How to use a bullet journal and Google Calendar together

Last Updated on September 1, 2024

When it comes to managing your time, sometimes the best way to do it is to combine different organisation tools, for example, combining a bullet journal and Google Calendar, to ensure you get everything done.

If you’re interested in combining analogue and digital planning tools, in this case, a bullet journal and Google Calendar, then you’ve come to the right place.

In this post I’ll discuss the types of things you can use a bullet journal and Google Calendar for, and how I use both of them together to become a more organised mum, and to help me with time management.

If you use a paper planner instead of a bullet journal, here’s a post on how to use a paper planner and Google Calendar together.

If you’re not sure on whether to use a bullet journal or a paper planner, this post on bullet journals vs paper planners may help you decide.

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Bullet journals

A bullet journal is a customisable planning system, usually a notebook, that can be used in any way you’d like.

Some of the ways you can use a bullet journal include:

• Keeping track of appointments
• Brainstorming ideas
• Recording personal or family goals
• Planning your day, week, or month
• Using a bullet journal to make lists

Starting a bullet journal can feel daunting, but it’s a great tool to help you become more productive, and is a great way to refer back to past events, appointments, or lists, because you can’t accidentally delete anything from it.

Here are just a few of the different types of bullet journals you can use:

• Official Bullet Journal
• Leuchtturm1917 Notebook (my favourite)
• Spiral Notepad

Google Calendar

Google Calendar is also a great productivity tool, and if you’d like to use it, there are many Google Calendar hacks that you can learn to help you become more organised.

How to use a bullet journal and Google Calendar together

Whilst a bullet journal and Google Calendar have different functions, they can work together really well.

Here’s how their functions differ for me:

• I use a bullet journal as a brain dump, which means I use it to make lists containing everything I need to do, or remember
• I use Google Calendar to schedule things from my bullet journal, as well as to remind me of upcoming appointments and tasks

Every Sunday night I plan for my week ahead using my bullet journal and Google Calendar as follows:

• I open Google Calendar, during the week I would have put appointments in my Google Calendar as they came up
• I then open my bullet journal
• I put an asterix next to anything in my bullet journal that I’d like to get done during the week
• I then schedule the asterix items into any blocks of time I have free for the week ahead in my Google Calendar

For example, in my bullet journal I have a list of daily habits to keep a house clean, which are the things I want to do to keep my own home clean.

When planning my week, I open my Google Calendar, look for a block of time, and then enter things from my daily habits list that I can do in the block of time I have.

This effectively means that my bullet journal is my list keeper, and Google Calendar is where I schedule things I’ve written in my bullet journal so they get done.

Using a bullet journal and Google Calendar together – a recap

A bullet journal and Google Calendar are great organisational tools that you can use together for maximum productivity.

Bullet journals provide a great place to keep track of appointments, brainstorm, write goals, and make lists that you can schedule into your Google Calendar so you get things done.

It takes time to work out how to use a bullet journal and Google Calendar together.

However, with some trial and error you’ll find a way to use them together that suits your planning needs the best.

What organisational tools do you use to plan your time?