The bullet-journaling method of organizing ideas and events has drawn interest since its development in 2013.

Pioneered by Ryder Carroll, a New York designer, and since featured on outlets like the Wall Street Journal, Vogue, Real Simple and BBC, the technique of rapid logging has encountered popularity for its versatility and organizational purposes. Using a method of dots, dashes and bubbles to signify tasks, notes and events as well as using asterisks and exclamation points to declare the level of urgency of an entry has also proven practical for students at the university.

Gabriella Villavicencio, a junior art major, has used a bullet-journal for eight months. She explained how she utilizes her journal.

“Bullet-journaling is essentially a do-it-yourself kind of planner,” commented Villavicencio. “It’s customizable. You can put whatever you want in it. A lot of people use mood trackers, finance trackers, and then calendars can be monthly, weekly, daily. The way your life runs essentially determines what your bullet journal will be like.”

Connor Cantrelle, a freshman art major, explained how bullet-journaling keeps him more on track, especially as opposed to a typical to-do list.

“It’s the way you create it,” explained Cantrelle. “So, maybe I can make as many lists as I want. Maybe I can keep track of different things. Maybe I don’t need to keep track of one thing, and you can come up with your own monthly spread or weekly spread and plus you get to be creative, too.”

Villavicencio shared how she maintains her journal by keeping idea logs.

Villavicencio stated, “I’m an artist, so if I find a new artist I really like, I write their name down in my inspiration log, and also if I find a movie I want to watch but I can’t watch it yet, I’ll write it down. I keep track of my finances in my bullet journal, and I also write down sketch ideas, too.”

Both Cantrelle and Villavicencio find that they enjoy bullet-journaling best when they customize their journals with drawings, calligraphy or typography. However, bullet journals can be kept in a variety of manners.

Though often asked, neither Cantrelle nor Villavicencio have troubles finding time to decorate their bullet journals.

“I don’t do this all in one day. I do this throughout the week. So obviously, I’m not going to be stamping everything in and drawing in it everything. This is just something I do at the end of my day when I’m really tired, and all I feel like doing is doodling.”

There are numerous ways to stay organized in college and beyond. Bullet journals often help creative people to organize their thoughts as well inspirations.