Get Organized and Productive With A Bullet Journal At Work

Work Bullet Journal

Learn how using a Bullet journal at work can make you more productive, organized & less stressed. Discover the best work Bullet Journal ideas and spreads. Perfect for Bujo pros and beginners.

The Bullet Journal system is the perfect way to help keep on top of projects, due dates, appointments and lots more. It is a simple tool to help you stop feeling overwhelmed with your workload. As well as potentially reduce stress and anxiety while helping with time management and organization.

Keeping a Bullet Journal for work and personal life can be slightly different. This guide is a great start for simple bullet journaling at work and is ideal for anyone already familiar with the Bullet journal technique or those who have never tried Bullet Journaling before.

Keep reading to find out all the benefits of starting a Bullet Journal for work and some of the best layouts for productivity, time management and organization.

Can You Use A Bullet Journal For Work?

Yes!

A work Bullet Journal can be personalized to fit any workplace, work commitments or schedule. The magic of the Bullet Journal system is that you can create your spreads and collections to suit your particular needs and wants which means it is the perfect tool to help you keep track of everything to do with your work life.

If you already use a Bujo in your personal life then you know that this little notebook can be a total game-changer.

Some of the benefits of using a Bujo for work are:

Writing down your tasks, appointments, ideas etc can help you remember them better.
You are less likely to get distracted by emails, social media and other apps if you use a Bullet Journal notebook to plan projects and stay focused on work tasks.
Using the right pages and spreads will help keep all your tasks, priorities, appointments and projects all in one easy-to-glance-at location. Making you more organized.
As you become aware of your work habits and tasks you also start knowing your limits and capabilities. This means you can optimize your workday.
Using tools such as rapid logging and time blocking helps you to perfect your time management skills and makes you much more productive.
Having your workload written down rather than whirling around in your brain is a great way to reduce stress..and sleep better at night. Of course, being more organized and productive will also help you be less stressed and anxious too.

Have all these benefits got you excited, but it all seems a little overwhelming?

Don’t worry, we promise that it really is not as hard as it first seems and you will be surprised at how quickly you get used to the system. Then wonder how you ever managed without it.

Bullet Journaling At Work

You can choose to add a few special work collections to your personal Bullet Journal but we think that having a special dedicated work Bullet Journal may be the better option for a few reasons.

The first is that you may want to keep lots of things in your personal Bujo private, so taking it to your workplace may not be ideal. Secondly, we find that a Bujo for work tends to work better when we use simpler and more minimalist spreads. Although we love getting creative in our personal spreads, a more basic approach to work bujo layouts helps us be more efficient and productive. Lastly, having your personal and work bullet journal in one notebook could lead to you getting distracted at work…or home. It can be easy to see work notes when you should be relaxing at home, or worrying about family life schedules when you should be concentrating at work if you can see all your pages mixed together.

Of course, just like everything Bujo, this is all a personal preference. If you work from home you may find it much simpler to have just one notebook for both personal and work use.

How Do You Make A Bullet Journal For Work?

The Work Bullet Journal Setup

Before we jump into the spreads and layouts that you may want to try. A work bullet journal typically consists of the following elements:

Index: Reserve the first few pages to create an index for easy navigation.
Key: Establish a key for bullet symbols to mark tasks, events, and notes.
Future Log: Dedicate a few pages to jot down upcoming events and deadlines.
Monthly Spreads: Create a monthly spread that showcases an overview of your work-related activities for the month.
Weekly Spreads: Break your month down into weeks with detailed plans, tasks, and goals.
Daily Logs: Record daily tasks, meetings, and notes.
Personalized Spreads: These could be habit trackers, project management pages, meeting notes and more.

It is important to remember that with all things Bujo, it is the personalization and unique spreads and layouts that make them work.

In this post, we will give you some ideas and suggestions but we know that everyone’s workday is a little different which means you will need to experiment and be creative until you discover the perfect spreads and layouts that will work for you.

If you are a Bujo newbie then you can learn all the basics in our easy Starting a Bullet Journal Guide or check out our Beginners Bujo course below!

Bullet Journal Supplies

The great thing about a Bullet journal for work is that you can keep it super simple with supplies.

Of course, you can always create a little flair in your Bujo if you want. If you decide to go all out with a more artistic journal then take a look at what bullet journal accessories can help.

Bullet Journal Spreads For Work

Let’s learn more about the spreads and collections you may want to try in your work Bujo.

If you are new to Bullet Journaling you may want to just start with a few pages ( like an index, key and weekly spreads ) until you get into a journaling habit and learn what things you need in your journal. It is easy to add more spreads as you can confidence and see how your Bullet Journal is making a difference in your work life.

Remember these pages do not need to look or be perfect. A pretty page doesn’t make you more organized or effective. It’s the elements on the page that do that!

Index Page

Keep track of all your important pages with an index at the start or end of your work planner. An Index page will make it easier to find the page you are looking for making you more time-efficient. Find out more about how to use a Bullet Journal index page here.

A Bullet Journal key will help you use your work bullet journal more efficiently with rapid logging. Want to know what rapid logging is all about? Find out how you can save time and effort with a Bullet Journal key.

Be sure to think about what special keys ( symbols) will make your workflows quicker. Maybe symbols for meetings, Zoom calls or deadlines.

Future Log

This spread is a must-have for your work life as you can easily see what deadlines, projects, meetings and other events you have coming up in the next few months with one quick glance. Keep it super simple for work like this example above by @supermassiveblackink

This will help you plan better and manage your time more efficiently. Learn how to create a future log here.

Monthly Spread

A Monthly spread could be a good option if you have to plan your month in advance or have lots of meetings and schedules you need to make time for. It can also help stop you from feeling overwhelmed with tasks and projects as you can start creating action plans well ahead of deadlines.

This simple monthly log by @lines.and.lettering is efficient to use and allows you to quickly add information and see what your monthly overview looks like.

Weekly Spread

A weekly spread is ideal if you are having a quiet week and do not need to fit in as much detail for your work days. You could also add mini trackers for such things as checking emails, making sure you get up from your desk and move, or other activities you need to do daily. It is also a great place to add your weekly targets or goals.

Daily Spread

If you have lots to keep up with in your workday then a daily spread may work better for you than a weekly layout.

You could choose a daily spread with hourly times to make your day even more productive. Be sure to create elements that allow you to add notes, goals and action steps towards your targets and deadlines.

Bullet Journal For Work Layouts

Once you have your main working spreads created and making a difference in your workday it is a great idea to experiment with some specialised collection pages. These pages will be different for everyone depending on their work style and place.

For example, a teacher may need spreads such as classroom planning, while a real estate agent will need a page to keep track of properties or client meetings.

It could take some trial and error to determine which spreads work best for you. Remember the goal is to be more productive and organized.

Take a look at some of our Bullet Journaling for Work layouts and see which ones would suit your personal needs.

Time blocking Spread

Time blocking can be a fantastic tool to help you be more productive. Remember to be realistic and not to fit in too much each day. You can colour-code your blocks for such things as projects, meetings and administration to give you a quick visual overview of your day.

Taking the time to review your time-blocking page can also help you be more productive, as you can play around with what timings work for certain activities and how your days flow. Always tweaking your days to be more efficient.

Bullet Journal For Work Project Management

When you have a big project at work creating a special bujo spread can help you break it down into manageable steps. It can also help you set small deadlines to make sure you get your project completed on time.

The video below by Men Who Bullet is a great starting point to help you design your own personalised bujo project spread.

Remember to plan and think about what you need to organize, tasks to complete and deadlines for your particular project. It can be a great idea to do a Brain Dump for the project before you start so that you don’t forget any important element of your project page.

Bullet Journal Work Notes Page

Having a simple blank page where you can make notes is a great idea for your work Bullet Journal. Here you can add ideas, thoughts and anything else that pops into your mind during the day. You may even break down this notes page further to be specific for certain projects or tasks.

Keeping Notes pages for meetings can also be a great help. You can jot down information or ideas that come to you during meetings and then transfer these to the relevant collection pages in your journal afterwards.

Be sure to go through this notes page at the end of each day or week and add them to the relevant planning or calendar pages in your work Bujo.

Bullet Journal Trackers For Work

Habit trackers are a great inclusion in any work Bullet Journal.

You can create individual spreads for all your trackers or add smaller trackers to pages such as your weekly spread or project management spread. It can be a great idea to experiment with where your tackers will work best for you. If you do not see them often, you can often forget to use them which means you may not be keeping up with the habit you are trying to cultivate.

What you can track is only limited by your imagination and needs. You can track to create productive new habits, keep on top of your goals and hit targets for your projects.

Find out more about how to use habit trackers HERE

Bullet Journal Kanban Spread

Never heard of a Kanban board?

Check out the great video below by The Plant Based Bride to see how a Bullet Journal Kanban Board could be a game changer for you.

Brain Dump

Doing a brain bump is a great tool for mental health. It can help you if you are feeling overwhelmed, or unable to concentrate or focus. You may find it a great activity to do before you start a new project to help you think about all the things you will need to organize and plan for that project. Find out how to do a brain dump in this post and how to use it for future planning.

Expense Spread For Work

If you work from home, or have your own business then keeping track of work expenses is super important. You could change an expenses page to track such things as your travel miles or supplies expenses, whatever works with your job and helps you keep organized.

Find out more about expense trackers HERE

If you want more ideas on what pages and collections you could add to your Work Bujo then check out the post below.