To say the least, this week has been filled with surprises. With the blizzard’s gift of 30 inches of snow, the school board has been frantically trying to make decisions about snow days and re-adjusting the schedule to accommodate for all the missed time. Of course, from a student’s perspective, waking up every day to find out that the next day is off has been absolutely amazing and a quite necessary break. However, I’ve realized that with the extended break, I have developed an increasing lethargy, encouraging me to binge-watch Netflix instead of getting ahead and studying for the upcoming exams.

Unfortunately, at this point of time, we all know that when school starts again, we will be faced with exams, loads of pending work and a whole new level of stress. Currently, though, I have entered a state of complacency that stubbornly ignores the oncoming storm of work and encourages me to procrastinate. It’s during times like these that keeping a bullet journal comes very much in handy.

A bullet journal is a self-written planner that students can organize based on their daily schedules and needs. Students can add a monthly, weekly, and daily calendar to bullet out all of their tasks and when they want to complete them. The bullet journal system encourages me to stay on track, because it allows to me to plan out my time while letting me express my crafty personality by styling the journal. Finding cute printable calendars on Pinterest and inspirational quotes from Goodreads to paste into my bullet journal motivates me to plan out my time more. Psychologically, the bullet journal inspires me to execute the tasks I’ve written down, due to the satisfaction of finally crossing something out.

My bullet journal has been essential to me not wasting too much time away over the past few days. Every morning, I look forward to writing things down in my bullet journal, and it naturally pushes me to be more productive. The break also gives me more time to add more elements of color and flair to my journal, somehow letting me express the artsy side of me, while also planning and spending my time more efficiently.

Students feeling themselves slipping away to procrastination this break and have a passion for crafting should seriously consider using their time to start a bullet journal. The bullet journal system helps me organize my feelings and ideas, and has given rise to a much more organized life. The steps are simple, but have a great long-term effect.