2024 Planners and Other “Year-long” Notebooks
While I am still a little undecided on the exact nature of my paper tracking system, I am having a great deal of fun with my new ink tracking notebook. And while it is often delightful to enjoy stationery for stationery’s sake (after all there are some amazing designers, creators, and makers in our community), it can also be useful.
Enter planners.
The Stack.
At this time of year I am finalizing the first set of “year-long” books which generally include an actual calendar of some sort and a reflections book for the past few years. I’ve been in maintenance mode for a while, with some plans for next year (I hesitate to call them “big” as that might scare them away), so I will be adding a few this year. There’s always a space for more notebooks in one’s life (as long as they don’t become so many that it becomes overwhelming).
The following are the planned “year-long” notebooks for 2024. We’ll start with the ones that were no-brainers for me to continue on into the new year.
The A6 Hobonichi Weekly Insert
This little notebook has been a staple since 2018 when I used to shove it into a pocket-sized TN. It’s just a hair smaller than a true A6, because its original use is to tuck into one of the pockets of a Hobonichi cover to accompany the Techo. This book is extremely straightforward as far as a planner goes. It has a week on two pages and a few grid note pages at the back. It’s also thin since it’s made out of Tomoe River paper. No muss, no fuss. It starts on January 1 and goes to December 31 (with a few days here and there in case the year doesn’t start or end on a Sunday/Monday.
I really enjoy this planner because it fits really well into my A6 TN and doesn’t take up much room, it holds together despite being used daily, and it’s layout is extremely simple. Each page is split into 4 columns, which leaves 7 days and then a little bit of note space on the left and bottom of the spread. Dates are at the top and a small monthly calendar sits in the lower left. Since halfway through 2022, I write on the pages sideways so I can make longer notes.
While this planner does contain appointments, vacation times, etc., it also contains a running list of things that I did on each day. Taking care of my mental health requires me to be kind to myself about tasks and making sure I don’t defeat myself by making too grandiose of a plan and/or expecting myself to do something extraordinary without the right preparation. Hence, keeping track so I can understand why I maybe didn’t write much last week or that month because there was a ton of other stuff vying for my attention. This has been a passive process in the past, but I’m hoping to change that to an active process of discovering if I’m spending time on things I want to do/have to do vs. things I don’t really need to be doing as often as I am. It’s a work in progress and it’ll be an interesting challenge for myself next year.
I already have my little A6 Weekly Insert ready to go for next year, complete with a Luna Moth sticker from one of my day job colleagues, Studio Kayla Lou.
Tried and true.
Odyssey Notebooks 160 gsm Song of Achilles
This notebook will be replacing my Odyssey Notebooks Cosmo Air Light as a reflection journal. I received this journal as a gift last Christmas, and it has been chilling on my bookshelf waiting for a purpose. It has a very pretty faux leather cover with an Ancient Greek helmet on it, a nod to Madeline Miller’s novel A Song of Achilles. This is probably one of my favorite novels that I’ve read in the past decade. This notebook has a thick, bright white paper which will be a change from last year.
I’ve been doing the process of weekly and monthly reflections since 2018. I originally started doing the reflections with the idea of increasing productivity. By finessing the questions that I ask myself, it has become an important tool to check in with myself and manage mental health challenges. Essentially, over the course of the year, this book becomes a record of my accomplishments and challenges that I faced over the past year.
I am currently tweaking my prompt list to focus on progress and intention. There are things I want to get in the works and I want to keep track of my focus in a kind way. To make it a continual place for growing and acknowledging that change takes time.
Sterling Ink A6 Monthly Planner
In the interest of change and making progress on personal projects, I am adding two new items into the mix. The first new addition is the A6 Monthly Planner from Sterling Ink. I’ve been waffling over adding a monthly for a bit and did some dry runs with month printables. When I was in college, I lived out of a monthly planner. I had a giant desk calendar with all of the due dates for the entire semester and any other appointments/commitments. I could see how busy different weeks would be well in advance. Now that I am wanting to move into a more active phase of my life - I need that again.
Important travel already listed. :)
In addition to the simple month on two page layout, there are goal pages in the front that are broken down by quarter. I’m not sure ow precisely how I want to utilize these to keep track of my goals, but I am keen to experiment. This planner has Tomoe River paper, and a textured black cover. It is available in other sizes and colors as well. I chose black to adorn it with some stickers. I am starting with one I picked up from Three Sisters Studios (they have adorable gnome greeting cards). On the back, I’ve added a sticker from a local coffee shop, a place I want to spend more time in the new year.
A little bit of customization.
A6 Hobonichi 5 Year Techo
I am very excited to add this to my lineup. I have been wanting one for a long time and each year, by the time I decided I wanted one, they were pretty much sold out. But this year I got on it. I plan on a sort of phenology (the study of seasonal changes) and milestones. I think it will be interesting to see the progression of things over time all in one place. It might change here and there, but I think it will be a good little book to have around. I have been looking around for inspiration, there seem to be so many different ways to use it.
And that’s the lineup. The A5 and 5 year Techo stay on my desk at home, while the other two will be constant features in my TN notebook.
Looking snazzy.
Off to check out some more Techo Kaigi from the folks in the planner/stationery community! Any recommendations?
Currently Inked
The adventures through the Inkvent Calendar continued this week and a lot of pen cleaning so I could keep swapping colors.
Bungubox Melancholic Grey (but…) - Kaweco liliput copper 14K M ‘selvedge’ - Bought this ink in Chicago and this is its first run. First impressions, a really nice gray option. I love, love, love the aesthetic of the bottles from Bungubox.
Diamine Cinnabun - Kaweco Sport Burgundy M - One of the controversial scented inks from this year’s Inkvent. I actually like the cinnamon smell, it’s very reminiscent of cinnamon candles. I also like the shade of brown. So far it’s well behaved on the papers I’ve used it on.
Diamine Best Wishes - Kaweco liliput fireblue 14K M ‘journaler’ - Still working through the 2nd fill of the month of this color. It’s a nice sober, yet still sparkly, color for some end of the year reflections and making entries in the ink log until the new year.
Ferris Wheel Press Plaited Gold Tress - Kaweco Art Sport Tiger’s Eye M italic - This ink might win the prize for the hardest name to remember. The color isn’t hard to remember though. It’s a very readable yellow with some chromashimmer. It felt like a nice festive change for the days leading up to Christmas.
Diamine Blizzard - Kaweco Ice Sport Red B - The blues from this year’s Inkvent have been really interesting to me. Glacier might get the top blue spot, but I also like this base shade of blue. The shimmer looks fabulous and is well-behaved so far.
Diamine Walnut - Kaweco x Elite Royalty Sport Deep Red BB - I’m a sucker for dark browns. This one is interesting when you can get the black sheen to come out in the wet spots. I will definitely need to fiddle with this one more after this initial fill.
Papier Plume Caramel - Kaweco Art Sport Terrazzo 14K B - I decided I needed another brown to round out the week and went with an ink I’ve had sitting on my shelf for at least a year and only briefly used during a #30inks30days challenge November 2022. Caramel was acting a little dry to me so I added a little bit of white lightning to increase the flow and draw out more shading. Really enjoying the color.