How I Use Bullet Journaling to Combat Brain Fog from MS

My BuJo gives me a visual layout of my priorities so my brain can relax.

Brain haze. Mental muddle. Cog fog. They’re all different names for when the act of thinking clearly seems out of reach, thanks to brain lesions caused by multiple sclerosis (MS). In fact, more than half of all people with MS will experience some degree of cognitive difficulty.

Cognitive fog affects many aspects of brain function, resulting in impaired organization and planning ability; difficulty processing, learning, and remembering information; lack of focus; and trouble making good decisions.

Most of us rely on these skills to manage our daily lives. With cog fog, however, seemingly simple tasks require extra effort. When the fog hits, it’s like I’m swimming in mental molasses and my thoughts are muffled. I have chores I want to prioritize and tasks I want to accomplish; deadlines I cannot forget and dates I want to remember. It’s a heavy strain sometimes to even reach for a word or an important date in my mind. These many little failures of the brain are overwhelming and discouraging, and often leave me feeling useless and hopeless. Days drift on by in a blur, and I often feel lost and uninspired.

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My silver bullet

That is until I found a life hack to battle the idled brain: a bullet journal. It’s an organizational system that helps me track everything I need to remember.

Conceptualized by Brooklyn-based designer Ryder Carroll, a bullet journal (popularly known as a BuJo) is a compact book with blank, faintly dotted pages to set goals, jot ideas, track chores, and make plans.

While store-bought, pre-formatted planners often feel restrictive because they have a built-in structure, a BuJo’s empty pages allow you to create customizable tools — a calendar, habit tracker, gratitude journal, doodle book, to-do list — in whatever format works best for you. And the dots give you a grid to keep lines straight and clean.

BuJo for the win

Essentially, a BuJo is a visual representation of your thoughts, which is why everyone’s journal looks different. I use mine for so much more than staying organized. It’s become a big part of my morning routine because I start by writing a daily gratitude list.

Then I spend 15 to 20 minutes updating the to-do lists on my weekly planning page and filling out my habit tracker, noting things like whether I meditated, moisturized, or flossed. It’s become quite addictive to fill in those little checkboxes. I’ve even gotten myself out of bed to go begrudgingly put on moisturizer because I know I’ll need to check that box in the morning.

On a monthly basis, I dedicate about an hour to prep my pages for the weeks ahead. This is often a time of reflection for me, where I review my wins and misses in the previous month, and then I flesh out my goals and prioritize tasks and deadlines for the next month.

I gain a wonderful sense of clarity and confidence from painting a picture of what I want the days, weeks, and months ahead of me to look like. Using a BuJo has been a game-changer for me because when I’m overwhelmed with appointments, due dates, and to-do lists, it gives me a visual layout of my schedule so my brain can relax.

It takes a bit of front-end effort and research to develop your own personalized BuJo. Creating the format for each of the pages can feel tedious and time-consuming at first, but I’ve come to appreciate the many benefits this flexibility provides once it’s done.

Dedicating my focus to being offline and putting pen to paper is a mindful practice. This time away from technology allows me to concentrate on goals, focus on one task at a time, and exercise fine motor skills with a pen in hand. This little self-made book guides me through the next few weeks with confidence and ease.

How to get started

1. Buy a journal and tools.
   Shop for a 5 x 8-inch dotted grid journal with thick pages. You want sturdy pages to avoid having ink bleed through to the other side of your page. You’ll also want a ruler, correction tape or fluid (like Wite-Out), and a fine point pen for designing your pages.
2. Choose pages and create formats.
   Structuring your page formats is the creative part, and it’s also the most time-consuming. Research what others are doing, and see what might work for you. I Googled “minimalist bullet journal” and found a wealth of resources and guides, but my favorite was a how-to video tutorial from Pick Up Limes. I also used Pinterest to find examples of page formats for a calendar view (yearly, monthly, weekly), task tracker, habit tracker, long-term goal list, gratitude journal, and idea dump.
3. Start by making a symbol key.
   Many BuJo users rely on symbols and colors to stay organized. Your first few pages should include a quick key to help you remember what’s what during moments of forgetfulness. Some of these symbols are fairly standard. For example, in a to-do list, a scribbled-in checkbox means a task is complete, a line through a checkbox means a task is in progress, a right arrow through a checkbox means to move a task to another day, and a line through the text means that task is canceled. I also have developed my own abbreviated shorthand, which I also list in my index key, including symbols for commonly used words like “email” (an envelope) and “research” (an eye). For categorizing tasks with colored pens, it’s helpful to include a color key, too.

Pro tips

• Use a pencil and ruler to map your first few page formats while you’re still figuring out the structure. Later, you can solidify it in ink.
• Having correction tape or fluid handy relieves the anxiety of making an error when using an ink pen. You’ll have the space to make a mistake or change your mind. No stress. (While some people use erasable pens, I’m not a fan because erasing can make the page look dull and dirty, and I prefer a polished look. Still, do what works for you!)
• Don’t feel guilty if you skip a few days or stop using your BuJo for a period of time. It’s meant to support you, not to give you another task on your to-do list. Pick it back up when you’re ready.
• Simple is better. You can find beautiful, artistic designs all over the internet for inspiration, but don’t feel pressured to create a work of art. Use your BuJo to complement your lifestyle, however it works for you.
• Keep it in your bag. It’s small, lightweight and easy to pack, so keep it accessible for whenever you need it.

The takeaway

Cog fog doesn’t have to loom over you when you have a personalized bullet journal to support everything going on in your brain. The meditative practice of creating it helps improve my focus, and the maintenance of putting my thoughts on paper keeps me feeling aligned with my goals. Using a BuJo encourages me to look forward to the days to come. Talk about self-help!