My friend saw my bullet journal and said it looked like a stress chart

I was at a coffee shop in Portland last month, showing my friend my weekly spread. I had a lot going on, so I used a ton of color coding and trackers for sleep, water, and tasks. She looked at it for a minute and said, 'Honestly, Wren, this looks less like a planner and more like a chart of your stress levels.' That hit me hard. I had been so focused on tracking everything perfectly that I didn't see how packed and frantic the pages looked. It was supposed to help me, but it was just making me anxious to even open it. I spent the next week stripping it back to just a simple daily log and three key tasks. The difference in how I feel is huge. Has anyone else had a friend point out that their bujo was working against them?

2 comments

2 Comments

sage_perry1mo ago

Maybe your friend just doesn't get the satisfaction of detailed tracking.

mason2831mo ago

But sometimes that detailed tracking turns into its own chore. You can get so caught up in logging every little thing that you forget to actually enjoy the hobby itself. For some people, all those numbers and spreadsheets just add stress instead of fun. It becomes more about managing data than the actual activity, and that misses the point completely.