planner(s) that works for me

After all these years I've dubbed myself as a stationery girl, reviewing some stuffs in a blog which then become outdated in just a couple of years, now I try to find peace.

I can't get rid of all of my collections (or clutter) just yet. But I can now hold myself not to buy any stationery related unless it ran out (like ink / cartridge or glue) or something I really need (not something I want) like yearly planner.

I also tend to be careful in choosing my planner. No more than two kinds. The perfect combination used to be hobonichi A6 planner for diary and pocket weekly moleskine for work related. But then the moleskine wasn't available anymore in my my country. So I tried somekinda bullet journal using an ordinary notebook. It works. But I think next year I'm gonna try something new. I'm gonna use hobonichi cousin (A5) for work related bulet journal and hobonichi A6 day free for personal diary.

Ok. What about the "brouillon" (draft/scratch book) I normally use to note everything? That would be onto the daily section of hobo cousin. As well as meeting notes etc.

What about the schedule, sleeping pattern and meal plan I used to note down on hobonichi weekly supplement? Well, hobo cousin has its own weekly section. Checked.

Habit tracker, period tracker, health symtomps.. will note them on the yearly section.

Birthday, important index and dates (exams, deadlines, etc.) and bill / payment reminders, will be noted on monthly section.

The A6 day-free should be worked as personal diary because sometimes I write longer than a page, or sometimes I didn't write at all for days. I used to journal using A6 hobo english version, but many pages left blank. And it's also more expensive than the original one, let alone the day free. So.. I am stepping out of my comfort zone since 2014 here.

Those planners have arrived few weeks ago. Stay tuned to see how I'm gonna setup, review, and customize them. See ya..

getting back here

OMG, the last time I post something on this blog was two years ago. Can't believe how time flies so fast. 

2020 was not a good year for me, well for most of us, because of the pandemic. Life was hard. Still it's kinda hard for me, but I am getting a grip and carry on.

So, let's start with a review of the planners I planned to use in 2020.

1. Pocket Moleskine - Doraemon (limited edition), English. As usual, pocket moleskine was kinda work for me. I used it 'til the end of the year.

2. ‎Hobonichi A6 - English version. Same here, it's a diary. Some of the pages are left untouched. Mostly during bad times or busy schedule.

3. Agenda Scolaire - Snoopy, French. I have used it to the max, like a bullet journal.

4. Kokuyo Jibun Techo Biz Mini - Sky blue, Japanese. What a waste. When I received it, I got the usual jibun techo instead of the biz. Anyway, I didn't use it at all. I'm so gutted. 

Just like previous year (2019), I only used 3 planners. More planners don't always correspond with more organized life. 

prepping for 2020

It's October. For some of you, 2020 is just around the corner. Three months to go. For me, it's time to prepare the planner. So far, I already have 3 planners. Let's meet them.

1. Pocket Moleskine - Doraemon, English. My sis bought me this weekly planner during her trip to Europe. The local bookstores in Jakarta didn't seem to stock them any longer. I plan to have this pocket planner as my main planner for meetings, teaching plan (and schedule), daily tasks, and even for jotting down some notes or brain dump. This planner shall always be by my side. 

2. ‎Hobonichi A6 - English version. As usual, I bought this planner online thru their official website. I was tempted to buy the A5 (cousin) size as well, but I don't think I will use it yo the max. This planner will be my personal diary. 

3. Agenda Scolaire - Snoopy, French. This agenda is a student planner, for the academic year of 2019/2020. I have it from a friend who went on vacation to France last summer. She knows I am fan of agenda scolaire. So, this agenda / planner is quite perfect for me. Have been using it since last August. Hope it will last until July 2020.

4. Kokuyo Jibun Techo Biz Mini - Sky blue, Japanese. I asked a friend (who went for a trip to Japan) to buy it for me. The price is 2700 Yen (plus 10% tax). Although I don't use my jibun this year, I decided to give it one last chance. This time I will try the Jibun Biz mini. The paper is not the tomoe river.. but I think there are less frill (subtle colour scheme, no japanese watermarks for certain holidays, etc.) so I can use it as my main planner, beside my pocket moleskine. Jibun is good for tracking things. How's my diet, my exercise, my health, my habit.. those kinda things. So let's see about that.

Apart from that, I have also bought a ‎muslim planner; but I offered this as a gift to one of the student in my campus. I bought this because I was curious about the layout and tempted to see what kinda cute things merged with religious related could be squeezed into one planner. It's good if you're really practicing your religion, there are spaces to note down the versets you read, what's their meaning to you, your prayers, etc. However, some of them are too much for me. So I better give it to someone who can use it better than I do.

That's all for now. I hope I won't need any other planner. Enough.

hobonichi cousins pros and cons

I've been trying to find justification for getting a hobonichi cousin. Yup, the A5 size. For me, I need to list the pros and cons before deciding to buy one. Let's start.

Pros.

+ A5 is actually an ideal size. Many compatibilities with other writing equipment, such as binder note, file pouch, etc.

+ ‎Lots of space to write, draw, paste anything you like in day-per-page

+ ‎The weekly section which has similar layout like Jibun

Cons

- It's in original version only. Which means different colors for each month ( I don't feel like writing about work in red-coloured page) and mm/dd format instead of dd/mm format (which sometimes confuse me).

- ‎Too many blank pages need to filled in. It could be intimidating when I'm behind schedule or when I have no time for journaling.

- ‎I have tried Jibun and A6 weekly supplement, which has similar weekly layout, and it just didn't work for me.

- It costs 3780 yen. With that price, I might print out myself a planner designed by me.

Sorry cousin, I think I won't buy you this time.

planner evaluation

Last year, I boasted to start 2018 with these 10 planners. But I have to admit that I didn't manage to use all of them. Let's begin the evaluation..

Dated

1. Hobonichi Weeks. Main planner, mostly for work and study related. - I gave up after a couple of months. In February I couldn't keep up to jot down my schedule in it. Couldn't figure it out why.

2. Hobonichi Planner (A6, English version) planner. I'm gonna use this as my diary. - This is ok.

3. TH Pocket Diary black.  I will use it for my pak boss schedule and everything related to him. - Many things happened in 2018 related to pak bos. Gave up after some months.

4. TH Agenda Schedule blue. This is for home related matters, such as daily expenses, bills, groceries, meal plans, etc. - I just completely forgot about this. Sorry. Perhaps I lost it somewhere.

5. Fancy Taiwanese planner. I have it discussed on my previous post here. To be honest, I haven't use it cos it's too pretty. - Yup, it's too pretty.. I didn't use it at all. It's part of my pretty collection.

6. ‎Daiichi schedule check. Will leave this on my desk. Can be double serve as desk calendar and planner. - Yeaa.. this thing kinda work tho.

7. ‎Starbucks planner. Will use it to record my life with my hubby which will be going ten in 2018. - Another planner I gave up in February.

Undated

8. Kikki K personal size. This chunky planner will stay on my working desk, I'll use it for meeting notes. - Are you kidding me? I didn't even figure out how to use it.

9. ‎TN passport size. This is my idea book or mini bullet journal. - Same with number 8. I just put it aside in my drawer.

10. ‎Seyes generic Monoprix notebook. I'm using this to note down everything related to my dissertation / thesis. - This one is still on duty until today.


Let see.. only 3 planners I used during the year. So I guess I won't need so many planners. Just try to make the best use of what I've got.

In mid 2018, I bought a pink pocket weekly moleskine and apparently it worked for me.

hobo in kyoto

Sorry for this throwback post. 

Went to Japan with my family in July last year (2018). I just managed to take one photo of my hobo while I was there.

Yeah, my hobo visited his home country :) This photo was taken in Kyoto, at Higashi Hongan-ji temple. As you can see, it's not far from Kyoto tower. I wish I could visit Japan again. Although I have swear I wouldn't buy stationery again, it's still hard to resist. You just can't. They have so many cutes, various types, and excellent quality stationery. There's no country can beat Japan in this case.

nobita-shizuka hobonichi cover

As I said in my previous post, I'm not interested to buy any cover for my hobonichi this year. For 2020, I will keep using my Nobita-Shizuka which still cute and steal my heart.

It's still available for sale on Hobonichi website. For 3024 yen, I think it's still reasonable.

hobonichi release day 2020

I am not so excited for Hobonichi release day this year. I couldn't find any interesting cover. Still, I bought things on the release day on September 1st.

I tried to keep everything below $100 to avoid unnecessary tax in my country. So, prefer to buy things in (small) batches. Normally, I will use this moment to buy predictable sold-out items or cover. Since I don't feel like buying expensive things --I'm kinda broke at this moment-- so I just bought the essentials. 

Here are the things I bought.

- A Hobonichi Card Case to store some important cards or loose notes (432 yen)

 

- My Hobonichi Stencil (the Speech Bubbles) is broken, so I bought this one (370 yen) for replacement.

- This Multi 8 Set is a mechanical pencil with multicolour pencil leads. It's quite expensive (3,240 yen) so I hope it's worthed.

- A must-have plastic Cover on Cover for A6 size. Well, I bought two.. just in case. (216 yen each)

- Plastic sleeve Hobonichi Folder Set by Naoko Horiguchi is in A5 size. I like the graphic design and I can use it for keeping loose sheet of paper. Will pair it with my A5 ring binder. (464 yen)

- The color of Hobonichi Pencil Board (warm gray-pink) is sooo me. I bought for the A6 size (216 yen)

- The usual Planner Book 2020 in English A6 size (2,700 yen)

Planner options are more interesting. Beside the Original Techo A6 (in Japanese), English A6, and Cousin A5, they now have undated techo as well. Inside, there's monthly section and plain grid pages instead of day-per-page. You need to wait until November 1st to buy this undated techo. 

For those who'd like to try bullet journaling in tomoe river paper, they also have Plain Notebook. I was thinking to buy this plain notebook.. but I was hesitating. I think it's kinda pricey (972 yen) for a plain grid notebook. 

Lastly, is the Five-year Techo. It's suitable for thoose who want to note down only the essentials for each day and see the timeline for 5 years span. For the time being, I don't think it's the right planner for me. But to mark the nice figures of 5 year (2020-2025), it might be interesting to have one.

hobonichi yerevan

Barev dzez !

Hello from Yerevan. Last December (2018), I managed to visit Armenia. It was my first time and had somekinda mix feeling. I was thinking to do some research, visiting some museums, etc. But it was cold outside and I stayed in a cozy apartment. So I spent most of my two weeks at home, met my new lovely friends, and getting to know the city. 

One thing for sure, I brought my hobonichi and didn't miss the chance to take pic in front of the landmark. So here's the pic of my proud hobo in front of the Cascade in Yerevan, Armenia. 

Hajogh !

hobonichi release day

September the 1st. 11:00 (a.m.) Japan Time.

For hobonichi fans, that means the day to be wait for every year. It's the day when the upcoming (year of) hobonichi is released. There will be new design for covers worth to be fight for. Everyone seems eager to be the first of having the newest hobonichi on their hands. And sometimes, several covers are sold out within hours. 

This year, there are new improvement on their official website. There are different release days for the products, so the traffic was not so intense. 

We still have to wait for 3-4 months to be able to use the planner. I wonder why people are rushing to get what they want. I think it's passion. It really amaze me how a product (and a brand) can be successful like that. In this case, it's also a matter of excellent product quality.

japan stamp

In Japan, people collect many different things according to their interests. Believe it or not, there are stamp collectors. Not the postage stamps, though.. the stamps I refer in this article are rubber stamps.

In many tourist attractions, such as temples, museums, train stations, and airports across Japan, you can find a corner to stamp your book (or paper, whatever stationery you have) with the unique stamp for commemoration. You can specifically collect themed-related stamps, such as towers all over Japan or JR lines around Tokyo, or just stamp your book with any stamps you can find, just for fun. However, the temples usually need special stamp book called goshuin and you need to follow certain rules.

Anyway, I went to Japan last July and I had my hobonichi techo planner in my bag everywhere I go. Everytime I spotted a stamp corner, I happily got my techo stamped. My sis was also happy to stamp her moleskine. When we went out to seperate locations, we showed all stamps we could get that day after we see each other. My dad also noticed our thing and once he gave me a sheet of paper with a stamp from a train station. 

I really love the idea of stamping the book / planner / travel diary as souvenir. I think a stamp is also mean as a proof of visit. These days we can just snaps some pics to show that we were in such places. But I think, stamp is also quite authentic and unique. Besides, it's more fun to have beautiful stamp when the place is not so instagrammable. 

The above picture is the stamp of Sannomiya Hankyu-line Train Station. Here goes the story behind the stamp. It started when my sis and I needed to go back to our hotel in Kobe from Kyoto. It was already late at night, heavy rain, and we didn't know how bad the weather was. We couldn't get the shinkansen so we took the regular train, got stranded for a while in Osaka train station, followed by late night run to the other side of the station (from JR line to Hankyu line), hurrying to catch the last Hankyu train to Sannomiya station in Kobe. We managed to arrive in Kobe safe and sound. All of those rush and worries were all paid off when we got this stamp.

blank hobonichi weeks

This year, I tried to swapped my pocket weekly moleskine with hobonichi weeks. The reason I did this was based on those left untouched blank pages on my moleskines. The planner seemed to be abandoned after the first couple of months. So I thought I might be more  motivated when using the weeks since it would be kinda new experience. Apparently, that's not what happened.

As you can see here (above), it's also blank. And it's March. It means, I only filled the pages until February. I just don't get it. I actually like the layout, which is similar to weekly moleskine, dated page on the left, blank page on the right. It's even better, it comes in grids while moleskine is ruled (lined) pages. The paper is Tomoe River, just like the techo, very friendly to fountain pens. But whyyyyy... ??!! Perhaps it's about the size. The dimension was a bit intimidating for me to write something on it. Or perhaps I couldn't find the right pen to fill those pages. I just don't know.

So I guess I will not buy this weeks again. Sorry. I will just keep buying the A6 english planner every year. So far it's the right one for me. And I might go back to the pocket size weekly moleskine again.

hobonichi ukrainian flower

I have this Ukrainian Flower cover for my hobonichi planner A6 since 2017. At first, I bought it with lots of pain (I mean, much higher price) from ebay since it was sold out within 24 hours after its initial release in September 2016. Then, I bought one more from hobonichi official website when it finally restocked. So yeah, I got a couple of this thing. One on duty and one to keep. 

So far, I love it. I put cover-on-cover plastic sleeve to protect it in 2017, then I use the cover as is in 2018. Apparently, the embroidery is good enough to withstands wear and tear. 

Ladies and gentlemen, this is how it looks. The Ukrainian Flower in mid August 2018. 

hobonichi weeks with muji passport wallet

Just after a month passed by this year, I realized that I'm not a fan of the Tembea cover for my hobonichi weeks. It's just like a plain canvas without any cuteness whatsoever. And I felt so damn fool for buying it for JPY 8640 (about USD 77). What was I thinking?! So I started to search for a replacement. Guess what, a Muji passport wallet is the answer.

Priced around IDR 300K (about USD 20), the passport wallet offers more features tho. I bought one without ring binder inside, so the weeks can sit neatly.

Inside, it has everything I need. Pen holder (I put a 3-colour uni-ball jetstream 0.38), yes. Card slots (accomodate 5 cards), yup. Zippered pocket for bank notes (I put my money and stuff), yeah.  It even has a key holder but I removed the clip ring because it would be too bulky. Sleeve slots for those hobonichi stencils, checked. And I put more cards on the sleeve (on the left) using hobonichi card case.

For me, I like how it looks on the exterior. I like the dark blue colour. I like the slot on one side which wide enough to slip on few sheets of papers or postcards. And finally, I like the sleek handle on its spine.

In conclusion, I better think wisely before I spend lotsa money on my stationery obsession.

2018 planners

When new year is just hours away, and I am ready to face it with 10 planners. So far I have dated and undated, most of them are still in mint condition, haven't got time to set them up. Here we go.

Dated.

1. Hobonichi Weeks. Main planner, mostly for work and study related.

2. Hobonichi Planner (A6, English version) planner. I'm gonna use this as my diary.

3. TH Pocket Diary black.  I will use it for my pak boss schedule and everything related to him.

4. TH Agenda Schedule blue. This is for home related matters, such as daily expenses, bills, groceries, meal plans, etc.

5. Fancy Taiwanese planner. I have it discussed on my previous post here. To be honest, I haven't use it cos it's too pretty.

6. ‎Daiichi schedule check. Will leave this on my desk. Can be double serve as desk calendar and planner.

7. ‎Starbucks planner. Will use it to record my life with my hubby which will be going ten in 2018.

Undated

8. Kikki K personal size. This chunky planner will stay on my working desk, I'll use it for meeting notes.

9. ‎TN passport size. This is my idea book or mini bullet journal.

10. ‎Seyes generic Monoprix notebook. I'm using this to note down everything related to my dissertation / thesis.

hobonichi weeks set up

Well, this is the early set up for my hobonichi weeks. I have introduced the hobonichi weeks and the Tembea cover on my previous post. This is how I arrange them all. Sorry for the lousy photo. I'll replace it with a better one once I have better light. 

First of all, I protect my hobonichi weeks with a clear plastic sheet which called cover-on-cover. But then, I can't slot the back cover onto one of the pocket of Tembea cover. A bummer. Perhaps it was designed to fit a weeks without c-o-c. Anyway, still fine. 

For the pen, I put last year's bonus pen because it match the colour theme. I will have to replace the refill cos it ran out of ink. 

On the right side, there are some cards inserted to the card slots. Mostly reward cards and a cash card (e-money) for small expenses. Behind those cards, it's my phone tucked on the slot. Behind the planner, there's also a slot which I put my pocket money (few bank notes just in case).

Yeah, I intended to have it as an everyday wallet. And I think it may work really well.

hobonichi sydney

Last August I had a chance to visit Australia. It was a business trip and I  was part of a team. Didn't have time for fun or look for stationery, but I managed to take picture of my techo in front of the famous Sydney Opera House.

See ya mate !

essential hobonichi 2018

As usual, Hobonichi release for the upcoming year is set to be on September 1st. This year, I decided to jump into the chaotic first day release. The website was jammed and the transaction was a total fail for me. I felt the excitement since weeks before the date on facebook group page. There were so many discussion and alerts about which cover, what size, etc.

At first I wanted to have an A5 zip cover of Mina Perhonen Mermaid. But then I thought 12,960 Yen for cover would be too much for me. A5 would also too big to be carried around. The A6 alone has already become a substantial added weigh in my bag. 

Then, I was thinking to convert. From pocket weekly moleskine to hobonichi weekly. I think the price I had to pay for Doraemon special edition moleskine last year was a bit too much. I spent about IDR 300,000 (approx. USD 22) for that particular moleskine, while it only cost 1,944 Yen (approx. USD 17 or IDR 233,000) for Hobonichi weekly. I picked the neutral colour of its hardcover, sand gray. The weekly doesn't need a cover actually, but I want to have it in some kinda pocket with some essential cards and pocket money. Like a wallet with a notebook inside. No worries, Hobonichi provides all that I need. The cute zip cover for hobonichi weekly is called Irma. But I don't like the leather for the inner cover. And it costs 12,960 Yen. For the same price, I should pick A5 Mermaid instead. I scroll the next cover.. and I thought the Tembea Tote Book is not that bad. I know 8,640 Yen is expensive for a cover made by canvas, but it's the lowest priced among others. Anyway, I think this cover is versatile.. let alone I may decorate that plain canvas (I'll think about it later). 

I will still continue journaling using an A6. This year, they have special Steiff edition of the english planner. Same price, just like the usual english A6, and same layout inside the planner. The only difference is the small bear logo on the front cover. It I use a cover, it won't be visible. But I bought it instead the usual one. The feeling of having a special edition is more than enough. 

Oh, I didn't buy any A6 cover for this year. I still in love with my Ukrainian Flowers cover from 2017 edition. They still available on this year's website though.. *sigh* I remember how I had to buy it from ebay last year cos it was sold out only in couple of hours on the release day. I finally able to buy it again from hobonichi website few months afterwards. 

Well, that's all the Hobonichi essentials I have for 2018. I bought some accessories as well, but I will talk about them next time.

one planner only

For planner enthusiast, new year means an excuse to have a new planner. Not one, not two, but five planners ! Really !

I might be one of them. For 2017, I already have two dated planers. Well actually three. Oh wait, I think four.. err, yeah right. FIVE.

Do I need all of them? How will I synchronize all the tasks, meetings, appointments, etc. within those planners? I don't know.

Honestly, one planner is enough. Seriously. You just have to find the right one for you. For now, I feel like dating five guys in one time. Eeeww.. gross. But bear with me, it's true, right? You might say, this planner for work, that planner for house related, this one for journaling, another one for art journaling.. Please. Do you have to do that? Actually, one planner is sufficient. One planner means you can jot your notes, dump your thoughts, note everything in just ONE place. No need to look for other planner or to sync them all the time. Have one, and bring it everywehere.

Now you'll say. Ring planners are too bulky and heavy.. but I like the flexibility of adding (or taking out) the sheet. So, ask yourself. Does it fit you? What particular sheets you need, that the other planner doesn't have? I will say, I have customized inserts that I designed myself to suits what I need. I will use my A5 ring planners (Filofax or Kikki K) for house related matters.

Let see.. pocket moleskine is suitable for me. It's small dan light enough. But sometimes I feel like I need more space to write. Oh really? How often does it occur to you? Anyway, for 2017, I have the Doraemon pocket weekly and I hope this planner stays by my side all the time.

What about hobonichi planner A6? It has enough space for journaling. It also have monthly calendar to note the task and appointment. And the paper is so thin so it's not really heavy. Hummm.. yeah, that might work. But I'm not sure if I have the possibility to have it with me all the time. For me, this planner is more suitable for journaling.

I also have the schedule check (previous post) which consist only monthly planner. I will use it to note work related task and leave it on my desk. The other one will be pocket agenda from the same manufacturer to note down the schedules of my pak boss.

So, back to the discussion. Do you think you can have only one planner for everything? I am thinking about it. As for now, I'll try my best to use all of my planners in 2017.

sommaire

To wrap this month, I should say some things here. 

I recently revisited Toko Buku Sekawan in Solo city (central java). I finally managed to find 'cap kera' notebook. However, only a couple of types available. The shopkeeper lady said they're getting rare to find one. Well, I know there's nothing so special with this kinda notebook. But the smell of 'cap kera' note pad is what I like. It brings out memory of the old days.

I will also post about my planner preparation for 2017. So far I already had several planners, namely:

- Daichi spiral schedule check
- Daichi spiral mini weekly planner
- Hobonichi A6 planner teamed up with Ukrainian flower cover
- Pocket weekly Moleskine, Doraemon special edition
- Starbucks Indonesia bulky weekly planner (but very nice design and layout)

I don't think I will buy one (or more) again. But I'm gonna print the 2017 weekly inserts from philofaxy for my A5 Filofax Fusion.

So, how's your preparation for 2017? What kinda planner you usually use and/or will use in 2017?