I’ve been dabbling with paper things again. And I’m really enjoying them! I’ve been trialing the Bullet Journal Method for the last 8 weeks, and doing some personal journaling, while still keeping my digital apps on the go. It works. My new mantra is “Paper Planning, Digital Presentation“.

It really is the best of both worlds. I’m loving the screen-free, tactile sensation of throwing thoughts and ideas on to paper. I’m equally loving the idea of presenting those thoughts digitally. Mainly as I have the handwriting legibility of a 2-year old, and it helps to read what I’ve thunk.

If I’ve learned anything through trying to find a system that works for me, it’s that no one size fits all. It is, after all, personal productivity. To get me to where I am, I’ve pinched from many sources to find what works for me.

Here’s the digital and analogue tools I’m using:

Digital

  • Gmail – email
  • Google Calendar – calendar
  • Google Keep – for quickie notes. Great on the phone to call up stuff quickly
  • Todoist – for all recurring home tasks (take out the bins, wash kitchen floor etc.) – I also use this with my wife for errands, monthly plans, and gift lists.
  • Nirvana – for all my non-recurring tasks, especially those associated with work.
  • Obsidian – for digital presentation of my “learning” projects.

Paper

  • Leuchtturm 1917 A5 hard-cover notebooks – one (a 411 notebook) that follows the Bullet Journal Method pretty closely. One that is just a freehand personal journal. I love Leuchtturm stuff. I’ve got the ballpoint and gel pens too. They’re great. The simplicity of having numbered pages too. That’s a big win for me.
  • Leuchtturm 1917 A6 Jot pad – this is a great little tool that I take out and about with me to make some quick paper notes. It’s mainly used as a “snag” catcher, which ultimately ends up as a task in Nirvana or Todoist.
  • RHODIA 118769C rigid notebook – dot-grid, a “sort of” bullet journal style for everything at work, using slightly different spreads and templates than those offered in the official Bujo book. I really like the “feel” of this notebook.
  • Moleskine Classic expanded notebook – a ruled book that will contain al my notes for an “ultralearning” project I’m working on.

My process is broadly based around GTD, with bits of Bujo, “Make Time”, “Ultralearning” and “Deep Work” thrown in!

Here’s what I’ll do on a daily basis:

  1. Capture any items/thoughts on my Jotpad.
  2. Evaluate and organise those captured items as projects, tasks or notes into either Nirvana (non-recurring tasks), Todoist (recurring tasks), or my bullet journal for notes.
  3. Move notes into Obsidian when appropriate (end of day, or end of week)
  4. Do a daily review in my bullet journal, and set up the next day’s bullet journal day – with at most 3 tasks (one of which is the day’s “highlight”)
  5. Do the work – typically using The Pomodoro Technique as I’m a terrible procrastinator
  6. Do an end of day longhand journal entry.
  7. Do a GTD-like Weekly Review (often on a Sunday morning)
  8. Set up a Monthly review/spread set up on the last day of every month for the following month in the Bullet Journal. (I love this ritual!)
  9. Review/revise any Quarterly Themes or goals

I’ll no doubt refine this going forward, but for now – it works for me!