Embracing the New School Year by Getting Organized
Find an organization method that works for you!
As summer draws to a close and the first day of school approaches, it's time to shift gears and prepare for the new academic year. Whether you’re a student heading back to school or a parent getting ready for the upcoming fall term, the transition can be both exciting and overwhelming. Getting organized can help make your transition a little smoother and more successful. If you are someone who struggles with organization, you might find that bullet journaling can help you feel more in control, less stressed, and more capable of meeting your goals.
So what is a bullet journal? The Bullet Journal® was created by Ryder Carroll, an inventor who struggled with ADHD symptoms as a child. Originally, he designed this method for himself but quickly learned that other people (both with and without ADHD) found it useful as well. It’s simply a system of using bullet points to organize your thoughts, schedule, tasks, and anything else that you want to keep track of. You can use any notebook to get started. In this short video, you can see what it looks like and how it’s organized.
Setting up a bullet journal includes the following components:
Index - so you can find where you wrote things down in your notebook
Key - this has symbols that you put next to your bullet points that help you remember when things are done, not completed, or important
Log - this is for organizing your days, weeks, and months.
Collections - this can be anything that you want to keep track of like fitness goals, songs for a great playlist, grocery lists, or inspiring quotes
The really nice thing about bullet journaling is that it’s completely customizable to your life, your needs, and the way that your brain works best. You can use color coding, pictures, embellishments, or whatever makes it work for you. There are some further concepts such as “migration” which allows you to move tasks to other categories, and “threading” which allows you to continue writing on pages if you have run out of room.
You might even get inspired by the online communities of people who love bullet journaling. While it takes a little bit of time to learn the method, the payoff is feeling assured, organized, and ready to take on your new school year with confidence. You got this!
