Everyone dreams of always being organized and put together. Yet, for teens, it seems to be really difficult. With school, after-school programs, jobs, internships, hanging out with friends, community service work, there is just so much to do. There’s also planning for the future with college or other post-high school plans. Yet, many teens aren’t motivated to do things like the ones listed above because there isn’t enough time in a day, or a week, and probably not even a year. As time goes on, Generation Z is slowly starting to flow into the working, adult world and the world is wondering — are we ready for the working world? Can we handle being a part of a world of 9-to-5’s?
There are many questions like this swarming the minds of generations such as Gen Z as we are growing up. Yet, without a plan, none of this could get done and that’s just common sense. Who could possibly do all of these things and not have a mental breakdown?
But there are teens out there who have unlocked the key to success in and outside of academics. The keyword to their success is productivity.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of productivity is “the rate at which goods are produced or work is completed.”
So, productivity is all about being able to make things happen. This could mean anything to anyone, it depends on who the person is and what stage of life they’re in. Productivity to an adult is most certainly different from a teen’s perspective.
For teens, being productive means not lying down in bed all day, scrolling through mindless videos on YouTube or repetitive posts on Instagram. Being productive means being able to do many things in a certain amount of time that lead to fulfillment later.
Teens are becoming more productive in more ways than one, such as productive notes-taking and studying, but especially with the concept of bullet journaling.
Teens have taken advantage on the trend of bullet journaling and organizational tactics and it’s helping teens become more efficient, which helps prepare teens for college, the work force and even beyond.
Yet, even though bullet journaling has become a trend in the past few years, it’s still very new and some people don’t know about
what it is.
Bullet journaling is basically a system that allows a person to use a notebook to organize, plan and also pour out their lives all in one notebook. Compared to an agenda planner, a person can create their own spreads to fit their personal lives. Bullet journals have become a big thing on social media and many people post their content out and in return, get a very big and very interactive following.
Here are three teens who post their bullet journal spreads and ideas on social media.
Their spreads are absolutely amazing and they have a great following and they are young teens, just like you and me. Let’s check out what they have to say.
Fatimah Coppin, 14, Queens, NY
Instagram handle: @studychaii
“I always have had a thing for organization but I never really knew there was a community for it. I saw my friends with their studygrams, bullet journals and their calligraphy and I was just so inspired. I would be browsing through other accounts every day. After looking through a bunch, I just decided to start my own and hopefully be able to share my own journal to everyone. The internet just pulls you in.”
“My bullet journal helps me to plan my day and also helps me to make sure I don’t get ahead of myself. It keeps me on a steady pulse. With a bullet journal, I wake up everyday with a solid idea of what the day has in store for me.”
“When I didn’t have a bullet journal, I remember how unorganized I was with my stuff. Everything was a mess. When I was using a bullet journal in school, my grades definitely improved because without a bullet journal, my homework assignments weren’t written down and I’d try to remember it all in my head. I’d come to school and realize I’d missed something and it would lower my grade. After I started using a bullet journal, I would write my homework assignments there and I was more motivated.”
“If you want to start bullet journaling, just look at inspiration because a part of bullet journaling is making things look neat and nice to motivate yourself. Just look through other accounts. That was what definitely got me going. Just go for it. Also, invest in good supplies. There’s no such thing as bad stationary, honestly, and just purchase the necessities, a pen and a notebook. Do something that’s best fit for you and just have fun.”
Jessica Song, 15, Quebec, Canada
Instagram handle: @studygramjess
“I was recommended a video on YouTube one day and I decided to check it out. I watched it and I just got sucked into that community.”
“I follow a lot of Instagram accounts that are dedicated to studying or bullet journaling, so that’s a big part of inspiration as well as being subscribed to a bunch of people on YouTube who also do the same thing.”
“I’m more productive and I’m more on top of things now, because before I didn’t have a bullet journal, I used to just try to remember it in my head or writing things on my phone but I realized that it wasn’t as effective. When I write things down, it’s easier for me to remember because I had to physically do something to remember it.”
“Before I started bullet journaling, I used to be really behind on my work and I’d procrastinate a lot but now bullet journaling has motivated me to keep on working.”
“In our generation, technology is such a big thing. Some people think that it causes us to be less motivated and we procrastinate and get distracted often. But because of technology, we also have an easier way to access things online to help us in being more productive and motivated. We have productiveness, but just not in the same way as other generations.”
“Don’t hesitate to do things because you don’t do them as well as other people. Just put your own personal touch on it.”
Megan Nguyen, 17 , Houston, TX
Instagram handle:@megansstudies
“When I was younger, I had a Tumblr and that’s when I started to get into bullet journaling but I didn’t start actually doing it till my junior year of high school, which was this past school year. I started my studygram in the fall of my junior year but I started bullet journaling that previous summer.”
“I just use inspiration from Instagram but also Pinterest, I love Pinterest. I use it everyday and it’s kinda my main inspiration for it.”
“Before bullet journaling, I used a planner that I bought from Target so I was already into organization, I just wasn’t as creative. I wasn’t forced to use creativity and I think after, my bullet journal, I became more mindful because of having a mood tracker and a sleep tracker makes me more aware of how I was feeling this day or how did I sleep that day and if I’m getting enough sleep.”
“It’s making an impact at my school and for other people on social media that I don’t even know. That part of social media is really helpful … but once you’re exposed to that side, with the studygrams and bullet journaling, it really influences you and inspires you. It’s inspired me a lot.”
“Don’t feel like you have to go all out and get the supplies that everyone uses. Try to do research on the most affordable stuff for you. Don’t feel like you have to copy anyone else’s spreads, either. It’s your journal, and it’s supposed to be personalized to you. I suggest simple supplies to start out with, like Crayola markers and a gel pen and some gel pens that are colored, too.”
Although these teens don’t necessarily represent the majority of teens out there, they do represent the future of what younger generations could possibly be able to look up to.
It also inspires more teens to take part in the productivity culture that teens have started to create for themselves to share and inspire each other. It also provides more ways that social media can be used for good instead of bad.
Twenty-four percent of teens believe that social media is negative for their peers because of a multitude of reasons such as bullying and it being a distraction, according the “Teens, Social Media & Technology 2018″ study by Pew Research Group.
Older generations look on the younger generations and criticize the fact that we are people who have grown up in a world where the internet and technology was a growing and thriving industry. So to see teens using social media to market their own ways of organizing and being productive is a great thing that should be acknowledged more. Teens can be more than just selfies and smartphones. Social media can be used by teens to share ways to be productive and creative at the same time. This proves Generation Z is definitely a force to be reckoned with.
Jasmine, 16, attends DeKalb Early College Academy and believes that the future of productivity will be bright because of bullet journaling.
