Keeping It Simple: Embrace Your Minimalist Bujo

“Simplicity, clarity, singleness: These are the attributes that give our lives power and vividness and joy...” - Richard Holloway

For many people, minimalism is not just an aesthetic, it is a lifestyle. It involves freeing your life from attachment to material possessions as well as getting rid of clutter and distractions.

The minimalist lifestyle is intentional living with only the things you need or things that support your life’s purpose. This frees up your time and resources for things that matter most and allows you to appreciate what they already have in pursuit of contentment.

This all-encompassing life’s philosophy will naturally spill over into your bullet journaling style.

It’s easy to associate bullet journaling with beautiful calligraphy, intricate mixed-media spreads and colorful grids — very insta-worthy. Its highly customizable nature appeals to creatives and artists.

But minimalist bujo users do exist! Just check out the hashtag #minimalistbujo on Instagram. So if you’re a minimalist, don’t think for one second that bullet journaling is not for you.

In fact, keeping a minimalist bullet journal has its own set of unique benefits. Here are a few of them.

Benefits of a Minimalist Bullet Journal

You Save Time

Setting up your bullet journal and creating beautiful spreads take time and effort. People probably spend hours conceptualizing and working on the actual designs. No doubt, this is time they enjoy. But not everyone has hours to spare.

Adopting a minimalist style will save you a lot of time, which you can devote to more important pursuits. You can be done in minutes!

You Save Money

Different colored pens, paints, washi tapes, stickers, stamps, stencils, highlighters… Some people find great joy in collecting bullet journaling art materials.

Minimalists tend to spend money based on what aligns with their values. That means fewer purchases and no unnecessary spending.

They will be perfectly content with the bare minimum. A quality journal and a good pen and they’re good to go!

It Keeps the Focus on What Matters Most

When it comes to bullet journaling, it should be substance over style. Bujo pages with no stickers, doodles or color might look empty or undone to some, but it will leave more space for the essentials.

Don’t feel pressured to design the pages of your bujo if you’re not up to it. That’s not what it’s for after all. As long as you’re doing daily logs and regular brain dumps, then you’re doing it right. It’s also easier to navigate that way!

Easier Upkeep

Anything that prevents you from updating your bujo consistently is unproductive and detrimental to your progress.

Sometimes the fear of messing up or making a mistake is what’s discouraging you from using your bujo.

Having a low-maintenance minimalist bujo will eliminate that fear. You can write freely. You won’t worry about spoiling a spread with your hurried scribbles.

It Reduces Anxiety

Some people love bursts of colors, drawing, paintings and the like. For others, visual clutter can trigger stress and anxiety.

If you’re more of the latter, then a minimalist aesthetic will have a slew of mental health benefits for you. It’s relaxing and uncomplicated and it will calm your mind.

Just like a tidy room or a clutter-free desk, a clean and simple bullet journal style will be more conducive for you.

Remember, your bullet journal’s purpose is to make life easier for you. It should give more than it takes. When setting up your bullet journal starts to feel like too much of a chore, it’s time to rethink your style.

If you’re on the opposite end of the spectrum and you love creating elaborate spreads, you consider your bujo your creative outlet and you can get lost for hours working on it, that is totally fine too. One style is not better than the other.

Go for what works for you and whatever encourages you to make full use of your bullet journal. This way, you can reap its full benefits.