TextTree

What is Bullet Journal?

Bullet Journal is a note-keeping method where you write short entries — called “bullets” — and use symbols to distinguish between tasks, events, and notes.

Originally designed for paper notebooks, the method translates naturally into TextTree’s plain text files.

Why TextTree works well for it

• Alt+S → Time inserts the current time at the cursor (Mac: ⌥S) — useful for logging when events happen
• Alt+S → Date inserts today’s date
• Name files like 2026-06-13.txt and they stack in the tree in date order
• ✕, >, and ○ are just regular characters — easy to type or copy

Writing a daily log

Create one file per day and add bullet entries as things happen. You don’t need to write everything upfront — adding entries throughout the day works fine.

• Finish proposal revisions
• Prepare meeting materials
○ 3pm  Weekly team standup
- Last week's "Try" paid off — communication was smoother
✕ Evening run (cancelled — rain)
> 30 min reading (moved to tomorrow)

When a task is done, change • to ✕. If you’re pushing it to the next day, change it to >.

Example folder structure

bullet-journal/
  2026-06-11.txt
  2026-06-12.txt
  2026-06-13.txt

Keeping all files in one folder lets them sort by date in the tree automatically.

Tips for sticking with it

• Your own symbols are fine — consistency matters more than following the system perfectly
• One line counts — even just writing your most important task for the day is enough
• Use migration (>) actively — copying unfinished tasks to tomorrow’s file and marking them > makes carry-overs visible
• Look back at month-end — scrolling through a month’s files in the tree gives you a clear picture of where your time went

Bullet Journal was created by Ryder Carroll. Wikipedia