Hot take: Keeping my bullet journal ugly on purpose

When I first got into bullet journaling, it was all about quick notes and simple lists. Now, my feed is full of perfect calligraphy and complex themes that take hours to set up. I honestly think making it pretty ruins the whole point. For years, I've just scribbled in a cheap notebook with a ballpoint pen, and it keeps my life in order. People tell me I should try markers or learn hand lettering to make it look nice. But I miss when the focus was on getting things done, not how it looked. My messy pages have seen me through college, moves, and job changes without any frills. Even as things get fancier, I'll stick with my fast and functional way because it never lets me down.

3 comments

3 Comments

taylorgonzalez2d ago

Your 'messy pages' remind me of what I read about simple journaling.

cameron_hayes992d ago

Ugh, that pressure to make everything look nice is so real. My old sketchbook from high school is full of awful, rushed drawings, but I can flip to any page and remember exactly what I was working through that day. Now when I try to keep a "proper" sketchbook, I waste so much time stressing about making the first mark perfect that I never draw anything at all. It totally kills the actual doing of the thing, just like your journal. That messy proof that you lived your life is way better than a pretty, empty book.

wesley_jones2d ago

All this talk about pressure makes it sound like a big deal. It's just a book with paper in it. If you want to draw, you'll find a way.