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After all these years I've dubbed myself as a stationery girl, reviewing some stuffs in a blog which then become outdated in just a couple of years, now I try to find peace.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

doraemon moleskine in yerevan

Barev !

This is the selfie of my Doraemon moleskine in the Cascade complex of Yerevan, Armenia. The photo was taken in January 2020.

Although there is a moleskine distributor in Yerevan, but I haven't seen much enthusiasm in stationery things. However, I found many Armenians are very artistically talented. I really hope to meet some fellow stationery aficionados next time. It should be very interesting to chat about stationery, writing equipment, swapping some washi tapes, etc. Who knows, maybe we can create a planner which combine some languages and kawaii design / illustration. 

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.

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.

pink moleskine

Hello,

I saw this beauty in one of Tokyu Hands store in Tokyo, Japan. At first, I was thinking hard whether to buy it or not. I have plenty of planners for this year and I don't think they're all well filled in. Anyway.. as you may already guessed, I finally did. 

First of all, the colour. Pastel pink is one of my favorite colour and as far as I can remember, I haven't seen any in my country. Second of all, it's the pocket weekly like I used to have every year. The third and final reason is, it's an 18-months planner. The price is more less the same with the usual 12-months, so I think it's quite a bargain. Besides, I can use it right away because it starts from July 2018.

So far I kinda like it. Yeaah.. I guess because I am already familiar with the size and layout. To write on this moleskine, I am using the zebra hana 3-colour ballpoint pen. 

More pics available on instagram.

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.

moleskine 2018

I know 2018 is still 3 months away. But agenda / planner for 2018 is already there.

If you want a good planner, Moleskine must be one on the list. My sis is using several moleskines for her planning, journaling, etc. I've been loyal to pocket weekly moleskine for several years now (since 2012 if I'm not mistaken), but now I'm thinking to switch onto Hobonichi weeks. On my previous post, I've even  had prepared the set up for 2018.

Anyway, some weeks ago I spotted these 2018 moleskines on Kinokuniya Plaza Senayan. There were many types and some limited editions planners. Peanuts (Snoopy), Star Wars, Le Petit Prince, Alice in Wonderland.. Gosh it's hard to resist.

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.

pocket weekly moleskine - doraemon

Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to...

pocket weekly moleskine - doraemon special edition !!

Wise man says, don't judge the book by its cover. It's true. I was judging the planner must be 'oh so cute' just like the cover. I was wrong. Totally wrong. There's no special thing inside. The page layout is just exactly the same like the ordinary moleskine weekly planner. Weekly dated page on the left side, and ruled note area on the right side. No quote, no sketch, not even a single picture of Doraemon on the pages. There's a kinda clipping of Doraemon comic on the back of the cover though.. but it's not THAT interesting.

I know it's part of my fault. I was in a hurry so I didn't bother to check inside the notebook. But I must say, I don't like the fact that there's no extras or bonus which came along with the notebook. You know, such as address book or tab notes or stickers like you can find on the pocket of ordinary moleskine. I paid way more expensive, for what? Just a picture of that cute Doraemon on the front cover? Next time I will buy the ordinary moleskine and just paste the picture of that blue space cat on the cover. 

There. I will use this planner for my daily reminder (schedule, things to do, task, chores, etc.) as it's quite small, light, easy to carried or slipped into a pocket or a purse. So well, I gotta move on from this dissapointment. Perhaps I shall hack it to the max? Let's wait and see 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?

agenda scolaire

My fondness to agenda scolaire is a subject to be discussed. Throughout the years, I always have the urge to buy one (or two, or three.. helas), but this agenda is more likely to be only available in France. The daily agenda of Quo Vadis may also available in several other countries, though. But even if it's available to be bought online, the shipping cost would be more expensive than the agenda itself.

When I had a chance to visit Paris last May, I managed to run to Quartier Latin area. So in a hurry, as it was nearly closing hours, I grab two planners from Gibert Joseph and another two from Gibert Jaune. Both Gibert Jaune and Gibert Joseph are the big bookstores on the area. Anyway, the agendas I finally bought are as follows..

- a pocket planner (Gibert Joseph store brand, made by Oberthur)

- an Exacompta Forum Winner planner (one day per page)

- a textagenda one day per page (Gibert Jaune store brand, made by Quo Vadis)

- a Moleskine Peanuts weekly notebook pocket (18 months limited edition)

left : pink agenda Gibert Jaune, right : blue agenda Exacompta

I made my first encounter with "one day per page" agenda during my school years in Paris, back in 2003. At first, I thought it was too bulky to carry around. Besides, why would I need a whole page just for one day? I learned my classmates noted everything on their agenda. So I tried and developed the habit to write down everything, scribble here and there, jot down what's on my mind and noted all the meetings or rendez vous. The agenda has also became a place for brain dump and a not-so-secret diary. I have shared a short review about agenda scolaire few years ago here.

Let's move on. Another must-buy agenda for me is this pocket agenda made by Oberthur, licensed to Gibert Joseph bookstore. I really like the simple design and it's quite thin, light enough to be carried around on your pocket.. err, if you have big pocket actually. As for the page layout, it has a weekly spread on the left page and lined page like this.

I don't know why I bought those agendas while I already had planners for this ongoing year. Perhaps for the sake of nostalgia. Anyway, Hobonichi actually offers similar lineup. The A6 sized techo has one day per page layout and the Weekly has the same page layout to the pocket agenda. I have never bought the hobonichi weekly, as I always have more compact pocket weekly moleskine for the past few years. Ah yes, I think I will blog about the Peanut weekly moleskine later. See ya later then.

another moleskine template

Heya,

I just had this following tweet from moleskine timeline. I personally think it's soooo cool that it should be shared here.  

source : https://twitter.com/moleskine

You can create other creative things from downloadable templates here. Sign up is free and only takes few simple steps. It's school / summer holiday season. Some of you will travel and stay in a hotel, right? Well, if you do, you can replace the boring "do not disturb" card with this stylish signage on the door knob / handle. 

Allez, let's go...

purple moleskine and others in fuschia

I overspent my budget this month. Not a good thing to do, but I need to have these things. I mean, I have my reason. Listen, all of these things have one thing in common. They're in fuchia-pink-purple color scheme! Well, not good enough for a reason. Okay, I need to replace my tote bag because the handle of my old one has torn apart. Besides, I like this flippy floppy tote and its price is quite reasonable, Rp.159.000,-

 

 

 

 

 

Then, there's this moleskine. Of course I have to buy this planner sooner or later. It's for 2016. Though it was quite expensive, it was hard to resist the color, which I never found for the past few years here. So, I had to let go Rp.220.000,- for it.

 

 

 

 

 

The rest of my acquisitions are key clip and cable/cord wrap. They're not so expensive, around Rp.40.000,- each. If you're wondering where I bought those stuff, you can find it in Kinokuniya Plaza Senayan. Apart from the tote bag which only left one in orange, the other stuff are still available in stock.

moleskine template

Since I already have a hobonichi techo and a huge A5 filofax, I wonder whether I need a pocket weekly moleskine. I've been using the weekly notebook moleskine for the last few years and -honestly- it kinda suits me. It's small enough to be carried around everyday, it's sturdy, hard covered (I prefer this one instead of the soft one), simple and still have some room to write down things to be remembered, tasks, password hints, grocery list, etc. I love the layout of week's appointments on the left side and ruled page on the right side. So I -helplessly- bought one in a local store here. However, the price has gone up from last year's due to stronger US dollar against our currency. Pffttt.. Anyway, it motivates me to use it to the max.

In addition to use and hack the moleskine, there's a possibility to add (paste) a template. All we have to do is download the templates (according to the size of our planner), print, cut and paste it on any page we want. We have to sign up first, but it's also simple.. just fill in the form (name, email, password, country) and once you log in, you're all set.

things inside my bag

First of all, sorry for the green batik cloth for the background. As promised on my previous post, the picture above are things which can be found in my bag these days.. and they all can fit in my LeSportsac everyday bag. The numeration goes from left to right, started from the top row.

1. Small pouch for girl things
2. Small packet of tissue paper. One shown here is Tessa, but I also buy Paseo quite often.
3. Different kinds of mini bottles : Safecare aromatherapy for motion sickness, Nivea facial foam, a mini bottle of liquid soap, L'Occitane hand cream, Roger & Gallet lotion (which I picked from a hotel) and a Handy Clean hand sanitizer.
4. Hobonichi planner 2014 with red Camelia cover and a Zebra 4-colour-ballpoint pen
5. Greebel half-watercolour pencils - mostly used for hoboniching
6. Red Maglite mini flashlight and my LeSportsac wallet
7. Pink hairclip
8. Samsung Galaxy Note 8
9. Beige LeSportsac pouch to carry my red moleskine
10. Mini Tupperware tumbler to have freshwater all the time
11. Mini lunchbox I got for buying Sunlight. I use it to keep my medicine : vitamins, Decolgen, Biogesic, Diatabs, Simvastatin, a sachet of Tolak Angin (herbal syrup for cold), etc.
12. LeSportsac pencil case. Mechanical pencil, highlighter, eraser, different kinds of pens and a glue stick can be found inside.
13. Black-and-white stripes pouch to protect my small digital camera
14. Samsung travel charger which can also be used for most of my gadgets
15. Samsung Galaxy Chat and  Blackberry Curve.. yes, these two are giving me headache with their slow response as they're getting older. Should've get more reliable ones, but I need to save up some money first.
16. Reusable shopping bag - bought it from Monoprix Paris in 2010
17. A cute card holder for those membership / reward points cards and such
18. Victorinox Swisscard Lite which is very useful everytime I need, especially for cutting / clipping pictures for hoboniching on the go ;)
19. Omron pedometer, which many times attached in my pocket, to count how many steps I walk every day
20. Pink Philips earphone (which can be used for mobile phone's handsfree), a pink Sony walkman mp3 player and a flashdisk drive
21. Commuter train multi-trip card
22. Passcard and keys to important places

lacy moleskine

 

Remember my new red moleskine for 2014? 

This is how it looks like after the first hack attempt. 

I glued a strip of white beautiful lace on the edge, where the strap sits. That's it.

I think it's kinda work. An instant makeover. 

That overly simple plain dead red moleskine now become a pretty one. Yaaayy.. !!  

red moleskine

Say hello to my new moleskine. Am ready for the year 2014 with this bright red yearly planner hahaha :D As always, I will hack it to the max and hoping to write more things, more detailed stories in it.

Additional info : this Moleskine is hard cover, pocket size, weekly section on the left side and ruled pages on the right side. Bought it in Gramedia PIM (check first, as not all Gramedia have Moleskine).

moleskine

For me, moleskine is one of the great things ever happened in the world of stationery. I really love the smooth acid-free paper, the yellowish color of the paper, the pocket size with elastic strap, and how it triggers us to personalize the notebook the way we want. I kinda hacked the cover with mini cute stickers and my name on the side. It's 18-month weekly notebook (july 2013 - december 2014). This hard cover version has separate thin address book attached on the back pocket. The layout on the inside has weekly appointment on the left side and ruled page on the right side. I can note down the appointments, teaching schedule, and invitations etc on weekly section. On the ruled section, I can write down ideas, plans, somekinda tweets, recipes, drawings, wishlist, feelings, mood.. just everythiiing in life. 

Now it's gonna be the end of the page soon, so I gotta prepare to replace it with the new one. But I can't find the 18-month started from january. Why they have this kinda 18-month thingy if there will be 6 months on the next year missing without a moleskine? They should make a 6-monthly or another 18-monthly which begin from january. Otherwise, just make a simple 12-month one.