Which is the best bullet journal notebook? How do I know which to choose? Let’s get these questions answered for you.
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Best Bullet Journal Notebook – Introduction
There are so many factors when it comes to picking the right notebook for your bullet journal.
The likely truth is that you will eventually find the one you like and stick to it forever more. But here we will look at some principles and thoughts about finding the right notebook and hopefully it will get you to that end point faster.
Why is finding the right notebook important?
The notebook is one of the biggest and most important tools in your bullet journal toolkit.
READ: Build the Perfect Bujo with these Bullet Journal Supplies for Beginners
This means that if you want to create a successful bullet journal habit, you need to feel success with your notebook.
And it really does make a difference. So let’s look at some basic options.
Explore all options
Most people do think of a regular bound notebook for using for bullet journaling, but i want to open your mind to some other potential options which could work better for YOU.
- DIGITAL BULLET JOURNAL. This has become my personal favorite bullet journal. You can buy a pre-made one or make your own.
- RING BOUND. You can use regular paper, printed with your preference of lines, dots etc. and then make your own planner binder.
- DISC BOUND. This is similar to the ring binder idea, but the discs can give you the notebook feel, and is a great option for making your own bullet journal. [I did this for years].
- OTHER. You can get many different brands and styles of binders and notebooks – such as a Filofax refillable. Any of these can be an option for you to try out.
So there are a few basic options for you. Now we will look at how to choose a bullet journal notebook..
How to Choose a Bullet Journal Notebook
There are a few important things to consider when choosing your notebook.
Paper Style
Paper style is a matter of preference and does make a difference.
There are options of lined, grid or graph, dotted or dot grid, and some other more fancy options too. You definitely can use a lined notebook for a bullet journal, but I personally find it’s a bit harder to create symmetric layout designs in a lined notebook.
Should bullet journal be dotted or grid?
Either a dotted or a very faint grid will work for bullet journaling. If you use a notebook that has a heavy dark grid, it can look very busy even for those that like a busy looking page. A dotted or faint grid will make your page more clean and look better.
So the choice is up to you but I definitely recommend a simple dotted or dot grid page style for using as your bullet journal.
Paper Thickness
Bullet journals usually have thick paper. It is measured in ‘gsm’. Regular thin printer paper is 75 gsm.
If you wish as most do, to use pens and markers in your bullet journal then thicker paper is nice.
Bullet journals will often go from anywhere between 100 gsm and 200 gsm. Many like either 120 gsm or 160 gsm.
Personally I use regular watercolor markers and that’s it so I prefer the 120 gsm paper notebooks, they often contain more pages.
But for those who use paint, or fountain pens or things that can get absorbed into paper more easily then they like the 160gsm paper.
Notebook Details
Some other factors can make a difference with bullet journaling and so are good to look out for:
- Lay Flat. You want to make sure that you can lay the notebook flat to use it with ease.
- Size. The normal bullet journals are A5 size, but you can get smaller and bigger so think about what you need.
- Extras. You might want page numbers and an index page. You might want a pen look. These are just some extra things to consider about the notebook itself.
Hopefully those few details will help you with how to choose a bullet journal notebook. But now let us dive into the notebook options themselves and see if any sound to you like the best bullet journal notebook.
Notebooks Available
I will be completely honest with you here. I have not tried each and every one of these notebooks, so I cannot give you a complete answer as to which is the best.
But I can tell you about the popular ones and why they are good and hopefully it will help you to decide if you want to try them yourself.
- LEUCHTTURM1917. This is the original bullet journal and the one first discovered and used by Ryder Carroll. It is hugely popular and has a good choice of colors. They have 80 and 100 gsm options.
- ARCHER&OLIVE. These are high end and beautiful. They have lovely smooth paper and so many options. This link is to a 160 gsm notebook with a falling skies cover. So elegant!
- LEMOME. This was the one I started with and my personal favorite. The one I had was 120gsm paper and had a lovely cork cover.
So which is the best bullet journal notebook for beginners?
READ: A Comprehensive Guide to Budget and Eco Friendly Bullet Journal Supplies
Really you have to look at the principles to decide which is the best notebook for bullet journaling for YOU!
In other words, one person’s best notebook, will not be the next person’s best – if that makes sense.
So what’s the conclusion from all of this?
Conclusion
In conclusion I am going to recommend that you start off by finding local places that sell quite cheap bullet journals.
That is not to say that you shouldn’t get the lovely brands that I’ve mentioned here. But I can only tell you what my opinion and personal recommendation is.
I personally think the best bullet journal notebook is digital!
So there, really you want to experiment and rather than spending lots of money, buy the best bullet journal notebook you can based on the principles mentioned here today and use it to learn – what you will keep moving forward.
Hope that has helped, thanks so much for being here today.
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