Random musings

Thursday - "Finally Understand How to Keep a Bullet Journal #TBT" This is a really interesting post on using a bullet journal. "Here are a few features that make the Bullet Journal unique among other journaling systems"

Interesting days

Today - National Dress Up Your Pet Day, International Kite Day, National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day and National Organize Your Home Day

Tomorrow - National Hat Day, National Bagel Day, National Strawberry Ice Cream Day and National Pothole Day

Next Friday - Hugging Day, Playdate Day, International Sweatpants Day, Granola Bar Day and Squirrel Appreciation Day

Week long celebrations:

Jan 17 - 21: Family Mediation Week

February 14 - Valentine's Day, Ferris Wheel Day, Donor Day, Cream-Filled Chocolates Day, International Book Giving Day and Pet Theft Awareness Day

Thursday, January 13, 2022

Finally Understand How to Keep a Bullet Journal #TBT

Today's blog post was originally published two years ago:

Today's blog post is from an article in The Art of Manliness. I wrote about bullet journaling a couple of weeks ago.

Do you have aspirations of journaling more? Me too. Of getting more organized and being able to cross more to-dos off your list? Ditto.

While finding just the right journal or system isn’t always the answer, sometimes it can give you the nudge you need.

That’s where the Bullet Journal comes in. If you’re a web surfer in any regard, you’ve likely seen that term pop up now and again as a new method of journaling that combines a traditional diary with calendaring, to-dos, capturing ideas, etc. While you can buy an official branded Bullet Journal, you can also create the template yourself using just about any notebook. Many people prefer a dot grid layout to lined (for doodling and adding more creative flare), but it’s certainly not a requirement.

While there’s an entire book on how to “properly” use the Bullet Journal methodology, it’s an easy system to learn with just a few pointers.

Below you’ll find why I enjoy it and some fundamental tips that make the Bullet Journal a uniquely useful tool.

As I said before, I'm just using an 89 cent spiral bound notebook.

So, what is a bullet journal? (This is AoM's take on the subject).

Here are a few features that make the Bullet Journal unique among other journaling systems (plenty more on all of these below):

Starts with an index. At the very start of the journal is a detailed index with page numbers so that everything in the journal is easily findable.
Includes monthly/daily logs for planning, productivity, note-taking, and journaling.
Makes use of various bullet points within those logs in order to signify tasks (and if those tasks are done, delegated, incomplete, etc.), events, ideas, and more. Hence the name “Bullet Journal.”
Includes any number of “Collections” — pages that center on various subjects and which function for any purpose you’d like, from book lists to workout/food tracking to idea capture and more.

That’s a rough idea of what comprises a Bullet Journal. Next, a few reasons why I and many others utilize this system.

I also wrote about how to use BuJo specifically for journaling here.

Here are some benefits of bullet journaling:

Works with other journaling/to-do systems.
Combines lists/notebooks into a single “file.”
Organizes your jottings.
Totally customizable.

AoM then goes into the above items in much more detail. I highly recommend that you read the article here.

I know this may seem like a lot of organizational ideas thrown your way at once, so here’s a quick recap:

Put an index at the start of your notebook or journal which captures the page numbers for everything being written down.
Create a monthly log to get a broad overview of the big events/to-dos/goals for each month.
Create a daily log to do the same thing on a smaller scale.
Use the various bullets and signifiers to jot down to-dos, events, notes, etc.
Use short daily planning and review sessions to migrate notes, to-dos, and ideas so that they don’t get lost in the jungle of a well-filled notebook.

One thing that I noticed that isn't included in this article are future logs. The video in my blog post shows how to use them.

Go ahead and check it out.

Interesting days

Today - National Sticker Day, National Rubber Duckie Day, Public Radio Broadcasting Day, Make Your Dream Come True Day, World Skeptics Day and National Peach Melba Day

Tomorrow - National Dress Up Your Pet Day, International Kite Day, National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day and National Organize Your Home Day

Next Thursday - Disc Jockey Day, Cheese Lovers Day, Camcorder Day, Day of Acceptance, Buttercrunch Day and Penguin Awareness Day

Week long celebrations:

Jan 17 - 21: Family Mediation Week

February 13 - Radio Day, Tortellini Day, Madly In Love With Me Day, Employee Legal Awareness Day and Get A Different Name Day

Week long celebrations:

February 9 - 15: Kraut and Frankfurter Week

Wednesday, January 12, 2022

More on habits

Here's a lot more information about habits and their neurochemistry. The first two videos are from Andrew Huberman. I discovered him just a few weeks ago. The videos are very informative but they each last about 90 minutes. The first one has some good habit building techniques and the second one goes more in depth about dopamine.

And here's a much shorter video that talks about the relationship between dopamine and serotonin:

Check out last week's blog post for more on habits.

Interesting days

Today - Kiss a Ginger Day, National Marzipan Day and National Pharmacist Day

Tomorrow - National Sticker Day, National Rubber Duckie Day, Public Radio Broadcasting Day, Make Your Dream Come True Day, World Skeptics Day and National Peach Melba Day

Next Wednesday - National Popcorn Day, National Tin Can Day and Museum Selfie Day

February 12 - Darwin Day, National Lost Penny Day and National Plum Pudding Day

Week long celebrations:

Feb 6 - Feb 12: National Secondhand Wardrobe Week

Feb 6 - Feb 12: Boy Scouts Anniversary Week

Tuesday, January 11, 2022

Your weekend guide to interesting days - January 8, 2022

Week long celebrations:

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Cheerleading Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Patient Recognition Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: School Counseling Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Solo Diners Eat Out Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: African Heritage and Health Week

Feb 6 - Feb 12: National Secondhand Wardrobe Week

Feb 6 - Feb 12: Boy Scouts Anniversary Week

Feb 7 - Feb 11: Pride In Foodservice Week

Friday, January 7, 2022

The week in review - January 7, 2022

Monday - "All the ways to win - updated" As it looks right now, the updated part will end tonight. "You get one entry for each session you watch at www.CryptoFreeTrial.com, there is no need to pre-register,"

Tuesday - "The Tiny Habits That Change Everything" From The Art pf Manliness. "This is always a good time of year to talk about habits...whether creating new ones or eliminating old ones!"

Wednesday - "The Rationality of Emotions" Can emotions be rational? "Next week I'll talk about the chemistry of emotions, and the roles that dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine play in emotions and motivation and how they tie back into habits."

Thursday - "No #TBT today" Oops "The pickings were very sparse for this date and there was nothing relevant."

Interesting days

Today - Tempura Day, Bobblehead Day, Harlem Globetrotter’s Day, I’m Not Going To Take It Anymore Day and Old Rock Day

Tomorrow - Bubble Bath Day, Joy Germ Day, Show & Tell At Work Day, Argyle Day and Earth’s Rotation Day

Next Friday - National Dress Up Your Pet Day, International Kite Day, National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day and National Organize Your Home Day

February 7 - Play More Cards Day, National Send a Card to a Friend Day and World Ballet Day

Week long celebrations:

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Cheerleading Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Patient Recognition Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: School Counseling Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: Solo Diners Eat Out Week

Feb 1 - Feb 7: African Heritage and Health Week

Feb 6 - Feb 12: National Secondhand Wardrobe Week

Feb 6 - Feb 12: Boy Scouts Anniversary Week

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Thursday, January 20, 2022

Your weekend guide to interesting days - January 15, 2022

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Monday, January 17, 2022

No blog post today

Friday, January 14, 2022

The week in review - January 14, 2022

Interesting days

Thursday, January 13, 2022

Finally Understand How to Keep a Bullet Journal #TBT

Interesting days

Wednesday, January 12, 2022

More on habits

Interesting days

Tuesday, January 11, 2022

Your weekend guide to interesting days - January 8, 2022

This week

Next week

Next month

Friday, January 7, 2022

The week in review - January 7, 2022

Interesting days