5 min read

Bullet Journaling Changed My Life

Bullet Journaling Changed My Life

Bullet Journaling Changed My Life

I have a confession to make, that won’t surprise anyone who knows me, I’m incredibly messy and disorganized. I’m not just a little disorganized, I’m chronically, pathologically disorganized. I’m quite simply missing the organization gene.

My girlfriend on the other hand is absolutely organized and has her entire life in perfect German order. Somehow she has survived living with me for almost five years, but it hasn’t been easy. We are currently in the process of moving from Atlanta, GA to Columbus, OH and since I’m in Chicago getting trained for my new job she’s packing the apartment on her own. She sent me this picture of the multiple iPhone headphones I’ve lost in the 18 months we’ve lived in our current apartment! That’s how messy I am.

My disorganization has been a major issue in my career, and I’ve tried multiple things to get better at it. I’ve read many different books about productivity and how to keep your work life in order, I’ve tried many different apps and a myriad of other things. But nothing has worked. I’ve managed to get a lot done in my career (especially InsNerds and Insuring Tomorrow), and much of it thanks to working with highly organized teammates to keep me on track, but just imagine what I could achieve if I figured out at least basic organization skills.

Back in November, I happened upon this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm15cmYU0IM&t=47s

I don’t even remember how I found it. Right away I thought the idea sounded kind of cool. Bullet Journaling is “an analog system to track the past, organize the present and plan for the future.” I thought it looked like a cute life hack, but I figured it would never work for me and I’d probably lose the journal in a matter of hours.

Then serendipity happened and just a couple of days later I gave my session “Engaging and Retaining Millennials in the Insurance Industry” at Markel and they gave me a beautiful moleskin book in my favorite color and a very nice pen. I figured it was a sign and decided to give Bullet Journaling a try. I was pretty sure it would last about 3 days before I lost the journal or otherwise screwed it up. My girlfriend would’ve bet her yearly bonus that I’d never stick to it… It would’ve been a solid bet for her!

I started it by setting up per the video. I created an index and the pages 1-4 became the Future Log. I even studiously created a month page for November, even though it felt very silly and a to-do list for the overall month. November 16th became the first day I planned with it.

The first couple of days I used the daily log I felt REALLY empowered and productive. For the first time in a long time I felt like I was truly in control of my day and getting stuff done seemingly at will. This was significantly more organized than I had EVER been, and I was just getting started.

It just so happened that we had a trip planned from 11/28 to 11/26 to Beijing, China over Thanksgiving week. I took the Bullet Journal with me knowing I wouldn’t be needing it, but I wanted to try to continue the habit of always having it with me. To my surprise when I got back to work on 11/27 I got right back Bullet Journaling and again felt empowered by the organization it allowed me.


Pages 9-10 ended up becoming my first “collection”. I started writing down a list of books I want to read and the list quickly got huge. It wasn’t the first time I wrote a list of something, but it was the first time I felt sure that I wouldn’t immediately lose it (like if I wrote it on just a random piece of paper) or that I’d have it for ever but never remember it’s there (like the many notes in my iPhone). There was something very powerful about writing it down on a nice notebook that’s always with me and being able to quickly find it in the index and refer to it or add to it at any time. Over the last eight weeks I created other collections for Questions for the New Boss, Big Ideas, Article Ideas, Packing List, Weekend To Do List, Stuff I Want to Buy, Movies/Series to Watch and even Early January Brain Dump when I couldn’t sleep one night. Getting it all out of my head helped me sleep!

By early December I was feeling much more organized than ever, and after reading some great examples of how other people Bullet Journal I decided to add a Habit Tracking section to each month. This is a simple calendar where you track important things you’re trying to be in a habit of doing every day or every x number of days. I shocked even myself when I searched the apartment for a thin ruler to draw those calendars and started carrying that in the Molebook. I had never cared about straight lines before (to the great chagrin of my Kindergarten teacher).

Within a few weeks Bullet Journal became a habit that helps me manage my entire life in an enjoyable, effective and relating way. I keep it with me at all times and when it’s not near me I feel as naked as if I left my iPhone in the car! I’ve been using my Bullet Journal EVERY day of my new job and it’s helped so much that my new boss commented at the end of my first week that I’m a “very organized person.” I almost fell over backwards when he said this. Nobody has EVER called me organized. I’m not even exaggerating when I say I almost cried… I’m feeling so in control of my productivity and my life overall, I truly can’t believe all I needed was a molebook and some guidance on how to get going with a system whose genius lies in its simplicity and flexibility. You can truly make your Bullet Journal whatever you want. All you need to do is add a new page, number it and listed in the index. Go ahead and go crazy, let your creativity run wild, while still keeping your productivity in order.


About Antonio Canas

Tony started in insurance in 2009 and immediately became a designation addict and shortly thereafter a proud insurance nerd. He has worked in claims, underwriting, finance and sales management, at 4 carriers, 6 cities and 5 states. Tony is passionate about insurance, technology and especially helping the insurance industry figure out how to retain and engage the younger generation of insurance professionals. Tony is a co-founder of InsNerds.com and a passionate speaker.

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Tony started in insurance in 2009 and immediately became a designation addict and shortly thereafter a proud insurance nerd. He has worked in claims, underwriting, finance and sales management, at 4 carriers, 6 cities and 5 states. Tony is passionate about insurance, technology and especially helping the insurance industry figure out how to retain and engage the younger generation of insurance professionals. Tony is a co-founder of InsNerds.com and a passionate speaker.

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