Episode 13 - Academic planning with a modified Bullet Journal Method

Welcome back to another episode of the podcast! Today I want to show you how to plan your writing and really your entire day with pen and paper, and how to have any notes you take during your workday, all in one place!

I know that digital project management systems are super popular right now and at the very least, you probably use digital calendar and maybe you’ve also tried Trello, Clickup, Asana, Notion or something else to keep your life, work and writing organised.

But if you’re a pen-and-paper person the barrier to using a digital system might be either too high or the digital tools you tried didn’t stick. If that’s you, then my Pen-and-Paper Planning Method may be ideal for you! Because honestly, post-its all over the office are not the solution!

My Pen-and-Paper Planning Method that I’m sharing today is inspired by and developed from “The Bullet Journal Method” by Ryder Carroll. It’s a method that many of you probably have heard of but before you outright reject it, let me tell you it’s not about designing journals with stickers, gel pens and sketches. The method is super powerful and you can do it with just one pen and no artistic skills.

With the Pen-and-Paper Planning Method you will have one journal that stores everything in one place: project management for all papers you are working on, your publication pipeline, your yearly and quarterly plans, daily, weekly and monthly tasks as well as space for journaling and meeting and literature notes.

Timestamps:
(02:45) About the Bullet Journal Method
(04:04) What you need to get started
(06:34) Organising your new notebook
(07:25) Structuring your Table of Contents
(08:06) Defining your symbols
(10:17) Your yearly vision and goals
(11:28) Your Publication Pipeline
(14:14) Your preview of the year
(15:30) Project plans for your papers
(17:43) Your monthly overview
(21:23) Your weekly plan
(26:21) Daily pages
(33:22) Yearly reflection
(36:35) Tips for your journal

The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Caroll: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-bullet-journal-method-track-the-past-order-the-present-design-the-future/12079309?ean=9780525533337

My favorite Leuchtturm notebooks: https://www.leuchtturm1917.com/notebooks/

Podcast host: Anna Clemens, PhD
Video and audio editing: Jason Rivera

Join our free training to learn more about the Journal Publication Formula at researcherswritingpodcast.com/free. Get tips on how to work with co-authors, manage your writing process, and increase your chances of getting published in top-tier journals.