Unpopular opinion: Minimalist bullet journals are overrated for actual productivity

I went to a bullet journal meetup in Austin last weekend and everyone was showing off these gorgeous minimal spreads with just a few lines and dots. Looked clean, sure, but nobody could show me how they actually tracked their daily tasks or appointments. I kept my messy, colorful layout with washi tape and stickers and it got some side eyes. But here's the thing: that minimalist stuff looks great on Instagram but when you're running a landscaping business and need to juggle 8 job sites with weather delays and equipment issues, you need visual cues that pop. My system has 5 colors for different types of tasks and it's saved me from double booking three times this month alone. Does anyone else feel like the whole minimalist trend is more about aesthetics than actually getting stuff done?

3 comments

3 Comments

claireo6727d ago

Laughing at the idea of showing up to a landscaping job with just a few dots and lines on a page like that'll help you remember which clients need emergency tree removal. My bullet journal looks like a toddler got into a highlighter fight and it's the only thing keeping me from driving to the wrong job site three times a week. If minimalism means I forget about a rain delay and show up to an empty house, then I'll stick with my chaotic mess of colors and stickers.

fiona_clark26d ago

My cousin tried that minimalist system for his plumbing business and ended up at the wrong house three streets over because his one little dot got smudged and he thought it meant something different. @the_daniel your comment reminded me of that because he called me complaining about how he had to explain to some confused lady why he was staring at her toilet. Meanwhile my friend uses a planner with like seventeen colors and little drawings of trees for landscaping jobs and she swears it saved her from showing up with a chainsaw to a mulch delivery once.

the_daniel27d ago

Seventy percent of my customers use a system exactly like that and still call me to ask what day it is.