Turning a Word document into a bullet journal works perfectly if you normally have your laptop or tablet handy.

If you struggle to keep a bullet journal on paper, you might like a digital version better.

Its a daily planner, powerfulto-do list, daily log, and tracker all rolled into a single journal.

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It’s designed for quickly capturing notes and planning that keeps you mindful of your goals.

Neat boxes and fancy lines look pretty, but theyre just as impractical.

Pre-made layouts like that cannot capture everything you throw at them.

A typical physical bullet journal.

Bulletjournal.com

Youll either waste space or run out of it.

Theyre generalized approximations, not tailored to your very specific, personal needs.

A bullet journal is simple and loosely defined, which makes it adaptable and flexible.

Theme templates in Word.

And itll provide you with a simple system to keep it all organized and you on top of it.

Most people use a physical notebook and pen to keep their bullet journal.

Its not your only option though.

Creating the index page in a bullet journal.

you’re able to also create and keep a digital bullet journal in Microsoft Word.

I recommend that you keep your bullet journal as basic as possible.

It doesnt have to look pretty.

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It just has to get the ball rolling as quickly and effortlessly as possible.

We need to set up the document before we can create individual pages for the bullet journal.

Lets start byadding page numbers.

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Double-click anywhere on top of the document to fire up the Header and Footer menu.

Then end the Header and Footer menu.

Find and tap the Watermark button on the Design ribbon.

Signifiers for my digital bullet journal.

Select Custom Watermark from the drop-down menu.

Click Picture Watermark to upload your dot-patterned image file and click OK.

If the pattern doesnt look right.

Try changing its size using the drop-down menu or unchecking the Washout button.

Create the Index

Were ready to create our first bullet journal page.

Click Blank Page on the Insert tab.

The Index page is your directory to find everything in the bullet journal.

Thats why we numbered the pages.

Create the Future Log

The future log is where you make long-term plans.

Tasks, events, or notes thatll be relevant in the next six months show up here.

The future log doesnt have to start from January.

It’s supposed to be a bird’s eye view of your month.

Mine is just a list of the month’s dates with the notes or tasks.

you’re free to add weekdays to the list if you want.

Just jot down the day and date and start logging.

Finally, it’s always a good idea to back up your important documents to the cloud.

Microsoft Word supports easy and seamlessfile saving via OneDrive.

How to Use the Bullet Journal

Every bullet journal has a daily log.

There are no premade layouts, no boxes, or dotted lines.

Cross items that are done or cancel them.

At the end of the day, review your daily log and migrate leftover tasks.

It keeps you mindful of what truly needs your attention and your tasks from slipping through the cracks.

Its a log where you put your notes, thoughts, events, anything, and everything.

Its a record of your daily happenings, special occasions, and milestones achieved.

Migrate

When youre working with just a basic to-do list, it starts over anew every day.

New tasks for the new day.

Its perfect if you always cross everything off your list.

You decide to move it to next month.

Youll have to write it again on your to-do list at some point.

Or youre liable to forget it, which is what often happens (at least with me).

Thats where migration comes in.

you’re free to use any of these symbols to represent an item.

In my system, circles are notes, triangles are events, dots are tasks.

Strikethrough is for canceling tasks.

Checkmarking a task marks it done.

I represent a migrated task using arrows.

it’s possible for you to use any symbols to create your system as long as its consistent.

tap the bullet button on the Home menu and select Define Bullet.

Press Symbol and choose a symbol you want to use.

Repeat these steps to create the whole library of symbols that youll be using.

Bullet journals dont have to be physical.

it’s possible for you to create a forever bullet journal in Microsoft Word that works.

Keeping a journal helps get things done, smoothing out the journey to your goals.