Vashti Chowla, Grade 10
UWCSEA East
There’s something about the feeling of being on top of things. It’s a satisfaction that settles at the bottom of your stomach; it’s most alluring characteristic is its ephemerality.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fervently chasing that feeling. That stomach-settling starry feeling. But unfortunately, the fact about being on top of things means that you’re constantly having your fingers crushed by more tasks just when you’ve reached the top of that impossible mountain.
And frankly, I was tired. I was tired of having broken fingers. So I decided it was time to fix them, to tame the task mountain. And in my pursuit of productivity, I found bullet journaling.
But what exactly is bullet journaling? Ryder Carroll, the creator of the bullet journal method, calls it a mindfulness practise disguised as a productivity method. But I like to think of it as the culmination of anything you want it to be. It’s a completely customisable way of keeping your thoughts tidy.
My introduction to bullet journaling was rough. I followed the method for about a week. Just a week. I was disappointed, but what I didn’t realise was that a week was better than nothing. A few months later, I tried my hand at bullet journaling once more. This time, I kept it up sporadically throughout the year. And I found that the truth was that that is how I liked it.
At the start of this school year, I decided to join a brand new activity—the bullet journaling club. Participants would meet once a week to discuss journals, learn new ways to organise their thoughts, and simply share what they had done.
I joined the club with two of my friends, and I think the best thing about the club is that it gave me dedicated time to bullet journal. Something that I don’t often make for myself. I use this time to wind down, to exchange ideas with like-minded people, and above all, to creatively plan my tasks in my journal.
And these days, I find that my fingers are healing because although I am still not standing atop the task mountain when more appointments, deadlines, and due dates come crashing down on me, I scribble them into my journal instead of letting them consume me.
Here is my bullet journal instagram account: @_astro.bujo
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fervently chasing that feeling. That stomach-settling starry feeling. But unfortunately, the fact about being on top of things means that you’re constantly having your fingers crushed by more tasks just when you’ve reached the top of that impossible mountain.
And frankly, I was tired. I was tired of having broken fingers. So I decided it was time to fix them, to tame the task mountain. And in my pursuit of productivity, I found bullet journaling.
But what exactly is bullet journaling? Ryder Carroll, the creator of the bullet journal method, calls it a mindfulness practise disguised as a productivity method. But I like to think of it as the culmination of anything you want it to be. It’s a completely customisable way of keeping your thoughts tidy.
My introduction to bullet journaling was rough. I followed the method for about a week. Just a week. I was disappointed, but what I didn’t realise was that a week was better than nothing. A few months later, I tried my hand at bullet journaling once more. This time, I kept it up sporadically throughout the year. And I found that the truth was that that is how I liked it.
At the start of this school year, I decided to join a brand new activity—the bullet journaling club. Participants would meet once a week to discuss journals, learn new ways to organise their thoughts, and simply share what they had done.
I joined the club with two of my friends, and I think the best thing about the club is that it gave me dedicated time to bullet journal. Something that I don’t often make for myself. I use this time to wind down, to exchange ideas with like-minded people, and above all, to creatively plan my tasks in my journal.
And these days, I find that my fingers are healing because although I am still not standing atop the task mountain when more appointments, deadlines, and due dates come crashing down on me, I scribble them into my journal instead of letting them consume me.
Here is my bullet journal instagram account: @_astro.bujo
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