bullet journaling bullet journaling and planning

6 Reasons Why Your Bullet Journal Isn't Working for You

by The Productive Pixie - January 30, 2021

Have you not wanted to open and use your bullet journal for days or even weeks? Maybe you feel like your bullet journal just isn't working for you anymore. It isn't helping you to be more productive, you are too busy to create layouts, and it just takes up more of your time. Well, today I have some tips that might be able to help you get your bullet journal back on track!

6 Reasons Why Your Bullet Journal Isn't Working for You

Side Note - This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you buy something from one of these links, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you. For more information, you can read my privacy policy. Thank you for supporting my blog. :)

Updated for 2024 - I have taken a few breaks from bullet journaling over the past couple years, but I always go back to it because I have found it to be the most effective planning system for me!

If you came to this post because you are curious about what bullet journaling is, you can read Bullet Journaling: What Is It? to learn what bullet journaling is all about.

I started bullet journaling in 2018 and after a few months, it felt like it wasn't working for me anymore, so I went back to using a planner for a while, and then I used a combined planner/bullet journal and now I'm back to using a full bullet journal.

Over these three years, I've learned a good bit about how to make an organization system work, which in this case, we are talking about bullet journals so let's get right into the reasons why your bullet journal isn't working for you!

Knowing why your bullet journal isn't working for you is half of the battle!

6 Reasons Why Your Bullet Journal Isn't Working for You

1. Trying to Make Each Layout Perfect

Might as well jump right in with a mistake I made and still do make it sometimes! It's nice to have a perfect layout, but mistakes happen. Just look at the layout above! Even though it is a simple weekly layout, I still made a mistake.

Have you found it yet? I wrote "Mon" instead of "Fri" and I am just going to leave it as it is because it's okay and it's not going to bother me.

Your bullet journal doesn't need to be perfect and if you make mistakes, it's okay. I make mistakes in my bullet journal all of the time and I just use a white gel pen to cover them up.

2. Too Many Decorations

Going along with my first point, if you try and make every layout perfect and add a beautiful drawing, you might not want to use your bullet journal anymore because you know making a new layout is going to be time-consuming.

I learned that making my bullet journal more minimalist really helps. For the most part, I stopped drawing in my bullet journal, and I still use cursive lettering, but my layouts are more minimalist. If you want to see my minimalist style bullet journal layouts you can read My 2021 Bullet Journal Set Up.

3. The Wrong Layouts

Maybe your bullet journal isn't working for you because you aren't using the right layouts. Try experimenting with different setups to see what works best for you. Maybe you should use weekly layouts instead of monthly layouts and daily layouts or vice versa.

Maybe you are using a ton of collection layouts, that you don't need, which brings me to my next point.

4. Making Your Bullet Journal Too Complicated

Okay, first you have to make your daily to-do list, using tasks from your weekly to-do list, and appointments from your monthly to-do list, along with filling out your habit tracker, and then your collection pages. See how this might be a little too much to keep up with?

This is why I stopped using my bullet journal the first time back in 2018. I made the system way too complicated and that is the beauty of the bullet journal system. I made some changes to my system and now it works for me!

Related Post - Why I Stopped Using a Bullet Journal

5. You Don't Have a Routine

Your bullet journal isn't working for you because you simply don't use it and then you forget about and it ends up lying on your desk for a week or maybe even a month.

Try working your bullet journal into your daily routine. Maybe you look at it during breakfast or you write in it right when you wake up. Again, this will be different for everyone, so just find what works for you.

6. You are Using the Wrong Supplies

Maybe your pen is scratchy, or your notebook paper is rough or your pen bleeds through the paper every time you use your notebook. It just isn't enjoyable to bullet journal.

While you don't need to buy an expensive bullet journal, you should find bullet journal supplies that you like and will look forward to using.

6 Reasons Why Your Bullet Journal Isn't Working for You

These are the six reasons why your bullet journal isn't working for you and sometimes you just need to take a few days off from your bullet journal. I do this every now and then.

But what if your bullet journal still isn't working for you and you have taken a break from it and tried the tips on this list?

Maybe it's time to try a new organizational system. I went from bullet journaling to a planner and then back to the bullet journal. Sometimes, you are really too busy to even make a simple layout so a premade planner would work better. It's all about finding what works for you in the moment!

If you liked this post, you might find these other bullet journaling posts helpful too!

Did these tips help you to figure out why your bullet journal isn't working for you? I would love to know so leave a comment below! Have a productive week!

Please pin this post if you found it helpful!

Tags : bullet journaling, bullet journaling and planning

6 Reasons Why Your Bullet Journal Isn't Working for You