Buying planners, setting up planners and using planners are definitely 3 separate hobbies 😂I love seeing videos like this because I constantly feel so unsettled! I always seem to have a 'wandering eye', no matter how much I'm enjoying my current planner.
Although I don’t come around here much - mainly because I don’t want to harass you lol - I had to come back today and say this is truly my favorite video of yours ever. It really captures you. You just let your hair down and went for it. And…it’ll come to you. You do planners like I do most everything: timing, and gut feeling. It’ll come to you. And when it does, you’ll know. And it if happens to requires editing and printing, I’m here for you. I hope everyone knows how awesome you really are - but most of all, I hope you do ❤
..... And these all are the reasons I'm using ring planners - if I'm bored, I'm just switching the weekly printables!!!!! Or whatever doesn't work!! And I always have the scratch paper there!!! And it's much cheaper than buying all planners on the planet Earth!!! 🤣🙌👍🥳🤗
I use cheap and cheerful ring binders to archive my used inserts that I want to save. Flipping through them is almost like flipping through a scrapbook. It is actually a fun part of the migration preparations - picking a binder for the year's archive. For me, it is so much better than trying to keep used ring inserts in stacks or folders.
I use the super thin supplemental Hobonichi weeks size notebooks. 3 in a pack. I put one in my cover and it’s a brain dump/scratch pad on the go. I also can’t cross out or “scribble” in my books so this is the solution. Can’t even tell it’s in the cover it is super thin and disposable.
Here are some things that may help...index cards for running lists and/or longer post-its. YO can put either/both in the back flap of your cover on cover or whichever leather cover you are using, which is what I do. This really works for me when I just need to write things down quick fast and don't want to worry about making my planner messy. I also sometimes use the Notes app on my phone to jot down things quick fast.
I discovered Hobonichi just in time for 2022 (so last year). I have spent this whole year in the cousin AND OMG. I like to have one planner, I use to always just use one from TJ max or staples. But I tend to overbook myself, and set up too much in a day. So I like to have one singular planner that includes everything, from school, work, appointments, hobbies, small biz stuff absolutely everything! And I find it really helps because I imagine I would way overbook myself if I kept everything separate. Seeing everything in front of me helps me to prioritize things for days of the week. I find that the cousin works so well for me, but I've never used a weeks or anything else from them so I guess its just beginners luck lol. I did purchase an A5 5 year for 2023 (along with another cousin!). But the 5year is just for memory keeping not for planning. I graduate next year and it will be my first time/first year in my life not being in school (scared but excited lol) and I am really looking forward to seeing how things go years post university. I am rambling lol, but I am very glad I found this planner community! Never met anyone who enjoyed planning like I did, I have kept a planner since elementary school lol. And unknowingly bullet journaled in high school!! But the cousin is by far my favorite planner I have ever used.
Oh Sam, there's nothing wrong with you. I think it's in the air (or the water, or something). I thought I was all set, too. I even related to everyone what I was going to do for 2023. So I set everything up. Then other stuff I'd ordered came in and I set that up too.Then I binge-watched YT vids and everyone was so happy about their choices. I laid everything out on the dining room table and even did the printables thing for a hot minute (hours, really). Then, blam.....I just didn't want ANY of it. Nothing fit. So I just stopped the chaos. Decided to use the English Hobo Weeks as a health and fitness tracker only, and it stays at home. I have a Home Planner for my home and vehicle, where I can print off whole pages without sizing and cutting (just hole-punching). In my purse and everywhere I go, I have an passport size TN with 3 booklets.That's December 2022. If it works, it goes into 2023. If not, I can go to 2 pieces of paper and my phone, if necessary, until I find what works. It sounds like you know what your non-negotiables are, so that's really good! As for me, I'ma just have fun and try different (not expensive) stuff. Essential(to run my life) and fun. Hope you find your comfy fit, too.
Sam, you make me laugh!!! It is like listening to myself as I rationalize my new year planning. I am retired now and it does get some easier but, a person who loves stationary will never find the perfect planner. Not because there isn’t one for us but because we get high on new stuff!!!! We are experts in rationalizing why something will work and then finding fault with it. We just love the planning…..the hunt…..the feel…..the smell of leather….etc….etc! And, its ok. Just embrace who you are and that you will never find your perfect set-up cause it would mean you cannot continue the hunt, the planning and the feel it brings when we try out yet … just 1 more system! Lol PS. It’s the same with our Portland Leather hunts! Merry Christmas and continued Happy Planning…..it’s just who we are and be proud!!! PSS. Without you so many of us would never feel normal plus we wouldn’t have our personal planner solution shopper ………❤️
I have been keeping a couple of notecards or a folded piece of paper in the back of my weeks just for those moments when I need something to scribble on. I’ll also stick the odd sticky note in the back just to be safe!
Also, if you needed more Sunday space in a Moleskine, you could just move the Sunday to the top of the next page where it has the month. You wouldn’t have to re-date the whole pages!
Hi Sam, sometimes expectations can set us up for "failure". We think we have it all figured out and when it's "go-time" everything is so much less exciting than expected, which of course can never be, because those expectations are always better than reality. When this happens to me I do one thing: I return to basics- trying to start where I am. Then after a while (sometimes longer than I want to admit) it takes on shape and form and I am moving forward. Especially when it is about setting up a system I think the biggest road block (mentally) is to try to find this one perfect thing that will serve us until the last day instead of accepting that maybe there is no such thing and all we can do is stay present and adapt to our needs, even if they turn out diffrently as expected. Hope you can use some of this. I wish you all the best for 2023. Courage, Janette
Fellow emotionally unstable planner here too! 🙃 I'm embracing multiple planners for 2023 that will be point of use/planner need specific. I love rings for the freedom to be messy & hardbound for work planning. I also want to use a quiet time planner & to have personal rings at my bedside for random brain dumps at any hour. I'm going to set them up this week & allow myself to be in whatever planner feels good for that specific moment or need.
You love moleskine, you love pocket Malden, de ring it and put the pocket moleskines in! I’ve done it this year for the first time and it’s divine ❤ I have the daily and the monthly inside and I feel some peace…at least for right now 😂
I keep a passport insert (Traveler’s Company; usually dot grid or grid) in my wallet for jotting down random notes that I can choose to put in my “real” notebook later on. I don’t use a cover, nothing is pretty about it, it’s just a tiny scratch pad that’s quick and convenient to use. I understand your predicament!
I can't imagine committing to one planner setup for a whole year! If you use a binder you can have exactly the pages you want, swap inserts in and out any time, rearrange or discard sections part-way through the year, and add more pages anywhere or throw away any bits you don't want any more. I just purchase the inserts and/or customise ready-punched grid paper myself. No hole punch, no scissors, no violence :)
Have you tried the little notebooks from hobonichi? I keep one in the left side of my planner in the front, just for scratching notes down on the go! They are very slim! I think you will miss the convenience of the weeks planner if you totally switch! Just a thought❤️
Hi Sam ~ just a thought. Have you considered the Hobo Weeks supplemental grid notebooks? They are available on Amazon in packs of three. They are just plain grid and tuck nicely in the back if a weeks book. It could be the “piece of paper” you are looking for to scratch ideas down without them permanent being in your weeks book. I use one and it does not really add to any bulk. Mine gets tucked in the back of the book in my plastic cover in the back.
I don’t know if this may help but I much prefer the size of the regular weeks over the mega but I’m also concerned about not having enough notes pages. I purchased the Hobonichi weeks size memo pads in the event I need more pages. It’s not ideal but, when it comes to storage and archiving, the memo pads fit nicely inside the weeks. They would be able to stay together at least.
The little slim Hobonichi Weeks notebooks fit in the back of the clear cover and are hardly even noticeable, and would be great for scratch notes. You can ignore the tiny grid, too, and just write normally.
Sam you’re not unstable you’re just like everybody else. I pretty much stick with the same planner but in other areas I’m all over the place. I really enjoy your videos and look forward to all of them :-) This year I’m going with the Sterling Inc. common planner. I’m financially committed now that I have purchased so many covers. Last year it was A5 cousin so I’m going to stick with either size going forward.
Hear me out - Happy Planner Skinny Classic - if you can find a skinny mini, its size is comparable to a Hobo Weeks. But with the discs, you have your monthly, perpetual, and horizontal layout, then add note paper to the back. Tul/Staples has their disc system as well.
i feel so fortunate that pocket rings got me to achieve goals because i can't deny that pocket rings will be The Planner for 2023, and then when I feel the boredom and want to try all the things, I can be honest and say it's me changing my mind and being dramatic. 😂
I love you because you are real! The other channels with the perfect decisions and perfect planners seem fake or maybe just styled for social media. It’s the same as photo shopped pictures where the person doesn’t have any wrinkles. I’m still deciding too. I’ve got a weeks, A6 day free, A6 aura Estelle catch all, B6 Common planner (which will be memory keeping and a little bit of journaling when I feel like it) But, I also have my rings??! Do I want to get any inserts for them? I don’t print & cut, so that’s out! I’m currently sitting on my bed, with all of my cats and 6 planners and 2 Bibles. (I just bought another premium Bible. That’s a thing too! 😅) All of that to say that you are in perfect company! 😂
So ironic that you showed the passport TN. I just switched to one myself a few days ago! The one I have is a Moterm. I bought it from my best friend, who had only used it for 3 or 4 days before deciding it wasn't for her. (We both have the same addictions lol.) It's so darn cute! That's what first drew me to it. That, and the fact that it's perfect for using as a wallet. I've used TNs as wallets before, but never this small. Ngl, I love it! I never thought I would be happy going with a planner so tiny. But it's perfect for on-the-go planning, journaling, and brain dumping! Which is exactly what I need right now. Having said that, I'll be shocked if I'm still using this setup six months later. Only time will tell. I have the same issues as everyone here! lol So you are definitely not alone!
I feel your pain… This is why I switched to the hobonichi A6 2 years ago. I love the idea of a small, skinny planner. It does not work for me. I don’t need a weekly view .I need the monthly and daily. I also need an hourly some busy days. I’m sad you have mot found planner piece. I felt like Hobonichi got lazy with the new colors and selection this year. But I do love my new Rusty colored A6 cover.
I also love the weeks and this year am going to try printables for my 'throw away' pages and just have a few stashed in the back so it doesn't add bulk but can toss them later since I am also not a fan of just having junk written down when I'm only going to need it once or twice, but I also know in every other aspect the weeks is perfect so going to see if that's the best solution. Anyways, I really got a kick out of this video and can really empathize with you on all of this. I hope you can find whatever is going to give you the most peace and look forward to seeing whatever you come up with
Option overload possibly? What about keeping a scratch pad kind of notebook in your bag for things that you want to write down in the moment but don’t need a permanent place?
Check out Plotter USA. You can get the monthly calendar and a weekly insert in Bible size that is actually just personal size. And get some pads of paper to have in your Malden without any printables. I have a message from Plotter that they are expecting more Bible size schedules in before the end of this month. Great paper, very smooth, but thin like Tomoe River. They're a DesignPhil company who also makes Traveler's and Midori.
Love this video!! I so relate! It can be very frustrating! I have the 2023 sneaker weeks and actually find I like it, even though I thought I'd hate the small grid. I love a bound book because it's amazing to go back and flip through it, BUT it has its drawbacks as mentioned- it's useless for messy, spur of the moment stuff and that's drives me nuts. Also, vertical left-to-right planning works best for me. The one planner I stayed in the longest is my personal ring planner with Franklin Covey Compact-sized paper that I print pre-dated inserts on. I'm like you- I absolutely DESPISE printing, but using the pre-cut/pre-punched paper helps and FCC size is larger than personal. I totally wanted to ditch the ring planner because of the printing, but that would be throwing away the only system I ever consistently used....sigh.... Totally look forward to more videos!
I did a Post on my blog (link on my channel) about this topic. Planner, Journals and line-ups and why so many struggle with their planners. It is not a "how the bullet journal is the cure to everything".
I am not quite there either. Weeks is a solid choice format but the lack of creative cover options has affected my creativity and interest. I picked the same Tropical Yellow since it was the only one that mildly interested me. Feelin’ ya my sista!
I buy myself three or four planners at the end of the year, and as I change my mind throughout the following year I just switch between those planners. It satisfies my “planner boredom” tendencies, and the stress of finding something new.
I knew it! Lol. I have and use a Travelers Co Passport TN that I just adore. And I Mohave Ll the things that go with it. You'd be surprised at how fast you get used to it and being small and light weight, how easy it is to manage. Give it a good honest try. I think you'll grow to love it. And btw, the little folder just slips inside a booklet or the back of your cover. I keep stickers and a few sticky motes in mine. I got the train cover because I have a train that is like 30 feet from my house in the back yard. And I lo e it. I e lived around trains for almost 40 years.
OMG. I feel the same the way - I'm struggling so bad and I haven't had this problem in years. I just feel lost. Part of thinks maybe I should just embrace them all and planner hop each month. UGH! - Amy
what if you just did a basic bujo set up. like the bare bones original system. then just let your creativity be spontaneous and develop organically over the course of the year.
I'm leaving my Wonderland222 B6 size that I'm been using in 2022. I have a Wonderland222 planner and notebook in B6 size for 2023 but I've decide to use pocket plus rings for planning, weeklies, daylies, lists and as a wallet. For memory keeping I will use an A6 Leuchtturm daily 2023. This is my plan but I don't know if I will stick to it
I just use the note function on my phone if I need to write an emergency list while I'm out. USE THE MOLESKINE - you enjoyed it so much before!! Just rejig the split weekend when needed - scoot the Sunday over to the bottom of the right hand page? Filofax penloop - I slot my pen into the rings! Even if the pen fits into the loop it fouls the dividers.
I have personal wide inserts for 2023 that I purchased from Starfish. The inserts come the size you requested and the holes are punched. Best inserts I have found.
Oh Sam, don’t fret! You’re not the only one. I have 2 hobonichi weeks, aura Estelle weeks size& a6, sterling ink and a6&b6 wonderland 222. I have been consistent in the wonderland, I know what I like to see and how it works for me but(big but) I know I need my on the go planner to be able to carry all info anyone would need while I am out. So hobonichi wins for now due to portability... for now. I ended up getting the yellow mega weeks and so I have made that my Sunshine and Rainbows book. I write out an inspirational quote or focus on my heart in mild liner all over/down the side with dates. Then I start with a gratitude in the day space with no lines. Then in the first girded box of day I put in something that made me happy and move over to the evening and I do a few lines of reflection before I go to bed. Sunshine and rainbows😉. In the back pages I have started with my SOAP study. So will see how it goes. I know from having watched your channel for so long that you definitely need to keep your weeks
I completely understand you. I’m in the same boat. Bought 2 Common Planners from Sterling Ink and while I like them - one full year the other half year set - I need everything in one planner and my covers just aren’t hacking it! The thought of printing and cutting do not appeal to me either. I guess we’re in the same boat…I’ve got one paddle and you have the other! 😂
So funny that you should post this because I was having a conversation with my good friends over lunch yesterday about planning. I use an A5 for the last few years and it's fantastic. But I needed something small for when I'm on the go. The short version is I ran into the very issue you had. I need something specific and my moleskine pocket for 2023 on the wont be enough . I have a pocket size TN I haven't used for a while and had the 💡moment . I offers the flexibility i need, mini planner pages for when im out , but also extra notebooks for grocery store items, book list , tea list, journaling or what I need.
What do you like about the Weeks? I think you are at ❤️ a rings girl. Can you replicate what you love about the weeks in a pocket rings? Try the two side by side for a bit? Or like suggested elsewhere, put the pages from a bound into rings? I wrote a love and hate planning list, to see what are the things that matter most, then worked back to what would accommodate that? Normally I look at a planner to see if I think it fits, but I needed to do it the other way around. Watching too many videos on RU-vid always throws me out on what I thought I wanted! Your just got all those lovely weeks covers too 🫣 xxx
Heh Sam, I understand. Sigh. Have you tried a leather cover for Field Notes, and keeping this as your everyday notebook for your purse? The Field Notes paper is pretty good and the size of FN is a bit bigger than a passport. If you get a folio style cover, I have a Field Notes Branded one myself, you can tuck two FN books in there. In one, I have simple running lists like groceries, books, wants this year, packing lists, just anything where I can cross off an item or add items to that category. As you know the booklets are fairly cheap and nice enough to keep them afterwards, if you wanted.
Personally that's why I do fc compact rings- LOVE my bound books, but had to move on to rings because I need to write stuff down and then toss the irrelevant info when I'm done with it. 🙂 But I totally get the bound book struggle! I am using a sterling ink common planner for my health to get my bound book fix lol 🙂
The list of things you don't like, hate, or that bother you is seemingly unending. Perhaps you have a form of OCD (something I happen to know a bit about). We need to remind ourselves: Our planners are nothing more than tools intended to help us schedule our appointments, execute our tasks, and organize our thoughts. And, yes, format, size, and paper quality all come into play when choosing what works best for each of us. But if we struggle to use ours to make a simple list while sitting at a cafe with our husband, maybe the planner is not the problem.
I’m not sure if “unending” is fair. I’m certainly not the only person who struggles with this. Perhaps you didn’t intended to make your comment so finger pointing, but comments like this do make those of us who struggle second guess sharing those struggles. And yes, I do suffer from obsessive compulsive tendencies and anxiety. Hopefully everything in your planner world is everything you need it to be.
My comments were intended as an observation of tendencies I recognise in myself. I too have a long list of things that bother me, so I relate to your struggle. Your candor is why you have such a strong following and why I keep checking in to hear the latest so, you be you and keep it coming.😊
I think it is always a hard decision and planner boredom is a real thing. I look forward to seeing what you end up doing. I am switching from pocket moleskine to the weeks for 2023, but I have some serious reservations, so I can't 100% commit to saying this is it. I may end up going back to the moleskine. However, I have other planners as well. I have one for my fitness/wellness, etc. I also use a pocket TN as my EDC. I can't get by without that one at all! That is a staple I have nooo plans on changing. I use lights planner action inserts. She has excellent quality, and very nice paper that you don't need to worry what pen you use or how fast the ink dries, or if it will bleed through, etc. In my pocket I have an insert for habit tracking for every month. I use this to mark down when I take a medication (I take several a day). I have my calendar, a daily insert, and a plain ruled notebook that has a few pages dedicated to addresses, passwords, phone numbers of important people in case I did lose my phone. Then I use the rest to keep track of orders and deliveries, and to write various notes as needed. Take care!
You could try a planner perfect TN where they have notepads in the back. You can have your neat and thoughtful writing in your inserts, but use the notepad in the back for scratch writing.
or just add a small thin book from paper penguin to the back for all the messy writing that you can tuck in the back under the clear cover. They are incredibly thin and not super expensive.
My current Hobonichi weeks is my glorified shopping list planner. I won't replace it when it runs out on 3/31/2022. I am looking forward to starting my Jibun Techo Biz and Days combo for my main EDC.
Have you looked into the plotter inserts? They are horizontal weeklies and the paper is lovely. Kind of a mix between Midori and Tomoe River Paper. The Bible Size is essentially personal.
What about Filofax dated week on 1 page with notes? Equal spaces for Mon - Sun on the left, lined page on the right? I only use Filofax inserts in my personal size rings. No printing or cutting!
Hi Sam! I started looking for a Hobo. Weeks in November and couldn’t find one that was not a loud color in Jan. and I ended up with a Navy Mega weeks which I love. But some weeks I find I run out of space but have a plan to supplement with the A6 Techo for 2024. But I am in a hunt for Spring Ed. Cousin. to practice before 2024. I’m wondering is the shortage on Hobonichi products because of the higher demand or because the paper vendor is changing soon. Hopefully they make more neutral colors for 2024. And I just discovered they have Sept release date and a Spring release date so I will be prepared. Isn’t that part of the fun? Not telling ourselves no…😊Sam, have you tried the Kinbor products? Hobonichi dupes I am finding some planner people starting to feature those…Wow! I’m finding people with 5-7 planner lineup😮Thanks for featuring Travelers Notebook products those will be for my mini vacation memory keeping. My new struggle with my new book bound journey is that I can’t remove and change my pages😂Thanks for making this video…have a good weekend!
Hi there! I think they just went with bright colors this year. Which of course I hated. I have tried the Kinbor as well, but the grids seemed even smaller than the ones in the Weeks! I could never be a 5-6 planner person. I can barely hang in 1. 😅
Sam, you are amazing. Ditch the Weeks. Ditch Hobonichi. (If you want) I didn’t get any Hobonichi this year because I’m a Stalogy and Moleskine girl. But I also really love my standard TN! I wasn’t happy with Travelers Company-I needed more than three inserts- so I got a Classic Chic Sparrow (it fits four or even five) and I’ve used that all year long! I love it so much! But next year I’m gonna use a Stalogy and see how long it lasts.
Oh I SO relate to this struggle. I have a love/hate with hobo weeks, mainly cause of the paper type. I bounce back between it, going back to rings (though all the inserts and such is just more "clutter" and can be more expensive in the long run.. but then also considering digital planning with my pencil, it feels real still being able to write by hand. BUT something about that just feels less cozy.. I keep going back and forth. I love memory keeping with simple notes of what happened, on a calendar, so I may also just journal in my weeks... but then what's the main planner? Maybe I should go back to Stalogy... literally this has been my brain for weeks now lol.."I don't know what's wrong with me" LMAO girl SAME I also HATE cutting punching inserts for rings, but you could just commit to buying inserts.. BUT that also makes it more expensive. I know I'm not helping at all, but you are not alone! lol
When I feel like this I always think to myself, stop being a whiney brat! I don’t like it! Why can’t they make one for me! I’m glad I am not the only one that throws planner fits! 😂
I hope you don't misunderstand me when I say that your Video is really funny. Because I feel like exactly the same way and I can absolutely understand you. We plannergirls have somehow all our quirks and all the same thoughts. So the end of the year is always a stressful time. I hope you find your peace soon, at least for a short while.
I am baffled when I hear people say they love the Hobonichi covers. I think they're all fugly, both Weeks and Cousin size. I would never buy one of their special covers but even their general color selections have never been shades that appeal to me. Bleh. I always put mine in a plastic slipcover with a nice piece of patterned paper in it.
I am the same way. All over the place, but I enjoy trying all the planners :) I agree with you on the hobonichi colors I have 2 more on the way! If you don't land in the weeks, and want to sell some of your covers, I would love them :) and that passport tn is cute! I hadn't see that yet!
I am in the same boat as you. I loved bullet journal but I really want an already set up planner, but also the ability to make notes on the next page. I am thinking about trying the Jibun Techo this year with the two companion notebooks it has
Sam Plans Jet Pens has a small selection. I used B5 this year in soft pink and going for b6 olive next year. Love the soft side factor too for reducing bag weight.
