Craft of Writing: The Color Code

My color coded writing BUJO

If you've noticed, I am someone who has multiple projects going on at one time. I have an ardent love for color and this is actually a helpful thing. Not only does this mean I pay a little closer attention to things most people wouldn't notice (like the iridescence of a cowbird's feathers) but it means that I have a ready tool to stay organized: color coding. You may have seen a hint or two of this in the pictures I've posted of my writing bullet journal.

I don't just color code my blogs in my bullet journal. I use color coding everywhere. Post-it notes of a certain color are used for school information for the kids and those of a different color are for my general reminders. The list is endless. Color coding can get overwhelming if you don't keep a key somewhere. One of my bookmarks for my writing bullet journal has the name of each blog written down in its assigned color. At the front of my daily planner, I have a page with the key to how I color code and note things in it.

The key for color coding is not just knowing what color goes where. It is also consistency. Using the same color for the same project every time means you don't necessarily need to read the entire page to find what you are supposed to be working on next. You can just scan for the color and then read that line. It can cut down on your unproductive time by mere seconds, but those seconds will add up over the course of a day. The biggest challenge in color coding your work is sticking with it.

Let us put aside the questions of what the perfect pens are or the best medium for you to use in organizing things by color. After the first flush of 'I'm getting ORGANIZED!' wears off, color coding can feel like a lot of extra work. It is tempting to switch back to doing everything in a single color pen or just grabbing whatever is handy. If you can endure the period of getting familiar and comfortable with your color coding process, you will find that it doesn't add much time to your planning sessions, as long as you keep your work space organized. (That, however, is a post for another day.)

Now, color coding your work is not for everyone. Some people need less and some people need more structure to their organizational processes. Color coding works for me and I find it works especially well with bullet journaling. My bullet journal is relatively minimalistic with the exception of the color coding. This is because I have multiple bullet journals going on and not enough time to make everything fancy. (This is why I use stickers in my day planner. Because at least one of my bullet journals or other planning tools needs to be a little fancy, right?) You may find that something else works better for you. If so, please share in the comments! I would love to hear your ideas and what works for you.