A bullet journal is an analogue system for the digital age. The flexible system, developed by US-based digital product designer Ryder Carroll, prompts you to be more selective about the tasks you tackle every day.

The concept behind a bullet journal is to streamline your plans, tasks, notes and to-do lists so that they fit within one organisational system. This method makes it easier for you to prioritise and manage your life, enabling you to be more productive and organised.

If you want to test out a new time management system, it’s worth trying your hand at creating a bullet journal. Need convincing? Here are five good reasons to start a new way of organising your life and work.

1.    A bullet journal can make you more productive

Have you got multiple post-it notes floating around at any given time and a diary that is bulky and hard to carry? If so, then the bullet journal could be your saving grace.

You can record everything in the one book – usually an A5 notebook – that is easily managed and stays with you. All your tasks are simplified and easy to find via The Index and page numbers that you create as you go, and the bullet points signifying what you need to get done.

2.    Simplify your life using a bullet journal

All you need is a notebook and a pen. You can plan a daily, monthly and yearly calendar and assign tasks in bullet point form so that they are easy to record and view. This form of writing is known as rapid logging – recording tasks, events, notes, and lists quickly and simply so you can readily remember each one.

3.    A bullet journal is a way to prioritise your tasks

Think of the bullet journal as a framework that consists of modules: the index, the future log, the monthly log, and the daily log.

You can mix and match these modules to best suit you and your needs. Every day, ask yourself if the task in question is something that needs to be actioned today, this month or later on in the year.

4.    Learn to better manage your time with a bullet journal

The bullet journal requires that you assign signifiers to each note, task or event. Signifiers are symbols that give the bullet system extra weight. It signifies what is important, marks what has been actioned and helps prioritise your daily tasks.

5.    The bullet journal keeps you mindful

Another way to stay on top of your schedule is by migrating entries. By copying over the tasks and events which feature in your future log (a simple break down of the months ahead, which you write in the first few pages of your journal) over to your new monthly log (the month you’re about to go into), you’re more likely to remember and prioritise them.

While rewriting entries might seem like double the work, this process is intended to make you pause and consider each item on the list. If an item isn’t worth rewriting, it’s time to let it go and focus on more important tasks.

This article is part of an ongoing Balance column, offering tips for juggling work and life while also managing your mental and physical wellbeing. Have something you’d like this column to cover? Email the Acuity team now.