I am a list writer, and a doodler, and a brain dumper. I feel better if I can write a list, even if I don’t actually do anything on the list, I feel better just being able to get it all out of my head and down on paper. So I went and bought myself a pile of pretty notebooks and pens the other day. Because when you have notebooks and pens that automatically makes you organised… right??
I am determined to keep on top of things in 2015, not just some of the time, but all of the time. So while notebooks and pens are a good start I know I’m going to need more than that.
Last year I came across the idea of the ‘Bullet Journal‘ and I tried it out for a while, but I didn’t stick to it. The idea seemed simple enough but I couldn’t keep track of the icons and the numbering of pages and filling in an index and flipping back and forth… it was just a little too full-on for me.
I am inherently lazy. I need things to be simple if I am going to stick to them, really simple.
There are two main things that I really liked about the bullet journal system – I liked the monthly calendars being right there in my notebook, and I liked the idea of one notebook for everything. I just didn’t need it to be quite so organised and regimented, so I set about making my own simplified version.
I call it my ‘brain dump journal’.
It’s a very simple system.
- Step one : get yourself a nice notebook – I use the A5 spiral bound notebooks from Typo because they are lined, small enough to stick in my bag, cheap and easy to replace.
Step two : get some nice pens – because you can’t be organised without nice pens.
Step three : At the start of the month add a monthly calendar to a page in your notebook.
Step four : On the pages after the calendar write anything you like – a daily list of things to do, ideas, drawings, gift ideas etc.
Step five : If a page has something important on it that you might want to refer back to, use a bit of washi tape to make a little tab so you can easily find it again.
Step six: At the end of the month start all over again.
My brain dump journal isn’t going to keep me insanely organised on it’s own, and I do need other systems to make sure I keep on top of things (like my monthly calendar on the fridge, a menu plan, a filing system, a weekly planner page – more on those later ) but this is my beginning. This is my ‘write it down so you don’t forget it’ place, and I am going to try super hard to keep up with this system, and write in it every day if I can.
If you’d like to have a go at a ‘brain dump journal’ I have a helpful A5 sized monthly calendar to get you started.
You can find my new 2016 free printable calendar here .
There is an A5 sized calendar that prints two to an A4 page – these fit perfectly in your brain dump diary. Just print, trip and stick them in wherever you need each month.
There is also a full sizes A4 calendar and some fun printable tabs and accessories and extras.
I stick in one month at a time as I am not sure how many pages I’ll use before I get to the next month, so I just pop the unused month print outs in the little pocket at the front of the Typo notebooks so they are there when I need them. I also add a little washi tape tab to the calendar page so I can find it easily.
And that is my super simple ‘brain dump journal’ system. It’s my first step in getting organised, and staying organised in 2015!
You can also find my A4 sized 2015 free printable calendar here, and keep an eye out early next week for my weekly planner free printable.
Bless you Kate! I too thought the bullet journalling thing looked good until I tried it, so I am the perfect candidate for your alternative system :) Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!
I loved the idea of the bullet journal but after a few days I knew I’d never stick to it!
I’m giving this idea to my husband, this is PERFECT for him (I think)!
I’m working on putting up a family command centre, inspired by the one from “Lemon Lime Adventures”: http://lemonlimeadventures.com/organize-life-family-command-center/
Since it’s just two adults and a small toddler in the house though, it’s going to be a bit different.
I love Lemon Lime’s family command centre too… I’m trying to work out a way to make one work for all 6 of us in our family!
Thank you Kate! I haven’t made any resolutions as such but I plan on being much more organised with one girl going into year two and the other year one and all the activities they are getting involved in plus a new baby come April I figure I need to get my self together.
I tried bullet journaling for about a month and a half and liked it but was unable to stick to it so this sounds little more my style.
You did better than me! I only managed a few days of bullet journalling before I fell off the wagon!
I have a brain dump book too. Love the washi tape idea for important things to refer to. I’ll have to start doing that too
It’s so good to just get everything out of your head and onto the paper isn’t it!?!? I often don’t ever manage to do even half the things on my list but I feel more at ease just writing it down!
This is too funny! We’re celebrating Christmas late due to my husbands work schedule and so this is actually Christmas morning and what lies under the tree for me but a planner, special pens, and washi tape! I splurged on a expensive daily planner this year. We’ll see if it helps with my desire like yours to get my life in order! Thanks for your blog, I love it!
you have special pens… I am sure that is all you need to be super organised… right?!? LOL
Thank you Kate, with the new school year only a month away for the 3 teens – this is perfect for them for study planners. I can paste into the notebooks I have here and customize to suit each of them (2 Year Nine’s – girl/boy & 1 Uni student – girl). Obviously they all have different goals and needs for the year and store school diaries just don’t cut it (never enough note/doodling paper ), so this brain dump book idea is fantastic.
Happy New Year
I always like lots of space to doodle and just write stuff too! I hope they like it!
Bravo Kate! I am onto this idea quick smart.
Happy New Year Kate! I have the exact same book! In fact, I have a few storage boxes with them because I have been doing this for about 5 years now. If I get it done, I do. I look back every few days, sticky importants to get done for certain, and move forward … (Accept I call it my ‘cover my butt book’ cuz I forget a lot & keep track of VIP phone calls, emails, etc too!) ;D Thanks very sweetly for printable perfect fit!
Thanks so much for the free calendar! My husband works in technology and I’ve tried every app out there for getting organized, but I always come back to a notebook in the end to write my notes in. The calendar will be very helpful!
This is perfect! Exactly my style :) – i’ve been trying to use my phone for organization, but i need paper and pen… i will add it to my phone when i’m the passenger in the car :) – but i love looking back to see all I’ve actually done, and i love to look back on old brain dump pages (from years ago – i have a few saved) and see how my life/priorities/attitudes change :)… Thanks for this cute, encouraging idea!
Thank you, Kate! I have discovered your ‘Brain Dump Journal’ on the very day my hubby decided to throw a wobbly (long story!) about a flat tyre and I gave him a piece of my mind! Well and truly, lol! Men can be such ‘kids’ sometimes! But I digress…the point being, I have started my own BDJ in a hotel room while on a road trip and it has given me such peace already! I have begun my year on a positive note to take in hand my health after recent woes and now I really feel I can DO everything I want to just by implementing your format. Thank you once again, and Happy New Year!
I just wrote a blog post on all the different journals I will be keeping this year….now I will be adding one more, the brain dump journal. This looks great to keep your daily life organized. Thanks so much.
After sitting around a lot in hospital rooms lately and having lots of medical information dumped on me I put your Brain Dump Journal into action.Thank you for your inspiration and all that you do. My cute A5 notebook doesn’t have a front cover pocket so I stuck an old sturdy birthday card envelope there (I keep everything) and the other calendar months fit perfectly and I put a few sticky notes in as well. I think I will stick another envelope inside the back cover for other stuff like grand children’s drawings after they have “art and crafted” a few of my pages while visiting Grandpa. Yes, Grandmas read your blog too. I have one tiny suggestion. I only print in black and white as I am tired of forking out for colour cartridges that last so little time so only the colours that are light in value stand out. Picky, I know. Forget I even said it. Cheers and keep up the good work.
Print them in grayscale if you get a funky pens or pencils colour them in.
I have been doing a “bullet journal” for almost a year now. I have always felt badly calling it a bullet journal, because after a couple of months it started to look like it had been taking drugs. The thing I loved was that the more I used it, the more flexible I became about the “rules” and the more creative I became about the organization.
When the new year started I put a twelve month calendar in the front, and then started with the bullet journal month and master to do list. The pages in-between the months are filled with the daily journal, which still has most elements of a bullet journal but is also filled with quotes, scripture memory verses, new vocabulary (I live in a country where I have to speak a second language), and even art work/doodles. Each page is a surprise, but every single thing I need is in one notebook and because of the index, I can find it easily. Sermon notes, email addresses, scribbles, to-do lists, and calendar… all in one creative place.
Anyhow, I started with the bullet journal and kept all the elements I have loved the best and then added in my own creativity and some flexibility and it has been my favorite system ever.
this is a really great idea, I like it as it isn’t as regimented as some systems allowing creativity of thought and as many pages as you need in a month. thank yuo for sharing this concept and for being so generous as to share the inserts you created
Hello! Thank you for creating these awesome printables.
Thank you so much for the planner printable! It’s perfect! So glad it starts with Mondays!
I have tried so many “to-“d-/organizing systems I’ve lost count, including a few digital but mostly in one notebook or another. Along the way I’ve created very elaborate ones and simpler versions. I’ve used color coding to the hilt as well as several types of store bought ones. The stack of ones I’ve tried that have gone to the wayside!
I’ll add that for many years I’ve used the same monthly one and love being able to go back to it. It was the daily to-do one that I continued to experience “failure”. (My defination of failure in this regard is that after a few weeks/months I’m no longer referring to it, no matter how much data is in there or how long it took me to set-up or even how much $ it cost!)
About a year ago. I decided to try just writing down what I need to do in a spiral book. One thing lead to another and a year+ later I am still using it…and LOVING it. I’ve even moved my bigger project to-do lists to the back of it with a tab and in 2015 I also added my year’s goals at the very beginning. I’ve tweaked a few more things but the basic premise of it is the same, which is that I never date the pages…I think that’s the key to this working!
I never comment on post but when I read that you have come up with a system that is almost identical I had to reply! It works better than all those complex systems…at least for me.
Oh I can so relate to your story!
I love the look and idea of all these more elaborate systems but I just can’t stick to any of them!
It’s actually really cool to have finally found something I can stick with and that works for me.
So glad you took the time to comment, you’ve made my day!
I love this post because I relate to it so much- I always buy a ton of notebooks and pens and just brain dump like that. Thanks for the free printable, now all I need is one of those notebooks! This is an awesome post- the washi tape makes it all perfect.
I to loved the idea of the bullet journal but i am as lazy as you with the back and forth and numbered pages and just blah! i get enough of that writing my novel. but your brain dump journal has inspired me to do a version of my own in my graph ruled bullet journal. i call it my book of life. lol. but everything goes in it! my monthly and weekly planner pages, my task and habit trackers, my daily writing journal, my research notes (because i usually do research on the fly with the house full i have.) even my zentangling goes in this thing and i love it! it keeps me organized and on point because no matter what, if it gets written in my day… it’s going in my book of life. so i am always in it and checking things out thus helping me remember things i might otherwise have forgotten. so thank you so much for this post! it literally changed the crazy out of control life i had and now i just have a crazy out of control journal that makes perfect sense to me!!! :)