Is bullet journalling useful for learners? And which bullet journal spreads will work best for you?

What is a bullet journal? Learn from the creator himself!

I recently finished listening to The Bullet Journal Method, a book by Ryder Carroll. As the last few sentences played out in my earphones, I gazed up from my attempts at keeping up with the audiobook notes (in bullet journal format, of course) and I realized: this method is perfect for someone who is planning, or undergoing, any learning project at all. The book is available everywhere online and in bookstores – use the link above to find your copy.

Why I liked The Bullet Journal Method

• The audiobook version was read by the author himself, which was really exciting – I like it when somebody is enthusiastic enough to record what they wrote, and Ryder was a good enough reader to survive my annoying habit of playing audiobooks at 1.4x speed (no time to lose, yo)
• The book comes with a bonus PDF which lays out each of the features (or collections) a bullet journal can use – and provides some much-needed context for the ideas.
• The practical part of the book is clear and simple enough for anyone to follow, even if (like me) they do it while they’re on buses or trains.
• Apart from the tips and tricks about bullet journalling, Ryder Carroll also provides lots of real-world stories of how other people used their bu-jitsu (yes, really) to change the lives around them.
• The theory / philosophy behind BuJo features prominently in this book – you can almost feel that there was some pressure on Ryder to keep writing! Despite that, the philosophical and theoretical musings are actually very interesting and the author often quotes credible sources from psychology, neurology, business and other disciplines.

Bullet journal spreads for successful power learners

The nice thing about bullet journalling is that it’s so customizable. It will be what you make it – you literally start with almost a blank canvas. So whatever you’re planning, working on, or learning – there are good bullet journal spreads out there for you to work with.

Before we begin thinking about good ideas for using BuJo in learning, here are two or three useful terms to remember. When BuJo enthusiasts talk about collections, they mean a set of short (usually one-line, or one-sentence) notes with a sign – a dot, or a dash, or another signifier to accompany them. This way of taking bullet journal notes is called rapid logging and you can find out more about it on the project’s website (the video tutorial is super useful and worth watching).

Three bullet journal spreads to power your learning

So how can you put all the journalling skills to good use in your learning? You know about the terms, but what about actually noting things down – when you open the next blank page, what bullet journal spreads can you use to help your own memory, skills, planning? Here are three I could definitely think of – useful for language learners, and for just about any project you’re willing to spend tome time on.

The key question spread

This is a two-page bullet journal spread that becomes a collection of the most important, useful, puzzling, exciting, or motivating questions you can ask yourself when learning. Keep adding to them as you go along. The important thing to remember here: you do not need to always know the answer straight away! For my piano project, for example, a key question collection could have the following questions:

• How to make sure I use all the piano pedals correctly?
• What makes a chord “happy”? What makes it “sad”?
• Who plays the piano on the “Hidden Figures” soundtrack? What makes it sound so nostalgic?

The weekly spread

Many classic bullet journal set-ups will use this one anyway. It’s a good idea, as you’re planning your week ahead, to note down some opportunities for learning. Think of the big ones – possibly marked as events in the rapid logging system – but also of small chances to learn something here and there. Here are some ideas – a sample week of training for a triathlon (it’s also learning, you know!):

• Monday – Bike commute to and from work
• Tuesday – 2x bike, yoga in the evening
• Wednesday – AM swim
• Thursday – AM run, evening yoga
• Friday – AM swim, indoor bike session
• Saturday – rest
• Sunday – Bike + run

The “future resources” spread

This is for those times when a simple book list just won’t cut it. If your learning takes you to more places than just a library, chances are, you’ve got books, gear, apps, CDs, maybe even trips or travel to think of! All of this costs money and it’s best to remember why you thought you needed something in the first place. Plus, it sometimes turns out that you didn’t actually need that thing – and to stop yourself from impulse buying, you can hold the thought of having it in a spread like this. Here are some sample notes, based on my German learning plan:

• Rosetta Stone German (see if work provides this?)
• Goethe Institut library access (renew)
• GI online lending access (renew)
• Online dictionary subscription (must enable easy copy-and-paste)
• Conversation class (italki?)
• 2-week intensive course (summer or October. Vienna?)

BuJo is a fun and useful method of organising my days. I can’t guarantee it will beat Trello and online notes for my personal number one spot – but it’s definitely worth thinking about if you’re keen on making the most of how you learn!

(Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash)