Daily journaling with Bullet Journal methods, namely Rapid Logging and Daily Logging, are the two methods I adopt to journal every day AND throughout the day.
These methods help me substantially in so many ways that deepen the relationship with my inner self, improve my mindfulness and productivity, and even assist me in my language learning endeavours.
That is to say, it has transformed my life. And I want it for you too!
What are Rapid Logging and Daily Logging in Daily Bullet Journal?
Rapid and recently introduced Daily Logging are how we construct Daily Logs in the Bullet Journal system.
They are introduced by Ryder Caroll, the author of the Bullet Journal system.
They enable you to journal about anything at anytime to capture and offload thoughts and emotions, without constraints on WHERE and WHEN.
You can literally dump whatever notes, thoughts, etc. whenever they arise:
…be it a daily plan you write with intentions in the early morning with a cup of coffee,
…or an important note for a future deadline written urgently when you receive it during the day, and so on.
How Daily Bullet Journal helps me (and you too)?
In this blog post, I highlight 3 most important benefits (among many more), which I have personally experienced since practicing Rapid and Daily Logging.
Freedom to declutter the mind
Daily Logging methods of Bullet Journal enable you to journal about anything at anytime to capture and offload thoughts and emotions, without constraints on WHERE and WHEN.
How much more freedom is there, right? Because think about:
How often do you want to write something down but struggle to find a proper place for this note?
Should I use this or that notebook? On which page should I start?
Should I use a note-taking app to brain dump this temporarily?
Etc.
You are overthinking, just to end up writing this important task or idea down to a Post-It note and to forget it days later.
How often do you want to write about how you are feeling, but struggle to find a timeslot to actually sit down and pour out your thoughts?
“Maybe tonight before bed during my PM journaling session”, you reassured yourself.
Then either you pass out while watching that episode, or you no longer feel the emotions or remember those thoughts you had at that moment.
I often find myself in this conundrum, and I guess, many of us do too.
We are overthinkinking, when what we need is simply a safe space to just write and to declutter our minds.
This “safe space” for me is the Daily Log pages of Bullet Journal. I write Daily Log almost every day and throughout the day whenever I feel like or need to, using Rapid and Daily Logging techniques.
Here’s a brief explanation how to apply Rapid Logging technique to plan your day and take notes during the day.
Rapid Logging technique asks you to write down fragments of your day by denoting them in three basic categories, namely:
A BULLET ⚫️ for TASK = things we need to do
- Bullet checked ⚫️✅ or crossed ⚫️❎ = a task is complete
- Bullet migrated ⚫️▶️ or ⚫️◀️ = a task is to be re-scheduled forward or backward in time
Bullet strike⚫️= a task is no longer needed or cancelled
A DASH ➖ for NOTE = things we don’t want to forget
A CIRCLE ⭕️ for EVENT = things we experience
That’s basically it!
This Bullet Journal key system can be found right at the open of the Bullet Journal edition 2 notebook. It’s super quick and convenient to learn, refer to, and apply immediately.
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For example, when planning your day in the early morning, you’d likely only use the BULLET type of entries to signal tasks that day.
During the day, you come across an interesting idea, so you immediately capture that with the DASH type of entries and some keywords. You can do this right below your last row of the Daily Log.
Do not overthink about the organization at this point! Just free your thoughts and feel that freedom to declutter your mind when you want or need to.
This is quite crucial in this particularly noisy and distracting world of the Internet and social media. This method can help protect our focus and mindfulness, while still enable us to consume information with filters and selection.
Connection to my inner self
Using the NOTE type of entries, I can also write about what I am thinking and/or how I am feeling. Yes, these are considered important notes too, not just information, figures, deadlines, etc. are notes.
Then comes Daily Logging technique, which furthers this connection to my inner thoughts and feelings.
Daily Logging is a practice that complements Rapid Logging. This practice encourages you to write down a few summary lines right after task or event experiences.
This kind of notes is denoted by an EQUAL 🟰 symbol.
This step serves as a transition between tasks and events during the day.
This is extremely helpful, because of three reasons.
Any notes or tasks taken away from this experience are written down here and now. Doing this helps to immediately free the brain capacity (on memory & reminder). At the same time, it helps to prepare for the next steps, when the information is still fresh.
Plus, Daily Logging serves as a pause for reflection on what’s next, as in what really matters to tackle next, rather than what the productivity autopilot dictates.
Thanks to this technique, I start to slow down and be mindful more often. I try to pause to re-evaluate my priorities, instead of rushing into the next thing and delivering like a machine.
Most importantly, I start to write about how I feel and give these experiences a proper appreciation. This could be in the forms of take-away learnings, next actionable steps or simply a recognition.
I have experienced all these above three benefits of Daily Logging and cannot recommend it enough.
The fact that this simple act let me spend time noticing my thoughts and feelings and make me feel better about myself and what I am doing is such a transformative benefit.
I stop taking myself for granted and start giving myself more credit.
We all need a constant reminder that we are doing well enough and that we are enough. It is through this self-care act that we become encouraged and empowered, again.
At the end of a day, I already have a daily record of what has happened, what I have done, felt, learned, and what’s next.
It’s like a long page of journalling, but broken down into bite-sized bits of insights that are captured in the moments (this is crucial!).
Simplified productivity system
As a nerd who obsesses with everything planning and organization, it has been difficult to resist writing about this benefit sooner.
Bullet Journal Method is a mindfulness practice disguised as a productivity system.
As we have already discussed mindfulness above, this section is to briefly mention how Bullet Journal as a whole, and Daily Bullet Journal in specific, have been helping me as a productivity and project management tool.
Let me first point out that Bullet Journal method consists of not only Daily journaling methods like Rapid and Daily Loggging, but also Yearly, Monthly and Weekly practices.
Yearly Bullet Journalling (or Future Logs) help me to roughly plan ahead for the entire 12-month calendar, while Monthly Logs and Weekly Logs help me tackle this big plan in much smaller and more manageable monthly and weekly scale, respectively.
The action then happens on the daily level.
Daily Log is where tasks and events get transferred, or migrated in Bullet Journal system language from Monthly or Weekly Log, to get executed.
With the break-down task management, I know exactly what I am supposed to do each day, to move myself closer to my big goals, one day at a time.
My Suggested Daily Bullet Journal routine:
Put it all together, here is my suggested step-by-step Daily Bullet Journaling routine:
- BEFORE DAY STARTS: Migrate Daily tasks over from Monthly and/or Weekly logs using Rapid Logging technique
- Tip: When migrating, you can also prioritize daily tasks in the Daily Log, by writing them down task by task in the priority order.
- DURING THE DAY: Follow through your Daily task list (denoted by BULLET symbol) and update your Daily Log record using Rapid and Daily Logging techniques
- Reminder: Employ the Daily Logging methodology to capture your take-aways of each task and event and transition yourself with mindfulness thoughtout the day.
- BEFORE DAY ENDS: Read through and reflect on your Daily Log record
- For TASK entries: check off if completed or migrate forward / backward if not
- For NOTE entries: enter them into a Collection for long-term storage if necessary or convert them into an actionable task / event if necessary
- For special NOTE entries (with = symbol): enter them into a Collection for long-term storage or explore further as long-form journal if necessary
- Tip: Sometimes, when time does not allow, I use weekends instead to do the organization of note entries.
To Summarize:
In this blog post, I shared with you:
- Two methods to Daily Bullet Journal, namely Rapid Logging and Daily Logging
- Three reasons why Daily Bullet Journal has helped transform myself, by giving me:
- FREEDOM to declutter my mind whenever and however I need to, so I can become more clear-headed and light-hearted to carry out my days
- CONNECTION to my inner soul, so I get more mindful and feel better about what I am doing, and finally…
- a SIMPLIFIED PRODUCTIVY SYSTEM for project management to move closer towards my big goals
- And I believe, Bullet Journal would give you such benefits and more!
- Three step Daily Bullet Journal routine, recommended from my personal daily practice
Coming up next: I demonstrate step-by-step how I practice Daily Bullet Journaling to consistently journal everyday in this article Rapid and Daily Logging: A Guide to Daily Bullet Journal for Focus and Mindfulness.
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Thank you so much for reading this far. Happy bullet journaling!
Warmly yours,
Suani 💖
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