Dot Journaling―A Practical Guide: How to Start and Keep the Planner, To-Do List, and Diary That’ll Actually Help You Get Your Life Together Paperback – April 28, 2017

I found myself relating to the author and her style of writing not to mention her sense of humor! Everything about this book was more than helpful to me and I quickly learned the bullet system better than what I was finding online. Her monthly and weekly spreads in this book got me motivated and I found myself incorporating her techniques that really work for me. I really enjoyed her personal stories which answered a lot of questions I had on how to start, when to start and if I should keep a separate journal. In the beginning I used her key system until I found one that worked best for me so, this book is a great guide when you are just not sure how to start, not to mention the samples provided. As a beginner to the bujo system, I found this book most helpful.Organization to a new level has been on my mind since the better part of the last year. I went ahead and ordered a new planner for 2018 which I love but, knowing that my life is going to be very busy in the new year, it does not provide me enough room for lists, notes, etc. Having a structured planner does help me immensely but, I still find myself with many journals and notes that tend to get lost.I came across Bullet Journaling one day while searching for a new way of planning and this looked like a system that I could incorporate into my life. I watched videos and was so amazed how these bullet journals could store everything you need in just one place! I wanted to learn more and since I am a book lover I looked for a book that could teach me how to set up my new journal for 2018 and found this book. Even though I watched videos, and read blogs on this topic, for me it was still not enough as I really wanted a step by step guide that I could hold in my hands and be able to set-up my dot journal.This book has helped me do just that. This is a book that I would recommend to to anyone that is new to bullet journaling and needs a place to start.

I liked this book. I know other reviewers have said the author presents herself as the inventor of dot journaling, but I never got that from the book. She merely says that she started keeping one and the book is a collection of things she learned as she went. I was like the author and intrigued by the concept but other than seeing amazing illustrations on Pintrest I really wasn't sure what exactly a dot journal was. Her book is really great at explaining things and basically breaking everything down so that you can figure out what's going on. I really liked that the book contains "practice" pages at the back. I used all of them to figure out spacing and designs that I wanted to try before putting them in ink in my (expensive) dot journal. I didn't end up starting a daily journal as it turned out I was already doing something really similar and (in my mind) much easier. Personally, I found the task of having to create pages on a daily basis way too much to do and caused more stress than it was supposed to relieve. But I kept the book and the journal and am using them to track longer term things like household purchases and a loan I'm paying off. These things required only the initial set up and then they're done. Overall, if you're new to dot journaling, I think this book is a good purchase and it will be helpful - even if it's just to decide if this is for you or not.

Since grad school back in the stone age, I've periodically tried to organize my life using quite a few different methods. Nothing ever took until now. Within a couple hours of reading the first page of this book, I had created a journal I've been using consistently ever since (6 weeks now). I can't emphasize enough just how out-of-character this is! I always put it down to laziness and lack of focus, so it's a relief to know that I just needed the right method. I really, really wish I'd discovered this at an earlier stage of life.I was skeptical about putting work, family, home, diary, planning all in one place and also about the time sink of creating a freeform calendar/diary/planner from a blank notebook, but decided to just try it and start simple. I left several blank pages for an index. Then created a single page listing each day of the current month with space for a short note, so I can see major events of the month at a glance. On the back of that page I list goals/tasks for the month and also food ideas for the month (I love to cook from scratch and do a lot of meal planning). I laid out each day into a week per page and used the author's recommended symbols to indicate events and tasks.Soon I was adding other sections like planning for a trip, fall veggie garden plan, wish list etc. It seemed strange to interleave these sections into a daily schedule and planner, however it works great as long as you number the pages and keep an index. I am so much more on top of the little things plus longer term goals and tasks do not fall off the radar. I can make plans so much more quickly and easily than in the past.My notebook has no dots, so it's not as pretty as the pictures, but that's OK. Spiral binding and size is more important to me. The only problem now is that the journal has augmented my prefrontal cortex to the point that I'm terrified of losing it!