By Jessica Brite and Alyssa Nepomuceno, staff writers
Amidst the age of digitized media, many people have begun to revert back to traditional means of tracking their productivity.
The concept of “bullet journaling” has been on the rise among students and adults alike, helping them form coherent and thorough plans on paper rather than on a screen.
However, unlike the usual store-bought planners, those with bullet journals see it as an opportunity to not only personalize the pages to their liking, but to include other thoughts they deem as important in their journal; therefore doubling as a to-do list, sketchbook, notebook, and diary.
The term “bullet journaling” originated from the company Bullet Journal that created the first bullet journal in order to allow its user to customize it to their preference. Each page contains a light print of bullets evenly spread throughout the page, similar to graphing paper, in order to help its users visualize the layout of their spread.
Junior Jacqueline Valenti explains how her bullet journal doubles as both a personal journal and a planner. “As a Townsend student my life is really messy and bullet journaling keeps me in order, especially to track dates of tests and quizzes.”
“I have always been super interested in drawing and calligraphy,” she continues, “art is something that relieves stress for me and it’s really rewarding to make a colorful theme and piece of artwork for each month or day, and getting to flip through pages and see how your handwriting and art improve.”
Junior Chloe Chan says, “I started one in freshman year because I heard about Townsend Harris’ immense workload and wanted to be prepared.”
“I have a yearly spread and then the current month section which has a calendar and weekly spreads. My productivity has improved a lot since I can see whats due in advance and I am more inclined to do work in advance,” she explains.
Bullet journaling has since evolved into much more elaborate spreads, containing colorful headers and titles for each section, multiple fonts of calligraphy, and several themed drawings and pictures.
The resemblance to pieces of art create a time consuming hobby in which junior Aresha Parjohn points out, “journaling does take time especially if you are a perfectionist. I thought it would be a good way to express my creative side. However I didn’t have as much time to bullet journal and create the spreads that I wanted.”
However, for those who want to try to start their own, sophomore Arriana Wilson advises that “all you need is a pen and a notebook. It will take time to find out what works for you but trial and error will help you set it up in a way that’s most efficient for you.”
Sophomore Katrina Dydzuhn agrees saying, “ just go for it. even if you don’t like the way it looks originally, you’ll get better at making the pages look nice and you’ll eventually find a style that you love and you’ll be able to stick to it.”
Arriana further states that “if you need inspiration Google is a great place to look at images as well as YouTube videos. Some are more complex and colorful but don’t be scared to just start off simple.”
Across the board “bullet journaling” gives people a sense of control-in being able to plan out their days—yet a sense of relaxation—by allowing their creative juices to flow.
