How to Start a Bullet Journal: Supplies and Pages

Q: What do I need to start a bullet journal?

Just a notebook and a pen; bulletjournal.com says the method isn't about which notebook you use. Most people pick an A5 dot-grid notebook and a fine pigment pen, then add a ruler or washi tape later if they want them.

Q: What goes on the first page of a bullet journal?

The Index. The official method says to leave the first couple of pages blank, title them Index and add each topic and its page number as you go, so you can find things later.

Q: What are the bullet journal symbols?

A dot is a task, an open circle an event and a dash a note. A task becomes an X when it's done, a right-pointing arrow when you migrate it to a new month or collection, and a left-pointing arrow when you schedule it into the Future Log.

Q: How do you set up a future log?

bulletjournal.com draws two equally spaced horizontal lines across a two-page spread to make six boxes, one per month. Write events and deadlines for those months in the boxes, and use more pages for a full year.

Q: Do you need a dot grid notebook for bullet journaling?

No, any notebook works. Dot grid is popular because the dots guide straight lines and boxes without the visual noise of a full grid; the official Leuchtturm1917 notebook uses a 5 mm dot grid.

Q: Do I have to decorate my bullet journal?

No. bulletjournal.com says you don't need to be an artist; cover pages, trackers and washi tape are extras. The core system is the Index, the logs and short bulleted entries.

Q: What size notebook is best for a bullet journal?

A5 (148 × 210 mm, about 5.8 × 8.3 in) is the common choice and the official notebook's size. A pocket A6 suits people who carry it everywhere; a larger book suits desk use.

Bullet journal supplies drawn to scale on one baseline, with the rapid-logging bullet symbols — The supplies, to one scale (1 mm = 0.7 px), and the four bullets you'll use most.

Products compared

Product	Brand origin	Made in	Price range
Leuchtturm1917 Bullet Journal Edition 2, Medium (A5), hard cover, 206 numbered pages, dottedLeuchtturm1917	Germany	Not stated^*	Price range: $$$$20–75 per notebook
Scribbles That Matter Pro A5 Dotted Journal, 160 gsmScribbles That Matter	United Kingdom	China^*	Price range: $$$$20–75 per notebook
Sakura Pigma Micron Pen (sizes 003–12)Sakura	Japan	Japan^*	Price range: $under $5 per notebook
Westcott 12" Transparent Acrylic Ruler, inch and metric (10562)Westcott	United States	Not stated^*	Price range: $under $5 per notebook
Midori Clip Ruler (brass, Cat and Decoration designs; also copper and stainless steel)Midori	Japan	China^*	Price range: $$$5–20 per notebook
mt masking tape (washi tape), mt basic 1P, 15 mm single rollmt	Japan	Japan^*	Price range: $under $5 per notebook
Zebra Mildliner double-ended highlighter (WKT7; US packs sold as Mildliner Double-Ended Creative Highlighter)Zebra	Japan	Japan or Mexico (varies by pack)^*	Price range: $under $5 per notebook

Notes on these facts

Leuchtturm1917 Bullet Journal Edition 2, Medium (A5), hard cover, 206 numbered pages, dotted: Made by Leuchtturm Gruppe (Geesthacht, Germany). Country of manufacture not stated: Retailer listings have conflicted: one gave Taiwan as the country of origin and another the United Kingdom (Digitec, which now blocks automated reading). Leuchtturm1917's German product page names only the maker, LEUCHTTURM1917 GmbH in Geesthacht, not a country of manufacture. Check the label on your copy. Price: example listing.
Scribbles That Matter Pro A5 Dotted Journal, 160 gsm: Made by Scribbles That Matter Ltd. Made in China: Scribbles That Matter's FAQ says its products are designed and prototyped in the UK and mass-manufactured in China. The company, Scribbles That Matter Ltd, gives an office address on Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London. Source. Price: example listing.
Sakura Pigma Micron Pen (sizes 003–12): Made by Sakura Color Products Corporation (Osaka); sold in the US by Sakura of America. Made in Japan: Unsharpen gives Japan as the country of origin (read October 20, 2026). Sakura's Japanese product page for the Pigma 01 doesn't state a country. Digitec and Galaxus (Switzerland), cited earlier for Japan, blocked our access on that date. Source. Price: example listing. Released: Sakura's Japanese Pigma page says it developed Pigma, the first water-based pigment marker, in 1982; Wikipedia agrees. We found no separate Sakura date for the Micron name.
Westcott 12" Transparent Acrylic Ruler, inch and metric (10562): Made by Acme United Corporation. Country of manufacture not stated: Westcott's own product page for the 10562 gives no country of origin, and neither do the retailer listings we could read. Price: example listing.
Midori Clip Ruler (brass, Cat and Decoration designs; also copper and stainless steel): Made by Designphil Inc. (Tokyo). Made in China: Midori's Japanese online store gives 原産国 (country of origin) MADE IN CHINA on all four current versions: Cat A (42291006), Decorative pattern A (42292006), Copper A (42290006) and Silver A (42289006). Some English-language shops say "Made in Japan"; the maker's listing wins. Source. Price: example listing. Released: Midori's customer notice dates the first Silver (42229006) and Copper (42230006) Clip Rulers to July 14, 2020. The current "A" versions carry newer item numbers; we found no date for them.
mt masking tape (washi tape), mt basic 1P, 15 mm single roll: Made by Kamoi Kakoshi Co., Ltd. (Kurashiki, Okayama). Made in Japan: Kamoi Kakoshi's company page describes its head-office factory in Kurashiki and a second factory in Yakage, Okayama, shipping mt from Japan to the world. Maruzen Junkudo's listings for mt basic 1P rolls give 原産国 (country of origin) Japan, and Jenni Bick, Hunter Paper Co. and Tacto Studio say made in Japan. Source. Price: example listing. Released: Kamoi Kakoshi's company history dates mt's launch to February–March 2008.
Zebra Mildliner double-ended highlighter (WKT7; US packs sold as Mildliner Double-Ended Creative Highlighter): Made by Zebra Co., Ltd. (Tokyo); sold in the US by Zebra Pen Corporation. Made in Japan or Mexico (varies by pack): Hamster (Canada) lists Japan for the 5-pack MPN 78205, and Japanese-market retailers sell the WKT7 as made in Japan. Nordisco lists Mexico for the US 10-pack, item 78101, and Boston General Store lists a single Mildliner as made in Mexico. Zebra's Japanese product page doesn't state a country of manufacture, so check the pack. Source. Price: example listing. Released: Launch year in Japan, per Zebra's company history and press releases (2009 launch, 15th anniversary in 2024).
Price bands are typical US retail, checked October 2026.

Key takeaways

bulletjournal.com lists 4 core pages: the Index, the Future Log, the Monthly Log and the Daily Log.
A Future Log made with 2 equally spaced lines across a spread gives a six-month calendar, per the official method.
The official Leuchtturm1917 notebook is A5 (145 × 210 mm) with 206 numbered pages of 120 g/m² paper and a 5 mm dot grid.
Rapid logging uses 6 marks: a dot for a task, X for done, > for migrated, < for scheduled, an open circle for an event and a dash for a note.
A ruler, stencil, highlighter and washi tape are optional; the method's own page says it isn't about which notebook you use.

What do you need to start a bullet journal?

A notebook and something to write with; the official method’s own page says it is about how you use the notebook, not which one you buy. Everything else in this guide is optional.

That said, most bullet journalists settle on the same kit, and we’ve picked one product for each job from our own guides. This explainer is based on bulletjournal.com, Ryder Carroll’s official site, and on published specs; we haven’t set up a journal with each item yet.

Which supplies suit a bullet journal?

An A5 dot-grid notebook, a fine pigment pen and a straight edge cover almost everything; a stencil, a highlighter and washi tape are extras.

Job	Our pick	Key spec	Price band
Notebook	Leuchtturm1917 Bullet Journal Edition 2	A5, 206 numbered pages, 120 g/m², 5 mm dots	$$$
Notebook, thicker paper	Scribbles That Matter Pro	A5, 160 gsm, index and key pages	$$$
Pen	Sakura Pigma Micron	01 writes 0.25 mm, 05 writes 0.45 mm; pigment ink	$
Ruler	Westcott 12 in acrylic	Clear, 1/16 in and metric scales	$
Stencil and bookmark	Midori Clip Ruler	10 cm ruler and stencil, 140.5 × 34 mm	$$
Washi tape	mt basic	15 mm wide, tears by hand	$
Highlighter	Zebra Mildliner	4.0 mm chisel and 1.0–1.4 mm bullet tips	$

Price bands use our site-wide ranges ($ under $5, $$ $5–20, $$$ $20–75, $$$$ over $75).

Which notebook is best for a bullet journal?

An A5 dot-grid notebook with numbered pages saves the most setup time. The official notebook, made by Leuchtturm1917, measures 145 × 210 mm (5.75 × 8.25 in) and adds a printed index and numbered pages.

Dot grid helps you draw columns and calendar boxes without a full grid’s lines; our dot grid vs lined vs grid guide compares the rulings. If you plan to use markers or a wet pen, heavier paper helps: Scribbles That Matter sells its Pro at 160 gsm against the official book’s 120 g/m².

What are the core pages of a bullet journal?

bulletjournal.com sets up four core pages, in this order: the Index, the Future Log, the Monthly Log and the Daily Log.

Four A5 bullet journal spreads in order: Index, Future Log, Monthly Log and Daily Log, with the key — The four core pages as A5 spreads on a 5 mm dot grid, with the bullet key.

Index: leave the first couple of pages blank and title them Index. As you fill the book, add each topic and its page number.
Future Log: an overview of the year. The official page draws two equally spaced lines across a spread to make a six-month calendar.
Monthly Log: on the next free spread, the left page is a calendar of the month’s dates and the right page its task list. Start with the month you’re in.
Daily Log: write the date at the top, then log tasks, events and notes as the day goes.

The beginners’ page adds that you’ll list each new section in the Index as you go. A weekly log is optional; the method’s FAQ describes it as a spread with the week’s dates on the left and tasks on the right.

How does rapid logging work?

You write short, bulleted entries, and the bullet tells you what each line is. The official page’s example cuts “I bought cake at the local bakery today and went home” to “Bought cake and went home”.

Bullet	Means
• (dot)	Task
X	Task done
>	Task migrated to the next Monthly Log or a collection
<	Task scheduled into the Future Log
○ (open circle)	Event
– (dash)	Note

Short lines matter for the pen as well as the habit. A Micron 01 writes a 0.25 mm line, fine enough for small entries on a 5 mm grid.

What is migration?

At the end of each month you review open tasks, cross out what no longer matters and rewrite the rest into the new month. A migrated task gets a > and moves to the new Monthly Log’s task page or a collection; a task for a later month gets a < and goes into the Future Log.

The official page puts it plainly: if an entry isn’t worth the effort to rewrite, it probably isn’t important.

Do you need a ruler, stencils and washi tape?

No; they make layouts faster and neater, but the method works without them. bulletjournal.com says you don’t need to be an artist to keep one.

Ruler: a clear ruler lets you see the dots underneath. The Westcott 10562 has a 12 in scale marked to 1/16 in and a metric edge.
Stencil: the Midori Clip Ruler is a 0.3 mm brass or steel sheet that clips on as a bookmark, with a 10 cm scale and stencil cut-outs.
Washi tape: mt’s 15 mm rolls tear by hand and peel off cleanly, so you can tab sections or mark the current month.
Highlighter: the Mildliner’s muted colors suit headers and trackers; Zebra launched it in Japan in 2009.
Color palette: to keep spreads consistent, pick one set from Sanzo Wada’s A Dictionary of Color Combinations and match your pens and tapes to it.

For stickers and more tapes, see our stickers and washi tape roundup.

Frequently asked questions

What do I need to start a bullet journal?

Just a notebook and a pen; bulletjournal.com says the method isn't about which notebook you use. Most people pick an A5 dot-grid notebook and a fine pigment pen, then add a ruler or washi tape later if they want them.

What goes on the first page of a bullet journal?

The Index. The official method says to leave the first couple of pages blank, title them Index and add each topic and its page number as you go, so you can find things later.

What are the bullet journal symbols?

A dot is a task, an open circle an event and a dash a note. A task becomes an X when it's done, a right-pointing arrow when you migrate it to a new month or collection, and a left-pointing arrow when you schedule it into the Future Log.

How do you set up a future log?

bulletjournal.com draws two equally spaced horizontal lines across a two-page spread to make six boxes, one per month. Write events and deadlines for those months in the boxes, and use more pages for a full year.

Do you need a dot grid notebook for bullet journaling?

No, any notebook works. Dot grid is popular because the dots guide straight lines and boxes without the visual noise of a full grid; the official Leuchtturm1917 notebook uses a 5 mm dot grid.

Do I have to decorate my bullet journal?

No. bulletjournal.com says you don't need to be an artist; cover pages, trackers and washi tape are extras. The core system is the Index, the logs and short bulleted entries.

What size notebook is best for a bullet journal?

A5 (148 × 210 mm, about 5.8 × 8.3 in) is the common choice and the official notebook's size. A pocket A6 suits people who carry it everywhere; a larger book suits desk use.

Sources (10)

Plain-text version for AI agents: how-to-start-a-bullet-journal.md · Spotted an error? See how we check facts.