Shoutout to my local coffee shop for giving me a new layout idea

Last month I was sitting at Brew & Bloom on 5th Street in Portland, staring at my bullet journal and feeling stuck. I had been using the same weekly spread for almost three years and it just wasn't clicking anymore. Then I noticed the barista's order pad she had on the counter, with these little boxes for each drink and scribbles for modifications. It hit me that I could use a similar kind of grid for my tasks, like a mini dashboard of priorities. So I tried it out, drawing a 3x3 box on my left page for the week's must-dos, and leaving the right page for random notes. Now I actually finish more tasks because I see them right there in those boxes, not buried in a long list. Has anyone else pulled inspiration from something random like a menu or a receipt?

3 comments

3 Comments

seanjackson19d ago

Read an article about a chef who plans menus the same way, grouping recipes into small sections.

pat_fisher2419d agoMost Upvoted

So @seanjackson, does your wife ever catch you organizing your recipe stash into tiny sections and joke that you're prepping for a tiny kitchen reality show? I mean, I've definitely been guilty of it myself.

claire_gibson19d ago

Oh, I've been there. Sorting recipes into little groups like "quick dinners" and "freezer meals" makes a huge difference when you're staring down a busy week. I keep a binder with tabs for each category and just flip to whatever matches the time I've got that night. It saves me from the whole what-do-I-feel-like-making panic at 6pm.