In economics we have this thing called diminishing returns. The encylopedia britannica defines it as:
An economic law stating that if one input in the production of a commodity is increased while all other inputs are held fixed, a point will eventually be reached at which additions of the input yield progressively smaller, or diminishing, increases in output.
What this means is that at a bakery for example, more people baking bread will result in more bread being made, right? But at one point, too many people could cause troubles like desorganization, mistakes… All kinds of things that could hinder production.
And I realized this applies to organization too.
Let’s talk about bullet journaling
OMG It’s so pretty.
Okay, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, I must admit that there was a time I went crazy with the idea of bullet journaling. I thought it would magically solve all my problems. It just seemed so perfect.
The problem was, that in spite of technically having the freedom to bullet journal however I wanted, that itself presented a struggle, because it was just too much. It was the pressure of doing it pretty, of taking time to set all the layouts and keep in mind the symbols, and feeling the pressure again…
I’m not saying this is a bad option. It just may not be the option of everyone. The idea is perfection because it actually has most of what people like us need, but at the same time not because of this annoying pressure.
For some of us, the more ‘organized’ we try to be, the faster we get tired of it and fall into chaos
Ever wondered why having a planner for your writing, another for your blog, and another for life isn’t quite working? That’s because you’re trying too hard.
Simplify.
The less planning systems to keep track of, the better.
Bullet Journaling vs Planner vs Own System
Both with BuJo and OwnSys you have a blank notebook, but, like I always say, mindset matters. If you go in with bullet journaling in mind, what you think about is a specific system you must follow. ‘Must’ might seem as a strong word, but to be honest, if the thing actually has a name ‘bullet journaling’, then it’s an established system. If it really were ‘free’ then so many people wouldn’t be so confused as to how to start.
With a planner, you’re already given how everything is supposed to be planned. This helps, but it might become overwhelming too when you’re asked to fill so many things that won’t even be useful in the end.
Things like, color in the hearts to rate how your day went.
What to do?
The only thing that has worked for me so far has been mixing the power of these methods.
- The simplicity of checklists
- The guiding hand of a planner’s best and core features: Year overview/ Monthly spreads/Day planner
- Your touch: Do you need it to have daily heart ratings? Do you need to have a space for your current read to be?
There are a lot of planners out there that offer a minimalistic design you can tweak with space for checklists and for you to add whatever you may need!
But if acquiring a planner is not in the cards for now, a while ago I put together an Organization Kit. It includes:
- Bookworm planner
- Idea planner
- Monthly spread (October one (sorry) but fully editable)
- Weekly planner
All of these are .docx files you can edit to suit your needs. I carry mine around everywhere in a folder lol.
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Yes! The other trap is that sometimes the creative setting-up part is the fun part, but the follow-through is kind of boring, so…there went all that time. My other problem is that I’m old enough that it’s easier for me to do planning stuff on paper (which is why I still have a wall calendar that I faithfully put all my non-work appointments on), but then I never have the notebook with me when I need it.
THIS so much! Both of these are me too. I’m just so forgetful and get distracted easily unless I really care about something.
Ohhh I definitely get what you mean! I’m a naturally organized person but I admit, sometimes I go a little overboard with planning hahaha like one time I created a complicated spreadsheet for something I no longer remember and it was exhausting! I get more tired working on the spreadsheet than the thing itself haha now I keep a bullet journal and blogging notebook but I try not too let it stress me out too much. Great post! 😀
I’m pretty disorganized, but I can definitely see how trying to adopt a super-complicated organization system would hurt more than it would help. If you have to spend time planning out your planning then it’s counterproductive!
Yes, that’s exactly what Laura said, and what I meant. Thanks for stopping by!
I can’t say I’ve ever had a problem with over organising (I am literally the least organised person ever!), but I can totally see how doing too much could become a problem! In the end I guess the organising itself would become so time consuming that you have no time to do what you wanted to get done. Simple is definitely better, so i totally agree with you! Great post 🙂
Lol, that’s exactly how it feels like sometimes! You’re so lucky! I just have the misfortune of being disorganized but also get stressed when it reaches a certain point :/
I’ve never been interested in bullet journaling because it just seems like A LOT of work. I’m super organized with my blogging and reading by using three different spreadsheets. I couldn’t survive without them lol. And since I made them myself, they have exactly the things I need on them! In college I used a word document to meticulously keep track of my schedule, handheld type planners just didn’t work for me, but I don’t use any sort of daily schedule anymore since I don’t need it. Great post!
Thank you! I’m working with spreadsheets now to manage the content of my blog more closely and not only deadlines, and so far, I’ve loved having all my blog post ideas in one place!
Great post! I totally agree that getting too organized can sometimes be counter-productive. When I first started bullet journaling I would spend HOURS watching videos, reading blog posts, and browsing Pinterest before starting a new spread- which was such a waste of time. Now I keep my journal minimalist so I can concentrate on what’s important.
Lol, yes, I think we all get a little crazy with bullet journaling. I bought washi tape, a cute pen, a cute notebook, and then I ruined it. XD I just DO NOT KNOW HOW TO BEAUTIFY A NOTEBOOK. And I quickly lost interest because for me, if it wasn’t all pretty and neat, then it wasn’t really a bullet journal. It was some sort of poor excuse of a copycat. So journal became college notebook.
Hi Pamela! I found your blog through the thread for ya-zine! This happened to me so recently. I spent weeks looking for the perfect planner and couldn’t find one. All that effort towards trying to be organized was wasted on searching for perfection. I ended up just using weekly printouts and writing in my daily check-lists for assignments and monthly printouts for keeping track of future due dates for projects, essays, etc. Organizing can definitely because more troublesome than it should be! Wonderful post!
Jessica! Thanks for stopping by! I’m currently trying with one Icey Designs planner. It’s really minimalistic, and I think it could work, but I still work with printables as well for other stuff. I just love the idea of creating something yourself that you can use, or buying something, but that you can customize according to your needs.
Thank you again for reading!