My 2024 Techo Kaigi – notebooks and planners
It took me a couple of weeks to really figure out what notebook/planners I want to use for 2024. Right when I thought I figured everything out, another thought comes to mind and I end up adding more notebooks to my setup. The notebooks and planners I am sharing on this post may or may not change over time but right now, I am really happy with this current lineup.
I’ve always given a lot of thought about the planners/journals I want to use every time a new year starts but never on this level. I find myself listing down potential notebooks and planners to purchase and categorizing them accordingly, making sure that I find a way to somewhat fix anything that I did not like about my 2023 setup.
For my 2024 Techo Kaigi, I not only want to include planning and journaling to my setup but I also wanted to include traditional sketching/drawing. Also painting if I have extra time. I wanted to reduce the amount of writing I had to do on my journals/planners but also still have the flexibility to write more as needed and decorate a page and make it look pretty to my heart’s content.
In general, for 2024, I want to be able to easily: (1) Plan, (2) Memory Keep, (3) Draw, (4) Journal/write, take notes and (5) make pretty spreads/pages.
Introducing my planners and notebooks for 2024
I will try to briefly share my thoughts about the planners/notebooks and how I came up with the decision to use them. I love a good notebook but I cannot spend a lot of money on them so I try to buy the cheapest that I can get without compromising the quality and hopefully, the writing experience.
Hobonichi Weeks – catch all planner and common placing
I have already started using the Hobonichi weeks and although I got a little frustrated during the first week, I am now slowly loving the layout, the smaller grid size (I used the Hobonichi Cousin planner for 2023) and the size of the planner itself.
One of the things that I did not like about the Hobonichi Cousin (don’t get me wrong, I love that planner, it just did not work for me in terms of planning) was the size. It was too big for me and because I am a lazy person, I end up only writing my todos, closing the planner and never checking it again until the next morning. Sometimes, when I am really overwhelmed with tasks, I turn to my pocket notebook and write all of my to dos there, never on my Hobonichi Cousin.
So here we are, with a much smaller planner which means: smaller space to write (helps me to prioritize important tasks), takes only a couple of minutes to update, helps me see my entire week, removes the need to fill up the space with decorations (stickers, sometimes can be a distraction) and it’s much more convenient to carry around and use.
I got the Hobonichi Weeks Mega, which gives me a lot of extra pages at the back. The pages are also numbered, perfect for common placing. Common placing is something that I have decided to implement back in 2024 and I am so looking forward to collecting more topics and information that I find interesting. I’ve already started using it for common placing and I’ve been loving it so far.
Lastly, of course, the glorious Tomoe River Paper of the Hobonichi Weeks is making the writing experience for me much more enjoyable! I got the sneaker version because I love soft covers! I also was not aware that the clear covers does not fit the sneaker version properly because they were designed for the hard covers, but it can still hold the planner and the extra space does not bother me at all, plus the design on the cover against the planner cover looks cute! I also added a deco sticker on the cover from my Slow Down sticker design which you can find on the shop.
Take a Note Planner A5 – Memory Keeping Daily Log
As I mentioned earlier, the Hobonichi Cousin was too big for me and I ended up using it more as a memory keeping journal than as a planner. Most days, I don’t really have much to write about although there were times that I needed more space to elaborate on an idea or a thought.
When Helen of The Coffee Monsterz Co shared about the Take a Note Planner, I immediately fell in love with the design. Very clean and minimal. The the 3-4 column per spread I think is perfect for what I need. I think it’s going to help me record a brief moment in my day and not have to feel pressured in filling up empty spaces.
I have not tried writing on the weekly pages yet but I have already swatched my fountain pen inks and markers. So happy that none of them bled through the paper. Compared to the Hobonichi Weeks, the Take a Note planner paper was thicker and the paper color is more of a bright white compared to the Hobonichi Cousin which is in cream white.
Also want to mention that I used my Hobonichi Tabs for this planner. If you are curious, this is how they will look on the Take a Note Planner.
Midori MD Notebook Grid A5 – Memory Keeping Journal
The Midori Notebooks were not originally included on my list but as I thought more about my planners, I realized that I need another notebook to journal more about a certain event or an idea.
I got the grid version because I can never write in a straight line. The grid on this one surprised me, it does not look like the standard grid on notebooks but, it’s not a big deal for me. I’ll mostly be journaling with photos, ephemera and stickers so I don’t think the grid design won’t get in the way of my journaling/writing.
I have not done any swatches yet but so far, I love the look and feel of the notebooks. It lays flat on the table, the binding feels like it’s really well done although I do not think that it is as good as the Hobonichi books. I expect to not write here often so I hope the pages are enough for 2024. I should be able to continue on a separate book as needed but it would be nice to keep them all in one book!
Hobonichi Blank Grid A5 – Morning/Night Pages
Edit: I forgot to take a photo of the Hobonichi Undated Grid notebook! So only using an old photo for now. I may or may not update the photo but here is a link to the product if you are interested: Hobonichi Plain Notebook (A5)
When it comes to writing, I just know that the Hobonichi paper will make the experience better for me so I ended up getting the blank grid notebooks for my morning pages. I used to write/type my morning pages on my Notion and although that was a nice way to do the morning pages, I recently has been preferring analog over digital. Maybe it’s because I am in front of the screen most of the time both for work and for Hues and Prints so switching back to analog is like a way for me to take a break from “work”.
If you are wondering why I wrote Night pages on the heading, it’s because I needed a way regain clarity after my day job. I thought about only doing it after work however, writing early in the morning just feels nice for me. I feel like I need it more after work but for now, I am doing it twice each day – morning: before work starts and evening: before I start to work on Hues and Prints and/or my hobbies. I am so used to only writing in the morning so I sometimes forget to write during the night. But working on consistently including it into my routine.
I bought 2 of the Blank Grid notebooks. I actually have no idea how many pages I need but I hope it is enough for 2024. Writing experience is a breeze as expected with the Hobonichi notebooks.
Midori MD Grid Notebook A6 – Creative journaling
Recently, I have not been using stickers on my planners and have not yet started using my Take a Note planner so I needed a way to use up ephemera and stickers and also to make pretty spreads. I can’t help it, it is already part of my system – to make notebook/journal pages pretty!
I have not read a lot of books in 2023 however I do come across ideas and quotes that I would love to add to my journals from videos, books and podcasts that I listen to. This is why for 2024, I wanted a dedicated book just for that – a creative space for me to decorate pages using stickers and ephemera and I thought that the A6 size should do.
I have already started using my current pocket notebook and have been sharing the spreads I created so far in my Glimmering Thoughts Archive. Once I used up all the pages on my Pocket notebook, I will then move to this one. It also has the same grid as the A5, I thought I should mention in case someone is wondering.
Generic A6 Ring Binder – Project Management/Log
The ring binder is not new to me however, it is the first time I am going to use it as a project management tool. I have a Notion Database that has the same function but digital planner systems has not been working well for me lately so I have been keeping track of any on going projects, product ideas, admin work on this small ring binder. Aside from the dividers that I decorated, all other pages are just plain writing. No stickers, tapes or decorations at all. It gets messy but I like it this way. The pages don’t even have the same size since I use up any available printer paper that I have. Sometimes, cutting them to a certain size saves up the most paper so I do it as long as I can still attach it to the binder. I don’t mind that some pages are long or short.
The best thing about the ring binder is I can add and remove pages when needed and also print my own layouts! I don’t need specific layouts at the moment but when I do need it, it’s just a print away and it won’t cost me any money.
Midori MD Blank Notebook A5 – Sketchbook
Last but not the least, my sketchbook for 2024 will be the Midori A5 Blank.
My current sketchbook still has a lot of empty pages to be filled but that one was too big and it consumes a lot of space so I always have to store it somewhere far from my table and because of that, I always forget to use it and draw. If there is one thing that I wished I have done more in 2023, that would be drawing. So for 2024, I wanted a way to make it easier for myself to want to draw. I hope to prioritize drawing and making art over writing on my journals and planners. I have no idea if this will actually make me draw more so we will see.
Hopefully, having a sketchbook that is in the same size as my planners will help me get in the habit of honing my drawing and painting skills on a daily basis as well. If I can update my planners daily, I should be able to draw on my sketchbook too.
That is it for my 20204 Techo Kaigi! I hope this post was helpful for you! It’s my first time to write about my Techo Kaigi so I apologise if I did it incorrectly. If you have any suggestions on planners that I should use according to what I need, feel free to comment here, I would love to know what you think.
