I've been very into physical journaling again. I find it very satisfying to be working with an analogue system again. I thought I'd ruin things for myself by not having digital reminders and things like that to keep me on track, but the reality is that: 1. Most stuff I do doesn't need a notification anyways 2. Anything that I do need a reminder for is in my calendar anyways So I've been chugging away with a bullet journal. My system is pretty simple. I have a page for the month and planned monthly events. I have a page every week for weekly tasks that don't need to be done on a specific day. And then the usual daily entries, where I write down thoughts, to-dos for the day, memorable moments for me, etc. I also have "collections," which are random themed pages that I keep to keep track of stuff I'm interested in, like shows I wanna watch, games I wanna play, etc. I pulled my system from a mixture of a few articles on how to bullet journal I found online until I was satisfied. But I knew that the guy who invented the system actually wrote a book, called - and get ready to inhale - *The Bullet Journal Method: Track the Past, Order the Present, Design the Future*. I wanted to see if I was missing anything from my own journal's system, so I read the book, wondering if the source of the method could give me something. What I got were a couple of good tips and another dogshit self-help book. Go figure! --- I realized I didn't know what I was getting into with *The Bullet Journal Method*[^1] until I hit a chapter near the beginning tof the book. In it, the bullet journal is used to save a child's life, in the most dramatic way possible. > [!quote] This is a Real Quote from the Book > Still, she had the presence of mind to pull out a well-worn, thread-bound book that is quite familiar to me: it was an orchid-colored, soft-covered Leuchtturm 1917. It was a Bullet Journal. Grasping the last few pages, she threaded them away from the threaded spine and held them out to the EMT... she shook her head and sobbed, "I can't... I can't..." This is allegedly a real thing that happened! If that's so, that's great. But it's also indicative of the absolute mawkish display in *The Bullet Journal Method*. Ryder Carrol claims that he's not trying to deliver a self-help book, but the reason this book falls apart for me is because of those very same vibes, particularly in its third section, *Practice*. Ironically, though the Bullet Journal system is predicated on simplicity and brevity, this section goes on and on and on. Constant ramblings about intentionality and "radiance" (yes really) and being the best person you can be and blah blah **blah**. Don't get me wrong. Bettering yourself is actually something quite important to me! I like to think about how I can improve as a person, it allows me to be reflective and intentional in my actions. But that can way too quickly turn into "hustle-grind-profit" bullshit that does nothing but turn you into more of a capitalistic cog in the machine than you already are. Which is exactly where *The Bullet Journal Method* ends up heading. Explain to me what kind of advice I can get from this: > [!quote] This is Another Real Quote from the Book > Curiosity points the needle of our inner compass toward the hopeeful magnetism of possibility and meaning. Not gonna lie, I dunno how Ryder was able to type this whole thing out with one hand on the keyboard. Kudos to him! I've gotten better inspiration from "[courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X59i3RkutbA)." Like come on. One thing that really stuck out to me is how Carroll thinks that collections should only be used for things that "matter," explicitly saying "does tracking the TV shows I've watched this year add any real value? No. I can reinvest that time into something that does." Yeah well maybe finally watching *Rocket Power* will give me an ounce of happiness when I'm not thinking about all the work I need to get done every single day Carroll. Did you consider that, asshole? He also takes the same approach to people who like to make their journals pretty and aesthetically pleasing. I, personally, do not do that because it distracts me and I'm not much an artist, but for the people that do: love that for you besties! Carroll does not share my sentiment tho: he's always one paragraph away from just spitting on people who like to draw in their notebooks, seemingly incapable of sparing a moment for joy or fun. > [!note] A Spare Thought > I have nowhere to logically put this in, but I'd also like to make note of this white man's fetishization of Japanese corporate culture. There's an entire post I could write on this being a common theme in "productivity" books. I do not need a man named Ryder's opinion on the concept of *kaizen* LMFAO. There's **some** helpful info in this book, particularly in chapters 2 and 4, but it's not anything I didn't already find in the articles I had read before I picked up this book. And there's the rub: I got *The Bullet Journal Method* thinking I was going to draw from the source, fill in the blanks that existed from me working backwards. But the reality is that those articles and videos give this exact same information, but quicker and for free! Hell, Ryder **himself** has a very good five minute video that goes over pretty much everything you need to bullet journal! So why spend the money to get this book?[^2] Maybe you like being talked down to about how to achieve your goals? Maybe you find sentances like "life is full of dragons - the longer they live, the bigger they become." Or maybe you hate yourself! Those are the only reasons I can think of. Sorry! To be clear: I really like bullet journaling! I don't know if I'll do it forever, but right now it's a nice way to step away from a screen a few minutes a day. I can be intentional when I think about how I want to spend my day, as well as look back at how I've spent it holistically, which is something [[Games and Meditation and Mortality Salience|I've been struggling with.]] But this book does not do much to assist with that. Instead it's a self-absorbed, masturbatory, cynical puff piece. Read or do anything else - and then write about it in your bullet journal, right next to your collection of TV shows you're going to watch. Because not even Carroll can take that away from you. [^1]: you're out your gatdamn **mind** if u think i'm writing the whole thing every time lmao [^2]: Don't worry, I didn't LOL