This is a restored Clarissa’s Corner archive post, rebuilt from surviving writing and photographs from 2015. Rather than turn it into a completely modern bullet-journal guide, I’ve kept the original story at the centre and added a little context around why BuJo appealed to me in the first place.
Why BuJo appealed to me
Looking back through my surviving 2015 writing, it is obvious why bullet journalling caught my attention. I described myself as a list-maker who needed to write things down and tick them off to get going, and I was already experimenting with planners, notebooks, Filofax systems, mind maps and different ways of organising everything in my head.
In November 2015 I wrote that I was “looking into Bullet Journalling” and had only just realised how much I enjoyed stationery. A few days later, in my BEDN post about lists, I wrote in much more detail about why simple lists, mind-dumping, mind maps, colour blocking and physically ticking things off gave me a sense of achievement.
What is a bullet journal?
A bullet journal, often shortened to BuJo, is essentially a flexible notebook system for keeping track of tasks, notes, plans and ideas. The part that interested me was not making perfectly decorated pages. It was the freedom to create something around the way I actually thought and worked, instead of trying to squeeze myself into a planner layout that never quite fitted.
For me, the useful bits were always the practical ones: getting everything out of my head, breaking it into smaller lists, using colour to separate things visually and having something physical I could tick off when it was done.
From Filofax to bullet journal
Before BuJo, I had tried several planner systems. I used a personal-size Filofax Domino, then moved to an A5 Filofax because I preferred the extra writing space. I also printed, folded and punched my own DIY inserts. I liked the idea, but I wrote at the time that I could not quite make the system work for me.
While decluttering and simplifying, I started researching bullet journalling because the flexible format felt closer to the way I naturally worked: quick notes, lists, mind maps and visible progress rather than a rigid planner layout.
The stationery side of it
This period was also when I properly started noticing how much I loved stationery. Planners, coloured pens, inserts and notebooks were becoming part organisation system and part creative outlet. The surviving photos below are wonderfully 2015 and I absolutely want them to stay that way. They are part of the Clarissa’s Corner archive, not something I want to replace with polished modern stock images.
Looking back at my 2015 BuJo phase
What makes me smile looking back is that the tools have changed, but the basic idea has not. I still like being able to see everything clearly, break a big muddle into manageable pieces and create a system that makes sense to me rather than one that only looks organised from the outside.
That is probably why this little archive post still deserves its place on the site. It captures an early version of the way I was already trying to organise ideas, plans and creative projects long before Clarissa’s Corner became what it is now.
More from the Clarissa’s Corner archive
If you enjoy seeing the older corners of the site, have a look at Owl Fashion, Filofax & Summer Style – 2013 Archive, another little time capsule from my early love of planners, stationery and alternative style.
