For many of us, the idea of using a binder notebook with dividers for bullet journaling may seem bizarre.

Well, why would you want to use something that reminds you of your high school or college years, right?

Okay, I admit I’ve never used any of those binder notebooks when I was in high school and college.

But I found the idea of using a binder notebook for bullet journaling fascinating as I browsed through the stationery aisle in a bookstore.

Or maybe because they come in eye-catching colors that fascinated me?

Say what you need to say; it’s the thing that people find bizarre that works best for me.

As much as I’d like for the normal dot journal to work for me, it simply can’t.

My beef with the normal dot journal

If you’ve read The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll, then you already know you can customize the bullet journal in any way that fits you.

While you can follow the default format, you can also add other elements that reflect your lifestyle.

And if you need a place to dump your ideas, plan, and keep track of multiple projects, then bullet journaling is perfect for that.

So long as you don’t need to make changes to the plan, that is.

But if you need to make any changes to the project or discard the project altogether, then tough luck.

It’s either you do that on a new page, or just leave it as it is if you decide not to pursue the project anymore.

Not only do those abandoned projects seem like an eyesore to you, but you just wasted pages that you could have used to plan your day.

While some of you may not see it as a deal breaker, I, for one, find this situation unsettling.

It was for this reason that I moved away from using my bullet journal for planning to opt for the notice board system.

You know, something like Trello, but it’s the actual notice board with tons of stick-it notes on it?

I can make changes to my plan if I want to.

But funnily enough, I find it to be a drag as well.

And it looks cluttered, too, if I’m being honest.

That was when I decided to go back to using bullet journaling for planning.

But this time around, I’ll be using a binder notebook with dividers instead.

The wonders of a binder notebook with dividers

Good for you if you find using the normal dot journal to work well for you.

But for the rest of us, it doesn’t hurt to learn what makes a binder notebook a good alternative to the normal dot journal.

Here’s what makes a binder notebook, especially the one with dividers, a total game-changer for you.

You can discard the old, abandoned, or completed projects from your binder notebook with ease

Let’s say you want to make changes to your original plan for the project, or you don’t want to work on that project anymore.

Or perhaps you’ve already completed the project and you need space for a new one.

Just discard the projects or keep them somewhere for the time being, and bring them back in if you want to work on them again.

You can do that easily with the binder notebook since the ring binder works the same as the ring file.

Discard the part you don’t want or move it somewhere else.

And if you’ve already completed the project, you can move it somewhere else and replace it with new sheets of paper.

If you’re using a binder notebook for bullet journaling, then it’s obvious that the dot journal sheet is the one you use.

No more wasting on the dot journal that still has tons of pages left

What if the dot journal you use still has tons of pages left, but the New Year will start in a matter of days?

Should you continue using the old one?

Or should you start the New Year with a brand new dot journal instead?

The adage is that it’s best to start with a brand-new dot journal.

Well, you start the New Year with a clean slate, anyway.

Thus, the idea of using a brand-new dot journal to mark a new beginning.

While some of you may have no issue with starting a new year with a brand new dot journal, that thought will only make you palpitate if you’re a cheapskate like me.

Why would you waste the existing dot journal when it has so many pages left?

But what if you use a binder notebook?

All you need to do is remove the last year part and replace it with the new dot journal sheets.

Not only do you no longer need to worry about wasting a dot journal that has tons of pages left.

But you still have your projects tucked in the same binder notebook since the only thing you have to replace is last year’s content.

And yes, that includes the projects you no longer intend to pursue.

It makes juggling multiple projects so much easier

Are you juggling multiple projects but prefer to have them all in one place?

While you can mark them in the normal dot journal with numbered pages, you can do that in the binder notebook with dividers instead.

Do you find you need more pages to flesh out your plan for the project?

Just shift the pages from the shorter projects, and now you have more pages to work on that said project.

You can’t do that in the normal bullet journal.

The downside of using a binder notebook for bullet journaling

Now, I must admit that using a binder notebook for bullet journaling has its downside.

But that will depend on the type of binder notebook you get.

The one that I get has a large ring binder, which is perfect if you want a thick binder notebook.

But it can be a little uncomfortable to write when your hand is closer to the ring binder.

And it doesn’t help that the loose paper refills I got has no margins.

That makes writing a little harder when you add it to the large ring binder that will get in your way when you write.

If you prefer your binder notebook to be thick, at the very least, get the loose paper refills that have margins.

The thin one doesn’t seem to have that issue since the ring binder is smaller, and it’s not that different from writing in the ring binder notebook.

While I don’t see this issue as a deal breaker for me, some may find that this whole experience will dampen their bullet journaling experience.

Which binder notebook with dividers should you get?

It’s up to you whether you want to get the thin or thick one.

I prefer the thick one since it lasts longer, and I’m juggling multiple projects.

So, the thick one is the way to go in my case.

But if you prefer the thick one, not many brands offer a thick binder notebook.

The only one I can think of is Kokuyo, since they do have a thick binder notebook in B5.

If you want to stick to the normal bullet journal size, which is in A5, then the one by Kokuyo isn’t as thick as the B5 one.

While the B5 binder notebook can feel a little big to carry around, it makes bullet journaling so much more comfortable when the size is bigger.

If you don’t mind a bigger size for bullet journaling, you can get the one by Kokuyo right here:

Buy Kokuyo 5 Subject Spiral Notebook on Amazon

Alternatively, you can also get an empty ring file in A5 that comes with dividers and loose paper refills that work with the ring file.

But that will require you to scour all over Amazon just to find the right one, though.

This is how I do things moving forward

Some of you must be wondering if I still use the notice board system that I talked about in this blog post.

Judging from the way I talk about the binder notebook, you can already tell that I no longer use that notice board system anymore.

Now, I won’t go as far as saying it doesn’t work at all.

If anything, it can work for some people, but certainly not me.

Based on what I experienced thus far, the binder notebook approach seems to work well for me.

But if I ever make a change to how I do things, you can bet that you’ll hear about it on my blog anytime soon.

For now, using a binder notebook is the way to go for me.