Seriously..... Sanity for $1.00? Obviously, I don't know what you are dealing with. The house, the marriage, the children, homeschool, a full time job, church commitments, friends, extended family, health issues, trying to lose weight... etc etc... Here is the thing.. I do know.. I get it. I have many of those situations in my own life. So what is the magic $1.00 answer? Well, my local grocery store had a regular notebook on sale for $.25 and a package of pens on sale for $.75... yeah I know tax... so not quite $1.00.
So.. I bought the pens and the notebook and decided instead of using a moleskin or hardcover journal I was going to try to use a regular notebook for my organization. The notebook does have perforated pages so that is helpful in case I decided to tear pages out later to move to a 3-ring binder, something I am currently considering now that I have filled one and am starting my second notebook. So I found that I liked the Bullet Journal concept but I am not really that crafty etc. I needed more space than the hardcover journals I tried gave me and I thought why am I being a snob, what if a notebook was the answer. So, I bought 20 of them.. and then found then for cheaper at Staples the following week and bought more. Yep, cheaper sanity.. I already owned 10 pens...
Numbering the pages, adding and index and a key to the back page ~ all bullet journal ideas has helped me immensely. I think I am going to also leave a blank page in the beginning to be a space for me to summarize the time period the journal covers. I have learned not to number all the pages since the notebook seems to lend itself to children drawing in it and or pages getting torn out.. so I number it as I go along. I do add the daily and monthly pages the bullet journal method calls for and a weekly spread. This helps to keep my sanity. I can see menu plan, events etc.
Now what about all the other things in your head... dump them... into your notebook. Add what you can to your calendar... but the other stuff.. projects start a page. Homeschool units.. start a page. Women you would like to have for lunch.. start a page. Christmas gift ideas.. movies to watch on Netflix, date ideas for time with your spouse, prayer list... etc. It can all go here. You can even keep a journal of what has happened ... just write a few sentences.. it really does help to remember all those things that you think you will.. but will fade in time.
Journaling has helped me in so many ways. It helps me to make decisions. It helps me to see if I am keeping my goals. It helps me to remember where I am supposed to be and what I am supposed to be doing. It helps me to track bills, weight loss goals, hours completed for homeschool etc.. Don't think that a pen and paper is an answer you have already heard.. already tried etc.. and just ignore this post. Try again.. here are two huge reasons it won't work. It won't work if you don't look at it consistently. You need to have times you check in with it. Morning and Night to plan the day and to write about the day are easiest. I keep mine with me. I use it for family meetings in the morning and for information needed throughout the day. If you check Facebook 10 times a day.. then you can do this.. start checking your notebook. The other reason this won't work is if you don't write in it.. the information has to be in there. You have to write, draw, plan, etc.. it won't just magically appear.
This will work if you overcome those two obstacles. You may even have a notebook and pen in your house right now.. Look at you saving money. Go get them.. check out the bullet journal video linked below. Take a deep breath. Start using your notebook and start writing. I have found it has offered me a way to stay sane as life gets busy and I need to keep up, or delegate or just say no to something. I can see it all in one place and I don't have to keep reminding myself in my head.
