This article first appeared on the Weekly Newsletter. 

In Office Hours, Herb asked: "How do I handle missing days in my Bullet Journal?" This question is a common concern with Bullet Journalists and hits close to home. 

One of the challenges with missing days is the anxiety of feeling like you're falling behind. You sit down after a week or more, and suddenly, catching up feels overwhelming. This can lead to procrastination, which compounds the problem and turns your Bullet Journal into just another chore on your list. Rather than avoid it, acknowledge the feeling straight on. Remember that the Bujo is a tool that serves you, you don't serve it.

Another common feeling that arises from missing days is guilt, which often stems from internal expectations and external comparisons. Perhaps you see a content creator journaling diligently every day or posting logs consistently each week, and you wonder if you're doing enough. But remember, everyone's needs and lives are different. The key is to understand what works best for you.

In these cases, the focus tends to be on the past or on meeting external expectations. Use the Bullet Journal practice to shift your focus to your current self and what happens now. If you've missed a few days, here are a few ideas for how you might begin again.

1. Start with Today: Reconnect with the present moment by turning to the next blank page and writing down what you want to create today and what matters to you right now. Simply focus on doing a Daily Log to build momentum.
2. Rapid Summary: If you want to fill in the gaps, take a single page and list the notable moments of the time gone by. It’s a quick way to catch up without the burden of detailed entries.
3. Weekly Reflection Summary: You can also use your Weekly Reflection for a rapid summary of missed days. This method helps maintain continuity without overwhelming you. These summaries are a great way to capture some of the lessons and insights from the gaps while relieving you of the pressure to have a “perfect log.”
4. Refine and simplify: If you find yourself consistently missing days, it might be a sign that your practice needs to adapt. Maybe your current method is too time-intensive so you simplify your approach to just the Daily Log. Or perhaps evenings are too hectic so you try logging in the morning.

The guilt of missing days assumes that you must have a complete record to benefit from your Bullet Journal. This simply is not the case. Life happens and the point of the Bullet Journal is to be there for you along the way, gaps and all. 

So if you’ve missed a few days, or even weeks, you are in very good company (myself included). Instead of beating yourself up with guilt, I invite you to turn the page with kindness and curiosity… and begin again.