Gonna dig into these! Thanks for sharing. Love what you said about the Goldilocks Principle - it's exactly why I can't just have ONE notebook to rule them all!
- a very flippy-floppy lined notebook (like an exercise book) for morning pages. the lines are super close together so it does ask for more writing per page. don't love it but i have to use a bunch of them up
- a more robust softcover lined notebook with a lot more pages. this is my project book for my next album. has free-writing and lyrics in it, with coloured tabs i've added in.
- a boring page-per-day 2025 diary that i got from a stationery shop that i use to track what i eat in a day and how i feel physically (sore tummy girls rise up!!)
- a leuchtturm knock-off that i use for collaging.
i currently don't have a notebook that i take around with me places or a planner. i was very in the bullet journal stuff back in 2017/18 and have to go back to it but i haven't managed to keep it up. my biggest thing right now is just having stacks of blank index cards everywhere that i can pick up and write a to-do list on or an idea etc.
"don't love it but have to use them up" - so real! Thanks for sharing Olivia. I just busted out some index cards over the weekend to teach a yoga class and they're so nice to carry around, rearrange, and put into notebooks!
So helpful! My notebooks have been multiplying like rabbits and I have been trying to determine what would help me streamline this but also develop the routines for using the notebooks I am enjoying most on the best cadence. But my approach to that has not been this systematic. I love that this kind of check-in has a specific name in Japanese!
My notebook rabbits can't stop multiplying too! I try to buy thin ones that I know I can fill up so I don't go too crazy lol. Also, sometimes it's fine to just jump to a new, more enjoyable notebook and call it quits on one we're not jiving with.
Gotta love how dedicated Japanese are about their planners :) and they make such good ones!
I’ve never heard the term Techo Kaigi before! So happy to learn about it. I don’t know why but I am endlessly happy to read about how other people use their notebooks. Aren’t blank pages just magic?
Love this! I only have three notebooks - one for sketching, a five year "line a day" journal (it's more like two-three sentences a day), and the other for everything else. I love the multiple notebooks idea though! I've been using a Kaweco Sport fountain pen for a couple years now, I love changing the ink color every year.
Now that I've been thinking about this for a few days, I'm realizing that I have more notebooks going than I originally thought--one for project ideas (I do ceramics and photography), one for documenting moments in sketches and poems, and another for brain dumping anything keeping me awake at night. Those I use occasionally on an as-needed basis. The others I use near-daily, which is why they were top of mind. I'm currently using a mandarin orange by Monteverde!
I shared a newsletter post last month about my 10 different notebooks and what I use them for, so you can imagine how excited I was to receive this newsletter! I like this idea of Techo Kaigi and love that there's a term for it.
Thank you for reading and I’m glad you liked it :) Funny enough, I’m looking to use more blank/dotted notebooks because I’ve never had the chance to try them out and see what I think.
I love the idea of a 'techo kaigi', although I had never heard of it before. I like to keep a few notebooks on hand as I go through them quite quickly. However, I'm also pretty good at selling the ones I don't use or don't like.
I find it easiest (and least overwhelming) to have a weekly desk pad, a daily to-do list and a morning pages journal alongside a digital calendar for appointments, etc.
Omg, I’ve never heard of this before and I’m obsessed 🤩 🥹 definitely need to do one. Love your notebooks and pens! I’ve also used passion planner in the past and loved the vertical layout for planning my week hourly, but ultimately transitioned to the Hobonichi cousin. I like how you’ve been time logging in the travelers notebook! I’ve been experimenting with different ways of tracking too and find that it’s helpful to have a separate space for that vs. where I actually plan!
I love posts like this, as I'm a total planner geek! In recent years, I've come to love a plain spiral notebook and washi tape. I will use different colored tapes around the edge of a page based on content ("writing ideas" or "personal lists"), and then on the very front page which I purposefully leave blank, I'll categorize those tapes. When the notebook is full and I'm looking for "writing ideas" I can just flip to each page that has a blue edge halfway down, for example. And if I only have a few pages that apply to a specific project, I'll rip them out and put them in a folder.
I looove that washi tape edge tip! I get precious about using sticky tabs but have an ungodly amount of washi lying around, so that seems like such a nice, practical way to use them.
I use a single notebook because as much as I like to collect them the idea of having to chase around a bunch of different books and compartmentalize my thoughts is unpleasant to me. I use a LEUCHTTURM1917 Dot Grid A5 - but the gsm 120 vs the standard. My husband questions my dot grid obsession but I like to have some kind of guide to keep my writing kind of straight while not having the distraction of lines if I want to draw something.
I don’t think I need a yearly calendar in it next time - I just use google calendar for that and despite being mostly analog I don’t enjoy analogue calendars. I’m pretty happy with my current situation but I was feeling like it was all mostly just a boring catalogue of daily chores. I mean I am tracking movies and tv and have a commonplace section and some sections for notes about things I’m reading but it still felt like 98% was boring adult tasks - so I’m trying to get back to some sketching.
I want to take up more space in the book with a wider variety of things - if for no other reason to remind myself that I’m not just a robot doing the same thing every day and I am allowed to take up space - not everything has to be crammed in there tightly with 4 days a page.
I also like the idea of sketching in it some more because it’s a to do list book - no one is expecting art in there (I say this knowing some people have ridiculously lovely bullet journals). Sketchbooks (and to do lists sometimes) have kind of morphed into art objects themselves via social media so it is a way to trick myself into using it in a less formal way to take the pressure off. I’m not likely to post pictures of my boring to do list so there is no pressure for the art in it to be a particular way.
I primarily use a Visconti fountain pen in the book because it just writes dreamy (this is also why it has to be higher gsm).
Great post. This is a new quarter when I swap out my pocket reading log for a new one. Here’s how I review those: https://open.substack.com/pub/armchairnotes/p/reviewing-reading-logs-armchair-method
Here’s how I process Catch-Alls: https://open.substack.com/pub/armchairnotes/p/notebook-processing-catch-alls
Here is yesterday’s post about the Goldilocks Principle and finding just the right notebook for each kind of writing: https://open.substack.com/pub/armchairnotes/p/the-goldilocks-principle-of-notebooks
Gonna dig into these! Thanks for sharing. Love what you said about the Goldilocks Principle - it's exactly why I can't just have ONE notebook to rule them all!
my current system:
- a very flippy-floppy lined notebook (like an exercise book) for morning pages. the lines are super close together so it does ask for more writing per page. don't love it but i have to use a bunch of them up
- a more robust softcover lined notebook with a lot more pages. this is my project book for my next album. has free-writing and lyrics in it, with coloured tabs i've added in.
- a boring page-per-day 2025 diary that i got from a stationery shop that i use to track what i eat in a day and how i feel physically (sore tummy girls rise up!!)
- a leuchtturm knock-off that i use for collaging.
i currently don't have a notebook that i take around with me places or a planner. i was very in the bullet journal stuff back in 2017/18 and have to go back to it but i haven't managed to keep it up. my biggest thing right now is just having stacks of blank index cards everywhere that i can pick up and write a to-do list on or an idea etc.
"don't love it but have to use them up" - so real! Thanks for sharing Olivia. I just busted out some index cards over the weekend to teach a yoga class and they're so nice to carry around, rearrange, and put into notebooks!
yes! i feel like the fact that i can just stick them anywhere is the best part. also i feel kinda studious writing my grocery list
So helpful! My notebooks have been multiplying like rabbits and I have been trying to determine what would help me streamline this but also develop the routines for using the notebooks I am enjoying most on the best cadence. But my approach to that has not been this systematic. I love that this kind of check-in has a specific name in Japanese!
My notebook rabbits can't stop multiplying too! I try to buy thin ones that I know I can fill up so I don't go too crazy lol. Also, sometimes it's fine to just jump to a new, more enjoyable notebook and call it quits on one we're not jiving with.
Gotta love how dedicated Japanese are about their planners :) and they make such good ones!
I’ve never heard the term Techo Kaigi before! So happy to learn about it. I don’t know why but I am endlessly happy to read about how other people use their notebooks. Aren’t blank pages just magic?
I am so with you. I could read and listen to people sharing their notebooks forever!
Love this! I only have three notebooks - one for sketching, a five year "line a day" journal (it's more like two-three sentences a day), and the other for everything else. I love the multiple notebooks idea though! I've been using a Kaweco Sport fountain pen for a couple years now, I love changing the ink color every year.
Love your ultra clear system! I am jealous! :P The Kawecos are so pretty - what ink color are you using now?
Now that I've been thinking about this for a few days, I'm realizing that I have more notebooks going than I originally thought--one for project ideas (I do ceramics and photography), one for documenting moments in sketches and poems, and another for brain dumping anything keeping me awake at night. Those I use occasionally on an as-needed basis. The others I use near-daily, which is why they were top of mind. I'm currently using a mandarin orange by Monteverde!
What a great idea! I’m going to give this a try ☺️
I shared a newsletter post last month about my 10 different notebooks and what I use them for, so you can imagine how excited I was to receive this newsletter! I like this idea of Techo Kaigi and love that there's a term for it.
Love your post as well Fatima! And love that you use lots of lined pages - I'm coming back to appreciate lined notebooks!
Thank you for reading and I’m glad you liked it :) Funny enough, I’m looking to use more blank/dotted notebooks because I’ve never had the chance to try them out and see what I think.
I love the idea of a 'techo kaigi', although I had never heard of it before. I like to keep a few notebooks on hand as I go through them quite quickly. However, I'm also pretty good at selling the ones I don't use or don't like.
I find it easiest (and least overwhelming) to have a weekly desk pad, a daily to-do list and a morning pages journal alongside a digital calendar for appointments, etc.
Omg, I’ve never heard of this before and I’m obsessed 🤩 🥹 definitely need to do one. Love your notebooks and pens! I’ve also used passion planner in the past and loved the vertical layout for planning my week hourly, but ultimately transitioned to the Hobonichi cousin. I like how you’ve been time logging in the travelers notebook! I’ve been experimenting with different ways of tracking too and find that it’s helpful to have a separate space for that vs. where I actually plan!
Loved this post 💕
Next year may be my foray into Hobonichi! What do you like about the Cousin?
Interesting article.. does make me think I should dig out my a4 Filofax from the attic and see if I can still get the inserts..
No harm in trying it out :D
This is brilliant! Thank you for the inspiration!
I need only two. The main notebook, which is indexed, and the pocket-sized "dog walk" notebook for jotting down ideas while out walking my dog, etc.
I love posts like this, as I'm a total planner geek! In recent years, I've come to love a plain spiral notebook and washi tape. I will use different colored tapes around the edge of a page based on content ("writing ideas" or "personal lists"), and then on the very front page which I purposefully leave blank, I'll categorize those tapes. When the notebook is full and I'm looking for "writing ideas" I can just flip to each page that has a blue edge halfway down, for example. And if I only have a few pages that apply to a specific project, I'll rip them out and put them in a folder.
I looove that washi tape edge tip! I get precious about using sticky tabs but have an ungodly amount of washi lying around, so that seems like such a nice, practical way to use them.
So glad to be helpful! It's really fun to exchange nerdy notebook tips with fellow enthusiasts :)
Super helpful, I have heard of Techo-Kaigi but reading how to conducted one has been really helpful - I’ll do one too as feel I could streamline mine!
Love this, I also changed a few notebooks over the years, and currrently trying out some new things as well.
But I haven’t thought of reviewing the use of them, will need to do so too!!
Thank you for giving an idea.
I use a single notebook because as much as I like to collect them the idea of having to chase around a bunch of different books and compartmentalize my thoughts is unpleasant to me. I use a LEUCHTTURM1917 Dot Grid A5 - but the gsm 120 vs the standard. My husband questions my dot grid obsession but I like to have some kind of guide to keep my writing kind of straight while not having the distraction of lines if I want to draw something.
I don’t think I need a yearly calendar in it next time - I just use google calendar for that and despite being mostly analog I don’t enjoy analogue calendars. I’m pretty happy with my current situation but I was feeling like it was all mostly just a boring catalogue of daily chores. I mean I am tracking movies and tv and have a commonplace section and some sections for notes about things I’m reading but it still felt like 98% was boring adult tasks - so I’m trying to get back to some sketching.
I want to take up more space in the book with a wider variety of things - if for no other reason to remind myself that I’m not just a robot doing the same thing every day and I am allowed to take up space - not everything has to be crammed in there tightly with 4 days a page.
I also like the idea of sketching in it some more because it’s a to do list book - no one is expecting art in there (I say this knowing some people have ridiculously lovely bullet journals). Sketchbooks (and to do lists sometimes) have kind of morphed into art objects themselves via social media so it is a way to trick myself into using it in a less formal way to take the pressure off. I’m not likely to post pictures of my boring to do list so there is no pressure for the art in it to be a particular way.
I primarily use a Visconti fountain pen in the book because it just writes dreamy (this is also why it has to be higher gsm).