I have to admit that after more than two weeks of One Book July, I’m about to lose my mind. I already fell off the bandwagon by putting a pocket-sized Moleskine sketchbook in my purse so that I have a portable-sized notebook for jotting notes on the go.
So my first downside to One Book July is not always having a book that fits in my bag or pocket.
Then, there’s the issue of the whole Bullet Journaling system… its not been my strong suit. I have been planning several trips that are coming up in August and October. Normally, I’d write all the details down in my Filofax which I keep a whole year in the binder at a time. With a Bullet Journal, there’s the need to write and re-write things in sections like “Forward Planning” and a monthly list and then later in the weekly pages. With my Filofax, I only have to write it down once in the weekly page and maybe on the monthly pages if its an all-day event or something that extends several days. So, that’s the next issue I’ve faced – I miss my Filofax.
I don’t really like keeping my personal notes in the same book with my work notes either. I seldom need my work notes once I’ve gotten home. I do tend to think of things I want to do when I get home or over the weekend while I’m at work so I do tend to carry my personal notebook back and forth with me. So its been weird to try to keep all the notes in one notebook. I’ve ended up cheating and keeping a lot of work notes on 3x5s and sticky notes rather than in my notebook just so I don’t have to keep the notes in my One Book July. So, its another fail for me.
I know I need to continue for another two weeks to be true to the One Book July challenge but I’m not sure I can handle the compromises for two more weeks. I know it sounds ridiculous to need more than one notebook to survive but I’m that OCD.
On the plus side, I really like the the Midori MD notebook ($16) I’ve been using. The paper quality i excellent and has held up to all the pens and pencils I’ve used with it. I purchased the plastic cover ($3.80) for it which has made it feel much more durable and provided pockets to stash loose paper and keep the cream paperboard cover from getting dirty. I will certainly continue to use the Midori MD notebooks in the future. It’s some of the best paper I’ve used yet if you don’t mind the ivory cream stock.
I wonder if I had chosen a Traveler’s Notebook with multiple booklets, if that would have more easily fulfilled my need for work, personal and calendar needs as well as being able to pull out a booklet for portability sake? It’s something to consider for next year.
Your problems with the forward planning of the Bullet Journal is why I only kind of use the system. I modified it a lot for using in a TN: I have a separate monthly insert that covers me through 2 whole years and a week+notes insert because the more freeform nature of the original bullet journal just doesn’t suit me at all.
I hear you. I need a minimum of three notebooks to function, and I don’t even have a job outside my home! I tried hard with the Bullet Journal, several times, because I liked the *idea* of one book. But for me, it’s completely inefficient. I enjoy your posts!
Sounds like its been quite educational, so not a failure at all!
You didn’t fail — the one-book restriction failed you! Use however many you need to be efficient. I couldn’t function without a portable notebook in my bag! It’s the satellite, and the main planner is the mothership that stays at home.
Tina
P.S. I love the collage cover with the tiny Field Notes!
Tina is right. We should all use what works best for
us. Taking on the challenge, then seeing where it worked and did not work, shows you met the challenge. You also reinforced what really works well for you.
Thank you for all the work you put into your blog. It’s the only one I’ve followed.
Same here. I’m ready for OBJ to be over. I miss my smaller sizes that go with me in my back pocket. There are days I miss my ringed binders, but I hate writing with rings.
One Book July has been amazing for me!! I always had to have a separate notebook for everything before and it was becoming rather cumbersome. I’m using a half page size hard cover moleskine because I had one lying around and it’s been great. I’m not doing bullet journaling really … I’m just brain dumping each day on a page and if I want to write something else down (grocery list, doodle, work notes, fun quotes) I just start a new page. It’s made my book a total mish mash but I actually kind of like that!
I’m so glad its working for you!
I like your idea, Jessica. Maybe I’ll forget the concept of bullet journaling and try the one-book mish mash!
I definitely struggled with my own one book July attempt too. I decided I need to keep my different types of journaling and note-taking and planning separate. I decided on a mini Moleskine weekly planner, and a Leuchtturm for my bullet journal.
I use separate notebook planners for work and home. The work planner – a filofax notebook in which I created planner pages – stays at work. The home planner – a passport size Traveler Notebook – is in my bag. If I think of a work thing that needs to be remembered while I’m at home, I send an email to my work email. There can be small overlaps where I need to write a work thing in my home planner, such as a reminder of an early meeting or an event, separating work and home to the point of leaving work stuff at work gets me off the hamster wheel.
I’ve recently been using the bullet journal system in my filofax, but I’ve quickly fallen out of love with it. I actually feel less organised with my bullet journal than simply with my filofax.