"Oh don't worry, she's just a little crazy." — my friend, putting a gentle warning label out on me at a party where I didn't know anyone.

She was being kind. Crazy, intense, those were just a few words used to accurately describe me. I was chaos, my life was chaos, and everyone around me tended to get pulled into the wildly spinning orbit of my life. I knew it was a problem - the out of control, hectic sort of frenzy that had me writing essays the night before they were due, losing track of things I needed to get done, and generally never having a quiet mind. Yet, I couldn't seem to find a solution. It had been suggested over the years, by well-meaning colleagues, that I try a journal. "It will help you organize your thoughts!" (Spoiler alert: it didn't). Instead of helping me clarify and organize, using a journal seemed to give my brain free reign to write rambling pages of messy scrawl, half-finished to-do lists, and abstract doodles.

A bullet journal had me feeling suspicious, remembering all my previous failed attempts, but shockingly it was quite different. There were three main ways it changed my approach.

1. Creative Boundaries

Instead of having pages full of empty lines, a bullet journal has tiny graph points. With a little guidance from Pinterest, I could create an entire framework that was unique to me and gave me a point of reference.

2. Visible Progress

I could see everything laid out in a clear way, rather than the usual muddled hodgepodge. Using a mood tracking layout I could record my feelings where normally I'd be rambling trying to figure it out. I could see when my assignments were due, and felt a sense of accomplishment in filling out the space when I finished, so I didn't get overwhelmed and freeze up.

3. Calmed Mind (no really)

Balancing things so that I didn't feel constantly eaten alive by stress and nebulous anxiety, was the unlooked for outcome of bullet journaling. It was in my journal, I could simply flip the pages and see, ah yes, that random thing is under control.

Ultimately, bullet journaling is still just a tool to be used by the individual, not a miracle cure. It requires effort and a little discipline. Truth be told, I'm still just a little crazy. But I can say now, with confidence, that my life has less chaos than it used to, and maybe that's all I really wanted.