Bullet Journal vs Reverse Journaling
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A bullet journal is very good at today. It is less clear about how today connects to the thing you want done by June. That link is what reverse journaling adds.
Use the free tool: the reverse planner
A bullet journal is a notebook system for logging tasks, events and notes in short bullets, then moving unfinished tasks forward at the end of each month. Reverse journaling is a goal journal: you write one goal as already done, name what could stop you, work backward to one step you can do in the next 45 minutes and log what you did each night. A bullet journal organizes everything on your plate. Reverse journaling points the plate at one finish line.
The short answer
Keep the bullet journal for your days. Use reverse journaling for the one or two goals that matter most. The bullet journal captures and sorts. Reverse journaling decides which task today moves the big goal, and puts that task in your daily log.
Where the bullet journal comes from
Ryder Carroll, a Brooklyn product designer, built the method for himself over many years and shared it publicly in 2013. It spread quickly online and on Kickstarter, and his book, The Bullet Journal Method, followed in 2018 (source).
The core parts are simple (source):
- Rapid logging. Short bullets with a symbol: a dot for a task, a circle for an event, a dash for a note.
- Index. The first pages list what is where.
- Future log, monthly log and daily log. Things months away, this month, and today.
- Migration. At the end of the month you review every open task and either carry it forward or drop it. It is described as the cornerstone of the system.
Side by side
| Question | Bullet journal | Reverse journaling |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A system for logging and sorting tasks, events and notes | A daily journal that plans back from a finished goal |
| Starts from | What is on your plate today | The goal written as done, in the past tense |
| Time frame | Days, months, and a future log | Finish line back to milestones, this week and today |
| Obstacles | Not part of the core system | Named up front, with an if-then plan |
| Unfinished tasks | Migrated forward or dropped each month | Checked against the goal: does this still move it? |
| Best for | Getting everything out of your head and in order | Making steady progress on one goal that matters |
What the research says, carefully
Neither method has been tested as a package. Two lines of research touch the parts they share.
- Plans quiet open loops. In experiments published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 2011, E. J. Masicampo and Roy Baumeister found that unfinished goals kept intruding on people's thoughts, and that making a specific plan for a goal reduced those intrusions, even before the plan was carried out (source). Writing a task down is a start. Writing when and how you will do it may be what lets it rest.
- Visible progress matters. Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer studied more than 12,000 diary entries from 238 people in 26 project teams and found that making progress in meaningful work was the event most often linked to a good workday. A crossed off task and a nightly done line are both small, visible records of progress.
These studies used lab tasks and work diaries, not personal journals, so treat them as a guide rather than a promise. Reverse journaling is a planning and reflection habit. It is not therapy or medical advice.
Where a bullet journal falls short for big goals
- Every task looks the same. A dot for "buy milk" and a dot for "draft chapter one" sit side by side. Nothing in the system says which one moves your year.
- Migration can become a loop. A task carried forward three months running is a signal. The system asks you to keep it or drop it, but not why it keeps slipping. That is where naming the obstacle helps.
- The future log holds dates, not paths. It tells you a deadline is in May. It does not work backward to what has to be true in March.
- Setup can eat the time. Spreads and layouts are fun. They are not the goal. Carroll's own examples are plain pen and paper.
How to add reverse journaling to your bullet journal
- Make a goal collection. One page, titled with the goal. Add it to your index.
- Write it as done. Past tense, with the date and the proof. "On 30 June I sent the finished manuscript to three agents."
- Name the obstacle. The one thing most likely to stop you, then "If that happens, then I will..." See implementation intentions for how to write a good one.
- Plan backward. What had to be true a month before? This week? Step back until you reach a task that fits in about 45 minutes. Backward planning shows the method in more detail.
- Feed the daily log. Put that 45 minute task in today's log, marked with a star so it stands out. Tonight, add one line on what you did.
Example: one goal, one daily log
Sam keeps a bullet journal for work and home, and wants to finish a first novel draft.
- Collection page, done statement: "On 30 June I finished an 80,000 word first draft and printed it."
- Obstacle and plan: "If I start rewriting old chapters, then I will add a note to the revision list and keep going."
- Backward: May, final act drafted. March, the middle done. This month, 1,000 words a week. This week, an outline of the next three chapters.
- Today's daily log: the usual dots for errands and calls, plus one starred task: "45 minutes: outline chapters 7 to 9."
- Tonight's line: "Outlined 7 and 8. Chapter 9 needs a decision about the sister."
At month end, Sam migrates the errands as usual. The goal page shows something the migration alone would not: which week the draft stalled and why.
Where this fits in Reverse Journaling
Reverse Journaling keeps the habit a bullet journal builds, short daily entries, and points it at one finish line: the goal as done, the obstacle, the backward plan, today's action and the nightly proof. The done list page covers the nightly part, and reverse journaling for writing a book walks through a longer version of the example above.
Try it now
Pick the one goal in your future log you care about most. Give it a page, write it as done, name the obstacle, and step back until you reach a 45 minute task. Star it in tomorrow's daily log. When you want the daily part kept for you, StartFromDone turns the plan into a daily sprint and a Done list. The core loop is free. It is a planning tool and cannot promise the result.
Questions
What is the difference between a bullet journal and reverse journaling?
A bullet journal is a system for logging tasks, events and notes and moving unfinished tasks forward. Reverse journaling starts from one goal written as already done, names the obstacle, plans backward to a step for today and logs what you did each night.
Who created the bullet journal?
Ryder Carroll, a Brooklyn designer, built the method for his own use and shared it publicly in 2013. His book, The Bullet Journal Method, came out in 2018.
Can I do reverse journaling inside a bullet journal?
Yes. Give your goal its own collection page: the done statement, the obstacle with an if-then plan and the backward milestones. Then put today's 45 minute step in your daily log and mark it done like any other task.
Is a bullet journal good for long term goals?
It can hold them, but the core system is built around days and months. Long goals tend to need a page that works backward from the finish line, which is the part reverse journaling adds.
Do I need a paper notebook for either one?
No. Both work on paper or in an app. The bullet journal was designed for paper. Reverse journaling works on paper too, and StartFromDone keeps the daily part on your phone.