Around mid-November, I always start thinking about what diary and planning system I'm going to use next year. I have a few tried and tested favourites but there's always something new that piques my interest. For 2022 I did consider returning to a travellers notebook system and seriously looked at the Jibun Techo, however, I am going to be fairly traditional with my choices but will be splitting business and personal.
It's always worth remembering that I treat my diaries and planners as a B.O.A.T - my Book Of All Things. It's always to hand and I scribble ideas, reminders, shopping lists and to-do lists down alongside regular notable dates and appointments. It's my portable brain dump.
So let's dive in...
Hobonichi Techo (A6)
I first used a Hobonichi Techo back in 2015 because I thought the 'page a day' journal style layout would be great for the variation of the bullet journal system I use. However, the blank space gave me a sense of overwhelm so I switched to something else. This year, I've decided to use this as my work/business planner. I like the fact that it has a yearly overview and a monthly spread as well as the daily pages so this makes it easier to forward plan and use my own specific system to help me remain connected with clients. The cover I'm using is the one I had from 2015 and it has a canvas feel to it.
Hobonichi Weeks Mega (B6 slim)
Last year was the first time I had used a Hobonichi Weeks. Surprisingly, I kept this diary for the whole year and used the notes section at the rear to plan my radio show each week. I loved the slim, portable style of the book plus the week-to-view-with-notes layout. As it is part of the Hobonichi family, it also had a monthly spread plus, having the blank pages at the back negated the need to carry around a separate notebook. This year, I've decided to use the Hobonichi Weeks again but I've got a "Mega" version which has three times the amount of blank paper at the back. I've also treated myself to a pencil board page marker and a clear protective cover.
- Both the above diaries use Tomoe River paper which is light and durable but can also be used with various pen types (including ink) and paint with very little bleed through. Both books also have graph paper and generally lie flat when open right from day one. I ordered from Amazon Japan which has a much wider range than stationery stores in the UK, is so very much cheaper than any stockist in the UK, and has a similar delivery time (about a week).
Filofax (Personal Malden)
Every year I purchase a diary insert for my Filofax... just in case. In more recent years, the Filofax has tended to be a stay-at-home reference diary so I've generally used a week-on-one-page just for regular dates and reminders and to store information that I might need quick access to such as banking info or the log-in code for my car radio (don't ask!). This year, I spotted a weekly layout from NBPlanner which is advertised as a "Family Life" refill but I thought the shaded sections would help me separate out some information where needed. It also includes additional sections such as yearly and monthly planner pages, birthday pages, information pages and much more. It has bulked out the Filofax a little bit more than usual because the paper quality is fantastic but the overall feel isn't too chunky.
Accessories from Etsy
Over the past few months I've got a bit lost in YouTube planner decorating videos and layout ideas on Instagram for my Hobonichis and, whilst I'm not into journaling, I was admiring some of the stickers that people used so I ordered some tabs and sticker sets from NotesAndClips and a stencil from LunaPlansItAll - from both on Etsy. I've added some of the tabs onto the Hobo Techo and whilst they are practical, I'm not overly keen on them so I'm going to leave them off the Hobo Weeks for now.
So there it all is...
I have managed to trim down some additional notebooks that I was going to use for project ideas due to the extra pages in the Hobo Weeks. I usually have a wall calendar in the kitchen but I've found that I've not referred to something like that as much since all the children left home. I also use my Google Calendar and Google Keep for on-the-go alerts and reminders (such as a nudge for when the MOT is due on the car or if a birthday is coming up). But I'm definitely an analogue girl in a digital world and won't ever stop using a paper-based diary or planner system.