Bullet journal: Visual language

Visualising notes.

Last week I covered my note-taking system in Bullet Journal article . This week I want to cover some of the nitty-gritty details.

I don't know about you, but I'm a visual person. So when I write to my journal, I use a system of symbols to find things like todo lists and ideas faster. Icons that I use are straightforward, so they look beautiful even with my bad drawing.

As I mentioned in Bullet Journal , I start each page by writing the current month on top of it and then split my entries between days (02-09).

Productivity

A friend of mine calls me a productivity ninja every time we meet. Surly I used to be one, but not any more.

These days I don't use a fancy productivity management system anymore. I try to stick to one or two projects at a time. Can't hold more than that in my head anyway. For 2020 my calendar has one scheduled event. Nowadays:

I pick a direction. Then do daily steps/tasks in that direction. No over planning.

Every morning during breakfast, I write into my journal the day task list proposal:

then mark the task execution order. Tasks marked with ! have to be done on that day. The rest if there's time. I let the task list be a guide, not a source of guilt.

There are a few more productivity icons that I use:

• 1.) indicates a link to an unfinished todo list on page 118
• 2.) clock logo is for daily time: From time to time I write down what I did during the day in 15min slots.
• 3.) meeting symbol: I try to avoid meetings, but if I attend one, I make sure that I'm prepared and up-to-date with the agenda.

There are a few more icons I want to share that I use.

Ideas

Idea logging represents a significant part of my creative process. Ever since I've done regular morning brainstorming for a few months, I get ideas all the time throughout the day. When they pop up, I simply write them down and categorise them:

• 1.) Tweet: Idea for the tweet content.
• 2.) Article: Idea for an article I might want to write in the future. I jolt down the bullet points. Whatever sparked the idea.
• 3.) Explanation: Occasionally, I have an aha moment and figure out how to explain something intuitively.
• 4.) Stand-alone idea: The general idea that doesn't fit into any other category.
• 5.) Experiment: Something I want to try out. Either in physics, coding or in my personal life.
• 6.) Brainstorming: For the brainstorming sessions where I force myself to generate ideas.

These days I'm really generating a lot of ideas, and there's simply not enough time to execute on all of them. I complete the ideas that require short execution immediately. The rest lend on my computer in a dedicated place I call Idea brewery where they roast for a while. I execute on the ideas that I still find interesting in a few days/weeks/months. More on the Idea brewery in the upcoming articles.

Logging

Those icons are used to write down thoughts and anything else that might come across my desk throughout the day.

• 1.) Freedom business: All notes on my Freedom business. More on Freedom business in the article.
• 2.) Book: Notes from the books I'm reading. Or a reminder that I should get a specific book.
• 3.) Journal/5 min journal: When I'm frustrated or can't get a thought out of my mind even after a long walk, I prefer to journal.
• 4.) Note: General, note that doesn't fall into any other category.
• 5.) Dreams: Occasionally, I have wild dreams, and I try to capture those dreams immediately after I wake up.
• 6.) Question: Anything I'm curious to find out, have to research or ask someone.
• 7.) Observation: About my habits, surroundings. I go over those observations from time to time and am stunned by what I observed.

Joining symbols

Joined symbols are another handy thing:

Few examples:

• 1.) freedom business idea
• 2.) important task
• 3.) important question that has to be answered as soon as possible
• 4.) tweet idea

There are plenty of other combinations that one could use.

Customisation

In this article, I listed a few logos that I find useful. Though you should play around and find out what suits you.

Every time I need a new logo, I perform a Google search: word + logo/graphic/emoji. After the search through the pictures, I usually find an idea that's simple to draw.

I maybe use 3-5 different entry types a day. I keep updating the way I use the Bullet journal every day. In fact, I made a few changes while writing this article.

In the next piece, I'll cover a few more tips on how to make the most out of the Bullet journal.