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As April draws to a close, I can’t believe how quickly time is passing us. It seems like 2024 just started, and we’re about to go into the fifth month.
Also, how many times have I commented how fast time is going at the beginning of a newsletter post? 😂 This is what happens when you get older.
I can tell you what has been keeping me busy this month. Every April is quickly becoming “planner hopping month”.
It’s like clockwork. The week before April I’m already perusing the Hobonichi site and then suddenly, I’m trying out new planners and changing up my entire planner lineup. It’s happened several times in the past 10 years.
April Affirmations
Instead of feeling guilt, shame, and/or distress, it’s time to change my perspective on this interesting little annual phenomenon. If you find yourself in the same boat, I would encourage you to do the same. These negative feelings are a waste of our precious time (which you could be using towards planning and planner “playing” instead 🙂).
First, I have decided to stop the negative emotions and just accept who I am as a planner. I love changing planners and trying new things. My life never stays the same and I need a planner system that serves me and evolves and changes as quickly as I do. Next year, I’ll account for it, both in my April budget and April monthly activities.
Sometimes I feel guilty when I think about the planners I try and abandon. So second, I’m going to hang onto planner supplies and give them new life later. Then I don’t always have to purchase things brand new when each April rolls around. This might get a bit tricky with pre-dated planners, but since I usually only need 1-2 weeks to try out a new system, I can get over the misalignment of dates to pages for a trial.
And finally, third, I need to trust my gut more because it’s right. Sometimes, I’ll hang onto a new planner system for far too long thinking it’s eventually going to show its usefulness and I’ll just get over all the little things about it that bother me. My gut is experienced and wise at this point. I can usually tell within a week if I’m liking a new system. If I don’t like it, I’m going to stop wasting time on it. I can try it at a future date and see if it serves me better then.
YTD Planner Year in Review
Just to give you a quick refresher about how my planner year started, I began by continuing the use of my Stalogy b6 cut down to a cutie little passport. I started this bujo last year. I didn’t know how long it would last, but with it being a full year sized notebook and me using 2 pages per day, I thought I would get at least 3 months out of it. I got closer to 5.
As April drew near and I counted the number of pages I had left in my passport bujo EDC, I realized it was time to decide what I would use next. April would be the month I needed to ease into a new planner. For some reason, last year I thought I would be in this all year. But then Feb 2024 happened and the constraints on my time changed.
Perfect timing. Cue all the lovely new planner releases with a spring start, and here we are.
In addition to my passport bujo EDC, a generous friend gifted me a PaperTess Designs 2024 planner in the Weeks size so I could use it for one of my businesses. I still use it and that won’t change. And due to a class I was taking for another one of my businesses, I also added in an a5 filofax rings. That one has special layouts and requires that I print out special planner exercises. It’s it’s own system and that also won’t change.
What Lovely New Planners Did I Try?
I ordered 3 new planner systems this month. In 2024, I find that I have a lot more going on than usual so I intentionally looked into a vertical weekly layout for the first time. I’ve tried out the Hobonichi Cousin before (a vertical weekly layout) and hated it. It was not the right time for me for that style of planner.
I took a look at what planner traits I needed to account for my time and habits today. This is what I came up with:
How I’m spending my time, and ideally, in half hour increments
Daily trackers for habits and spending
Weekly tasks and other weekly items
I don’t mind a monthly calendar, but don’t require them. Nor do I need monthly tasks or other monthly items.
Pre-drawn calendars so I could spend less time on my EDC planner layouts
Blank pages to supplement a handful of bujo layouts that I still need, no matter which planner system I use
The biggest change for me while planner hopping this month is moving out of a bujo (freeform system) and into a pre-dated system. I’m a bujo girl at heart, so when I say this is a big change, it’s a big change.
However, I’ve found a way to make it less stressful. I find pre-drawn planners to be unusable at the daily level. So moving up a level to pre-made weekly vertical and monthly calendars is an easier compromise.
Hobonichi
The first planner system I ordered was the a6 Hobonichi Day Free + weekly supplement. I was drawn to the smaller size and Hobonichi brand. Since I was in a passport bujo already, and I was in a Leuchtturm1917 a6 bujo for years before (and loved it), this made the most logical sense.
After reviewing the online photos, I assumed I would need both planners to give me everything I wanted. Plus, I love the Hobonichi brand. I also purchased the Tragen black a6 planner cover, something I’ve been eyeing for a year.
The Day Free does not offer either a spring start or an English version. They’re only available in a Monday start, too, which is exactly like I like them. The Day Free comes in both a6 and a5 sizes.
The weekly insert surprised me. I didn’t read closely enough and I assumed it was the same a6 size. After using it, I understand now that it’s smaller so it can fit into the a6 Hobonichi planner cover pockets. It’s a very thin planner since it’s basically just weekly vertical layouts for the 2024 year and nothing else. There are just a few blank gridded pages at the end.
Together, these 2 planners (not including the Tragen cover) cost me $24 total.
Leuchtturm 2024 Planners
I also took advantage of the deeply discounted January-start planners at Leuchtturm. I purchased two discounted 2024 planners (discounted because they already started in January). One was another a6 size (the same as my previous a6 bujo that I loved during my 2022-2023 planner years), and the much bigger, a5 size (which Leuchtturm calls “medium”).
I purchased 2 completely different pre-dated Leuchtturm planners so I could test drive their unique layouts.
The a5 I chose is in the vertical weekly format, their “week planner.” I could’ve gotten the same vertical weekly layout in their a6 size but I was concerned about the vertical columns being too skinny. That ended up being a good decision.
The a6 I chose is their “weekly planner + notebook”, a format similar to the Traveler’s Company weekly horizontal layout.
Leuchtturm includes monthly tab stickers, name plate stickers, and a handy insert that explains their full line of planners. Their notebooks and planners also have an attached pocket inside the back cover and a closure string. Finally, their planners include a separate thin booklet that slips inside the back pocket where you can put names, addresses, important dates, etc. and then transfer it each year from your old planner to your new planner.
Both of the Leuchtturm planners were ~$25 total, before taxes, so it was another cost-effective purchase. If they don’t work out, I wouldn’t be out much money.
Results of My Trial Runs
The Hobonichis arrived first and I have to say, I was immediately put off by the smaller weekly insert booklet. While it does fit inside the pocket of my a6 Tragen cover, something about it just bothered me. I temporarily overcame my gut reaction and tried out this 2-planner system for 3 weeks.
And decided they weren’t for me.
I really don’t like my planners being split out. The Day Free is nearly useless to me. It contains pre-drawn monthly calendars, one set of daily trackers for each month and then a bunch of blank, gridded pages. The blank, gridded pages might work if I could hand draw weekly vertical layouts (or something else), but the Japanese quotes at the bottom take up way too much real estate. I used the blank pages as journaling pages at first, then stopped using them altogether.
As mentioned before, the Hobonichi weekly insert has the weekly vertical layouts. However, I have larger handwriting and the grid size in this thin planner is their standard of 3.7mm.
The small grid size + the breakout of two planners was just an overall no for me. I really wish Hobonichi would make an English cousin in the a6 size that has just a handful of day-free pages. That would be something to try. I can keep hoping.
I just received my Leuchtturm planners this past weekend and have already tried out both. The a6 horizontal weekly format is not going to work for my everyday time tracking and planning. But that’s ok and I assumed that would be the case. I’ve already converted it to a health tracker, which I was planning to add to my lineup anyway.
But let’s now talk about the a5 “week planner” with the vertical weekly layouts. This seems to be just about everything I need in one planner. It has space for 5 daily trackers for every day of every month of the year + the following year. It also has weekly vertical layouts with just enough room for extra weekly stuff, and a small handful of blank pages at the end for my one-off bujo layouts.
There are 2 things I wish would change in this planner.
Although this is minor, I wish they would carry planners and notebooks in white paper. Unfortunately, I don’t think Leuchtturm sells a notebook or planner with white paper and I don’t foresee them doing this anytime soon. It doesn’t bother me enough to rule it out, however. I used a Leuchtturm for years before with my a6 bujo EDC and it didn’t bother me as long as I used dark ink.
The second item that slightly bothers me is that their empty pages and empty spaces within the planner are truly blank. Meaning, they don’t have any dots, grids, or ruled lines. I’m not neat by nature when it comes to writing so I have to be careful when I use that space. I’m pretty sure I can get over this, but we’ll see how it goes. 😂
On the plus side, the much bigger a5 page allows me to have the room to track all of my businesses in one place, with room to add in weekly items, plus half hour increments of time tracking. And I can track 5 daily habits for every month, plus it’s all in English with no wasted space. I also like the back pocket and the enclosure band. It’s a hardcover planner so I don’t need to provide a cover for this at all.
I also came to the realization this month that it no longer makes sense for my EDC planner to be pocket-sized. It nevers leaves my desk. Instead, I have a passport-sized wallet planner that I carry with me, with a blank notebook for any random thoughts. I don’t travel extensively like I used to for work, so there’s very little risk that my EDC will ever need to leave my desk.
I think this might be the one EDC planner I’ll need for the rest of 2024. I‘ll keep testing out the a6 Leuchtturm for my health tracker, as well as continue using the PaperTess Weeks and the a5 Filofax for my other businesses.
We’ll see how it goes. I’m excited. 🥳
Do you feel guilty about your extra planner supplies lying around? Next month I’ll talk about the wonderful world of planner supply destashing. If it’s time to say goodbye to something you don’t want anymore, have no fear. There’s a marketplace to sell your used items to a good home!
My Self Accountability
Alright, another month has passed and it’s time to do a check-in! Quick refresher on what this section of my newsletter is about: I’m doing a low-spend planner year for 2024. My budget for the entire year is $500.
Another month has passed. How was my unnecessary planner spend in March?
In March, I purchased another Majohn a1 fountain pen and also the items in my Hobonichi order.
Here is my YTD accounting:
YTD planner spend: $168
March planner spend: $90
Annual budget remaining: $242
April is already shot since I purchased the Leuchtturm planners. So May is the month that I spend $0! For reals this time. Now that my planner hopping month is nearly over, there are no more excuses now to be truly low or no spend for the rest of the year! 🙂
How I wish LT would have white paper! I'm still steadfast in my Hobonichi Techo A6, I *think* I can make it till the end of the year! For my bujo spreads I use my Remarkable 2