As a long time user of the method I was wary as to how much more the book would add. There is a little bit of padding and repetition, but actually this is a very good book on how to systemetise a lot of advice that's floating around on how to get organised, achieve goals, be grateful, and consider where you'd like to focus your energy and attention.
I've always loved the tactile / non-digital aspect of the bujo and this outlines the process of creating the system and how it can be used in a variety of contexts.

I finally feel like I found a sustainable way to manage my life, and I would have never thought that it was gonna be an analog system, but here we are and things make more sense than ever.

It's not necessary to read this book if you want to get into bullet journaling, but this book offers incredible insight on how to live a meaningful life, prioritize what is important, and plan to reach your personal goals.

I tried to Bullet Journal in the past and got discouraged by my lack of artistic ability. I saw this book at Half Priced Books and thought I'd give it another try. In reading the stripped down instructions, I learned that I don't have to be super creative with layouts, it is perfectly acceptable to have my journal look simple. I did find it a bit overwhelming, learning the BuJo lingo and process (watching some videos on YouTube that really helped). I am glad I gave the process a second chance as I am finding the unadorned method is working for me and I'm getting a lot more accomplished. Maybe when I use my journal for longer, I will get more creative, but I don't feel like a failure for my current plain usage.

After almost 5 years of keeping a bullet journal, I finally read this book. It's fun seeing it explained by the person who started it. My journal has gotten more and more complex over the years, and this book was a helpful reminder to bring it back to simplicity and priorities. Contains some good exercises and ideas.

Oh my goodness, this is an annoying book. Useful for beginning Bujo-ers and for giving the more casual practitioner (me) a ‘levelling up’ moment. But, oh, the self-importance! Half the book is life advice culled from a decade of self-care best sellers and rendering what was already pretty superficial (remember ‘ikigai’? Remember when every millennial discovered Marcus Aurelius?) even shallower. So alternately inspiring (“I must try that”) and the worst kind of humble-bragging faux profundity. Reaches a kind of apotheosis in a pompous anecdote about his struggles to make sweet potato gnocchi for his wife. Great for productivity advice but could have lost a hundred pages or so. Why three stars? Because I can’t give 2.5 and I did genuinely get some value out of this and from the time it made me take to consider my own life-organising practices. But, jeez, he does go on.

I felt like this book could have been summarized in a way that would have been more effective for the target audience.

I love the Bullet Journal system. I've been using it for a few years now. It fits my style better than anything else I've tried. You don't need to read this book in order to use the system; the website provides enough of an overview to make it useful. But it's nice to have the definitive reference to the system. And it's also interesting to hear some of the stories and reasoning behind how it works.

Like many self-help books, this one has its fair share of fluff. After outlining the basics of the system, the book veers into general philosophy about how to live an “intentional life.” Which is fine. There's plenty of wisdom in there, and I definitely have things to learn about how to use the Bullet Journal to its fullest potential. But a lot of it feels unnecessary to the book, or at least unfocused. The book seems to be trying to be too much at once.

Maybe it's just me. I've been using this system for years, but after reading this book I wonder if I haven't yet caught the vision.

The method: Good. I’ve found it very helpful.
The book: Should have been an article or pamphlet. Padded out with every self-help platitude you can think of. Pro-tip: If at any point a section sounds like something you’ve heard before (e.g. Live in the present! Give yourself gratitude! Ask “why?” more often!), skip it. There are no new insights to be gained.

I discovered Bullet Journaling a few months ago, and after going on a Cal Newport binge I felt motivated to finally jump into that system.

It’s actually pretty amazing! I’m pretty excited about it, and am working to figure out how best to integrate it in my life.

Anyway, when I decided to implement the system I decided to also read the book. Overall it’s a good book! It goes over the system really well, with brief exposition in the form of stories of how Ryder or those who have adopted his system have used it. The examples are good, the integration of BuJo pages in the book is seemless and flowing. The book wanders a bit especially when it’s talking about all of the philosophy and deeper stuff.

I’m a sucker for systems, and this is a good one. Watch the tutorial on his website, and if it intrigues you, the book is worth reading.

4.0 stars