If you are a technology geek, use your phone as a personal organizer or bullet journal. It is easier than trying to manage the paper version. Certainly, an electronic bullet journal or personal organizer is lighter and more likely than not, always right at hand.
Once upon a time, paper planners were the queen of things.
Years ago, I had collections of Franklin Covey day planners. I loved writing on the beautiful creamy pages. Each morning I would review the calendar and the items on my to-do list. All day I would cross off things as I completed them. As new things came to my attention, I would add them to a page in the day planner. At the end of the day, I would move items not yet done to a future page in my calendar.
Check out “Use Your Phone as a Personal Organizer”
Each season, I would swap out one set of pretty pages for another. When I had my planner with me, I was a planning and working wonder. But . . . once in a great while I would leave my planner at home when I was at court. The judge would give me a trial date and when I accepted it, I prayed that I was free on the court date I was given. When I didn’t have the planner, I would write my dates and notes on a scrap of paper and then added everything to the paper planner when I got home.
Did I mention how much space the paper planner used to take up? My day planner ranged in size from 5 x6 to 7 x 9. Each one was about 2 1/2 inches thick because I liked to keep them stuffed with paper. It wasn’t easy to stuff it in my briefcase with all my clients’ bankruptcy, criminal, and family court filing, but I did it. Then one day, I discovered the Palm Pilot, and my life was changed forever.
Then came the little electronic wonder.
The Palm Pilot was a palm-sized personal digital organizer. They were called PDAs back then. As its name suggested, it was a little device that easily fit in the palm of your hand. In one device you had:
- a calendar
- a memo pad
- a calculator
- a phone book
It was an amazing invention and I fell for it hook line and sinker. The Palm Pilot fit in a shirt pocket or slid easily into a purse pocket. It was so easy to carry, I never left it at home. I always had it with me because it was so small and easy to manage. While sitting in court waiting for my turn with one client, I was able to write briefs, letters, and manage my law office with ease. It was wondrous! When I got home or back to the office I could sync things up print out documents or save files to the computer.
As the years went by, more players entered the market PDAs were developed that were in color. These colorful beauties caused me to upgrade the Palm Pilot. Those PDAs became smartphones and then became tablet devices. Now I use my smartphone, tablet, and Surface Go computer interchangeable as a bullet journal and personal organizer.
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
When all my friends went bullet journal crazy, I admit I was intrigued. I admit the idea of a pretty place to keep track of all kinds of information. I liked the idea of having a place to keep track of my calendar, travel plans, and even the books I want to read. At the same time, I know me. A paper bullet journal would be left at home and never readily available when I needed it. So, I stayed with an electronic solution. The solution I came up with means that I have my bullet journal whenever I have my phone, tablet, laptop, or access to the internet.
At the same time, I saw no need to reinvent the wheel. I use OneNote to keep track of all kinds of information. So a OneNote notebook became my bullet journal. In just a few steps, you can turn a OneNote notebook into a bullet journal or personal organizer of your own. Here’s how I did it:
- Created a OneNote notebook named “Bullet Journal” (of course!)
- Create the following sections (to start)
- Table of Contents
- About Me
- Compliments Keeper (Check out my confidence of the day tips)
- Children
- Future Plans
- Goals
- Journal
- Monthly Lookout
- Personal Matters
- Plans for the Current Week
- Self-care
- Templates (You can download these from Microsoft Office, Evernote, or other places online
- Add other sections from bullet journals and personal organizers that you like
- Create a shortcut to your bullet journal on all your devices
- Use your bullet journal or personal organizer and be great
Here are a few screenshots of my OneNote bullet journal. Do not feel obligated to copy all the sections in my version. These fit my life, how I think, and how I do my business. I did not have this same combination of sections when I started. A year from now some of these sections may be missing and others may appear.
One of the wonderful things about an electronic bullet journal on your phone is that you almost always have your phone nearby. This means when you come up with one of your brilliant ideas, your journal will be close at hand so you can jot it down on the spot. If you lose your phone or break your computer, so what, your bullet journal is securely stored in the cloud so you can access it again immediately! Embrace your technology and the ability to have a bullet journal or personal organizer that can be changed at any time to meet your ever-changing needs.
It is a great idea to use your phone as a personal organizer or bullet journal. Embrace your technology and try it today. So, the question for you this terrific day is how do you keep track of everything? Share your ideas in the comments. You may help someone else or find something that helps you.
I love this idea and my phone is with me all the time. Plus, anything that keeps me more organized is worth the time. Thanks.
I think I could use both since I’m a very forgetful person. Lmao. I still use calendar for events like celebrations and my phone for work purposes.
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Oh my gosh Palm Pilots! I remember how cool those were. I’m still old school and use a wall calendar for all my planning.
I have to admit I didn’t think about how you could use your phone in this way but it is such a great idea! After all we always have our phone to hand when something comes to mind.
I use my phone for everything, but had no idea about these apps. I will have to download them and give them a try.
Definitely going to have to check out this app! I LOVE organizer apps and have my fair share on my phone but I am ALWAYS up for trying out new ones!!
Since I am always handling my phone because of the job that I have it is definitely a bright idea to use this as my bullet journal. Thank you!
This is really fun and very helpful. I will definitely try using my phone as my personal organizer.
Oh my goodness this is such a good idea! I’ve never even thought about doing this but think I may have a go at setting this up.
I havent tried using my phone as a personal organizer or journal. Maybe its time to give it a try. Thank you for sharing.
This is goals! I am so bad about using my phone for organization. I need to give this a try.
I use my phone as an organizer but yours has so much detail and order. What great ideas!
I didn’t think about using my phone as a bullet journal. I’m still using my planner and it takes up a ton of space.
I love my phone and am with it 18 hours a day but never use it as an organizer. You have shown another use for the phone so I will keep this in mind and try it.
That is so smart! I’ve never thought of using my phone for this before, but it makes so much sense. AND you can take it with you anywhere.