In one hand, I held a cup of coffee. The other hand brushed along a trackpad as I scrolled through my Facebook newsfeed. I was wasting time, procrastinating really, during my daughter’s nap. I had a to-do list as long as my arm taking up valuable space in my brain, and the thought of having to tackle it kept me from taking action. So I scrolled. Just by chance, that was when it happened.

A friend of a friend posted Ryder’s original Bullet Journal video. I paused.

I watched the video once, twice, three times. I ran over to my designated journal drawer, picked a brand new specimen, and brought it back to my desk. This was happening right now. It was like a lightning bolt struck me, and I was jolted back to life.

I diligently set up my index, numbered my pages, and created my first spreads. I started taking all that stuff jumbling my thoughts and putting them down on paper. I made a calendar and an actual to-do list. And I felt this spark of inspiration.

I started poking around the internet for more Bullet Journal ideas and discovered a vast community developing by the day on every social media platform imaginable. I read blog posts, pinned to boards, #rock[ed]myhandwriting…all of it. But over time, I started to notice something was missing.

Where were the moms?

Sure, a token mom would show up here or there, but by and large, it was everyone else who seemed to be reaping the benefits of the Bullet Journal. So I started asking friends. Over and over, I heard the same response: “It’s nice, but I just don’t have time for a Bullet Journal.” And each time, I would nearly fall out of my chair.

How could fellow moms not see that the minor time investment in setting up and maintaining a Bullet Journal was far outweighed by the benefits? How could they not see all the potential applications for busy mothers who manage work, home, and kids?
In the time since I started a Bullet Journal, several things in my life have changed:

1. I’ve become more productive. If I think of a task, it goes on a list, and if it’s on a list, it gets done.
2. I’ve felt more clear-headed and less overwhelmed. I’m the type of person who will lay awake at night thinking of all the things that need to get done the next day. But journaling those things helps me stay focused, not stressed.
3. I’ve been reminded of my own creativity, because there’s a lot of room for that in a Bullet Journal.

I’ve heard the argument that “there’s an app for that,” but for moms, there’s really no beating the Bullet Journal’s analog system. A Bullet Journal is never going to disappoint you with dead batteries or technical glitches; it doesn’t require any subscription fees or syncing. Yet it accounts for the fact that we’re the Chief Operating Officers of our families, we don’t want homes overrun by Post-It Notes, and we aren’t spending whole days sitting in front of a computer or playing on our phones.

I believe all moms need a Bullet Journal so strongly that I’ll be popping up here once a month with tips for making a Bullet Journal fit into your life as a mother, including applications for family life and caring for your home and for yourself. We’ll even walk through how you can use your journal in each stage of parenting, from pregnancy through to life with multiple children.

This won’t be about bedazzling your journal or writing your memoir; this will be practical, focused suggestions for making a Bullet Journal an extension of your brain so critical that I promise you’ll designate a pocket in your diaper bag for the thing!

Next month, I’ll be back with why your pregnancy is the perfect time to start a Bullet Journal. In the meantime, get ready and grab yourself a journal:

1. Something sturdy, since this thing will surely take a beating.
2. Something big enough to number vertically down a page from 1-31 but small enough to fit in your purse or diaper bag
3. Something, preferably, with numbered pages, an index, and a bookmark

Not sure where to start? How about with one of Ryder’s official Bullet Journal Notebooks? 
What we want to know from you is:

1. What challenges you face to stay organized as a mom, or…
2. What tips you can share with fellow moms about keeping it all together.

Check out the other parts in this series!

1. Introduction
2. For Pregnancy
3. For Newborns
4. For Infants and Toddlers
5. For Older Children