بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Salaam!

As promised, I want to do a series of posts detailing how I plan, execute and run our Homeschool.

So let's jump right into it!

Planning

First off, I don't use a conventional planner or planning system.… Let me explain!

Just recently, I've been adopting a minimalist lifestyle. It's not something I dove right into, but little by little and after a bit of research and exploring, I introduce it into my life and readjust aspects of my life such as my wardrobe, books, and now even my planning!

Basically, I try not to be excessive as much as possible and avoid lots of wastage. And that is what I realised was happening when using a conventional planning system. Now, I'm a planner addict and didn't think for a minute that would ever ditch my planner! For anything. Ever.

My decision to start using a bullet journal was purely coincidental. Really. Sorta. (And if you have no idea what the heck a bullet journal is, just watch the video below.)


My problem with the conventional planner whether it is ready-made like the Erin Condren or a printable is that I don't have a lot to write in it right now. I simply don't. I don't have a lot going on in my life right now. I've lightened up my workload and since we'll be moving in a few weeks in sha Allah, I just use the time now for homeschool and a few personal projects…

And so I decided to give the bullet journal (bujo) system a try and... I just love it! I love being able to create and adjust content and important pages that I want in my journal. And I especially like the indexing - which I've started to apply to all the journals and notebooks I have. All 12 of them.




The bullet journal is soooo flexible. When a certain planning aspect or layout isn't working for me or isn't keeping me inspired to write, I simply switch it up! A lot of my inspiration comes from YouTube and Pinterest.


With the bullet journal, I also get a chance to express my creative side by trying out new handwriting and lettering styles, doodles and even colour coding is looking quite bright in my little bujo's future…


It is relatively easy and inexpensive to start using. All you need is a notebook - preferably something you know you will enjoy writing in, and one (or a few!) nice pens. My personal favourite is the Staedtler pigment liner because they don't bleed through the paper, dries quickly, waterproof on paper and doesn't feel cheap as a dry-writing pen would - no offense.


Some people might think it's a lot of work numbering pages or drawing your own columns, rows, calendars, etc. but I don't mind it one bit. It's something I enjoy doing and it honestly doesn't take me that long!

The bullet journal in itself is an effective, simple, insanely easy way to organize your life - especially of you're a minimalist or exploring a minimalist lifestyle or if you're simply looking for a quick, inexpensive way to keep organised without all the "fluff".


Because the bujo focuses so much on organization and not so much on layout and page decor, there is not a lot of pressure to write neat! Just write legibly and your good to go. Some bujo users emphasise paraphrasing or making very short notes for your daily tasks, but that is something I have yet to master.



I need details and complete sentences in my life!

Now of course, when things are setttled down after we move, I will probably switch back over to using Filofax (which has many advantages as well!)… or I will probably use them both…. Who knows? In sha Allah, I'll figure that part out when I get there.

Now what on earth does a bullet journal have to do with a homeschool planner?

I'll explain all the details in the next post - hopefully with more pictures! I will also explain how the bullet journal is giving me life when it comes to homeschool planning. So keep an eye out for that!

See you in the next one!