Busting 5 Bullet Journal Myths

Starting a bullet journal can be a very daunting task. And I speak from experience in this regard. I remember that when I started I felt that I had to have all the things in order to have the perfect journal. Well, I am here to tell you that you don’t!

There are a lot of posts on Instagram that will make you feel that your bullet journal is not good enough or not pretty enough and I am here to let you know that if it is working for you then you do not need to buy all the things.

So here are some of the most common myths floating around the bullet journal community and my thoughts on them. As always these are my honest opinions and will always try to help as much as I can!

You need lots of supplies

One of the most common myths is that you need all of the things in order to start your bullet journal journey. In truth, all you need is a notebook and a pen, okay an maybe a ruler.

These don’t need to be expensive and they don’t need to be flashy they just need to get you started in building up the habit of actually sitting down and planning out your day or project.

One of the worst things that you can do is go out and buy all the things in order to copy that popular Instagram account. I have seen people drop literally hundreds of pounds to copy someone else setup thinking that it will help them get on track.

Spend some time with the system and figure out how it is going to work for you before you dive in and buy extras to add on to the bare bones of the system.

You can only start on January 1st

This is a myth that has been bigged up by those in the community that are perfectionists. You can start your journal at whatever time in the year you are. I started my first one in March and it lasted me 4 months and I then had to start another notebook.

If you feel that you have to start in Jan then you do you. But if its the middle of July and you need to start a bullet journal then get started! Start by thinking about what you are wanting out of your journal.

There is only one correct way

It very much annoys me when people say that there is one correct way to use the system. As long as you have a basic grasp on the system you can use it anyway to help you achieve what you want out of your journal.

The bullet journal system is incredibly flexible and can be used a number of different ways whether that is minimal or artistic. You control what your journal looks like.

And at the end of the day, your journal is for you not for Instagram you do not need to share it. If you want to share then go for it but if you don’t then don’t.

You need to be artsy and creative

It really breaks my heart when I see people saying that they can’t bullet journal because they aren’t creative. Yes some people have incredibly elaborate and creative spreads but they have been doing that for a very long time and have practiced a lot!

You do not need to be artsy to start using the bullet journal system. When you have got the system down the start adding to it.

Your journal must be perfect with no mistakes

BULLSHIT! I know that making a mistake in your notebook can be a pain in the arse but it is not the end of the world! You can cover mistakes or you can turn the page. There are some out there and I use to be one of them, that when they made a mistake the whole notebook had to go.

It has taken me a long time to get to the point where I can turn the page and ignore the mistakes. I am not saying that this will be easy to do and it will take some time to get over your internal perfectionist!

It took me going through a bit of a planner break down in order to get to that point. I am not saying that it should take this for you to get them, however, when you make a mistake, stop take a breathe and think can you incorporate it into your page or can you cover it up?

If it is bad then turn the page. Then you don’t have to look at where the mistake is.

Did you believe any of these when you first started your bullet journal journey? Are there any myths that you have busted? Let me know in the comments below.