If you've ever stared at a blank planner and were left overwhelmed, bullet journaling might be the system that finally sticks

Created by fellow designer Ryder Carroll, it's less a rigid format and more a philosophy: one notebook, one pen, infinite flexibility.

Here's the gist of it in five steps:

1) Get a notebook. Dotted grid is the classic choice (Leuchtturm1917 or Moleskine work great), I personally use the yellow Rite in the Rain No371FX, but any notebook will do.

2) Set up your Index. The first few pages become your table of contents. As you fill pages, log them here.

3) Learn the Rapid Log. Tasks get a bullet (•), events get a circle (○), and notes get a dash (–). Complete a task? An x. Migrating it forward? A › arrow. Six symbols, total.

4) Run the three collections. Your Daily Log is today. Your Monthly Log is the full month at a glance. Your Future Log holds everything beyond that.

5) Migration: At the end of each month, review undone tasks. Either migrate them forward (they matter) or cross them out (they didn't). You can even Future Log them for that someday.

The beauty of bullet journaling is that it grows with you.

Start with the bare minimum and add collections, habits, and trackers only when/if you need them.

The system serves you, not the other way around.

Here’s the best video to start with.

Last night I drove out to Larchmont for what I thought might be a fairly ordinary night facilitating a men’s circle…for other men.

What I got was something I didn't know I needed for myself.

I sat in a men's circle of all fathers as it turned out, entirely by coincidence.

We sat together and talked about the hard parts. The moments of doubt. The weight of it all. The things we love and the stuff we struggle with.

There's something that happens when a father admits he's struggling and another father across the room nods, not to fix it, just to say: I know. Me too.

What struck me most was how rare it is to have that space. We're so often in the role of the steady one: the answer-giver, the problem-solver, the person who holds things together.

If you're a dad reading this: find your version of this room.
It doesn't have to be formal. It doesn't require a facilitator or a retreat.

It just requires a few other fathers willing to drop the act, even for an hour.

The conversation you've been needing is probably already waiting on the other side of asking for it.

This week I publicized something I've been quietly sititng for about 4 months.

Meet Design Skool For Kids, a project born from a pretty simple observation: kids are creative by default, but nobody's teaching them to think like designers.

Real design thinking: to ask why before asking how, that treats constraints as fuel, that treats form and function as partners rather than opposites.

There's more to share on this as it develops, but for now it's built, it's real, and it's out in the world.

Some weeks, that's the whole win.

Next Step: I’m going to record some Graphic Design modules as a self-paced course that live within the platform along with the monthly Design Challenges

Is your circle the type of people to inspire you to do better?
To evolve, grow, adventure?

Or are they the first ones to drag you down?

This week, do an audit of your 5 closest relationships. Be honest with yourself.

Happy Journaling!

The NYCMC has officially began ramping up for it’s April send of the Alchemia Post.

You have time to get in now, and begin the process of self-development without having to step into an in-person event.

Got something cool to share with my readers?
Let’s get it out there. Reply with your idea, business, or event details.

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………..

Be absolutely well,