So, in today’s post I am going to give a comparison as well as my personal opinion on the Bullet Journal vs Planner topic. Now I know everyone has their own opinions on which they prefer, and I am not bashing anyone’s preferred method but rather explaining why I don’t particularly like one way over the other.
What exactly is a Bullet Journal? The technical definition of a bullet journal is: A bullet journal is a method of personal organization developed by designer Ryder Carroll. The system organizes scheduling, reminders, to-do lists, brainstorming, and other organizational tasks into a single notebook. But to put it in my own words. A Bullet Journal is a fully customizable blank notebook when you start. So every month you would have to design a new layout, add your own calendars, schedules, lists etc. This is perfect for someone really artsy and who has the time every month to dedicate time to designing your monthly layout. From my understanding there are also journal pages that should be added to these books as a way of dedicating time every day to getting your thoughts out.
What is a Planner? The technical definition of a planner is: A personal organizer, datebook, date log, daybook, day planner, personal analog assistant, book planner, year planner, or agenda, is a small book or binder that is designed to be portable. It usually contains a diary, calendar, address book, blank paper, and other sections. To put it in my own words a planner is a fully dated and designed book that you simply have to add your information weekly/monthly to. Super easy to get started because all the technical stuff is already done for you.
What’s my personal preference? For me I tried to get into Bullet Journaling but found that it was not really what I really wanted. So now for me I personally have 4 planners on the go. I have one for my personal planner, one for my website/Facebook/Instagram (basically Blog planner), one for my meal planning and then another for my exercise tracker. I know that seems excessive, but I really do use all of those planners. I like to be organized when it comes to my life. I spend 1 day a month planning in my blog planner for all my platforms and then I typically spend 1 day a week in my personal and other planners doing any planning that I need to do. My favorite brand of planners has to be The Happy Planner, which I can usually find at Michaels. I love that the covers are always amazing and that the spines are easy to have them flipped and easy to remove if needed. I love that I can add and get rid of pages if needed. I have actually since purchased the hole punch needed to add paper to my Big Planner and have since added my monthly budget papers and I am always looking for more cool things to add. Now some people may say that buying a planner doesn’t allow you to customize it, but I disagree. I am able to add stickers, sayings, use different pens etc. The only thing really that I am not doing is designing the planner myself. I am enjoying being able to actually layout especially with my blog planner three or four months in advance for blog posts and with Facebook and Instagram. With my personal planner appointments are usually made months in advance so I can keep track of my appointments and any bill payments that I have in there. I love my planners and take them everywhere with me.
One thing that I know people like about bullet journals is that you can have your daily journal in there as well, but to me a journal should be somewhere separate so that it is not read by everyone. I consider a journal something private and having it in your planner in my opinion is not really private. So, for me I have a journal that is separate from my planner and I don’t always write in it but when I have had a particularly hard day I will write in my journal and just decompress.
Do you use planners? Do you prefer Bullet Journals?
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