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Ok, if you’ve been scrolling on any platform for bullet journal inspiration you’ll probably have seen that there are a kajillion ways to set up and decorate a bullet journal. When you’re first learning about the system you’ll see a bunch of terms and wonder, what does that even mean? Two of these terms represent the major schools in design for bullet journaling. Minimalist vs. Maximalist.
A quick break down
Minimalism is when you break something down so that only its essential components are present. This outlook is usually associated with lifestyle, art or home decor choices.
Contrary to popular belief, minimalism isn’t about depriving yourself or being scarce. It’s about letting the important shine through and get your attention. Without the “clutter” some find it easier to really focus on what they want and the things that make them happy.
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Maximalism, on the other hand, is about showcasing your personality. It’s about colour and fun and excess. It’s when you love so many things that you just can’t bear to pick just one.
Maximalism gives you free reign to try out all sorts of different styles, tools, accessories and really go wild. You can do a lot of playing in this style.
How does this fit in with Bullet Journaling?
Minimalism vs maximalism is definitely present in the bullet journaling community. In fact, “minimalist” is one of the most searched categories under the bullet journal umbrella. If you’ve ever been to bulletjournal.com, you’ll notice that Ryder has very minimalistic spreads. The baseline for the bullet journal is minimalist given that the whole point is that it’s an organizational tool to keep your life simple.
One of the coolest things about the bullet journaling community is how so many people got creative with that baseline. They took the structure and turned it into something that they could make their own. It’s such a unique and organic evolution. The bullet journal is about giving you a way to “track the past, order the present, design the future”. But how you do this is completely up to you!
There are tons of ideas for layouts, spreads, trackers, designs and colour schemes and all of it is for you to choose from. You can add in just a few relevant ones to stay focused on a few things that mean a lot to you (minimalist) or you can turn it into a space for you do whatever you want where ever you want (maximalist).
Which is right for you?
To this question, there is no right answer and you’ll probably find that your answer changes over time.
If you were to ask me, I would say choose one side when you’re starting but don’t treat it like a marriage. I had the intention of being a minimalist in my journal when I started it. I wanted it to be pretty much black and white and I only wanted to track things that I was interested in.
This didn’t last that long. There was so much I was interested in trying out, particularly when it came to my drawing. Plus I was way too excited to use the brush pens I had gotten so keeping it all black and white got tossed to the curb.
I proceeded to go overboard with doing way too many things resulting in some of my spreads looking really cluttered.
I’m now settled into a nice in between where, within my theme, I have a focus drawing or quote on each spread but it’s complementary and gives me a boost rather than becoming distracting.
Setting up a Minimalist Spread
When starting a minimalist spread remember that it’s your journal so you can do just the very basics or minimal might mean, the basics with a simple black and white photo or doodle in one corner. Do what makes you happy.
I like to use boxes for my spreads so I section off each page into 4 quarters using black then I add a simple doodle into the space of one box. All my writing is in black and I don’t highlight or do anything else. A good example of a minimalist spread from my journal is this:
Some minimalist spreads are almost completely art free, remember drawing or art doesn’t have to be a part of your bullet journal if it’s not something you enjoy. See below:
If you have a good “rapid log system” your bullet journal can be so functional without the use of colour coding, sections and the like.
Remember the key to minimalist bullet journaling is to keep things simple, straight-forward and easy to find so that you can be as productive as possible and focus on the important.
Setting up a Maximalist Spread
With true maximalist spreads, I usually see a lot of mixed media. Paper cutouts taped down with washi tape adorned with stickers and doodles. I get a scrapbook feel in the maximalist style. There is usually a fair amount of colour in these spreads as well so if maximalist is what you’re going for, be bold, have fun and go for it.
Here are a couple of maximalist spreads I found since I don’t really have any in my own journal
See how she added in pictures and doodled over them to really give it a scrapbook feel?
Here the washi tape is front and center but it’s complemented by cutouts, more colours and a bunch of different writing fonts.
Somewhere in the middle
Most people tend to be somewhere in the middle. And don’t worry about other people anyway! Find your style and what you have time for.
A bullet journal can be anything for anyone.
It can be a scrapbook maximalist wonder over December when you have awesome cards and wrapping paper you want to include along with great pictures from your holidays. Then switch to a minimalist productivity hub in January when your focus on your New Year’s Resolutions kick in.
Here are 2 examples of my spreads that fall in the middle of the scale. For me, they bring the right amount of colour to make me happy and I was excited to put in the effort to create them. They incorporate doodles, washi tape and cutouts but those elements don’t take over the spreads and distract me from the purpose of my journal, organizing my day.
If you’re thinking of starting your first bullet journal check out this post, it has a sign up for a FREE beginner’s course to get you started on your bullet journal journey.
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