WHETHER you're trying to keep track of your shopping list,to-do list, or meal plans, the best bullet journals can help you do it all with ease.
Read on to find out how they work and check out our pick of the best options.
What is a bullet journal?
The best bullet journals organise absolutely everything into a simple, easy-to-use notebook — so you can forget apps, fly-away post-it notes and pieces of scrap paper that end up in the bin.
The original Bullet Journal — or 'BuJo' — was created by New York-based designer, Ryder Carroll, to help with productivity and organisation in a streamlined, mindful way.
Since then, there's been an absolute explosion of different options.
Best bullet journals at a glance:
- Best for goal setting: Mål Paper daily goal setter
- Best original bullet journal: LEUCHTTURM1917 Bullet Journal
- Best for mental health: The Positively Awesome Journal
- Best budget notebook: Lila Notebooks dot grid notebook
- Best for colour choice: Papier wellness journal
- Best basic notebook: Agenzio small dotted notebook
- Best for personalisation: andsotheymade personalised notebook
- Best eco-friendly notebook: Katie Leamon bullet notebook
- Best for creatives: Moleskine art bullet notebook
Best for goal setting: Mål Paper daily goal setter
- Mål Paper daily goal setter, £23.95 from Amazon – buy here
The Mål Paper daily goal setter exists to make your life goals clearer while providing inspirational daily quotes, and regular space to reflect on your wellbeing, as well as positive affirmations.
In all honesty, we loved it. On first impressions, we liked the soft-touch faux leather cover, and the simple, gilded lettering on the front.
Each of the 274 pages felt thick, and had space for our weekly goals, thoughts and feelings, with bullet points for important tasks and notes.
There is the space for dates, to write what you're thankful and grateful for, and it's an opportunity to really celebrate the accomplishments of the day, however small.
There's space for 12 months of planning, with short, medium and long term goals lists, a year-to-year calendar and space for loose documents in a pouch
It's a super simple yet really effective way to set yourself goals and we really started to celebrate the simpler things in life that aren't often seen as accomplishments.
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Best original bullet journal: LEUCHTTURM1917 Bullet Journal
- LEUCHTTURM1917 Bullet Journal, £22.92 from Amazon – buy here
The LEUCHTTURM1917 is the classic, original Bullet Journal, envisioned by and designed in collaboration with Ryder Carroll – the BuJo creator and trailblazer himself.
We tried it for a couple of weeks and found that the pared back, classic affair is pretty special – if you can get your head around it.
On first impressions, we were pretty taken aback by all the blank pages. The paper felt luxuriously thick though, and didn't bleed through with ink when we wrote on it, while the sturdy, faux-leather cover made it feel like it was a pretty special notebook.
The Bullet Journal comes with brief but precise instructions, and can take a few days to get your head around; there are carefully curated unique dotted symbols for you to keep track of your week, month and year, alongside three ribbon page markers. There's also space for you to create your own.
At first, we had to watch a tutorial and thoroughly read through the provided 'tips' pages at the back to try and get our head around it, but once we'd separated the pages correctly to give us a six-month plan, we felt a little more relaxed.
We really liked the stickers included in the pouch at the back of the A5 journal to help us keep track of our plans and goals – but as this reviewer is quite a creative person, it felt like we needed daily affirmations and instruction instead of blank space.
The original Bullet Journal is pretty special, though – it's well-designed and has been thought through to fit a precise, organised way of life. We think we'd rather something a little more rigid, with space for daily affirmations and questions to answer, but we can see why this crowdfunded BuJo is so popular.
If you're quite a logical person, then this is absolutely the BuJo for you – it's intricate, tidy, precise and all yours to plan out your future, in line with your past and present.
Best for mental health: The Positively Awesome Journal
- The Positively Awesome Journal, £9.22 from Amazon – buy here
Sometimes, it's easy to feel a little down about life – especially if you're stuck in a routine and live for the weekend.
The Positively Awesome Journal exists to change that.
It's essentially a self-care tool-kit, which encourages you and equips you with insights, tools and affirmations to get you through the day with a little more brightness and optimism.
There's simple, but inspiring and uplifting tasks to focus on your attitude and wellbeing, and improve your mental health.
This bullet journal notebook has you at its heart and really is Positively Awesome.
Best budget notebook: Lila Notebooks dot grid notebook
- Lila Notebooks dot grid notebook, £3 from Amazon – buy here
If you're looking for a budget-friendly, no frills bullet journal notebook then look no further than this Lila Notebook.
It comes in an array of colours — including coral, two shades of purple and black — and boasts 106 thick, dotted pages.
It's a minimalist yet classic bullet journal, and has a soft-feel matte laminated cover that repels spills (so you don't need to worry too much if you accidentally spill a cuppa on it while you're working).
Best for colour choice: Papier wellness journal
- Papier wellness journal, £26 at Papier – buy here
This beautifully designed wellness journal from luxury paper brand Papier is ideal for self-care and wellness.
There's space for 12 weeks of daily reflection, including bullet points and dotted pages for your usual bullet journaling, and space to ponder on your goals and the week ahead.
It's ideal for pausing to reflect on how your life is going, and great if you want to take a breather and write about your sleeping pattern, water intake or meals.
It takes the complication out of planning your week and future, and makes it fun and mindful.
It can be personalised with your name and is available in a range of different colours.
Best basic notebook: Agenzio small dotted notebook
- Agenzio small dotted notebook, £9 from Paperchase – buy here
Sometimes, all you want is a small notebook for all your notes, thoughts, feelings and plans that can be easily chucked in a backpack for when you're commuting or travelling.
Paperchase's Agenzio range offers just that, including this gorgeous small bullet journal.
The cover has a handy elastic cover to keep your secrets (and documents or photos) safe. It has an expandable pocket, too, for any loose items.
Included in the 240 dotted pages is a ribbon marker so you can easily find the right page.
Best for personalisation: andsotheymade personalised notebook
- andsotheymade personalised notebook, from £13.95 at Etsy – buy here
This lovely-looking journal from Etsy can be personalised to make a great self-care gift for you or a friend.
You can get a textured faux leather notebook adorned with the name or phrase of your choice on both the cover and spine if you wish.
It comes in an endless list of unusual colours, too, including cyan, Adriatic, hot pink, moss, park green, pristine white and much more.
The A5 journal has 160 sides of white, vegan and environmentally-friendly paper which can be left dotted or lined — and is complete with a wipeable cover.
Best eco-friendly notebook: Katie Leamon bullet notebook
- Katie Leamon bullet notebook, £16 from Katie Leamon – buy here
This beautiful pistachio-green bullet notebook is from sustainable British brand, Katie Leamon.
All Katie Leamon products are made in the UK from trees purposely planted to be used as paper, and a replacement tree is planted for every one used.
There are 96 thick, fountain pen-friendly pages, which is more than enough space for your everyday planning and organisational needs.
The soft-feel cover is textured and embossed, to really give it that feel of luxury.
Best for creatives: Moleskine art bullet notebook
- Moleskine art bullet notebook, £26.99 from Ryman – buy here
This larger format journal is ideal for those who love to doodle.
There are 120 pages, with a mix of lined and dotted layouts, so you can get creative with how you use the notebook.
There’s also an index and two bookmark ribbons so you can keep track of all your thoughts.
Thanks to the hard cover and elastic band, any documents inside can be kept safe and protected as well.
How to start a bullet journal
There's usually a simple guide that comes with each BuJo, including a series of symbols and dashes to help you code your activities or thoughts.
And, as creator Carroll has stated, it "tracks the past, organises the present and plans for the future".
But it doesn't have to be complicated. It's there to be used by the author in whatever way they think is best for them, making their life easier by removing any unnecessary activities or thought processes.
That said, we found this tutorial on how to start your BuJo really helpful in organising an index and a six-month plan.
How to draw in bullet journal
The great thing about bullet journal notebooks is that each page has symmetrical dotted lines, which make a fantastic base for making well-proportioned sketches and doodles.
Geometric shapes look great in a bullet journal – but you can even stick with a simple ruler if you're wanting to create box-outs, for various goals, tasks and to-do lists.
There are no rules – it's entirely up to the author how to bullet journal.
Must haves for bullet journaling
Your first must-have is a great ballpoint pen that won't let you down – you could even treat yourself to a fountain pen, or a range of fine liners if you're sketching.
If you're hoping to map out your bullet journal notebook, you're going to need some of the classic maths lesson supplies – like this geometry kit (it has stencils, too) – and of course one of the best pencil cases to store it all in.
Then, if you're hoping to be more creative, you're going to want a range of colourful pens, pencils for adults, stencils and stickers.
What is the best bullet journal?
The best bullet journal depends entirely on your needs or budget – but they all exist for a similar purpose: to organise your life, goals, or act as a positive constant in life planning.
If you're looking for a budget-friendly journal, this notebook from Amazon is under a fiver and ideal for you.
If you're looking for something to help with wellness, or your mental health, then these beautiful hardback journals from Papier are perfect.
We would recommend the original Bullet Journal, too, if you're looking for a precise, logical way to organise your day – or the Mål Paper daily goal setter if you're looking for positive affirmations and goals to kickstart your day.
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