I Switched from an A5 to an A6 Bullet Journal and Here’s What Happened
I’ve been obsessed with bullet journals since 2015/16 and up until a few months ago, I only used an A5 bujo.
Switching from an A5 to an A6 bullet journal improved my productivity in many ways, big and small. For example, I am more organised, less scatterbrained and more mindful in my daily life from this one simple change.
If you’re wondering if swapping your bullet journal is the right choice for you, read on. I’ll cover my reasons for making the change, explain the benefits and describe some of my frustrations.
Be aware, if you’re looking for highly aesthetic pretty bujo layouts, I’m not the one for that. You will see raw, messy, scribbled on a bus barely legible handwriting pictures of my real bullet journal.
Why did I make the change?
The honest answer is: I couldn’t be bothered lugging around my A5 planner anymore.
Maybe I got lazier, life got too busy or my fashion sense changed. I don’t know.
But I do know that carrying my A5 bujo in my miniature backpack no longer felt worth it so I started leaving it at home and then eventually I fell off my daily and weekly planning routine.
Out of sight, out of mind.
And the fact that I let my bujo habit fall off so badly made me feel terrible because my whole brand is about productivity and intentional living.
In fact, one of my most popular blog posts is about my bullet journal setup!
Here I am talking about my love of bullet journaling:
@thevaluedlife My minimalist bullet journal saved my life #bujo #minimalistbujo #minimalistbulletjournal #bulletjournal #bulletjournaling #organisation #planneraddict #wellbeing #lifegoals #stationeryaddict #anxietyrelief #lifecoaching #motivation #bulletjournalsetup2023 ♬ original sound – Teresa Richards
So there I was a bullet journal enthusiast without a bullet journal.
Tragic.
Instead of wallowing in self-pity, I decided to do something about it. A new planner, a new productivity system, something that worked for me.
I wanted a planner that was:
- Lightweight
- Small enough to fit in my pocket
- Customisable
- Easy to use
So naturally I settled for a smaller A6 bullet journal instead of an A5 one. Groundbreaking, I know.
Related Post: How Long Does A Bullet Journal Last?
Official Pocket Bullet Journal or Leuchtturm 1917 A6 notebook?
Before I bought my planner, I went down the rabbit hole of A6 bullet journals. If you don’t know already, there’s an official bullet journal pocket planner which is also A6 size and sold in a pack of 3.
It has:
- Smart Grid for quickly laying out your pages
- 80gsm paper
- 46 numbered pages
- Sticker sets
However, I decided to buy the standard Leuchtturm1917 A6 dotted notebook instead. Mainly because I didn’t want to commit to owning 3 books and it had more pages (Offical Pocket Bullet Journal has 46 numbered pages whereas a6 Leuchtturm1917 has 123 numbered pages in one book).
How did I find the change?
It was the best decision I’ve made for my productivity and mental wellbeing in a long time. It enabled me to do a factory reset on how I used my bullet journal and back to the basics.
I stuck to Ryder Carol’s original bullet journal method of just ‘bullets’ which helped me fly through tasks a lot quicker.
I kept my bullet journal in my coat pocket, which made it easy for me to whip it out and start writing on the bus, in a shop, or while walking, basically anywhere.
It was great.
It stopped my overthinking in its tracks. For example, I’m prone to anxious thoughts and sometimes I let myself go down the Google rabbit hole to soothe my anxiety.
My A6 bullet journal is nearly the same size as my mobile phone so whenever I felt my anxiety flare up I’d reach for my notebook instead of my phone and brain dump all of my stresses rather than fuel them with doomscrolling.
The simple act of writing down my thoughts helped me process them and move on swiftly. Before, writing in my bullet journal was an ‘event’ but now it’s a normal part of my life.
If you want to reduce your phone screen time, I recommend switching to a small bullet journal or commonplace notebook instead. It mimics the size and can help you create a new habit that feels familiar.
Related Post: Feel More Organised by Monday with This Weekly Planning Routine
It became a commonplace book
Because it was so easy to whip out and write into, my bullet journal evolved into my second brain, my commonplace book, where I’d write anything that came into my mind. Such as:
- Thoughts
- Reflections
- Quotes
- Ideas
- Website designs
- Brain dumps
- Drawings/scribbles
- Scheduling
Here’s my freelance writing website redesign ideas:
I went to the UK Black Business Show in October (an amazing event btw!) and I used my bujo to plan out the talks I wanted to go to and also jot down feedback I received from a business advisor.
I also used it to brainstorm ideas for my daily/weekly productivity system:
Related Post: 101 Ways To Fill An Empty Notebook
New setup
My A5 bujo had quite a few spreads and layouts despite its minimalist design. My A6 bujo forced me to be even more minimalist and cut out anything that wasn’t absolutely necessary.
So no more:
- Daily intentions
- 1 sentence a day (I use my 5-year notebook instead)
- Future log (year calendar)
- Monthly log
- Life goals
Here are the essentials I included:
- Daily log
- Habit tracker
- Week braindump/tasks
- Week review
- Month review
My daily log is divided into personal and work tasks:
My Daily Diligence Habit Tracker:
Related Post: 8 Ways To Become A More Diligent Person (Daily Diligence Challenge)
What I liked
- Compact
- Easy to quickly write notes
- Quick access to your tasks
- Can explore your creative side e.g. doodles, drawing etc…
- Anxiety releasing
What I didn’t like
- Less space to write
- It can be awkward to plan out your month – so I used Notion and Google Calendar instead
- Ran out of pages quickly
- Could potentially get lost
Is A5 or A6 better for bullet journaling?
It depends on what you’re looking for. Now that I have experienced the ease of whipping out my bullet journal from my pocket, I don’t think I’ll go back to my A5 bullet journal any time soon.
My bujo is more practical than ever and has truly evolved into my second brain where I can store information, hash out thoughts and keep track of my to-do list.
The A5 is great (obviously, because I used it for nearly 10 years!) if you like being intentional about your usage or if you have a big bag with quick access.
Either way, the best bullet journal is the one that you actually use.
Who might benefit from an A6 bullet journal?
- Busy professionals
- Students
- Digital minimalists
- Creative thinkers
- Anxious overthinkers
- Commuters and travellers
- People who want a change
Next steps
I loved this new setup so much that I decided to go one step further and try out the Hobonichi Techo planner.
I know, it’s not a bullet journal but it is A6!
It has many of the key functions of a bullet journal
- Year log
- Monthly log
- Daily log
Plus added collections:
- List of 100
- Daily habit tracker
- Year reflection
- Book/movie/film tracker
- Time table
- Words to remember
- Graph paper
- Gift tracker
And it will last me a year! Since I’ve become self-employed, I have less time to spend creating new bujo layouts. This saves me time and it looks pretty.
Join my newsletter to stay up to date with my planner usage.
Conclusion
Switching from an A5 bullet journal to an A6 one completely transformed my life and gave my productivity system new energy. After 8 years of bullet journalling, things got a bit stagnant and I fell off of the habit so switching to the compact A6 made bullet journaling fun again.
There’s something extra bougie about writing in my bullet journal on a packed jubilee line tube while everyone else is staring at their phone. I like the main character energy it gives (💁🏾♀️). I’m only half-joking.
But seriously, downsizing my planner helped me reconnect with myself and streamline my productivity system so that it was more mindful and practical.
If you’ve been feeling uninspired or struggling to keep up with your current setup, I encourage you to consider whether an A6 might work for you. It might not have all the space of an A5, but its practicality and ease of use can be a game-changer.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Have you ever tried an A6 bullet journal? What worked (or didn’t) for you? Let me know in the comments!
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Related Posts:
- How Long Does A Bullet Journal Last?
- The ultimate minimalist bullet journal for busy people
- The Ultimate Guide To One-Line-A-Day Journaling
- 81 Things To Write In A Journal When You’re Bored
- 101 Ways To Fill An Empty Notebook
- Feel More Organised by Monday with This Weekly Planning Routine
