Something is better than nothing.

A simple reminder as we go into the second half of the year.

When I started bullet journalling in 2020, I had this unwritten rule that I should do everything on my list. I had never used a planner before because it felt too rigid. I took to the bullet journal concept quickly but I was still rigid with myself. I had the ideal scenario in my mind, not the realistic one.

Fairly quickly, I realized that I wasn’t doing everything I listed down. No matter what I’d plan, I’d almost always fall short. So I started writing fewer to-dos each day. Then, to feel as if I’m being productive, I’d add things after I did them. At the end of the day, while updating the bullet journal, I’d list whatever extra tasks I did as if they were a part of the plan. That worked for a brief while but that’s not planning, is it?

Over the years, I’ve learnt one lesson over and over. I keep trying to overcome it but always end up accepting that it’s a thing. It’s hard to do everything that we want to in a day. Maybe it’s possible for a few days but it’s never sustainable unless you have the means to delegate the time-consuming uninteresting tasks like laundry.

The more you plan, the more it may feel like life never goes according to plan. Ad-hoc tasks come up, you may not be feeling well, or something else. Even with all the good intentions, you may not be able to do something for weeks. It can be discouraging and is often the reason why I don’t feel like continuing planning. What’s the point, right? I quit bullet journalling during the pandemic because I wasn’t doing things on the to-do list even if I could (due to work, stress, sadness, etc.) and was discouraged.

There’s this concept that I read somewhere (don’t remember where or when or by who). If you keep going towards north, even if you take multiple detours, you will end up somewhere in the north. It might take a while. You may end up visiting east for a bit. But soon, you will be there. When you realize that you’re in the north, you will realize that it doesn’t matter where in the north you are, as long as you’re there. It won’t matter how many detours you took, because they were new places you explored and experiences you lived.

Now that I’m planning again after years, I get discouraged on the days when I don’t do things on my task. I almost feel like quitting planning again. But the above concept comes to mind. I remind myself that as long as I’m going towards who I want to be, even if it’s in tiny steps, it’s fine. The direction matters more than the exact road I take. That keeps me going and leads me to the days when I am able to do everything on the list.

For the last few months, I’ve been maintaining the same habit trackers in my planner: close all activity rings, read, journal, blog/write. This touches every aspect of my life and is impactful without too much effort. They look fairly easy to do but it’s rare that I’ll be able to do all 4 in a day.

But hey, something is better than nothing. Closing my activity rings on half or most days is much better than no days. Journalling some days is better than none. Blogging some times is better than not doing it at all. Something is always better than nothing. It’s not evident in the beginning or even soon but the results are visible in time.

As we go into the second half of the year—the time when we realize that our annual goals are long-forgotten and we’re a bit lost on goals entirely—I hope you remember that you don’t have to do everything on your list. As long as you try to work on your goals, you will get some of it done and that’s better than not working on it at all.

Every month (so far in 2025), I write down 3 multi-part goals that I want to achieve. They may be life-related things that I can’t escape or tiny projects I want to do. Sometimes, I make a goal just to keep blogging. I may not do all of them, or even complete one, but I try. When I get any done, it feels like a huge achievement because they’re all hard or optional. I’ve even done a thing 2 months after I initially planned it. And that’s okay!

Every day, I write a few tasks in my to-do list. I write at least 3 so that I have different tasks as options and can do whatever I’m in the mood for. It’s a good day if I can get 2 done. It’s a great day if I do all 3. It’s a special day if I write more and I’m able to do them all.

Remember to change your goals too because it’s fairly likely that some won’t make sense for you anymore. Life is too fast-paced nowadays for goals to stick (especially SMART ones, ironically).

And in case life is overwhelming or chaotic, remember that it’s okay to take things day-by-day too. Sometimes the better you is simply someone who’s gotten through this period of chaos.

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Catch up on…

Writing & Posting Book Reviews — a discussion post after a long time!

Butter by Asako Yuzuki || Book Review — a lot of thoughts about this book.

The Rain in España || TV Series Review — the first Filipino show I’ve seen!

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I hope you have a great July, friend! I’ll see you again soon :)