Every working person is looking for new ways to improve productivity and organization. There’s always a new app, a new planner, or a new website to try. But there is an analog system that actually works much more effectively than any of these options. It’s called a bullet journal.

This is a system created by designer Ryder Carroll to combine his calendar, tasks and journal all into one notebook. Here are a few ways this system can help improve your productivity and organization at work.

1. Organize and prioritize your tasks

There are plenty of to-do list apps to dump your tasks into and they offer tons of ways to organize and prioritize them. But while these apps have infinite space to jot down as many tasks as you want, you don’t suddenly have infinite time to complete all of them. Seeing how much room your tasks take up in your bullet journal will force you to prioritize. You will end up choosing what you absolutely need to have done versus what would just be nice to have done. Also, writing by hand improves your memory so even without referring to your list, you’ll be less likely to forget what you planned to do next.

2. Change your layouts based on your needs

No matter how flexible planners and apps claim to be, there will always be some restraints. But in a journal, you can personalize and rearrange your spreads however you like. Your bullet journal can adapt based on the projects or assignments you’re working on. With just a pen and a ruler, you can create entire spreads personalized to your specific needs. To have the same thing in a traditional planner, you would have to pay $50 to $100. But with a bullet journal, you can have your own personalized workspace pretty inexpensively.

3. Take meeting notes right next to your task list

This goes back a little into the flexibility of the system. A great perk of a bullet journal is that you can turn the page and start something new. If you were to go all digital, you would probably have separate to-do and note-taking apps. No need for that with a bullet journal. Just take your meeting notes right next to your task list or projections or goals or whatever you want. No need to scramble around different applications for the information you need. Everything is in one place.

4. Track long-term goals over several months or even a year

You can literally put anything you want in your journal. Want to track your work hours? Write it down. Need to check off when you talked to a client when? Write it down. You don’t need expensive proprietary software. Anything you need to track, you can. Even if you don’t purposely track anything, you can always flip back through your pages and see what you worked on when. It’s a good record to keep in the months and years to come.

5. No charging, syncing, or updating required

Technology offers great tools, but there are a few drawbacks. Ever been in a long meeting and anxious about your tablet or phone battery? Needed to grab some notes but your app wouldn’t sync? Wanted to input tasks but your app was updating? None of these issues exist with a bullet journal. Just put it in your bag and go. You will probably be the most organized and on-top-of-it person in your office. (Of course, you don’t want to get it wet or accidentally leave it behind, but nothing’s truly perfect.)

string(3943) "
Every working person is looking for new ways to improve productivity and organization. There's always a new app, a new planner, or a new website to try. But there is an analog system that actually works much more effectively than any of these options. It's called a bullet journal.
 This is a system created by designer Ryder Carroll to combine his calendar, tasks and journal all into one notebook. Here are a few ways this system can help improve your productivity and organization at work.
1. Organize and prioritize your tasks
There are plenty of to-do list apps to dump your tasks into and they offer tons of ways to organize and prioritize them. But while these apps have infinite space to jot down as many tasks as you want, you don't suddenly have infinite time to complete all of them. Seeing how much room your tasks take up in your bullet journal will force you to prioritize. You will end up choosing what you absolutely need to have done versus what would just be nice to have done. Also, writing by hand improves your memory so even without referring to your list, you'll be less likely to forget what you planned to do next.
2. Change your layouts based on your needs
No matter how flexible planners and apps claim to be, there will always be some restraints. But in a journal, you can personalize and rearrange your spreads however you like. Your bullet journal can adapt based on the projects or assignments you're working on. With just a pen and a ruler, you can create entire spreads personalized to your specific needs. To have the same thing in a traditional planner, you would have to pay $50 to $100. But with a bullet journal, you can have your own personalized workspace pretty inexpensively.
3. Take meeting notes right next to your task list
This goes back a little into the flexibility of the system. A great perk of a bullet journal is that you can turn the page and start something new. If you were to go all digital, you would probably have separate to-do and note-taking apps. No need for that with a bullet journal. Just take your meeting notes right next to your task list or projections or goals or whatever you want. No need to scramble around different applications for the information you need. Everything is in one place.
4. Track long-term goals over several months or even a year
You can literally put anything you want in your journal. Want to track your work hours? Write it down. Need to check off when you talked to a client when? Write it down. You don't need expensive proprietary software. Anything you need to track, you can. Even if you don't purposely track anything, you can always flip back through your pages and see what you worked on when. It's a good record to keep in the months and years to come.
5. No charging, syncing, or updating required
Technology offers great tools, but there are a few drawbacks. Ever been in a long meeting and anxious about your tablet or phone battery? Needed to grab some notes but your app wouldn't sync? Wanted to input tasks but your app was updating? None of these issues exist with a bullet journal. Just put it in your bag and go. You will probably be the most organized and on-top-of-it person in your office. (Of course, you don't want to get it wet or accidentally leave it behind, but nothing's truly perfect.)
"

In this month’s Money Journal, Celia is organized and disciplined yet enjoys her life “to the Max” Welcome to Money Journal, a monthly Paypath series that examines how Americans really handle their finances. Our participants keep a journal of their earnings, spending, and savings (if any), then share what it’s like to live in their

Trying to cancel your gym membership can be more tiring than actually attending that kickboxing class you keep skipping. Getting out of your gym contract can be so tough that people are going to great lengths to avoid paying any penalties. After going into debt living a lifestyle she couldn’t afford, this woman forged fake

By Massimo Tornambe Scott Disick, aka “Lord Disick” has gained fame and a devoted following since his appearances on the reality show, Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Disick is renowned for his expensive taste in clothes, cars, and women. The question that millions of fans are asking is: where did his fortune come from? Scott

Who could live without online shopping? It’s a standard routine in so many households. Whether you’re stocking up on groceries, snagging the latest and greatest tech sensation, shopping for holiday gifts, or treating yourself to a new outfit, the convenience of buying this stuff while in your pajamas is hard to beat — at least

Everyone says the economy’s healthier than ever, but some of us still find it necessary to make that paycheck stretch…and stretch…and stretch. The better we understand our spending habits, the better we can manage them. Living frugally can benefit you in many ways. You’ll grow more self-reliant, creative, and resourceful as you learn to make

You’ve heard it a thousand times before. The holidays are about two things: giving and family…more specifically, giving to your family. And no one wants to be the Grinch. So we lavish gifts and good tidings on our families and friends. And it feels incredible when it comes to gift-giving — I’m insatiable. Spending on

Most parents welcome visits from their grown-up children. But what happens when the kids head back home when life gets rough and then never leave? This scenario is playing out more and more frequently as 20-something adults try to cope with – or hide from – skyrocketing costs in an increasingly expensive world. Lou Carloza

Imagine this: you marry the man of your dreams. You have two beautiful children with another on the way. You spend your days cooking gorgeous, nutritious meals for your family…. from scratch. You get paid to share your daily life and meals with people around the world. But here’s the catch: half of those people

If your business offers corporate credit cards or expense accounts to employees, there’s a good chance there is unethical spending going on. 33% of corporate credit card holders admit to blatantly defrauding the companies they work for, and twice that amount confess to making “risky purchases.” But a thread on AskReddit reveals some of the

You Lose $20K Each Year Just For Being a Mom You may not know this, but there was a time when smoking was considered “liberated” behavior for women. There was a cigarette company Virginia Slims that was created specifically to attract female smokers during the bad old 1970s. The slogan was “You’ve come a long