On August 18, 2013, Ryder Carroll introduced the world to the idea of a bullet journal.

As he created it, a bullet journal is a system for keeping track of your life: appointments, to-dos, notes, whatever. There is a method for using symbols to tell you what each list item is and whether it has been completed. It is nothing like the elaborate ones you see online.

I used a simplified version of a bullet journal (bujo) long before Ryder Carroll introduced it.

Because I have anxiety and ADHD, I need a way to help me keep track of everything.

I used a spiral notebook. Each morning had a list of anything I had to do. It became a record of my days.

Eventually, I needed more.

A combination of paper and digital planners works best for me.

I use the planners because I need to know what's coming up, what to expect, and plan for. Google calendar keeps track of my appointments, meetings, and bills. My bujo lists tasks for the week, meal plans, and notes, and my digital planner was a way to see if I could combine the two.

My Google calendar gives me the big picture, and my bujo lets me get into details.

The beauty of a bujo is that you can make it whatever you need it because it's just a blank notebook.

You can customize it any way you like and change it as your needs change. You can journal in it. And you can stop and start again whenever you want.