Bujo Index: The Simple Directory You Need for Bullet Journal

bujo index

5 Seconds Summary:Ā 

The bujo index is the backbone of the bullet journal and works like a table of content of the book. This is the directory and navigator of the bullet journal

When I tell one of my friends who is a huge nerd of bullet journals, I’m about to start the journey, his first reaction was..

“Are you only starting now?”

And he continues,

ā€œDonā€™t miss out on the bujo indexā€

“Okay so whatā€™s the deal with the bujo index”, I asked

” Itā€™ll save you, lots of time, trust meā€

Ā 

What is a bullet journal index?

The simple answer is Ā itā€™s like Ā a table of content of any book

It is one of the essential pages where you log the spread with the corresponding page number in your bullet journal or bujo.

By doing this you can easily find the pages you want to view later

Like what my friend mentioned, ā€œitā€™ll save a lot of timeā€Ā 

Not gonna lie, Iā€™m thinking of not including the index because I feel itā€™s not needed at first

But the idea of rummaging in the notebook, trying to find something is counterproductive.

The creator of the bullet journal said its best,

ā€œThereā€™s a difference between being busy and being productiveā€

–Ryder Carroll, Creator of Bullet Journal

How to create the bujo index?

Step 1

Go to the first few pages of the notebook and label on top: Index

Certain bullet journal notebooks are already labeled, so you can use the designated space for the index

Step 2

Draw 2 columns: One for the title or name of the page and the next column will be the page number

Step 3

Label the header with Page name and page number

Step 4

Add in the pages of your bujo

Step 5

Thank yourself for doing the index that will help you later in the future

Sounds super easy right?

But there are a lot of bujo-er being creative and spicing up their bujo index

Here are some of the bujo index ideas Ā you can follow

Bullet journal index idea

Despite the original idea of bujo index is very simple, you can modified according to what can serve you best

However, don’t feel the obligation to force yourself to do it

The essential concept of bujo index is simple: Help you navigate the bullet journal

Having said that, lets see some of the idea for your bujo index inspiration

simple yet Practical

Photo by @itskaitlingrey via instagram

I love how simple Kaitlin index is. She included the collections and monthly log, just like Ryder suggest in his video

Add page continuation

Photo by @blazerdesignsĀ via instagram

I can foresee my bujo index looking exactly like this!

the page continuation in the index can save pages and still serve the purpose; to help navigate the bujo pages

Use sticky Notes for the Bujo index

Photo by @magicmeetspaperĀ via instagram

Quite a cute idea to utilise sticky notes as the index page

Page-Description Bujo index

Photo by @lifeofajugglingmomĀ via instagram

Clean, clear and practical!

Doodle Bujo index

Photo by @cadernonarrativa via instagram

For creative people out there, you can doodle your index instead.

Its really cute and still function to navigate the page

Combine the index with Bujo key

Photo by @al.pastor.han via instagram

2-in-1, The index and the key pages. Save pages and clear directories for your bullet journal

Minimal bujo index idea

Photo by @justbeyourplansĀ via instagram

Photo by @bujomuffeĀ via instagram

Photo by @minimalisticbulletĀ via instagram

Photo by @monokromajicĀ via instagram

Photo by @securingserenityĀ via instagram

Combining calendars & collections

Photo by @bujo.birbĀ via instagram

Split the pages into 2 so you can use 1 side for calendar and the other one for your collections. So it’s easier and faster to find what you looking for.

Weekly Detailed Bujo Index

Photo by @meandmizarĀ via instagram

If you keen to log all you weekly entry like this, make sure you spare extra pages for the index

Colour coded based on the categories

Photo by @papermirĀ via instagram

I love how simple but practical the highlighting according to the categories index is

How to use the bujo index

Let say, you want to find that entry back in January where you forget to *migrate and transfer it into the following month

Ā *migrating Is an act of transferring the existing task in the bullet journal to the new date/entry

Easy

  1. You go to the index page
  2. Find your entry labeled January
  3. Identify the page number
  4. Flip the page number
  5. And voila, you found what you want

Without the index, you probably need to flip the bullet journal back and forth before finding what you want

How to use bujo index for daily log?

The original Bullet journal method doesnā€™t really emphasize using the index for daily log

The reason is, it will take a lot of space and time

But thereā€™s no harm to do so

If you like to create the daily log for easy viewing you are welcome to do so

Just log in the daily entry page number in the index

For example: Thursday 21st April 2022, Page 214

You will probably need extra pages for the index, though

How to use the bujo index for a certain project or topic?

Use dedicated index which is a form of index modification

Just create the specific index for theĀ  project or topics

Or you can separate the spread for personal or work like how Ryder explains in this video

So you can quickly identify what you want to search for

Photo by @aimighaniĀ via instagram

Bujo index hacks

  • Split the index column to 2 to maximize the space
  • Use key (signifiers) or highlight the specific topic/ project for easy navigation
  • Accessorize the bujo index-some have used ribbon, add tapes, washi tapes, stickers, and even origami!

Bujo index- the directory of your bullet journal

Sometime we tend to overlook important stuff because it’s too trivial, same like the bujo index

It tends to get overlook as it seems too simple

But remember, its the backbone of the bullet journal.

The index will be the main factor that differentiate a good productive bujo or just some notebook where you throw all your information in.

Just keep on experimenting on finding which ways works best for you!

Ā 

Ā