatively. I got myself a calligraphy pen and practiced, practiced, practiced until I was satisfied with my new headings.

Of course, the people around me, especially my family, didn’t miss my new hobby, to which I now devoted some of my time every day. I was often asked: “Why are you doing so much work and writing it all down? Why not do the tasks straight away instead of writing elaborate lists first?”. These critical voices were right about one thing: yes, I also invested a lot of time in designing my bullet journal. That’s when my perfectionist and creative streak came through. But I simply did it because I enjoyed it and wanted to. But what I said to those people was: “I invest twenty minutes of my time in something that makes me more productive afterwards and helps me to find my focus so that I gain significantly more time. That’s why I do it”. I usually added that the concept of a bullet journal could also be much simpler and more minimalist. The creative design and the effort you put into it could still be determined by yourself.

During the whole process, I only realized in retrospect HOW much my everyday life had changed through bullet journaling. The stress factor ‘endless to-do lists in my head’ was gone, I became more productive because I used my time more effectively and prioritized tasks according to importance. I split large tasks into smaller portions and was therefore able to work through them more easily – step by step. I kept a better eye on deadlines and dates and it became an absolute rarity for me to forget something or run out of time for a submission.