Author Archives: MomofCurt

Common Sizes of Traveler’s Notebooks

As I said in my last post I belong to several groups on Facebook.  These groups are a great source of inspiration, community of interests, and information.  One thing I have noticed in many of traveler’s notebook groups is people asking for comparable sizes.  Now it is important that what one maker may call a wide another maker may call extra wide. It is important to read the descriptions of the products before purchase.   This is a short post on some of the sizes, common terms, and abbreviations about traveler’s notebooks.

Sizes

Common Sizes

1. A5 (5.5×8.25)–May books, Moleskine large, Hobonichi Cousin
2. Standard (4.33×8.5)–Midori regular, Moleskine Chapters large
3. Personal size (3.75×6.75)–Le Petit (Foxy Fix), Moleskine Chapters medium (see note)
4. A6 (~4×6)–Hobonichi
5. Pocket (3.5×5.5)–Field Notes, Moleskine Pocket
6. Passport (3.5×5)–Midori passport, Scout books

*Note–while the Moleskine Chapters medium will fit in a personal size notebook, they are 3.75×7, so they are taller than most personal size  inserts.

Foxy Fix Le Petit in Licorice
Moleskin Chapters medium in Le Petit

Terms and Abbreviations

There are some common terms and abbreviations you will see throughout the traveler’s notebook communities.  This is not an exhaustive list, but if you are new to the world of traveler’s notebooks, hopefully this will help.

Midori–Midori is a maker of traveler’s notebooks and they are the company that set of the recent rage about this amazing product.  While the concept has been around a long time, its popularity has exploded in the recent past thanks to the Midori Traveler’s Notebook (MTN).  Midori has changed their name to Traveler’s Company.  They continue to offer a variety of products and traveler’s notebooks in two sizes.

Cahier–Cahier is not a size, it is a style of notebook (see Webster’s definition below).  Sometimes it is used interchangeably for A5 notebooks, but not all A5 notebooks are cahier and not all cahier notebooks are A5.  Moleskine offers their cahier notebooks in three sizes: XL, large, and pocket .

Ca`hier´ Pronunciation: kå`yã´ or kå`hēr
n. 1. A number of sheets of paper put loosely together; esp. one of the successive portions of a work printed in numbers.
2. A memorial of a body; a report of legislative proceedings, etc.

–dori–This is a traveler’s notebook made by someone other than the Traveler’s Company.  It is a play on the name Midori.

Every Day Carry (EDC)–EDC is the traveler’s notebook or planner that you carry with you always.  Often it includes your wallet, but this is not essential.

Traveler’s Notebook (TN)–A traveler’s notebook is a cover with straps to hold notebooks and inserts.  Traveler’s notebooks can be very versatile and the options for use are endless.

Until next time, have a beautiful week!

Danyel

 

Hobonichi Planning Resources

I belong to several groups on Facebook and these groups are great resources for learning what is new and what is out there.  Although I see that people tend to ask the same questions and we want to see examples of how people use their Hobonichi as a planner.

While many English users of the Hobonichi state they do not see the Hobonichi as a planner, they see it as a journal, I happen to think it is the best for planning.  You get plenty of space in a lightweight, compact format.  At the end of the year, if you keep your planners, you have one book to archive.  All the pages are bound together so you don’t have to worry about loose pages that can be lost.  The format really is a shell, so you can change the format to one of your dreams, and if your needs change the next day, you can change it again.  It is beautiful with just words on the page and it is beautiful when artistic elements are added.  As the Hobonichi developer said, it is a park and each person can make it specific to them.

Hobonichi on Social Media

Hobonichi on InstagramSocial media is a great resource for gather different ways of using the Hobonichi as a planner.  Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube are my go to choices.  Tumblr and Pinterest are other places to look for inspiration.

The three groups on Facebook that I really like for inspiration are: Hobonichi Strictly Planning, Hobonichi Users, and Fauxbonichi Journalers.  Since I use somewhat of a bullet journal format in my Hobonichi, Bullet Journal Junkies is another group where I gain inspiration.

Instagram also has a pretty developed community of users and you get to see the range of Hobonichi uses.  Tags to search for: #Hobonichi, #Hobonichisp, #HobonichiCousin, #HobonichiPlanner.  I’m @momofcurt on Instagram and I use my Hobonichi as my planner and that is how I feature it when I post about my Hobo.  @choosingbliss has great posts on how she uses her Hobonichi.  Other users I recommend: @tinkerworld, @kristinatheengineer.

YouTube is a great resource for Hobonichi, though it is difficult to find channels that use the Hobonichi as a planner.  I really like how the VeganOrganizer, FroggiesTN, TheSassyPineapple, ScrapJoy, OhaiJoy, BiancaNDM, and PoochieBaby display the use of their Hobonichi as a planner.

Personalizing the Hobonichi

The Hobonichi can be whatever you want it to be.  It can be thin or chunky.  It can be sophisticated or whimsical.  It can be moderate or expensive.  It can be decked out or plain.  It can house journaling, art, or planning.  It can even house all three.  It can be used as a notebook, project planner, or tracker.  The options are endless and are only limited by your imagination.  This really is a book that can be all things to all people (I am bias of course.  Some people have not fell in love with the Hobo as I fell in love with mine).

Covers for the Hobonichi are more numerous than the uses.  Hobonichi sells covers for their Hobonichis that change each year.  This means there is an endless line of designs and styles for all sizes.  etsy and eBay are other places to look for Hobonichi covers.  You can get covers made of leather or fabric.  You can even find covers that are no longer being sold on the Hobonichi site.  AliExpress sells covers at relatively inexpensive prices.  Searching for refillable A5 journals on Amazon will present you with some options.  Traveler’s Notebook designers are also starting to design covers for the Hobonichi.  I have one from FoxyFix that I am anxiously waiting to receive.  Even your local stores have options: Barnes and Nobles, Staples, Walmart, and Meijer have refillable planners and journals that can house the Hobonichi Cousin.  Midair MD, Filofax Flex, and Franklin Covey wire bound are other places to look.  You can even leave your Hobo naked.  The Hobonichi Planner (English version) is especially amenable to this idea with its gorgeous black cover.  While the cover of the Cousin isn’t visually pleasing, it can be made into something beautiful through painting, Modge Podge, or contact paper.

Tools for the Hobonichi

Many tools and toys are created for the Hobonichi, but all you really need is a pen or pencil.  What is amazing about the Tomoe River paper is it can take almost anything that you can throw at it.  While many pens may shadow, few actually bleed through. Copic markers are notorious for bleeding through the page.  The paper can withstand a variety of inks, but patience (or a blotter) is essential due to longer dry times to prevent smudging.  I recommend using one of the pages in the back as a ink test page.  This is where you can really see what your Hobo can handle.  If you search ink test, you will find many people that have already done much of the testing for you.

Hobonichi makes some great “tools and toys” for their books.  The stencils for me are a must have.  As a matter of fact I now have two complete sets of stencils for both of my Hobos and a third green stencil for my Traveler’s Notebook.  The Midori Brass rulers are another great option.  If you search for Bullet Journal stencils on etsy, you will find some options that may work for you (be careful, sometimes the stencils are actually quite large-think wide ruled notebook paper).

A search on etsy will present you with unlimited options of tools for the Hobonichi.  Atelier Dreams makes wonderful stamps.  Sweet Kawaii Designs makes fabulous stickers. You can find washi tape in every size and design you could imagine.  Other places you can look are the stamps from Studio l2e, Sakuralala, and Marion Smith Designs.

My go to items: Coleto four barrel pen in 0.38, mechanical pencil in 0.38, TWSBI mini with extra fine nib, Noodlers xfeather ink and Diamine Ox Blood ink, Hobonichi clock stamp, Studio l2e and Atelier Dreams stamps, Prima chalk ink, and skinny washi tape.  My planner is my planner.  The washi tape is functional, it visually divides the two sections of my Hobonichi.  The stamps are functional, they are how I track certain items.  The pens and pencils, they are what brings me joy while writing.

Types of Hobonichi

The Hobonichi site does a great job of explaining the differences between the various Hobonichis.  I have the Hobonichi Planner (x2), Hobonichi Cousin, and Hobonichi Weeks.  I will start with the Weeks.  It is a great size and great format, but it just isn’t me.  Two years ago this would have been perfect.  Two years ago I had less responsibilities.  Now I use a separate work planner (Filofax Malden) that I will do a review on someday.  So until two years ago, I mainly just had to keep track of a few meetings, Bible Study, and my son’s practices and games.  I have more that I am responsible for that isn’t specific to work, so I need a different format.  The A6 Hobonichi comes in the original and Planner.  The Planner is the English version and the grid is a little larger than the Japanese versions.  Note, the green stencil does not line up perfectly in the English version, but you can still make it work.  The Cousin is the only Hobonichi that has the yearly view, monthly view, weekly view, and daily view.  It has the same grid size as the original, so the green stencil works perfectly!  If you want to split up your years, Hobonichi also has the avec versions.

My use

My last blog post about my 2016 setup I go into detail about how I will use my Hobonichi Cousin.  Two weeks later and this setup is still working quite well.  I chose the Cousin this year because of the additional responsibilities that will be added to my year.  The A6 works perfectly for me as well with the addition of the A6 Weeks book.  I do have artistic elements in my Hobo.  They are mostly function (washi and stamps).  However the extra space I will use to practice drawing, stamp images to color, or practice watercoloring.  Outside of my monthly pages, I do not decorate in advance, all decorative elements are added after.

For now, I have found my planner love.  This is of course always subject to change, but I am on my third month and I am still pleased.  Fortunately in today’s planner world, we have many options for when our tastes and needs change.

 

I am sorry for the exceptionally lengthy post.  My goal is to help anyone that is looking into the Hobonichi.  I am still somewhat of a newbie (2016 is my second year), but hopefully the newness helps me remember the questions people ask.  Have a beautiful day and week.

Danyel

My 2016 Setup

That’s a pretty bold statement!  I feel I can be bold because I do feel like I will at least use the same book all year.  Now the layout may change as my needs change or when I get bored with the current layout, but I do feel confident that I will use my Hobonichi Cousin all year.

Daily layout 2016v1

Daily Layout in the Hobonichi Cousin

Why am I focusing on planning and planners.  Simple, while my house is organized, my brain is not.  I’m not sure what changed last year that I could no longer remember anything or why my old methods simply were not working.  I teach my patients all the time how to augment their memory (our meds cause short term memory loss), so it was time for me to put into practice what I continually teach.

Planning

Anyone that know me is stunned that I don’t use my iPhone as my planner.  It is great to add appointments on the spot.  It is always with me.  It has nifty reminders for when I arrive and leave.  I can color code to my heart’s content.  If I don’t like the native calendar app I have thousand more options in the App Store.  With all of these neat features, it has one significant drawback for me, I don’t use it.  I’ve tried a couple of times over the years (going back to my Palm Pilot) to use an electronic calendar exclusively.  The problem isn’t putting in all the data, the problem was I just didn’t look at it.  So I fell back on the one method that has worked since middle school, I wrote things down.

Things changed in the last couple of years; I gained more responsibilities and my son got busier.  Where a monthly calendar was sufficient before, I needed more space for more details now.  Also, with my workload increasing with my home activities, I could no longer depend one book to keep it all. (I will write about my work changes in a future post).

I need a monthly page.  I need a daily or weekly page.  With my Hobonichi Cousin, I get all three.  To be honest, I don’t look at all three pages every day.  I look at my monthly page when I need to glance what is coming up in the next couple of weeks.  Each Sunday I plan my following week using the weekly layout.  This gives me an idea of what my week will look like (or should look like) so I can plan routine tasks for less busy days.  I do include work meetings and the clinic schedule in my weekly pages.  If I have a lot of patients in clinic, I know I will be tired that evening and not productive, so I will need to plan tasks for a different day.

Cousin Weekly 52.15.2

Weekly view for a slow week

Then each day I focus on the daily page.  I do write down the appointments on my daily page.  If I don’t have any appointments, I celebrate by using that space for a quote or to stamp an image.  The right side of the appointment section I use like I used my monthly plan books or the A6 Hobonichi.  I write everything down, what I did, need to do, tasks I want to accomplish, thoughts, ideas, everything!  At the top where the section for top tasks are located, I use this for gratitude.  This is something I missed when I moved from my bullet journal to the monthly plan books.  The bottom section of the page is my free for all.  It isn’t for my private, daily journaling.  That goes in a separate A6 Hobonichi.  Some days I may use it for journaling, I could use it for notes or ideas, or I can draw.  I like having a section that will allow me to play as I see fit.

Daily layout put to use
Hobo 1.1.16

Daily layout

So that’s it, one book, my Hobonichi Cousin.  I personally don’t like combining my journaling with my planning.  I don’t want to take that part of me outside the house where someone would have access to it.  My planner I like to leave open on my desk and and I don’t want my deepest, darkest thoughts exposed to the world.

I will chronicle my experience with using my Hobonichi Cousin.  If you search the web, YouTube, Instagram, or Pinterest for uses for the Hobonichi, you will find a lot about art journaling.  I wanted ideas to how to use it as a planner.  Layouts that work, ideas for the Remember This page, using a monthly, weekly, and daily.  I wanted to see how people used the blank pages at the back.  The Facebook Group: Hobonichi Strictly Planning has been a great resource, but the amount of info out there is still lacking.  Hopefully this will be a topic that expands as more people in the English speaking areas of the world become more acquainted with how amazing Hobonichi is.

Change, again!

I’ve been gone for awhile because I fell in the trap of the planner addict.  I started in a Franklin Covey classic and used the same planner and layout for nine years.  Then I went to the Erin Condren.  I loved it, but I hated that it wasn’t portable.

Then I started my search for a new system.  I started out in a modified bullet journal.  It was simple and it worked.  Then I when to a personal Filofax.  I liked it, its customizable, but oh, how I hated the rings.  Then I started using a Midori Passport.  I loved it and it worked.  However, I couldn’t resist all the other cute travelers notebooks out there, and I discovered Field Notes.  So I ordered the pocket traveler’s notebook and started my Field Notes color subscription and I was ready to roll.  Then I discovered Jenny Penton’s Planner Perfect System.

Created planner using Moleskine
Color Crush weekly pages
Erin Condren Life Planner
Midori Passport
Hobonichi Style insert that I made

I started using the Planner Perfect System in May.  I used Field Notes as my monthly plan books and BohoCottage monthly inserts.  I purchased many pocket traveler’s notebooks (Chic Sparrow, FoxyFix, Sojourner, and Naked Cow) trying to find the right fit.  I felt like Goldilocks.  They are all great notebooks and deciding the one you want depends on how you want your leather to feel and look.  This method worked really well and it allowed me to truly see what my planning needs are.  I learned it didn’t matter if I used a plain notebook, bullet journal, Filofax, or Traveler’s Notebook, because now I have a system that works.

Monthly Calendar

Monthly Calendar using BohoCottage printable inserts from Etsy

My System Needs

I must have a monthly calendar for at least 12 months.  I also need daily pages.  Anything else is bonus or confusing.  The monthly calendar allows me to keep track of my schedule.  Now I have a separate system for work that I will review in the future. So my planner includes only items that affect me when I am not at work.  Sometimes works does cross into home time, so you will see those items on my planner.  My daily page is how I design my day (using the Planner Perfect system).  It isn’t full of ToDo’s and tasks, it is a list of how I would like my day to be.  At the end of the day, it is a representation of how my day was.  I don’t worry about decorating, format, or rules.  Sure you will see similar layouts.  Of course I like to add cute washi or doodles.  However, none of this is required.  Even the plain pages in the course of a week tell their own story because they are plain.  I love flipping through my old monthly books because I am able to see at a glance, what was my life like this year.

My Plan for 2016

I plan to keep doing the Planner Perfect Method.  However, I will be moving to the Hobonichi.  The only drawback I experienced with the monthly books is when I needed notes from previous books.  Now I have them conveniently stored, so it wasn’t a deal breaker, but when preparing a list recently from my notes in my monthly books, I had three laying before me.  Also, I’ve had to grab a book from a couple of months ago to reference my work hours.  Again, none of this was truly a problem, but I really like the idea of one year in one book.  That is how my planners have been until May 2015, so it was something I missed.

Hobo vs Plan Books

Hobonichi Planner on left 3 months of Plan Books on right

My daily pages and monthly layouts will be used the same as my monthly plan books.  I also got the separate weeks booklet.  I hate duplication, but I like the weeks booklet because it lets me see busy vs. less busy days.  This helps me plan what I will do at home.

Daily Page 1

Trailing the daily page in the Hobonichi Planner

Special Events and Days

One of the beauties of the Planner Perfect System is planning for special occasions, a trip, Christmas, a birthday, the big game, etc.  The Hobonichi won’t really allow for layouts for these occasions.  Sure, the back has extra note pages, but I’m afraid I would run out of pages before Halloween and my brain couldn’t handle that.  I saw a post in one of the Facebook groups about using a notebook for each big event: Christmas, Thanksgiving, Birthdays, etc.  Really, I do the same thing each year.  Sure, minute details may change, but the big picture remains the same.  So I am going to use separate Field Notes books for each occasion.  Then I will move them in and out of my Traveler’s Notebooks as occasions occur.

Collections

One of the things I adore about the Bullet Journal is collections.  Random thoughts collected, then gathered in one place.  As a companion to my Hobonichi, I have a Field Notes book that houses my book of lists collections).  I will capture these random thoughts on my daily pages, then migrate them to the appropriate list.

My Hobo Companion

Collections

I know this is a lengthy post, but I learned a lot from my time and expense this year.  I plan to take this knowledge and share it with you.  My goal is these posts will reinforce what you are currently doing or help you find your way if you were lost like I was.  I know I have planned this before, but now I feel like I have really learned what works for me.  There are many beautiful planners and wonderful systems that can be found on the web and on social media.  What is important is finding a system that matches how your brain works.  No matter how pretty or organized, it will not be useful if it doesn’t match how your brain thinks.  Enjoy looking at other planners and systems, then enjoy developing a system that works for you.

Merry Christmas!

Danyel

Managing my time and To Dos at work

I’ve talked about how I manage myself at home, but really, that is the easy part.  What has been difficult has been managing myself at work.  I am a lung transplant coordinator responsible for taking calls about potential donors, taking patient calls, seeing patients in clinic with the physicians, following up on consult notes, labs, and other testing, refilling medications, obtaining any necessary prior authorizations for medications, completing forms requested by the patients, teaching patients, supporting families, advocating for patients, updating the protocol book, compile and request data, teach healthcare professionals, and document everything I do while maintaining a positive image for myself, my profession, and my organization.  BOY, was that a run-on sentence!

With all the responsibilities that I am given a a transplant coordinator, I needed a system that I could record everything, whether it be for reference, to do, or an appointment to keep.  For 13 years I floundered trying many systems, both electronic and “analog”.  I learned that having the paper in front of me really kept tasks in the forefront, however I didn’t have my schedule in front of me, so I had to use two or more systems.  So in 2014 I bought the Moleskine weekly calendar with the week on one page and a notes page for every week.  This method is just what I’ve been looking for since I started as a transplant coordinator.  So on the weekly pages I listed every lab, test, and dictation I needed to follow-up on the date it was scheduled.  On the notes pages I recorded all of my patient phone calls and calls pertaining to patients.  If I didn’t complete a task or call for that week, I would attach a page flag to alert me and I would leave the flag attached until everything for those two pages were done and complete.  This method worked  very well for my brain and how I think.

The method worked well, but the format did not.  I was finding many weeks I was taping in additional sheets of paper to record phone calls.  I did this a few weeks the previous year, but now it was occurring half the time and it seemed my book was getting fat and not looking clean.

So then I tried the bullet journal format and this certainly works, but I found myself rewriting frequently and things were falling through the cracks.  I love that the bullet journal allowed me to have all the room I needed and not more for each day.  What I didn’t like is I couldn’t see my week at a glance.  I used a traveler’s notebook to keep my bullet journal, reference book, and phone list.  I loved the book and the portability, but it still wasn’t quite right.

Now I brought out my personal size Filofax.  I have six tabs in my Filofax:

  • Calendar: yearly and a week on two pages with blank pages inserted between the weeks to record that weeks phone calls
  • To Do: List of actions to be completed, but not patient related
  • Inpatient Review
  • Clinical Review
  • Meeting Notes
  • Notes for some protocols and practices

What I love about this method is it is a combination of the two methods I tried before.  I still have my weekly calendar to list items that need follow-up, but the blank notes pages allows me to have the pages I need to record calls.  I also keep an extra binder in the office to archive the weekly pages and notes for the long term so my Filofax doesn’t become extremely bulky.

Note:  I would love to show pictures of this system, but the pages are basic pages for weekly planning, To Dos, and blank note paper.  I don’t want to show pictures of the pages in use because of the amount of confidential information.

One Book July 2015 Update

I decided to try #onebookjuly2015 this year.  Since I’ve been evaluating what it is I really need in planning, I thought this would be perfect to minimize my system to my needs (with awareness of my wants).  I decided to give up my Filofax Malden for July, which I whined about for a good two weeks.  Now, I am learning to live in one book, at least for planning (at home).

So my Malden sat on my shelf and I am using a pocket traveler’s notebook (Field Notes, Moleskine Pocket, 3.5×5.5″ inserts). The beautiful thing about the pocket size is I do use it as a wallet and it is my every day carry (EDC).

This is a 12 pocket card insert that I use for my wallet.

This is a 12 pocket card insert that I use for my wallet.

I have four notebooks in my traveler’s notebook (TN) and a 12 pocket card insert.  The first book is my lists book.  This is a more permanent book of lists and references I want to carry with me.  My second book is my monthly book.  I make one book for each month, which includes a day per page (DO1P) and pages at the front for special events to occur that month, month goals, and notes pertaining to that specific month.  My third insert is a Field Notes (FN) notebook that I change out each month too.  This book I use for the listersgottalist (www.listersgottalist.com) and journaling.  My final notebook is an 18 month calendar I made using the monthly calendar from BohoCottage on Etsy.  The front of the calendar I tipped in my month lists that I made and a three year calendar from DIYfish (www.diyfishblogs.com)  The back of the 18 month calendar I tipped in the DIYfish monthly chart.

Hobonichi Style insert that I made

Hobonichi Style insert that I made

Card pocket attached to inside cover

Card pocket attached to inside cover

Monthly Calendar using BohoCottage printable inserts from Etsy

Monthly Calendar using BohoCottage printable inserts from Etsy

Monthly Lists

Monthly Lists

I’ve given up my Malden and been using my EDC as my main planner.  So how do I feel about this with July sliding into a close?  This has forced me to look at what I need to see to keep my brain organized and the info I need on paper instead of in my head.  I use two versions of a monthly calendar, a weekly calendar, and a daily calendar.  I hate repetition, which is why I considered #onebookjuly2015 in the first place.  The monthly list I use as a glance at what life will look like for the year (what are busy times and what are slow times).  The months are necessary because when I plan call or events, I need to see what days work best.  The weekly calendar I use to see my week at a time. The daily calendar isn’t to plan, but to record what I want to accomplish, what I have to do, and how the day actually happens.  I was able to incorporate what I was missing from my Malden into my EDC, so I am able to do everything in one book.  The Malden will now become more of a reference book that stays at home rather than planning.  While my inserts stay mostly the same, I do change the cover of my EDC based on mood or circumstances.

Chic Sparrow Creme Brûlée

Chic Sparrow Creme Brûlée

Chic Sparrow Mr. Darcy

Chic Sparrow Mr. Darcy

Paper-friend or foe?

A while back I wrote a post about the paper monster in my life. I wrote about the filing system I purchased (http://www.amazon.com/FreedomFiler-Home-Filing-Kit-Size/dp/B00F5VUJIC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1437317693&sr=8-1&keywords=freedom+filer+filing+system). Well, I’ve used this system for three years now and it has allowed me to get the paper under control. 

So, if paper makes such significant clutter for me, it is interesting that all my hobbies include paper (reading, journals, scrapbooking, planning, doodling, etc.). After accepting the fact that my Erin Condren Life Planner was too large for me, I’ve been on a search for the perfect system for this point in my life. Ring-bound planners have worked for me for years, but I didn’t want to return to the A5 size as that is still too big for me to carry. For a planner to really work, it has to be carried at all times. So, I got the personal size planner from three manufacturers. For my journaling I also purchased multiple traveler’s notebooks in a variety of sizes and leathers this year. Messing up my home system wasn’t enough, I also changed my work system. I am also participating in #onebookjuly2015. All of this chaos in my planning has allowed me to learn exactly what I love. I’ve been forced to examine my style and the way I think and I think the dividends will be huge. 

I now have my paper foe under control and learning to make paper a good friend. This is the start of many blog posts sharing all I’ve learned. 

   
 

Getting it together

FoxyDori pocket and Filofax Malden

FoxyDori pocket and Filofax Malden

This year I’ve been SO unsettled in my planning.  My journaling I have under control and I have method that encourages me to be consistent in my journaling (insert plug here for @journaling_sage on Instagram).  I didn’t use my Erin Condren the last half of last year.  The main reason is the fax it is big and heavy and I don’t always want to carry a large bag.  Even though the Erin Condren Life Planner (ECLP) is an amazing planner, it is just too big for me.  So then I tried planning in a Midori passport with a monthly and WO1P inserts, and it worked beautifully (definitely an option in the future if I want something different).   While watching tons of YouTube videos, I kept seeing Filofax (Kikki K, Color Crush, Kate Spade planners).  Well prior to changing to my ECLP, I used a ring system for YEARS and it worked for me.  Prior to the Vera Bradley agenda, I used a Franklin Covey compact.  The size and layout was very similar.  I knew immediately the A5 planner is too big for me.  Even if I needed that much space, I know I will stop carrying my planner.  For me, my planner only works if it is always with me.  So I got the Color Crush planner and I love it!  The inserts are amazing and I was able to design the perfect layout for me (or at least perfect right now).  The size is great, it fits in nearly any purse I carry.  This is a system that is working for me.

Color Crush weekly pages

Color Crush weekly pages

So, my system, I’m using Color Crush inserts in the binder of my choice (I’ve fallen in love with my personal Filofax Malden and I haven’t changed binders since getting it).  I am also using a FoxyDori pocket in Bay leather for my every day carry (EDC).  I loved my Midori passport, but I really wanted to carry a notebook that had everything I needed and wanted.  My Midori passport was awesome and leaving it has broken my heart, but I just wanted one more book and my passport was pretty chunky.  So I moved to my FN size notebook with some reluctance.  At first, though I love the cover, I didn’t have the same excitement that I had for my passport.

Bay Leather FoxyDori pocket

Bay Leather FoxyDori pocket

Last week I spent the day decorating my FoxyDori and I LOVE it.  I love her so much I’ve named her Joy.  My first book I use to design my day (see Planner Perfect), my second book is an 18 month calendar using Boho Cottage inserts from Etsy, my third book is my book of lists and information that I want to carry with me, and finally my last book is for journaling.  I also have a dashboard I made, a pocket I made (using the tutorial from the Creative Planner class with Cori and Christy), and a clear pocket that I made from a photo pocket.

I don’t have two different planners, per say, but I do have a calendar in both books.  My EDC has the monthly calendar that is the main calendar, the master of schedule.  I have weekly pages in my Filofax and I use these to plan my week and see what the week has in store.  The daily pages in my EDC isn’t To Do Lists, Tasks, or schedule.  It is a picture of what my day will look like, what I want it to look like.  It may include some aspects of a traditional planner, but it is really a vision of my day and how I can use today to accomplish my goals (not tasks, goals).  In my Filofax I keep my Master To Do List and the lists necessary to manage my family.

FoxyDori top view

FoxyDori top view

FoxyDori side view

FoxyDori side view

June Book and Dashboard

June Book and Dashboard

Monthly calendar using Boho Cottage Inserts on Etsy

Monthly calendar using Boho Cottage Inserts on Etsy

Pocket Folder and clear pocket

Pocket Folder and clear pocket

Inside Pocket Folder

Inside Pocket Folder

“Documenting the Everyday”

To say I’ve been bitten by the traveler’s notebook bug doesn’t accurately describe the relationship I’ve developed with these notebooks in the last few months.  I hate to describe my love for my notebooks as a relationship, but it is.  With each piece I add, remove, change, each notebook becomes a little piece of me that can be held.

I didn’t know a lot about the Midori.  I saw it on Amazon over a year ago and I continued to debate the purchase.  I love writing and I love journals, but something about the Midori kept tugging at my heart.  So this winter, I finally took the plunge and got my first traveler’s notebook, a Midori passport and I was immediately in love.

So now I had this awesome new notebook, so I wanted to learn what more I could do with it.  So I watched YouTube videos, TONS of YouTube videos.  I learned and I joined Facebook groups.  I acquired four more traveler’s notebooks and I learned some more.  One day while watching videos I saw a video that really struck my heart.  I LOVE documenting life, both with pictures and words.  I scrapbook and I love Project Life, but I am terrible about completing albums now that my son is active in school and sports.  I have a way of recording notes for when I go back to document events, but I didn’t have a way of documenting my everyday life.  I want my son to remember what his childhood was like and who his parents were.

So back to the YouTube video that changed my life.  Retrow Tures did a video about using a Field Notes traveler’s notebook to not only document her travels, but she talked about her tagline for her photography business, “Document life as it happens”.  This was new to me, as a scrapbooker I’ve heard this expressed many ways.  For some reason, when she said it, my world stopped and I knew what I needed to do.  I need to use my traveler’s notebook to document each day, the little moments that get missed in the bigger albums.

A dear friend of mine made a gorgeous traveler’s notebook for me and in this notebook I keep an insert of blank pages.  We go to a baseball game, I immediately tape in the memorabilia and write a note.  I don’t care about the layout, colors, matching, I just care about getting that moment recorded.  Later I may print a picture and put it with my memorabilia, but I don’t stress about that.  No more putting ticket stubs and wristbands in a box to scrap later, I use them right now.  If it isn’t flat and won’t fit, I take a picture and put the picture in my journal.  This has changed my life, I now record my life as it happens.  I experience joy as I look back to see what was accomplished and the memories we have acquired.

So I thank Retrow Tures for speaking in a way that allowed me to change my behavior.  If you love documenting your life or want to document her life, I strongly encourage you to search her out on YouTube.  Her videos are short, but very well done.

Documenting the day and the memories when it happens.

Documenting the day and the memories when it happens.

Link to Retrow Tures video on YouTube

The perfect planner

Planner peace, unicorn, the perfect planner, all things that we dream about to organize our life.  Well, I am going to talk to you about the perfect planner.  What I am not going to do is tell you what is the perfect planner.  I’ve read many blog posts and I’ve watched many YouTube videos.  I have a Pinterest board and belong to groups on Facebook.  I’ve used the same system for years, and now I’m lost (or at least I was).

Erin Condren Life Planner

Erin Condren Life Planner

What has the last two years lacking planner peace taught me, my perfect planner is for me only.  What is perfect for me won’t be perfect for you.  So I am going to help you find what you are looking for in your planner system.

Questions:

First and foremost, you have to ask yourself, what do I need to keep track of and what do I need to plan.  Will I keep work and home separate, or will the system be combined.  How do you think? How do you organize other areas of your life?  Do you want to carry your planner with you?  There isn’t a right, wrong, or trendy answer.  This is all about you!  When do we ever get to say it is all about me!

Options:

There is a bullet journal (see Ryder Carroll), daily calendar, weekly calendar, and monthly calendar.  Beyond these categories you will find a multitude of methods to organize them.

Electronic (phone, computer, or tablet) This method is great and can be used alone or with other methods.  Things to consider, are you technologically savvy?  Will anyone else have access to your calendar?  Will you be able to find what you are looking for quickly?  Do you have a backup method?

Bound planners are contained.  They could get fatter if you embellish them, but otherwise, you will know what the size will be at the end.  Depending on the size you buy, you will know where and how you can carry your planner (in your bag, in your pocket, or on your desk).  Bound planners come in endless sizes, bindings, and page formulations.  You can custom order or pick one up at your local store.  They come in every color in the rainbow and just as many patterns.

Midori Passport

Midori Passport

Binder planners (whether rings or arcs) are very customizable and you can change your planner as your needs change.  If your current setup is not working, you can quickly change it.  Binders can come from local stores or from planner companies.  You can get a multitude of sizes with a variety of options.  Now, you can keep adding to a binder, this means it can become REALLY fat.

Color Crush Planner

Color Crush Planner

With paper planners, you can design a planner you love and will match your way of thinking and your personal style.  Whether it is bound or a binder, it can still be customized to your needs.  Etsy, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube offers many ideas to design the planner of your dreams.  However, if you don’t use your planner, no matter how beautiful and well laid out, it won’t work.

Created planner using Moleskine

Created planner using Moleskine

Deciding your layout:

Do you think in lists, graphs, or pictures?  Do you need a birdseye view?  Do you need details? Are you working for your planner, or is it working for you?  Planners can certainly be a hobby, and a useful one at that.  Getting Organized Magazine has a great post of tips to keep in mind when using a planner. http://www.gettingorganizedmagazine.com/2014/04/29/10-tips-for-using-a-planner-2/

Next post:  What I chose and why.