Beach Pages and Bullet Journals

peterpauper.com

Though I am fascinated by them, I have never used a bullet journal. All of the ones I see on Pinterest are beautiful and artistic, and both of these elements pose a problem for me. I lack the talent to create a work of art out of my to-do list, and I fear that I lack the self-discipline to return to the mundanity of the list itself once I start playing with my pages and making them pretty.

Still, after my foray into Beach Pages when I was on vacation, I kinda get it. Although I went in a completely different direction aesthetically (my Beach Pages are messy and lack organization by design), I appreciate the value of having all of my thoughts and ideas in one place -- so much so that I went in search of a notebook I could dedicate to this proposition.

If the pages inside aren't pretty, why does the notebook need to be? For many styles, this wouldn't matter but for me and my I need to see it personal style, having a pretty, dedicated notebook makes it easier for me to pick it out of a pile of random notebooks (of which I have a collection).

But that's not all there is to it. Having a dedicated notebook makes the pages more permanent. I started out writing on a legal pad, but the pages got whipped by the wind and, once I was finished, had only an impermanent home where curling and ripping was almost inevitable. Although the pages might not fit into any of my works-in-progress -- or any project, for that matter -- I don't want to consider these entries throwaways because I'm a firm believer that no writing is ever wasted. Some of these pages might merely clear my head, while others might inspire new ideas, become a blog post or even fuel a future project. Putting my Beach Pages in a notebook helps to validate them and keeping them bound allows me to organize them with greater ease, tabbing pages so I can find them again.

Having a dedicated notebook also makes the pages more meaningful. Just because this task isn't goal-directed doesn't make the words any less important. If the task is worth my time, I should take it seriously. A dedicated notebook conveys a seriousness of purpose that's missing in random words on random pages.

Something else I hoped to cultivate with this project was patience. It takes longer to write in longhand, therefore I have to intentionally slow down to write, especially if I'm using a book that's bound instead of just random pages. Cross outs, X marks, arrows -- all signs of a mind at work and the process of writing -- dot the pages. These things are messy, but gratifying, and a reminder of the fact that this is a process -- time-consuming and laden with detours and mistakes -- even if they stand in stark contrast to the loveliness of the bound book.

For now, I've set my Beach Pages journal aside, but I know where to find it if I need it, and I just might revisit it under non-beach circumstances as well. The combination of bound pages and the freedom inspired by freewriting renewed my creativity and reminded me that sometimes, a little freedom to play is just what we need to re-energize ourselves, whether we're writing or organizing.

Pixabay

Though I'm not planning on creating a bullet journal any time soon, I think I now understand what people see in them. The doodles and designs add a playfulness to the lists and must-dos that populate the pages and, perhaps re-energize bullet journal users the way my Beach Pages re-energized me.

When we organize by STYLE, we can't lose sight of what makes us who we are, originals in our own right. What thoughts of yours belong in a place all their own? And how do you put your own creative mark on those pages?

Sometimes, exploring is exactly what we need to set us on the right path.