Quarantinspo

It’s been a while. How are you doing?

As I sit down to write this blog post, it’s crazy how much I realized I missed writing. The reason I created this fashion blog in 2015 (it’s been 5 years? YEAH GIRL) was to give myself a free form of self-expression and creativity and DAMN did I miss this feeling.

Truthfully, I haven’t created in a while because I have been feeling UNINSPIRED since the onset of this pandemic. Anyone else? I’ve told myself I need to create more, work harder, give more, call my family more, love harder to feel happy but then I realized…why do I feel the need to do all of those things? I really just wanted to turn off, get away from technology and refresh but I wasn’t permitting myself to do that because I felt like I needed to achieve this level of busy because I was now at home all the time.

But in reality, It’s okay to not feel on-top of the world 24/7. That it is OKAY to feel uninspired, to be tired, to be frustrated to want to binge-watch New Girl for the 3rd time. Your journey is your journey and no one can dictate the path you take.

So, the point? In my search to turn off and remove myself from the dreaded screen, I found my new go-to way to un-plug. It’s called Bullet Journaling and it’s THE best when you’re naturally anxious and thrive on organizing your thoughts. So my friends, if you’re looking for some hardcore #inspo to start creating your empire, planning your week, or just to simply allowing space for yourself to turn off, I HIGHLY recommend it.

For those who have never heard of Bullet Journaling, it’s a process of journaling that helps you manage your past, present and future all in one book. It’s your central hub for to-do lists, diary entries, health logs, future goals and anything in between. It’s basically like your go-to lipgloss that you take with you everywhere because it can go with ANY outfit. But…in a journal form.

I started doing this in July and I found myself so at-peace with doing something creative with my hands again. See, I’m not a designer or artist and no, I can’t create powerful drawings that can change the world. But– I can catalog the F*CK outta my feelings through writing and doodle to my heart’s content.

What’s key about this type of journal is that it’s all stream of consciousness and short-form thoughts. Hello, efficiency! So instead of writing a novel of lists, it’s important to keep it short, sweet and to the point. Then, as you’re cultivating your perfect lists– there is a system of symbols you use to track their status. See below for deets.

Symbols:

Use the bullet symbol next to things you need to do.

Write an “x” over the bullet to mark to-dos that are now complete. (yeah this doesn’t give you that fuzzy feeling of crossing the item off, BUT it’s nice because it shows what you’ve accomplished, which is helpful when you’re looking back.)

Write the less than symbol (<) over the bullet to show that that task has been scheduled, and write the greater than symbol over it (>) to show that the task has been “migrated” — AKA you didn’t finish it today/this week/this month, so you moved it to another day/week/month’s list.

Use a dash for quick thoughts, notes, or smaller events. Write an open circle to mark big events.

Get more info on this here.

Once you get the general concept, it’s time to plan your pages! You start with an index in the front of your journal, create a yearly calendar and a monthly calendar, and then it’s really a choose your own adventure situation. To start your own bullet journal you’ll need an empty journal (I use this $12 one from russell + hazel), a ruler (or straightedge) and then colorful pens and stickers to jazz it up. These supplies are meant to inspire and make you feel creative so I encourage you to get weird with it! I’m bringing back gel pens in mine and I can’t wait.

Now that we have our supplies locked down, you are ready to design your pages! Like I mentioned before, you can really do whatever you want with your pages– it’s all about organizing your thoughts/feelings & keeping track of your lists. I bolded the pages I recommend absolutely having in your journal and then the others are fun things that I wanted to track personally in mine.

My Bullet Journal includes:

Index
2020 Calendar
Monthly Calendar
Monthly To do’s + Goals
Books to read
Movies/Series to watch
Monthly Habits to get into
Monthly health log

I’m anxious by nature, so creating my own universal guide for all my thoughts, feels and plans was like my ultimate sigh of relief. I can now visually design my journey on a piece of paper (away from screens yay!) and give myself that much-needed me-time I deserve. And you know what? It feels SO GOOD.

So moral of the story is this– when you feel stuck, in a rut, sad, angry, frustrated or all of the above, you can find your outlet. AND… it might just be something that was there all along. Like Bullet Journaling!?

Ready to tackle your own Bullet Journal? I’ve included some of my favorite resources below if you’re interested in learning more. OR better yet, shoot me a message on Instagram, @averageshrub, and let’s chat.

Resources: