Leuchtturm1917 bullet journal photo by Elise Anthony
My bullet journal goes everywhere with me at work and home and maybe you’ve seen Pinterest boards totally devoted to the art of the billet journal. If you’re thinking about hopping aboard the bullet train, here are three tools I use daily.
1. The perfect journal
If you’re just thinking about journaling, go ahead and use the gimme notebooks collecting dust from your last work conference and keep scrolling this list.
If you’re always writing, doodling at meetings, and wanna keep your notes, you need a good-quality journal.
If you’re picky about paper quality and durability, you’ll need a better quality journal.
You can geek out on the whole Moleskine vs. Leuchtturm journal debate; I like both and have used both.
The pros of both Moleskine and Leuchtturm:
- A back pocket for cards and mementos
- A placeholder ribbon
- Thick paper that doesn’t bleed
- A hardback cover for easier writing anywhere
- Elastic band to hold pages in place or keep your journal closed
Over time, you’ll accumulate a collection of volumes that look just scholarly enough for your shelves, so choose your color wisely, my friends. (Navy looks classic yet trendy, IJS.)
Personally, after three years of buying Moleskines exclusively every two or three months, I’ve mostly switched to #teamleuchtturm. (Disclosure, I’m lazy and I’d rather Amazon it if I can’t find what I need within a reasonable drive.)
The margins matter; Moleskine journal on top, Leuchtturm on bottom; photo by Elise Anthony
Why I love my Leuchtturm:
- Two ribbons so I can flip fast between my daily view and meeting notes
- Numbered pages
- An index up front
- An extra half-inch page width
So yeah, I’m a journaling nerd. Don’t come crying to me when you lose your digital notes, K?
2. Fine-Tip Pens & Glitter
No, I didn’t take your pen. One, germs. Two, I’m low-key obsessed with TUL pens. Check the fine needle point against a medium TUL:
TULs to the test; photo by Elise Anthony
TULs are my daily driver of pens, but I need a splash of color for organizing and laying out my journal, so I always have a pack of .38mm fineliners around, which won’t bleed through.
Glitter pens are also in all of my bags; there’s something irresistible about adding a glittery flourish to my bill-paying list. Don’t judge how I adult; I honed my savings skills by hording my allowance for Lisa Frank sticker kits at Scholastic Book Fairs.
3. Stencils
Finally, to help me color between the lines and organize my planner pages, I rely on journal stencils.
For durability, I prefer metal journal stencils for everyday use to sketch my schedule, my to-do box, check boxes, the date and my bills and errands.
Pro tip: If you’re using an 8 by 5 inch journal like Moleskine or Leuchtturm, these stencils fit in the back pocket.
Bullet journal stencil photo by Elise Anthony
If you’re feeling fancy, you can accessorize with rose-gold stencils, including a habit tracker.
Of the three tools on this bullet journal list, my metal stencils attract the most attention and are a great treat “yo’self” for your favorite writer, artist or planner.
Share & tell in the comments: I’d love to see what you use to embellish or organize your journal.
— Elise ❤️
The Joy & Gladness makes a modest commission from some products listed in this blog, which will probably buy glitter pens. And stickers.
2 responses to “Supplies For Bullet Journals”
Awesome article. I have used the bullet journal format in the past. Let’s just say that I have changed it up a bit and become lazy with choice of journal, I am back to good old fashioned spiral bound notebooks. I like them for two reasons only. They are cheap and they lay flat to write. They are most definitely NOT pretty.
Thanks Tim! I like spirals too — I need paper to lay flat but after snagging my sweater a few too many times, I switched over to journals. I bet your journals are full of interesting facts.