Real estate agents have notoriously long to-do lists, notes and appointments to keep track of. While online calendars and smartphones have definitely improved the way we stay organized and on task, many agents are going back to pen and paper with a simple, innovative planning system that can help you efficiently and effectively get through your busiest days.

Enter the Bullet Journal: an analog system for the digital age that will help you organize the present, record the past and plan for the future. It’s a flexible technique that can be adjusted to suit each user and can be started at any point in the month or year. And better yet, this simple system can be implemented with any journal you have lying around. All it takes is a pen and an empty notebook.

All-in-one organization

The Bullet Journal combines to-do lists with brainstorming pages and an agenda. It starts with an index page that helps you find everything you need. Then you create spreads for the year and coming months for planning ahead. Day-to-day plans are drawn out as they come, in the form of bulleted lists (hence, the name Bullet Journal) that get modified if they’re particularly urgent, are completed or moved to another day.

Bullets for tasks and observations

The bulleted list isn’t just an itinerary of the day’s plans. It can also be a log of information you want to remember (the name of a great stager) or observations (a ‘For Sale’ sign popping up in one of your clients’ top neighbourhoods). These bullets can get modified too if it’s information you want to remember or that needs actioning on. You can even create your own system of customized ‘signifiers’ but it’s best to keep it simple.

Space-efficient

With the Bullet Journal, it’s okay to skip a day. Or for some particularly busy days, you might need additional pages for all the tasks and events ahead. With pre-made planners, you might end up wasting pages or running out of room on a packed day. But the flexibility of Bullet Journaling means you only use the amount of space that you need.

Remember that Bullet Journals don’t need to be aesthetically beautiful or complicated. What makes the Bullet Journal so effective is that it rewards brevity and simplicity. Short notes are all it takes. Ready to dive in? Here’s a guide on how to get started with the Bullet Journal: http://bulletjournal.com/get-started/