Found an old post from 2018 that said the original bullet journal method was meant to be done in a cheap notebook, not a fancy one with 200+ pages

I was digging through the bullet journal subreddit archives the other night, just bored and scrolling. And I came across this post from like 6 years ago where someone was quoting Ryder Carroll himself, saying the whole system was built for a simple pocket notebook with maybe 80 pages. The expensive notebooks with thick paper and all the extras? That came later from the community wanting more. I always thought the Leuchtturm1917 was the official thing, you know? But no, the original guy just said grab whatever cheap spiral you have and start. Made me think about all the money I spent on hardcovers with dotted grids that I barely used half the pages in. Has anyone else gone back to a smaller, cheaper notebook and found it works better?

3 comments

3 Comments

rowan_thomas8422d ago

Oh wow, that's actually a good catch but I gotta say one thing. The Leuchtturm1917 wasn't really the official thing either, it just got popular because Ryder Carroll used one in his early videos and blog posts. He said like a hundred times the system was designed for any notebook, cheap or expensive, just whatever you had lying around. But yeah, I tried going back to a simple composition notebook last month and honestly it felt weird at first because I was so used to the grid being exactly right and the paper being thick. The thing is though, the smaller notebooks force you to be more intentional with your space. You can't just spread everything out across two pages like a college lecture. But I still keep a few fancy ones around because the covers are pretty and they make me want to write in them.

robins8322d ago

The grid on a Leuchtturm is 5mm. That's the real problem. Composition notebooks are usually 7mm or nothing. Messes up my whole layout. I tried switching to a cheap grid notebook from Target once. Hated every second of it. The paper bled through with a regular ballpoint. Not even a fountain pen. You can be intentional with any notebook size. That part I don't buy. Bigger pages just let you see more at once. That's a feature not a flaw. I need that for my weekly spreads. Cutting down the page size doesn't make you more focused. It just means you cram things into smaller boxes. But hey if it works for you keep at it. I'll stick with my A5 Leuchtturm. Tried cheaper. Tried smaller. Always come back.

the_wesley22d ago

Honestly "cram things into smaller boxes" is basically my life philosophy at this point, tattoos and all. Ngl I tried a cheap Target notebook once too and the ghosting made me feel like I was writing on a napkin. But hey, at least my grocery list looked artsy while it bled through to page 3.