A couple days ago I wrote a post about how I’ve fallen in love with my bullet journal and the whole bullet journal system in general and a reader commented,
I love it but doesn’t it take a LOT of time to set up?
Well, sure. It did take some time to set up.
But this system has kept me focused and on track. And I’ve been more efficient than ever. I still have a long way to go, of course. I’m forgetting things and messing up and still running late even though I vowed I’d never be late again.
But I’m getting better.
And the time I’ve invested has helped me to be much more productive and efficient. So there’s been a big return on investment.
The set up was worth it.
I keep coming back to that comment, though.
Didn’t it take a LOT of time to set up?
I’m bothered by that comment.
There is so little value placed on doing a good job or on creating anything by hand anymore. There is so little pride.
And I get it.
There is never enough time in the day.
Conveniences are nice. Things that make your day a little easier are nice. Shortcuts are nice.
But we have crossed the line.
Everything is easy. Everything is instant. Nobody can wait for anything anymore.
And it’s a problem.
Kids don’t know how to earn things. They don’t want to wait. They can’t persevere.
They don’t want to spend the time doing anything.
They want trophies without putting in the work.
People want to lose weight by taking a pill. Not by controlling their eating and breaking a sweat.
We don’t want to write anything by hand.
Forget writing, actually. We can’t even type out complete sentences anymore. Everything is a fucking abbreviation.
We drive through and microwave and short cut everything.
Without remotes and apps and Google we are paralyzed.
Look at sidewalks where there is a corner to turn.
I guarantee there is no grass on the inside corner of that sidewalk because people cut straight across it.
They are too lazy to take the four extra steps, stay on the pavement, and leave the grass intact.
People don’t return shopping carts. They don’t even fucking walk anymore.
They hover.
What the hell?
Not everything needs to be instantaneous. Not everything needs to come quickly. Not everything needs to be easy.
In fact, it shouldn’t.
There should be stuff in your life that takes a long fucking time to do. And that’s really hard.
Because not everything easy.
Raising kids is not easy. There’s no drive through for that shit.
Marriage is not easy.
If it’s coming undone, there’s no quick fix for that if you want to repair it. There’s only hard work, and perseverance.
There is no easy button for surviving a financial crisis or a death or a divorce or an illness.
We have become a bunch of wimps and quitters who want everything to come immediately.
We want to be given the link, click on it, and be done with it.
We want to order it next day air and have it on our doorstep the following morning.
Remember that Heinz ketchup commercial with Carly Simon singing?
Anticipaaaaation…
There’s no anticipating anything anymore.
Everything’s in a damn squeeze bottle now.
We are constantly looking for ways to make everything faster.
But we miss the lessons along the way. We miss the journey.
We lose the experience and the incomparable reward of the feeling of accomplishment when you’ve really busted your ass to get something done.
So yeah.
It took a long fucking time to set up that bullet journal.
And it was worth every second.
Wonderfully said! I can kind of see where the person who made that comment was coming from. We have apps now-a-days that make life easier. Apps where we can make grocery lists on our phone in case we forget our list at home and whatnot. However the pics that you posted show that you made your bullet journal SO damn beautiful – which is SO better than any app can do! Rock on! ??❤️
That is soooo true. All of it. It took a while to set mine up too but it was worth every millisecond. It isn’t some mass produced planner. It is exactly what I want to accomplish for myself everyday. I love that it is 100% mine! It can flex and challenge me and change with my life and I’m proud to check every box, write down every inspiring quote that speaks to me and hold myself accountable for everything I want to do. I even appreciate my imperfect writing. Transfomation in every page!! I never got it either until I actually sat down and started. Just the process of sitting down and figuring out what you want to track and record is eye opening.
Exactly! I have wasted much time and money on mass produced planners and journals that didn’t meet my needs. My bullet journal is fun!
I’m too much of a perfectionist to do a bullet journal. I love the idea, though. I’m the type where if its not neat enough I will rip out the page and start over…. My book would be empty. Plus, I would never have time. Instead, I have lists on the fridge and a giant wall calendar in my kitchen. I’ve tried to have a cool “go to” book but it just doesn’t seem to work for me.
I read your post about bullet journaling last week and I was intrigued. I used to be a scrap booker and switched to digital because it was easier and faster but it wasn’t the same. Same with my organization. I used to write lists since I could write. In today’s digital age I got every app and computer program that was going to organize me but what I found that I was more disorganized and scattered than ever. I’m still learning about bullet journaling but I’m loving it and feeling it “big time” and yes it does take time but I’m a better person because I took the time for ME. Thank you for posting about it and taking the time!!!
I love this post!
It cracks me up that “I love it but doesn’t it take a LOT of time to set up?” was the impetus for it!
I’m very frustrated about this subject as well. I also feel like there is inherent value in doing things, cooking, homework, to name a few, the same way as I did them when I was a child. The recipe and content are not the same, but the devotion of time to the job to get it done correctly is. No shortcuts. And yes, you will reap greater reward and value that reward much more.
Your closing is my favorite part:
“We lose the experience and the incomparable reward of the feeling of accomplishment when you’ve really busted your ass to get something done.
So yeah.
It took a long fucking time to set up that bullet journal.
And it was worth every second.”
Perfect!
Thank you Susie!
Elise
Define “a lot.” I set up my bullet journal in about 30 minutes (based on some of your recs and some google results.) I didn’t think that was “a lot.”