bullet journaling bullet journaling and planning

How to Use the Alastair Method to Transform Your Week

by The Productive Pixie - August 21, 2021

I've been looking for a planning system that works for me for a long time. I love bullet journaling, but finding a combination of a monthly, weekly, and daily layout that works for me has been a challenge. At the beginning of the year, I stopped making monthly bullet journal layouts and switched over to just making daily layouts. Then I tried the Alastair weekly bullet journal method, and all I can say is "WOW"!

How to Use the Alastair Method to Transform Your Week

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Updated for 2024

I've been using this method for a while now, so I thought that I would share with all of you how you can use the Alastair method to transform your week! The first week I tried it out, I thought it was amazing, but I wanted to try it out for a few more weeks just to make sure that it wasn't just a novelty that would stop working after I used it for a few weeks.

Last year, I was using a monthly layout, and weekly layouts to plan out my month. I stopped using my monthly layout though because I felt like it didn't work very well. Some of the time last year, I wasn't feeling very motivated, so I didn't make weekly layouts either.

At the beginning of this year, I started making daily layouts. Well, daily half layouts. (Yeah, that's now a thing!) I used half a page for each day.

So where's the problem?

Aha, you knew it was coming! I didn't like having to write out the same tasks over and over again every day. Plus, what about the tasks that I do every week on Tuesday, or the tasks I do every Saturday?

Long story short. I didn't like having to make this long to-do list every morning when I woke up because I felt like it was a time-waster and maybe you feel the same way. With the Alastair method, I don't have this problem, because I don't have to make a to-do list every day. Let's get into how you can use the Alastair bullet journal weekly method to transform your week! It's been a game-changer for me!

What is the Alastair Weekly Bullet Journal Method?

Before we get ahead of ourselves, what exactly is the Alastair method?

The best way to figure this out is to go back to the original source. Alastair Johnson, unsurprisingly, is the creator of the Alastair bullet journal method. Feel free to jump on over to his website to read how he came up with the Alastair method.

The Alastair method was originally designed for future planning, but now it has been adapted to use for weekly layouts, monthly layouts, and more. It's a pretty customizable method! For this post, I'll be talking about using the Alastair bullet journal method for weekly planning, but you could apply these rules to monthly planning or yearly planning as well.

Basically, in a snapshot, for the Alastair bullet journal method, you have a column going down one side of the page with different variables (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc. January, February, March). Then, you write a running to-do list next to this column. After that, you can assign each task to when it needs to be completed. This is great because you can incorporate your weekly habit tracker into this layout as well!

How to Use the Alastair Bullet Journal Method to Transform Your Week

Now, it's time to actually get into how you can use the Alastair method. I've been using this method for around two months, so I think I know enough about the system to share it with you!

There are plenty of ways to customize how you use the Alastair bullet journal method, and I'm still experimenting with it as well.

Plus the Alastair bullet journal method is pretty awesome because you can set this type of layout up in a very small amount of time so if you are on a time crunch, it's no problem!

So how do you set up your Alastair method bullet journal layout?

1. Make a Column or Two

Start by making a seven-square column on your layout.

Since for this post, we are going to be talking about weekly layouts, you'll want to make a column with seven squares one for each day of the week. I've been making my weekly layouts two pages so I have enough room. I use around a page and a half each week so if I have a really busy week, I'll still have enough room on my layout.

At the top, you may want to write the initials of the days of the week (M T W T F S S) or the number of the day.

2. Add a Header

This is totally optional, but at the top of my layouts, I like to write what week I am on. Plus, this gives me an excuse to make my bullet journal layout a little fancier! :)

You might write what month it is, what days the weekly layout covers, or what week it is like I do.

3. Make Your Running To-Do List

Now, you just need to make your running to-do list next to the column you already made. This bit is pretty straight forward.

Just write down everything you need to do for the week. If you want to do a certain task more than once, only write it down on your list once. Also, you can write down any habits you want to track for the week, and any appointments or places you need to go.

Check last week's layout too, so you can migrate tasks you didn't get done last week to this week.

4. Plan Your Schedule

You are almost done! Now, you just need to assign your tasks to the days you want to do them. Pick a symbol for tasks that aren't completed and a symbol for tasks that are completed.

For appointments, I like to draw a mini-calendar on the day I have that appointment.

Currently, I've been playing around with the symbols I use. An easy way to get started is to use a dot for tasks that you haven't started and put an X through the task if you have worked on it. If I complete the task, I will cross out the line the task is on.

For habits, you will put a dot next to each day. If you do a task multiple times a week, you can put dots next to multiple days. If you can do the task any time during the week, you don't need to put any signifier at all. This is why I love using the Alastair bullet journal method!

This way, I can see at a glance, how many tasks I have completed. Plus, if I have worked on a task, I get to put an X on that day so that's an incentive for me to work on large tasks! Even if I don't finish the task, I still get to put an X so I feel like I am making progress.

If you don't finish a task on the day assigned, it is very easy to migrate it to the next day, which might a downside of this system for us procrastinators.

If you want to be able to see more clearly what you have to do each day, you can always color code the columns and the individual tasks that you only do one day of the week.

How to Use the Alastair Bullet Journal Method to Transform Your Week

I love using the Alastair bullet journal method to plan my week because I don't have to write out the same tasks every day, I don't have to have a habit tracker, and I don't need a separate running to-do list for tasks that aren't assigned to a particular day.

I also am not making monthly layouts right now, and just using a weekly layout, so I feel like this layout has everything I need.

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Tags : bullet journaling, bullet journaling and planning

How to Use the Alastair Method to Transform Your Week

What is the Alastair Weekly Bullet Journal Method?