Minimalist Bullet Journal Future Log Workflow

So you've spent some time building your bullet journal layouts and getting yourself organized. But it's just not quite working like you want it to. What's going on here? As is often the case, the what to do is only part of the question. How to do it is another. This is the first in a series of an amalgam between design and technique. Let's take a look at future log workflow.

In this ultra-streamlined approach to bullet journaling, it's not only the layouts and designs that are minimalist, but the techniques for using the system as well. The flow of your tasks, appointments, etc. from one module to another can be tricky. Or it can be simple. It's all a matter of how you manage these things.

In my journal, most items end up in the daily log for the day I intend to handle them. That may or may not happen on the actual day assigned but the most important thing is I don't lose track of stuff. The daily log is the last stage of a task/event filtering technique. The further out an item may be, the deeper it's starting place in my system. The most distant items begin in the Future Log. It's very much like the minimalist Ryder Carroll approach, except mine includes a weekly log. Here's the breakdown of the steps a task or event might take:

• Future Log
• Monthly Log
• Weekly Log
• Daily Log

Future Log

In an earlier post you can see details of the minimalist variant on the Alastair method of future log. Anything further out than the current month gets placed here.

Monthly Log

Since most tasks or events I deal with crop up during the month, these don't take up space in the future log spread at the beginning of my journal. At the end of the month I peruse the future log and transfer any tasks/events that apply. During the month I'll use the monthly log as a short term future log. Check out my minimalist monthly log with 2 trackers.

In this minimalist monthly spread (above) I've got a calendar on the left page with short hand notes of events. In the right page I've expanded the short hand notes with all relevant details (some of it blurred out of this image) and I included a calendar thumbnail printout (which you can download for free) and the month's tasks.

Weekly Log

Next, during the week, some things crop up that were not previously recorded in the monthly log. I recently added the weekly log to my system mainly because I needed a designated place for budgeting. See this post on a weekly spread designed for a weekly future log plus financial tracking.

Here is a single page version of a weekly log. Since most day-to-day items are recorded in the daily logs, the weekly doesn't have to maintain much.

Daily Log

As you see in the above image, the daily logs track all the stuff I need to handle now. I don't usually fill in a daily until that day. If I need advance notice of something it goes on the weekly. My two column daily logs are described in detail here. I set up each daily log the night before as part of the reflection aspect of bullet journaling Ryder Carroll recommends.

So there you have it. Three modules (future, monthly, and weekly logs) serve as a future log workflow. The daily logs are the destination. The future log is basically reviewed once a month, the monthly log several times during the month, and the weekly log is basically a short guide to the dailies, along with financial info. I may expand the weeklies back to a two page spread and put more detail in the budgeting aspect of the system.

How does your workflow work for your journal? Please commend here and be sure to subscribe!