Use Your Bujo to Stay Present in the Moment

Being present in the moment has numerous emotional and physical benefits. Besides facilitating an overall feeling of well-being, mindful presence can lower blood pressure, reduce stress levels, improve sleep and much more.

It most likely won't surprise you to hear that your bullet journal is a fantastic tool to help you be more in the now. Here are five tips in using your bullet journal to stay present in the moment. 

Document the Past
1. Things you need to remember

Have you ever found yourself cycling through thoughts simply so you will remember something you need to do or say? That cycling thought from the past is keeping you in the past. It is quite literally your past living itself over and over in your mind for the express purpose of remembering to do something in the future. 

So there you are, cycling a thought from the past to remember to do in the future. Not very now, right? Right. 

So, what to do? You got it. Write that thing you need to remember to do in your journal. Write it on your daily, your notes page, your task list, anywhere but stop cycling that thought. 

Once you stop using your brain to remember things you need to do or say, you are able to be present without the interrupting jolt of a thought that you have to remember to do that thing. 

2. Standard Operating Procedures

Creating and documenting your standard operating procedures formalizes and automates your routines. We all have certain repeatable routines. This is usually referred to as the dreaded "adulting." These are the things we need to do to keep the keep the ship on course. It's the laundry, the tidying, the email checking, the bill paying, the dinners, the car maintenance, etc. 

When we store these mundane daily, weekly, monthly or yearly tasks in our minds, we have to recall when we did them last, the best way to do them and the dreaded "I've let that go for too long and now it's a big mess." 

Documenting your routines so you can operate on autopilot frees you of the responsibility of remembering to do these tasks (the past) and planning when to do them (the future.) Your bullet journal holds this information for you and triggers you to do said tasks. As a result, you are more available to the present moment. 

For example, I have an am and pm routine for both work and the house. I have written down what those tasks are so there is no thinking about what I need to do. For the "am house" task trigger, I run a load of laundry, empty the dishwasher, clean the cat boxes, wipe down the bathroom sinks and clean the toilets. 

Each morning when I wake up I do not need to remember what I need to do. My bullet journal tells me and I do it. So freeing!

Plan the Future
3. Projects

Your bullet journal is a great tool for fleshing out and backwards designing your goals. You can use your journal to decide which goals to accomplish and to plan the projects that add up to that goal. 

Each of these projects will have steps and corresponding tasks. Write them all in your journal and assign the tasks to your monthly, weekly or daily layouts. 

Placing this information in your bullet journal instead of housing it in your mind increases your chances of actually following through. Also, your mind no longer has to carry the weight of your future goals. You don't have to stop and think about your next best step because you have pre-planned it. 

Your mind is free to work solely on the task at hand. For more guidance on this, head over to this blog post Goal Mapping in Your Bullet Journal.

4. Brain Dump

We all experience moments of overwhelm. The antidote for overwhelm is a brain dump. A brain dump is a free flowing expulsion of all of the thoughts that are flying around in your head. Set a timer for 10 minutes and write down everything that is bouncing off of the walls of your mind. 

Doing this reminds us that we are not our thoughts. Writing our thoughts down and reading them puts us in an observer role and we can detach from them a bit more. If you try this, you might be surprised at how what seemed urgent in your mind really doesn't matter at all. 

At that point you are more free to return to the present moment with the knowledge that thoughts come and thoughts go. 

5. Future Events

Writing down future events free us from having to remember them. Nothing is more antithetical to being mindful in the present moment than having to remember future birthdays, appointments, commitments, assignments, etc. 

Documenting future events in a way that gives us advanced notice allows us to mentally and physically prepare for that event. Instead of carrying the mental load of future commitments or being surprised by the event's arrival, our journal lets us know it is coming up and what we need to do to prepare for it. 

Want to learn more? Head over to this blog post, Setting up a Future Log.

---

Handing over the past and future to our bullet journals frees up space for us to be more in the present moment. Invasive thoughts of things to do no longer distract us from what is in front of us. We are no longer gripped by shame when we forget - despite the constant attempt to remember - things are we want or need to do. 

We are simply  asking too much of ourselves when we attempt to exist in all three time dimensions. Parking the past and future in our journals is an act of self love and one that you deserve. You are worthy of experiencing the sweet and simple pleasures right now.  

For more support and inspiration, join our Facebook Group called Bullet Journaling Tips and Tricks. We host a kind, nurturing community of over 26,000 bullet journalists. 

If you would like bujo inspiration and guidance delivered directly to your mailbox, join our email membership over here.