It’s interesting how many people I’ve heard say “I got these planners because I could, but I don’t know if I’m going to use them.” Frankly it leaves a bad taste in my mouth for this industry. I liked your review. I was considering trying to get one since I totally missed the preorder season, but I think not. Thanks for your videos. I really like them and appreciate your hard work.
@@TheKatsMeow113I agree, I would really love some videos about how you can be creative with what you already have, like tips for changing up your layouts or something like that, so you still get to scratch that itch of getting something new, but with what you already have. Or just some tips on finding your own "planner peace". :)
I agree. I don’t have the money to buy 500 different ones and i don’t have the mental capacity to switch between them. i want a planner i can dump my entire year in
Thank you for saying this. I will often buy planners throughout the year after they've gone on steep discount to try the layout and I'm not proud of hiw many I've purchased these last two years. But at least I'm giving a planner destined for the dump a chance to be used. I also redate old planners or try to find some use for the pages. I personally wouldn't buy a planner just to have it on a shelf: such a waste of paper and money. 😔 But I agree it's the Industry causing this. Marketing to us so that we don't want to feel left out and they move lots of product.
I have also repurposed blank pages and related planners. I’m trying an undated half year now but will go to a blank bullet journal next year. That way I just use each page without the guilt of blank pages unused.
I can’t use more than one planner at a time - it’s too stressful and time consuming. And I feel disorganized when I jump from planner to planner and I can’t find things later. And yet I keep planner hopping! 😂 😭 The consumerism in this hobby is reeeal!
I limit myself to one planner a year for 13 years now. Doing this I always get a deep, appreciating connection with the planner from the moment I buy it. I do quite some extra work on it to make the planner fit all my needs. That said: I had one disappointing experience with this approach - when the planner was just too small for me. Lesson? Never bought this size again.
I have often wondered if so many people have a hard time making a planner work for them simply because they are overwhelmed with so many choices. It’s wonderful that there are so many options, and I LOVE how the small shops have taken the planner community’s frustrations seriously. Unfortunately, many people (including myself) begin to doubt their original choice(s) as new planners are released throughout the year. This in turn leads to an existential crisis of FOMO. Which then leads to confusion, doubt, and chaos. 😵💫 Sometimes simplicity is the best answer. Plus, it’s really amazing to see how people solve the problem by being creative.
I honestly think many don’t know what they need. They focus on the wrong things. I change planners if my life changes so what I need changes. But otherwise I find that has what I need in the size I need - or what checks the most boxes and use it and love being in my planner and completing it. I actually hate when I have to hop even if it’s because of a life or job change.
I agree with you, @JD-vh4ct. I never had a problem sticking with one planner 20 years ago, when I was in college and arguably the most hectic time of my life. But back then, I only had a few choices in planners from what was at Office Depot, and there was no online market whatsoever. With so many options these days, it's more difficult to choose one planner and be contented with it all year.
Most that jump from planner to planner also use the terms wrong. A planner is not a journal. Yes, you can use it that way, but it wasn't made for that. A planner was made to write down appointments and information regarding those. It is date and time based. A journal on the other hand is based on feelings and events. The most common known journal is a dairy. Yes, you use dates in it but it's not the main focus. Therefore it's best to use empty notebooks for this, that way you're not wasting pages on days you don't journal. I also don't understand the difference between a "catch all planners" and a normal used planner isn't that just rewriting what you've already written? I'd loved it If some could explain that to me.
@@rinyamashita I agree with you about the catch all planners. To each their own, but I don’t have enough time (or patience 🥴) to rewrite everything multiple times. I haven’t understood the concept either. You do make a good point about the differences between “planning” versus a “journal/diary/memory keeping”. I actually had not thought about it in that way before. 😊
@@rinyamashita yea I think the "catch all planners" start to feel like you are over-calculating your life. it's the same thing I see with people who are trying to use Notion for the first time, as productivity youtubers tend to sell Notion as this entire life tracker. And I absolutely do think things like Notion and planners can be super helpful to many people, but you also have to start small and know what you are trying to track. It gets incredibly overwhelming to try and track your entire life and you don't *need* to track your entire life by any means. it also starts to give anxiety to something that is supposed to alleviate anxiety. Sometimes all you need is a piece of paper and writing out a to do list.
When I first started planning 20 years ago, I literally used a blank, lined, spiral notebook. I just made a daily to do list. It's funny to see everything I think i need now 😂
I keep it simple but I have multiple planners and a Kindle Scribe. I can write a to-do list on a napkin, but when I'm planning projects for work or home or planning my goals, I need a little something more. That's also why my planners last so long: I use them when necessary. My boyfriend bought the Scribe for my birthday last year and I do love it.
This is what I’m planning on doing. I find pre-printed planners are 1. Way too expensive for something I might give up on after a month & and 2. They never seem to mesh well with my ADHD and how my brain works (not saying there aren’t planners that are ADHD friendly, I’m talking about my brain specifically)
I am VERY new to the planner world (aka I didn’t even know hobonichis existed until earlier this month). I think your 2024 Hobonichi haul was the very first video that popped up on my recommended feed. Your video on the type of planner you are, is what FINALLY helped me understand I only look at my month ahead, and prefer free flow journaling over keeping daily or weekly tasks. A huge sense of relief after trying to force myself to use planners and bullet journals, only to abandon them after a few weeks. With that said and after seeing a few hauls, reviews and progress updates from many, many creators these past couple of weeks, I am definitely seeing the same consumerism that plagues other communities (the makeup community probably being the one Im most familiar with). I think is good you are aware of it, and is something more creators should discuss more openly with the viewers. If having a lot of planners is bringing you stress, don’t feel bad about downsizing! A planner should enhance your life, not add more stress.
I'm a paper and planner enthusiast, which is the reason why I ONLY buy undated planners lol. Then I can swap to my hearts desire, have my planner moods, and not have to miss out on all the wonderful pages. I really really want these planner makers to make more undated planners, or at least like if every brand had a couple undated options that would be amazing. Its like having the world of planners at your finger tips and then only being able to use traveler's notebooks, and random brands I find on amazon. Which just don't match the quality frankly. But I know a dated planner makes me feel icky when I fall in and out of planning and there is so much waste. I'm someone who even uses scrap paper to cover old pages and make them new again with art or little sticky note hubs.
She actually did release an undated version earlier this year, but they aren't in the listing anymore it seems. I am not sure if next year or later in the year she will release the same planner :)
I myself if I decide to sell mine, will just redacting a hobonichi day free. I refuse to buy a new one this year, since they kept the damn quote and got rid of the flip art.
I'm so so new to the planner world and its very overwhelming to jump in right now after seeing the amount of options available. I used to be a huge planner girl and then covid happened and I had a planner I barely used and crossed out a million things in. I got into digital planning within the last year as I realized I needed that sort of structure again, and have been highly considering getting a physical planner again as I do love writing stuff out and not getting distracted in the digital void. I do tend to see the same issues across the planner community and productivity community on youtube, where people are just really over-calculating and over-tracking their lives, therefore there's way too many options for newbies. I think simplicity is key for all of these things, as planning is supposed to make our lives simpler, not harder. Thanks to your videos I am highly considering a hobinichi weeks as it seems simple enough for my current weekly planning system, but there is as a part of me that knows I could probably get what I need out of any old planner. But definitely trying to scratch the stationary/office supply itch that my heart loved when I was still in school so I might splurge 😋
I got a Common Planner, only one, and I plan to use it in combination with my digital calendar. I reach for a notebook when I’m overwhelmed or for tracking habits like gym etc. Events will be in the digital calendar. I also use a lot of note pages for planning my days, budgeting etc. I really think one planner is enough for the whole year. Hope you find what works best for you ❤
The common planner went on pre order so early this year that I got one as well. I ended up giving it to a friend who I knew could really appreciate it, and I’m excited for her to use it. I do use multiple planners because I need them to serve different functions and I do feel the pull to get more than I need bc I love paper-but I have to be really real with myself and not keep things that are just gonna to collect dust and make me feel bad. My apartment is really small and I weigh the desire to have something I like against the desire to have a less cluttered living space. That helps me resist.
I only use one planner: I've used the Hobonichi weeks for the entirety of 2023 and will use it again in 2024. I chose it because of its size and structure. Its small enough that it makes overplanning harder, but big enough for me to prioritise several tasks throughout the week, and has enough structure to provide guidance without being limiting. Throughout the year, I've tried multiple ways of using my weekly spreads and now I've figured out a system that I'll be most likely to carry into 2024. I actually had a mega this year but realised I don't use the notes pages enough so have downsized to a standard. I never cover my pages in washi or stickers before I get to them because what if I don't like the layout by the time that week rolls round? I prefer to keep things very minimal. Mostly using stickers to cover any big mistakes or at the end of a weekly entry as a means to fill space.
I'm hearing the same thing from several other popular UA-camrs - they wished they had finished the year with everything in one planner instead of jumping around. So maybe the solution is to decide on one planner as the main and just use another one or two occasionally for fun. Good luck! And thanks for your honesty.
I love the realness of this video, especially as we head into end of year/2024 planning season! I’ve been so tempted to buy both a Hobonichi cousin and a common planner but I’ve made myself wait at least two weeks before hitting the purchase button. The goal of waiting is to actually come up with a purpose for them before buying, and I’m realizing most of my categories will fit better my blank moleskin than their own separate yearly planner. I got the monthly common planner booklet for long-term household appt/task management because I just looooove the yearly/quarterly/monthly spreads in it for home management, but otherwise I’m leaning towards personal memory logging/weekly to-dos in my moleskin to give me the flexibility I crave on a day-to-day. I just can’t see using the daily spreads in either planner to capture everything OR only one area spread across planners. I might still buy some daily dated stickers to satisfy my itch for “checking off” daily spreads though… :)
I think my biggest grievance with Sterling Ink is really the communication for this launch. I am still waiting for my order, which is fine I will wait, but I am frustrated with constantly having to check social media for updates instead of receiving an email update. I don't even want to be in her facebook group anymore because of how snarky SO many of the comments get. I hope that next year the process is more refined.
Her snarky attitude is THE reason I refuse to buy anything from her. Her planners are nice enough, but she acts like she should be worshipped for them and she can be so condescending.
Last year I preordered a B6 W222 and two notebooks for dailies before the common planner was released. I had loved the W222 the previous year, but definitely felt a sense of fomo watching all the common planner setups. But I personally couldn’t justify spending money on the common planner when I had a very functional and beautiful planner coming already. True to that I have spent the year in the W222 and enjoyed it. I did decide to go with the common planner this year mostly because shipping to Canada was so much cheaper than the W222. I’m looking forward to it even as I know there will be fomo for all the other things. I think the key to planner peace is not so much having the perfect system, but learning to be content with the system you have.
FYI to viewers: not only doesn’t passport come in both horizontal and vertical (not just horizontal) it also comes in booklets (TN inserts) perfect for those that use a passport TN. I’ve shared them in detail on my channel but they are awesome 👏🏼 and gives you the same as the planner but in an insert style.
I appreciate your transparency! I got a Wonderland 222 for 2024 and LITERALLY had to tell myself NO every day of the presale for the Common Planner. It was hard then but today I am glad I held strong!
I have a lot of notebooks, sketchbooks, and planners so I totally understand where you're coming from. Here is a list of how I use my notebooks, sketchbooks and I feel planners can be used in the same way. I call them my creative books: Reading Journal Drawing prompt book A Glue book (all collage artwork) A commonplace journal A pattern book (I've been filling it with different pattern designs I create) A vocabulary book (as I read I'll highlight any words I am not familiar with and then jot them down in my vocabulary book and define them) I hope this inspires you in some way. 😊 Thank you for sharing your unboxing with us. Happy planning! 😊
I'm relieved to hear the darkness of the grid looks the same to you too. I was filming mine and was similarly perplexed (although the darkness doesn't bother me personally)
Yeah, right? It looks the same but I feel like we were told somewhere along the way it would be different 🤔 Oh well. What matters the most to me is that the font is a bit darker, grids I could take or leave!
I got a5 and passport. Not going to use them. I prefer hobonichi planners. I am passing it to a friend who missed the pre-order, that was just too soon for me. Not buying anything before hobonichi reveals their new line up again☺️
I have to have a plan for each planner before i buy them... but there is always a wildcard that I want to try. I usually opt for an undated version on those or I will purchase a castoff. In 2024, i am planning to try journaling so that added a different level of diffuculty in choosing one... hope i chose right! Haha thanks for sharing these beauties!
I purchased the A6 Common Planner for 2024 to replace my normal Hobonichi A6 purchase. I used the B6 Common Planner this year for memory keeping and will use the Hobonichi Cousin instead for 2024. So many good choices finally, and it is a bit overwhelming for sure. TFS your unboxing and your views...I totally understand the dilemna!
Next year I will only have 2 planners. My budget planner which has been the EC monthly for a few years now. Also, I purchased a few of the A5 undated CP. Both allow for versitility. I usually stick with 1 planner for an entire year to get a full grasp of what I love and didn't love about it. This year I had 2 planners for personal/work (daily & weekly) and realized that I needed an all-in-one planner. I seen many videos about Hobonichi but I didn't like the colors and quotes. Then I learned about the CP and loved the minimal design and was happy to learn that it had an undated option as well. I appauld thos whp have multiple dated planners and can keep up with them all. I'm more of a couple planners and a lot of notebooks girl.
Girl I have 14 planners for next year and I found use for all of them. For me I cannot have one planner for all because I get too confused when I have many things to do for different things and end up not doing them so I have many planners for every aspect, from school, language learning, house, health, book reading, diary, memory keeping, travel, budget and so on. In that way I can focus on one journal, finish my task and move to the next one.
I like watching these videos, but I personally need everything in one calendar. I just use Google calendar because it works for me. I am so curious how you manage 14 planners without forgetting tasks or appointments or anything. I don't think I could do it, how does that look for you? Are there times that things are forgotten, or do you have a system to keep everything straight? No hate or anything, I'm just genuinely curious how you do it.
@@emberk.7881 I can only speak for myself but I have about 12 different planners. But the trick is you don't write in every single one every day and most of them are glorified notebooks with a time element to them. I have a budget planner which I'm in 3 times a week. I develop recipes and cook twice a day so I have a meal planner. I'm in the legal field so I have a combination digital planner And paper planner with an hourly format. I also have a wellness planner to track workouts and weight loss goals and self-care. Then I have a few notebooksA reading journal and a Bible study planner. So all in all i'd say I have 12 different planners but when everything is called a planner it can get confusing. I have 2 main planners that are used for time management, but luckily I don't have too many appts.
Here's an idea - it's like shopping for clothes online. You can't try them on in the store so you buy it, try it on, keep what fits, return/sell/giveaway what doesn't. You can feel guilt and anxiety if you want and you can force yourself into planners just because you bought them but that's just self harm. So "try it on" now, keep what works and pass on what doesn't because girl, I, along with many others, would gladly take one off your hands 😉
I have four planners going into 2024 ( finances, fountain pen swatches, journaling, and health/meal planning). Having a goal for each one has made it easier to justify my purchases. 😮❤😊
I totally agree with you! I’m planning on getting one each for fandom, for school, and a general one for all around that I can bring everywhere (since digital ToDo lists and habit trackers didn’t really stick with me). And an A6 notebook for my junk journalling (the one I use this year is a Hobonichi Original)
Hard to resist the plethora of planners! Each line has a feature or two that make it unique or 'better' for one's purposes than others. I've tried to 'harden my heart' and move forward with what has worked for me (or not) in previous years. I've added a Weeks to my Cousin this year. We'll see if the 'overwhelm' happens. I've promised myself that I don't have to fill up every page of either one, or even use much of the Weeks, except for on the go stuff, like grocery lists etc. The one thing I can't do is planner hop. I get too scattered. I must confess that I have a weakness for pretty unformatted notebooks of all sizes ....
I've done the same thing. Purchased a bunch of planners and systems but I know I can't use most of them. I'm using it as a learning experience. 2023 has been a year of experimentation and I think I've finally learned what I need (and not just what I want). I ended up making a list of all the planners and systems, then a list of things I wanted and needed to keep track of. Then combined the two. After that, I would sit on that list and think if there was anything I could combine together. I've done that 3 times now. IT HELPS! I was able to keep all the systems I wanted AND pare down to just a few things to use.
I only ordered Common Planners this year - No Hobonichi for the first time ever. I fell in love with the B6 size for work, and will continue that for 2024. My work planner stays at my desk. My personal planner has been a Weeks for years, and I am switching to the N2 (Weeks) for 2024. I also got a passport as an EDC, mostly for weekends or doctor appointments, something small to throw in my bag and keep track of to do lists and shopping lists. I got a Passport notebook to try this out before 2024, and it's working extremely well for me. I do not put any pressure on myself to use the Passport during the weekend. My Weeks is still where I do most of my functional planning, tracking and memory keeping.
I pre-ordered the standard size and plan on pairing it with an undated insert from Papertess Designs. As for the whole consumerism thing. In general it is a huge issue, of course, but i do wonder how big of one it actually is in the planner community. We do tend to see UA-camrs/ppl on Instagram buying several, but that seems more due to that being their content. I wonder how many of the rest of us actually overindulge and buy more than we actually plan on using. I'm sure there are some; fomo is real, but i think the majority get what they need or what they intend to use. It does take time to find a system that works for you. 🤷🏻♀️ idk. Its the middle of the night and im rambling now 😅
This year I got a Hobonitchi Hon and a Sterling Ink. I’ve decided to use the Sterling Ink as my travel planner/personal events. The Hon will be used for work.
The preorder definitely got me into FOMO state, but after receiving the passport common planner & looking at what I’ve been using, I decided to let it go and my cousin was happy to receive them. I’m using 6 dated planners for 2023, but that was set intentionally which I explained on my Techo Kaigi at the start of the year. It can definitely be overwhelming if you’re just randomly buying planners, but if you have a clear goal of what you want your planners to do for you, it doesn’t matter if its 1 or 6.
This year has been planner insanity for me as well 😭 somehow I ended up with 4 planners myself, despite using 2 this year (1 for functional and 1 for memories)
I think a lot of the planner consumerism and overbuying is because there have been few options in years past (like b6, only so many with TR paper etc) and in the last 2 years these options have exploded for us! So it’s like ahh I want them all because they exist and they didn’t exist before (at least for me). There’s also the excitement of the new and the hype and wanting to support our small business friends.. plus so much more it’s a really deep topic lol I am stuck in option paralysis, I don’t have any idea what I’m using next year yet there are so many things I would love to try! But I know I didn’t keep up with MOST of my books this year. I really need only one work planner, one home, and a journal, but which ones will I choose? Ahhh 😱 😅
I purchased B6-sized CP for 2024, but I do notice how the grid lines are more faint than 2023. I love how it is minimalistic and her themed monthly stickers work out so well for me.
I bought several SI books to try out this year and still waiting for them to arrive. I was in a Moleskine for 10+ years but it no longer meets my needs so 2024 is my search for finding new Planners for how my life is now. I bought a B6 Half Year Set for my personal, a TN vertical for work, a TN horizontal for one of my hobbies and a passport for my EDC. I enjoyed seeing your unboxing and appreciate the dilemma with choosing what to use for 2024. Looking forward to seeing what you’ll decide on. I love your honesty and the variety of topics on your channel to give us food for thought on planners.
I wish there was a simple way to destash the ones ones I won’t use. Now that I have them in hand, I realize I only need one but I fear that once I start using them, I will change my mind about what I need. I feel like I am in my last year of trying things out. I know the size I prefer and what I need for my lifestyle (I travel too much for large, heavy planners). I have figured out how to get my personal, professional and volunteer (plus partner cross-reference items like his trips out of town) in one planner to a place I can find the info when I need it. I think I may use one as a deco planner to play with when I get the urge to do pretty decorative things even though I am a functional-minimalist planner 80% of the time.
I have a hobonichi cousin as a familyplanner. It is always in one spot for every familymember to see and fill in. So we know what to expect from eachother. I have a hobonichi week for all finances and the mealplanning with shoppinglists. To track where the money is disappears to! For my personal planning cq journaling I use the hobonichi planner. As you can see I am a hobonichi fan😊
I was juggling 2 planners this year and eventually just switched to one and I’ve found peace with it haha - I’m going to get another Ink + Volt planner this year, but if I wasn’t, I would probably consider the Common Planner. I am an under-buyer by nature so I usually research the heck out of these things and commit to them (unless they really are atrocious).
I agonize over what I will exactly use a planner before I buy it. I leave it in the cart for a while and really think it through. If they run out then I just let it go and say it wasn’t meant to be. That said, I have a few plans for the sterling ink planners that I am so excited for! Thanks for sharing your thoughts
I can’t wait to get mine. I have many options coming. I’ll sell what I don’t decide to use and I’m excited to work through the process. I take two weeks off work to goal set and set my planners for the new year every year. It’s a holiday tradition.
I have recently fallen in love with B6 but I am starting a new part time job so I’m wondering but I also love the weeks size for carrying every day - it’s a journey
Hi there 👋 I got an A5 dated forest half year bundle with gold edge. I have been using a half year undated and love it! It’s the perfect planner because it has months weeks and days. I use it as an every day carry and also for memory planning. It’s one I plan to keep. This is my first year of having multiple planners. I also have an Erin Condren A5 southbound academic planner for our home school. It’s not one that I plan to keep but the pretty planner helps. Keep me motivated to keep doing school with the boys. I have also an aura Estelle that has two vertical columns per page. I use that one for keeping track of my fitness stuff. I love the portability of the A5 common planner. There are SO many planners I’ve been tempted to buy but when I consider what I need, that usually kills the urge. But the Sprouted hourly planner - I came so close to caving!
I have been happily in the Common Planner this year - in fact, I'm going to run out of pages in the back LOL! I got another one for next year - mostly the same (I got the 2 book B6 instead of one). It's the only planner I bought for 2024 - it was really hard to not buy any Hobonichi stuff with all of the hype!
Love the mist blue color. Got the a5 full year compact in Caramel with gold edges. GORGEOUS! Also, you really should give the stickers a try. Catherine does such a great job with them. Thinking of using a Stalogy or some other blank-ish planner for work next year and getting Catherine's undated planner sticker set to set up my own spreads. Looking for suggestions on which notebook/blank-ish planner to purchase.
I’m a bujo lady and i use multiple planners (dotgrind notebooks). It’s a bit a of a trend that i decided to give a go. So my notebooks last longer and i don’t « carry around excess weight ». One for daily planning, one for collections that aren’t really planning related and i also have a party planner (and some journals lol) I started a new notebook in September (my notebooks last around 4 months) and i moved in some of my collections again because they didn’t got used the way i wanted being « out of my sight » and discovered that i didn’t really need some others. Not sure I’ll have a collections journal for 2024. The planner i will keep separate and that i use a lot is my party planner. I use it to plan the kids birthday parties (I’ve hot 5 of them) but also events like easter, christmas and some other family traditions in. Keeping guest lists, activity and decorating ideas.
I've used very cheap weekly planners from the stationery store because I know I"m not consistent enough to warrant the money I'd have to spend on something better. I'll give the Hobonichi Weeks a chance in 2024 because it fits into my mini backpack without bulking that up. I'm currently frankenplanning in an A5 ring binder using an undated monthly and an undated weekly planner, followed by dot grid paper for language learning notes and 5mm grid paper for work notes. And for journaling, I use a B6 hardcover journal to keep very personal stuff safely at home.
I’m going to use multiple planners this year and once I figure out which I’m going to use I will destash and give people who might have missed presales a chance to get them. I just need to figure out which ones that will be!
You are so relatable! I finally decided to only buy one planner for the first time. The common B6 compact. I have the b6 now and didn’t use nearly as many blank pages as I thought I would!
Great review! Your choices are lovely and I’m curious to see what you decide to use in 2024! I was curious about the Common Planner, but held off on it (and every other brand) because July was too early for me to make a decision. I also wanted to wait and see what Hobonichi came out with. For next year, I got quite a few Hobonichi planners because I am someone who needs to separate my work, school, and personal life. Thanks to the way my brain is wired, I have I write everything down to process and remember things. I do well with compartmentalizing certain “subjects” (like meal planning - a chore I dislike, but must do to avoid eating take out every night!). I can see how this would be overwhelming for some - maybe even for me. I see 2024 as a year of experimentation and 2025 as a year of curation since I’ll hopefully be finished with school by then and will have a slightly less chaotic life (maybe!).
Thank you so much for your review! I missed the presale and I don't know if I'll be able to get the Common Planner when she opens it up (I wish I had a release date or something). I've been using my cousin pretty much like the common planner and I'm bummed I missed the preorder. June is just so early to think about the next year!
Do you have any inside intel on when the extras will go up for sale@@RachelleinTheory ? Not that I *expect* you to, but you're more in the know than I am lol
@@kraeftwerker No special intel, no! I just remember her saying that there would be more coming towards the end of the year. Her insta or youtube should be the most up to date.
I may have already mentioned on one of your videos that I set myself the rule “no dated planners except Hobonichi“ for 2024 and I’m actually surprised that I managed to stick to that rule so far. It’s not that I wasn’t tempted by those beautiful Common Planner options; it’s just that I really don’t have the need for another dated planner. I need one (work) planner to rule them all, a place for dailies (best undated, because I’m not consistent with them), some place to write a summary of my day, a place for hobby stuff that’s on my mind, a place that I can put stickers on, and a place to do memory keeping. The last four are supposed to go in my A5 Tomitaro Makino HON in 2024 that is so beautiful that I couldn’t pass on it, and it‘s looking a lot like I‘m going to use a Weeks as my main planner in 2024 because I couldn’t pass on the Tomitaro Makino Weeks either. Will (probably unwisely) go for dated dailies because - guess what - I couldn’t pass on the “Like the Sun” A6 HON either. 😅 And I do think I would have regretted not buying either of these planners. But that‘s it. (Well, almost. I want to use an undated PaperTess Designs TN insert as my hobby planner/microjournal, and then there’s my Book BuJo in a B6 Stalogy that I started towards the end of 2020 and just keep adding to.) It was so hard to stick with these decisions because ever more gorgeous planner options kept popping up - not least the Weekbook by Twines & Paper, which I did preorder in an undated version. However, I went out of my usual planning in academic years for the sake of the Common Planner this year and I think I’ll go back to that next late summer. The undated Weekbook may come in handy then.
I think it makes perfect sense for you, as a content creator, to buy extra planners! It's useful for you to be able to show us how different ways of using planners can look in different formats. For the rest of us - yes, I agree it's hard to resist the urge to buy more than we need. I limited myself to a Weeks and an A5 common planner for 2024, but I keep buying blank journals that I don't necessarily have a good purpose for. The SI common planner has plenty of space and a good layout for me to use for everything. (The Hobo Weeks lives in my purse, I like having a planner and I use the extra pages for random brain dumping when I'm waiting in the carpool line and trying to reduce my phone use.)
The hype and such an early pre-order is probably why a lot of people got multiples. When Hobonichi dropped I almost caved, but I only need the two I have from Sterling Ink. I’ll live vicariously through everyone else
I bought…a few…👀…common planners before landing in the Wonderland222 in August, from which I haven’t looked back. July was prime “I can’t get my plannering together this year,” and I wanted to hands-on try them. Now, October, I’m trying to decide between my 2024 W222 or the A5 split year common planner. I’m either gifting or selling every other option, ‘cause I’m not allowing myself the overwhelm next year. One and done, make it work. Couldn’t agree more, they are beautiful. Do I need them? Time will tell, but probably not or maybe. Ha!
Her planners are all the ideal format for me, but I just don't have the time to stalk her IG and get all the updates just because I'm waiting to find out when the planners are getting released. So my only issue is they sell out so fast, and catching them on time is tricky. Frustrating.
I have to say the SI Common Planner is the first planner that actually suits ALL my needs. I've tried many other planners that just didn't work for me, they were either "too much" or "too little". What I love about the Common Planner (in addition to the paper) is that they are totally customizable because the grid lines and type is light enough that if you do something different in your setup you don't even notice it. This is my first year with them, I have the vertical passport for on the go and the B6 vertical for my desk. The passport has minimal info, just the dates I need to remember, etc., and I don't keep it neat and "pretty". The B6 contains more detailed info for daily use. I also have the B6 520pg Notebook which I absolutely love for daily journaling. I'm thinking about getting the N1 in the upcoming sale to use stricly for in-depth goals, we'll see. But in general, I'm not a multiple planner person, too time consuming for me, but having one for on the go and one for my desk hasn't been bad because I don't "embellish" a lot, I save that for my personal journal.
I have on order a B6 and an A5 from Sterling Inc. it will be here tomorrow says the shipping. I wanted them so bad! while waiting, I found Wonderland 222 all in one A5 which I absolutely positively adore because of all the trackers and the two pages after the month and the months are followed by the weeks, and there are almost 600 pages in this book it’s truly has everything. I also have the journey planner coming for health tracking, so what the heck am I gonna do with Sterling Inc.🤪 I love her planners too. I think the problem is that everybody’s making them really really good, and whoever comes out with them, first wins! i’ll be selling my sterling Inc. planners no Waste here!
My goal is to stick with one planner with the exception of a notebook. I use a Clever Fox Teacher Edition planner for work and just purchased a Clever Fox A5 to use personally but I did by a Sterling Ink Notebook to use for brain dumping and list making. I wanted to go for the Common Planner but held back and hair sticking to what I have. This was a great thorough video on the Common planner and what all it offers.
Hobonichi is my jam! I ordered the common planner last year and immediately realized that I would never be fully satisfied in it. It felt very flimsy, in my opinion…..and, I love the Hobonichi brand. It felt wrong to me to use a knock off! Betrayal, in my mind! Lol
I’ll be trying out a multiple planner system this year, including 2 hobonichi weeks, hobonichi A6, A5, and Take A Note. I see the benefit of having multiple planners if you are someone who likes/wants to compartmentalize your life a bit. I think it helps me switch gears to think differently when I’m in a different planner. For example, I’ll be using my A5 Cousin for memory keeping whereas my A6 will be a media log. It’s definitely not necessary to have so many planners in your system, but at the end of the day, it really comes down to someone’s habits and how their brains are wired 😅
I get what you mean about feeling conflicted. I very much enjoyed using the Common Planner this year for journaling and I really can’t think of anything negative to say about it. I’m simply exploring other things cuz I don’t think planner peace will ever be a thing for me since I like to try all the things and I’m okay with that. It did show me though that my preference in a good and sturdy bound book in the B6 size.
I wanted one of these, but I didn't have the money at the time. I really like that you are so real. I am like you. I am just going to use one planner and a bullet journal next year. I know I am going to miss writing on my Tomoe river paper this year.
I got one common planner in the TN Horizontal planner size because I love the my Travelers Notebook and my Hobo Weeks, so that fact that Catherine combined the both, I'm looking forward to see how it all flows. Buuuuuut I couldn't resist buying the entire Tomitaro Makino line, so yeah I know it's overwhelming but worse case scenario, I'll repurpose them using planner date stickers.
Also resonating with the “why did I buy these” feelings. I ordered the B6 compact AND half year by mistake and cancellation was not allowed. I ended up just selling both to a neighbor. The weeks is what I am actually most productive in. I went back to that + a blank stalogy B6 for notes / whenever I feel the urge to do a daily page or weekly spread I can just draw it there. The weeks is a functional must for me, but more than 2 books feels like chaos.
I had the undated b6 for the back half of 2023 and surprisingly enjoyed it. I didn't preorder originally because it was like the Cousin, and I've never had luck with one. Maybe i just needed the b6 size? I used a Weeks as my daily carry for appointments and such. For 2024, I bought two Sterling Ink common planners the full b6 in forest green and the n2 weeks horizontal. I will definitely use the b6. The n2 is thicker than a Weeks Mega. On the whole rush to buy, I definitely see that with the Hobonichi purchases. I tried to be as honest with myself and my habits.
I got the a5 compact common planner because even though I love my hobonichi cousin I dont think I need that many pages for next year, I dont plan on being that “busy”. So far I love how light it is.
My A5 common planners arrived today (the 2 books for the year). I've sat here and thoroughly compared it to a hobo cousin and I can honestly say that I can't WAIT to get into it. I struggled with the cousin and how I felt really restrained by having dated pages, so this is going to work brilliantly for me. I have to choose carefully because a) the exchange rate is super crap with the USD and b) shipping sometimes costs as much, if not more as the planner, so when I'm spending nearly 100 bucks on one planner system, I sure as hell have to use it.
I got a Common Planner for 2024 to use exclusively for work. I've been bullet journaling for over 5 years at this point and it has been a good creative outlet for my personal planning and journaling. But my work planning has been all over the place, because I've changed jobs a few times in the last couple years and got in the habit of bouncing between random notebooks, and that isn't working for my current job anymore. So I'm excited to have a full year planner with goal setting that will actually already be set up and ready for my daily chaos, lol. And I'm still getting a Leuchtturm 1917 for my bujo
I purchased the A5 full year and the travlers notebook compact. I knew I was taking a chance because I was nervous the print would be too light, the cover was too soft, and I prefer the TN inserts than a full book. I still purchased them !!!! It's completely my fault 😪 I haven't received mine yet. When inserts were offered, I wish she would have told us,but I realized it's a business to make money 💰 🤑
2023 is the 1st year I've had more than 1 planner, and I'm like it more than I thought I would. I have my A5 Cousin as a daily/catch-all, and then a Weeks for my writing planner. I got my 2024 A5 and passport size last week, and am still waiting on my black "weeks" size. I plan on using my cognac/caramel A5 for my daily, catch all, and some journaling, My forest green passport with gold pages will be a tiny memory-keeper that I leave on my bedside table to jot a few things down each night. I've found a system that works really well for me, and I'm keeping it for next year, with just the addition of the passport memory-keeper. I really, really love both my Hobo's for this year, and am feeling a little fear about switching to Sterling Ink for next. But I just need to remember that the 2 brands are so similar, and I'm not switching my process, just the books, which are *barely* different. I hope you find a use for these, or that you can re-gift/home them to someone who will love them :)
I ordered 3 Common Planners this year as well as a couple of Hobonichis and a Wonderland222, which sounds like a lot - except that I know there's just not enough space in one planner for everything I want to write down, not if it's going to be clear and readable. Hence my line-up is: * A5 Hobonichi HON as my home desk planner - GYST lists and overall schedule * A5 Common Planner for my side gig (author), tarot study and other creative endeavours * B6 Common Planner for meal planning (I ordered this before her weekly booklets came out - they would probably do just as well for this purpose, so maybe next year...) * B6 Wonderland222 for my day job, which definitely needs to be separate from all the above * Hobonichi Weeks as my EDC notebook & personal habit tracker The only planner I bought that I have no definite use for is the Passport Common Planner - like you, I thought it looked so cute, and I was sure I was going to use it as my EDC, but it turns out I'm too emotionally attached to the Weeks 😀
So the reason the note pages have a different amount is because there is 53 weeks in this year instead of the normal 52 weeks. I did get one common planner I got the N1(standard size) horizontal which is basically what I use now. Last year (2022) I fell in love with the layout but it was a little small so I upsized to the standard and drew it out in a cut down Stalogy and loved it. Was so happy when Sterling Ink came out with these so I didn’t have to draw it all out again for 2024
I really went overboard with my 2024 planner purchases. I intended to use SI only but I couldn’t resist the Hobonichi release 😩😩. I don’t have a need for 4 planners so I’ll definitely gift what I don’t use.
I have a compact size Franklin planner that I carry with me for appointments & reminders; a lot of info (family birthdays, religious holidays & weekly Bible readings) is filled in a year in advance. I also track my daily steps on the monthly pages. I also ordered an undated vertical weekly (week on 2 pages) Happy Planner for cleaning & decluttering schedules for the first time (&ASMR). I can use whiteout tape if I change a cleaning routine. I have a plain Composition Book to take notes while watching UA-cam videos. I schedule genealogy research in the Franklin. Hope to put it in a book for relatives.
I would quickly find a use for every planner. There’s a planner for bill paying and financial. One for grocery planning, one for doctor’s appointments, one for garden planning. The list goes on, my only problem is I LOVE the idea of organizing my life like that, I don’t love overwhelming myself with so much paperwork and filing. I last for about 3 months then my life falls apart one planner at a time.
I went with a Hobonichi Cousin again for next year (as I need the dated daily pages), then I added a B6 Sterling Ink notebook. It takes the FOMO out of trying to get a hold of a Common Planner as the notebooks seem easier to order.
I moved on the Common Planner for 2024 (team A5!) but then also got HON in A5. I'm not sure which one I'll be using but I feel like it'll probably just be one of them. I love the structure of the Hobos' daily pages, but sometimes I just need the freedom with the Common Planner to use multiple pages. I also got a Weeks, but no regrets there. I know it's use-case and there isn't overlap with the others.
Wow, this video's end is kind of crazy to me because your planning videos and demonstrations (Brain Dump, Energy tracking and planning, etc. ) in the Sterling Ink B6 is what got me excited about planning and about your channel. Kind of blows my mind that they possibly won't be in the mix anymore for this channel. Waiting for the Sterling Ink extra sales to drop, as I'm going to be getting the B6 half year for next year. (I'm new to the planner community and literally learned about Sterling Ink this past late August, but personally for me the freedom of Sterling Ink planners are a huge draw for me, and is allowing me to get done everything I wanted to do. I think the freedom of it really helps my neurodivergent brain, is what I'm guessing. And ironically, the reasons you laid out in your "Did Sterling Ink fix Hobinichi planners?" video are the very reasons I seriously can't even get my brain wrapped around the structure of the Hobinichi's, what with the colors, and the unnecessary space taken up by the writing at the bottom.) But, still happy while it lasted!
Same, but I think we’ll still see her CP in the mix. But no matter what I think Rachelle always does very versatile content so I’m sure whatever she comes up with will be adaptable to the CP even if she doesn’t always use it!
Hi Rachelle, I actually bought the undated common planner and dated it with her sticker pack for 2024. Then I also bought the week sized notebook. I have been drawing hobo weeks layouts on every other spread and then I have one spread with two weeks for "meal tracking" and "workout tracking". This year I have been using a B6 stalogy for journaling and an A5 stalogy for monthly spreads and weekly spreads that I had drawn in advance. And I also use two travelers notebooks. One for weekly spreads like the Hobonichi weeks and one for "meal tracking". And I also have a pocket sized travelers notebook for like a rapid log. So I will be sizing down my planner line up from about 5 planners to 2 😅
Thanks for your post and sharing. Same, I think I have 2 planners from 2023 I didnt touch. One being the common planner, Split year. I like the stacked weekend, however the new design may work for me. I like the months with the weeks, but the Wonderland 222 split up the weeklys with the wrong month because the way it fell. Thru my schedule off a couple times this year. I wwould rather have a blank page. Anyway thanks again for sharing. I was so overwhelmed this year I have not really shopped
I had just started in Hobo weeks this year and planned to get Hobo Cousin, but then Sterling Ink came along... I got 2 A5 full year: one for work, the other for my Faith Planner, and an N2 compact (weeks) for personal EDC.
Thanks for your video. The reason I resist (and the struggle is real) buying multiple planners is that I DO NOT have enough life for them. I am a no sticker planner so filling up multiple books is impossible. So I use the one tool that is most flexible for my job in education administration: a ring-bound planner where I can add memos and notes. It seems to work for me.
After spending a lovely year in the black B6, I bought the forest green B6 full year and I am in LOVE (+ a black backup ;0). It has a smooth finish that feels amazing in the hand - nice and squishy which I love. The grid lines in the blank pages of the 2024 B6 are darker than the 2023 but yes, I agree, the text doesn't appear darker in the 2024. I do miss the shading across the monthly page headers - it helps me distinguish between monthly and weekly pages which have identical text and font sizes - may have to shade myself or figure out another way to distinguish monthly from weekly. That said [lol] I also got Hobonichi A5 Day Free and an A6 Planner - couldn't break my 8 year streak of Hobo use. I think I have uses for them but we'll see. I do know that my B6 CP will be at my side all year. Thanks for the great video Rachelle! Looking forward to seeing how your year evolves.
2024 will be my first year in a Common Planner -- my preordered A5 full year arrived today. I'm in a Hobo Cousin this year and it's working well for me. so I went for "same but better" for my personal planner. I'm in a Wonderland 222 A5 for my work planner and a Wonderland 222 B5 for my health and medical planner, but I must admit for the latter I do wish I had a Common Planner B5 or TN Standard instead -- I just didn't know I was going to need it until after the preorder. I'm so impressed with the high quality of the Common Planner -- it's just so nice to handle. The Wonderland 222s are really nice, but they just don't hold a candle to the Common Planner.
I went a bit crazy this year. I got two common planners, and three Hobonichi planners. But I did make sure I had a use case for each. The A5 CP will be my main planner/memory keeper, B6 CP will be my tarot journal (currently in an A6 Techo). My Weeks will be a combo of ink/pen usage log and art journal, the A6 Techo my ink/pen review journal, and the I got an A6 5-year which will track seasonal observations and important memories/events. I’m planning a video on all this soon now that I received my CP order.
I love that you have a use for all of them!! The seasonal log is something I’ve wanted to do for ages, maybe this year I’ll finally devote one of my planners to it too ☺️
i forgot i preordered a common planner on a whim and ordered a few from hobonichi that i had actual plans for right when they went live. three felt excessive but i got smaller ones so that i could fill them and have each serve a necessary purpose. then my common planner arrived and i was like oh, i could have done everything in this one book, and now i'm a bit annoyed with myself for how much i spent and how much i now have to fill. i plan to use both simultaneously because both brands are new to me, just trying to find a way to transfer everything into my common planner too. i'm hoping using both for identical information will help me decide what's best for me? but i'm feeling a bit overwhelmed thinking about it too. this is my first year with a physical planner in a good decade, and i fear i made my switch from digital to physical a bit harder by not being able to resist any of the pretty notebooks i see.
Heads up to people watching who love the passport: it does also come in vertical
I was just going to comment this! I haven’t gotten mine yet but it’s going to be my EDC and I cannot wait!!!!
@@lisabethhobbs I did get mine! I was so excited to film my unboxing! The passport is absolutely adorable!
Thank you for the correction!!
I was going to comment that too.
Meeeee. I want to get one
It’s interesting how many people I’ve heard say “I got these planners because I could, but I don’t know if I’m going to use them.” Frankly it leaves a bad taste in my mouth for this industry. I liked your review. I was considering trying to get one since I totally missed the preorder season, but I think not. Thanks for your videos. I really like them and appreciate your hard work.
I really struggle with the rampant consumerism in the planner community. Like...y'all know a tree died for that right?
@@TheKatsMeow113I agree, I would really love some videos about how you can be creative with what you already have, like tips for changing up your layouts or something like that, so you still get to scratch that itch of getting something new, but with what you already have. Or just some tips on finding your own "planner peace". :)
I agree. I don’t have the money to buy 500 different ones and i don’t have the mental capacity to switch between them. i want a planner i can dump my entire year in
Thank you for saying this. I will often buy planners throughout the year after they've gone on steep discount to try the layout and I'm not proud of hiw many I've purchased these last two years. But at least I'm giving a planner destined for the dump a chance to be used. I also redate old planners or try to find some use for the pages. I personally wouldn't buy a planner just to have it on a shelf: such a waste of paper and money. 😔
But I agree it's the Industry causing this. Marketing to us so that we don't want to feel left out and they move lots of product.
I have also repurposed blank pages and related planners. I’m trying an undated half year now but will go to a blank bullet journal next year. That way I just use each page without the guilt of blank pages unused.
"I don't know if I have enough life to fill these planners up"
Exactly!!! I'm a simple girl with simple needs, why did I do this to myself!!
I can’t use more than one planner at a time - it’s too stressful and time consuming. And I feel disorganized when I jump from planner to planner and I can’t find things later. And yet I keep planner hopping! 😂 😭 The consumerism in this hobby is reeeal!
I limit myself to one planner a year for 13 years now. Doing this I always get a deep, appreciating connection with the planner from the moment I buy it. I do quite some extra work on it to make the planner fit all my needs. That said: I had one disappointing experience with this approach - when the planner was just too small for me. Lesson? Never bought this size again.
I have often wondered if so many people have a hard time making a planner work for them simply because they are overwhelmed with so many choices. It’s wonderful that there are so many options, and I LOVE how the small shops have taken the planner community’s frustrations seriously. Unfortunately, many people (including myself) begin to doubt their original choice(s) as new planners are released throughout the year. This in turn leads to an existential crisis of FOMO. Which then leads to confusion, doubt, and chaos. 😵💫 Sometimes simplicity is the best answer. Plus, it’s really amazing to see how people solve the problem by being creative.
I honestly think many don’t know what they need. They focus on the wrong things.
I change planners if my life changes so what I need changes. But otherwise I find that has what I need in the size I need - or what checks the most boxes and use it and love being in my planner and completing it. I actually hate when I have to hop even if it’s because of a life or job change.
I agree with you, @JD-vh4ct. I never had a problem sticking with one planner 20 years ago, when I was in college and arguably the most hectic time of my life. But back then, I only had a few choices in planners from what was at Office Depot, and there was no online market whatsoever. With so many options these days, it's more difficult to choose one planner and be contented with it all year.
Most that jump from planner to planner also use the terms wrong. A planner is not a journal. Yes, you can use it that way, but it wasn't made for that. A planner was made to write down appointments and information regarding those. It is date and time based.
A journal on the other hand is based on feelings and events. The most common known journal is a dairy. Yes, you use dates in it but it's not the main focus. Therefore it's best to use empty notebooks for this, that way you're not wasting pages on days you don't journal.
I also don't understand the difference between a "catch all planners" and a normal used planner isn't that just rewriting what you've already written? I'd loved it If some could explain that to me.
@@rinyamashita I agree with you about the catch all planners. To each their own, but I don’t have enough time (or patience 🥴) to rewrite everything multiple times. I haven’t understood the concept either. You do make a good point about the differences between “planning” versus a “journal/diary/memory keeping”. I actually had not thought about it in that way before. 😊
@@rinyamashita yea I think the "catch all planners" start to feel like you are over-calculating your life. it's the same thing I see with people who are trying to use Notion for the first time, as productivity youtubers tend to sell Notion as this entire life tracker. And I absolutely do think things like Notion and planners can be super helpful to many people, but you also have to start small and know what you are trying to track. It gets incredibly overwhelming to try and track your entire life and you don't *need* to track your entire life by any means. it also starts to give anxiety to something that is supposed to alleviate anxiety. Sometimes all you need is a piece of paper and writing out a to do list.
When I first started planning 20 years ago, I literally used a blank, lined, spiral notebook. I just made a daily to do list. It's funny to see everything I think i need now 😂
Those were the days! I miss when I felt like I could just get by with a moleskine and nothing else. Working on finding that peace again!
I keep it simple but I have multiple planners and a Kindle Scribe. I can write a to-do list on a napkin, but when I'm planning projects for work or home or planning my goals, I need a little something more. That's also why my planners last so long: I use them when necessary. My boyfriend bought the Scribe for my birthday last year and I do love it.
This is what I’m planning on doing. I find pre-printed planners are 1. Way too expensive for something I might give up on after a month & and 2. They never seem to mesh well with my ADHD and how my brain works (not saying there aren’t planners that are ADHD friendly, I’m talking about my brain specifically)
I am VERY new to the planner world (aka I didn’t even know hobonichis existed until earlier this month). I think your 2024 Hobonichi haul was the very first video that popped up on my recommended feed. Your video on the type of planner you are, is what FINALLY helped me understand I only look at my month ahead, and prefer free flow journaling over keeping daily or weekly tasks. A huge sense of relief after trying to force myself to use planners and bullet journals, only to abandon them after a few weeks.
With that said and after seeing a few hauls, reviews and progress updates from many, many creators these past couple of weeks, I am definitely seeing the same consumerism that plagues other communities (the makeup community probably being the one Im most familiar with). I think is good you are aware of it, and is something more creators should discuss more openly with the viewers. If having a lot of planners is bringing you stress, don’t feel bad about downsizing! A planner should enhance your life, not add more stress.
I'm a paper and planner enthusiast, which is the reason why I ONLY buy undated planners lol. Then I can swap to my hearts desire, have my planner moods, and not have to miss out on all the wonderful pages. I really really want these planner makers to make more undated planners, or at least like if every brand had a couple undated options that would be amazing. Its like having the world of planners at your finger tips and then only being able to use traveler's notebooks, and random brands I find on amazon. Which just don't match the quality frankly. But I know a dated planner makes me feel icky when I fall in and out of planning and there is so much waste. I'm someone who even uses scrap paper to cover old pages and make them new again with art or little sticky note hubs.
Ah the undated planner technique! I have tried some of those in the past, but I agree not enough brands do them!
She actually did release an undated version earlier this year, but they aren't in the listing anymore it seems. I am not sure if next year or later in the year she will release the same planner :)
Papertessdesign, sweetfreckleddesigns, aura.estelle and laurenphelbsdesign make undated planners
@@pippikrumeluss5167I think she wants the TMR paper maybe?
I myself if I decide to sell mine, will just redacting a hobonichi day free. I refuse to buy a new one this year, since they kept the damn quote and got rid of the flip art.
I'm so so new to the planner world and its very overwhelming to jump in right now after seeing the amount of options available. I used to be a huge planner girl and then covid happened and I had a planner I barely used and crossed out a million things in. I got into digital planning within the last year as I realized I needed that sort of structure again, and have been highly considering getting a physical planner again as I do love writing stuff out and not getting distracted in the digital void. I do tend to see the same issues across the planner community and productivity community on youtube, where people are just really over-calculating and over-tracking their lives, therefore there's way too many options for newbies. I think simplicity is key for all of these things, as planning is supposed to make our lives simpler, not harder. Thanks to your videos I am highly considering a hobinichi weeks as it seems simple enough for my current weekly planning system, but there is as a part of me that knows I could probably get what I need out of any old planner. But definitely trying to scratch the stationary/office supply itch that my heart loved when I was still in school so I might splurge 😋
I got a Common Planner, only one, and I plan to use it in combination with my digital calendar. I reach for a notebook when I’m overwhelmed or for tracking habits like gym etc. Events will be in the digital calendar. I also use a lot of note pages for planning my days, budgeting etc. I really think one planner is enough for the whole year. Hope you find what works best for you ❤
I think this is honestly such a dream route to go with a planner
The common planner went on pre order so early this year that I got one as well. I ended up giving it to a friend who I knew could really appreciate it, and I’m excited for her to use it. I do use multiple planners because I need them to serve different functions and I do feel the pull to get more than I need bc I love paper-but I have to be really real with myself and not keep things that are just gonna to collect dust and make me feel bad. My apartment is really small and I weigh the desire to have something I like against the desire to have a less cluttered living space. That helps me resist.
I only use one planner: I've used the Hobonichi weeks for the entirety of 2023 and will use it again in 2024. I chose it because of its size and structure. Its small enough that it makes overplanning harder, but big enough for me to prioritise several tasks throughout the week, and has enough structure to provide guidance without being limiting. Throughout the year, I've tried multiple ways of using my weekly spreads and now I've figured out a system that I'll be most likely to carry into 2024. I actually had a mega this year but realised I don't use the notes pages enough so have downsized to a standard.
I never cover my pages in washi or stickers before I get to them because what if I don't like the layout by the time that week rolls round? I prefer to keep things very minimal. Mostly using stickers to cover any big mistakes or at the end of a weekly entry as a means to fill space.
I'm hearing the same thing from several other popular UA-camrs - they wished they had finished the year with everything in one planner instead of jumping around. So maybe the solution is to decide on one planner as the main and just use another one or two occasionally for fun. Good luck! And thanks for your honesty.
I love the realness of this video, especially as we head into end of year/2024 planning season! I’ve been so tempted to buy both a Hobonichi cousin and a common planner but I’ve made myself wait at least two weeks before hitting the purchase button.
The goal of waiting is to actually come up with a purpose for them before buying, and I’m realizing most of my categories will fit better my blank moleskin than their own separate yearly planner. I got the monthly common planner booklet for long-term household appt/task management because I just looooove the yearly/quarterly/monthly spreads in it for home management, but otherwise I’m leaning towards personal memory logging/weekly to-dos in my moleskin to give me the flexibility I crave on a day-to-day. I just can’t see using the daily spreads in either planner to capture everything OR only one area spread across planners.
I might still buy some daily dated stickers to satisfy my itch for “checking off” daily spreads though… :)
Ugh this is so real. Great tip about waiting, and about asking yourself if you can just handle it in a moleskine!
I think my biggest grievance with Sterling Ink is really the communication for this launch. I am still waiting for my order, which is fine I will wait, but I am frustrated with constantly having to check social media for updates instead of receiving an email update. I don't even want to be in her facebook group anymore because of how snarky SO many of the comments get. I hope that next year the process is more refined.
I think having a baby combined with the paper people being really behind has really made it difficult for her this year.
She’s sort of rude too.
Sounds like she needs to have employees to help with the customer support
Her snarky attitude is THE reason I refuse to buy anything from her. Her planners are nice enough, but she acts like she should be worshipped for them and she can be so condescending.
Last year I preordered a B6 W222 and two notebooks for dailies before the common planner was released. I had loved the W222 the previous year, but definitely felt a sense of fomo watching all the common planner setups. But I personally couldn’t justify spending money on the common planner when I had a very functional and beautiful planner coming already. True to that I have spent the year in the W222 and enjoyed it. I did decide to go with the common planner this year mostly because shipping to Canada was so much cheaper than the W222. I’m looking forward to it even as I know there will be fomo for all the other things. I think the key to planner peace is not so much having the perfect system, but learning to be content with the system you have.
FYI to viewers: not only doesn’t passport come in both horizontal and vertical (not just horizontal) it also comes in booklets (TN inserts) perfect for those that use a passport TN. I’ve shared them in detail on my channel but they are awesome 👏🏼 and gives you the same as the planner but in an insert style.
I appreciate your transparency! I got a Wonderland 222 for 2024 and LITERALLY had to tell myself NO every day of the presale for the Common Planner. It was hard then but today I am glad I held strong!
I totally forgot about them! THANK YOU! I've been looking for planners similar to the SI one that I can actually order right now.
I have a lot of notebooks, sketchbooks, and planners so I totally understand where you're coming from. Here is a list of how I use my notebooks, sketchbooks and I feel planners can be used in the same way. I call them my creative books:
Reading Journal
Drawing prompt book
A Glue book (all collage artwork)
A commonplace journal
A pattern book (I've been filling it with different pattern designs I create)
A vocabulary book (as I read I'll highlight any words I am not familiar with and then jot them down in my vocabulary book and define them)
I hope this inspires you in some way. 😊 Thank you for sharing your unboxing with us. Happy planning! 😊
I love this!
@@pbudinsky1 aww thanks!
I'm relieved to hear the darkness of the grid looks the same to you too. I was filming mine and was similarly perplexed (although the darkness doesn't bother me personally)
Yeah, right? It looks the same but I feel like we were told somewhere along the way it would be different 🤔 Oh well. What matters the most to me is that the font is a bit darker, grids I could take or leave!
I got a5 and passport. Not going to use them. I prefer hobonichi planners. I am passing it to a friend who missed the pre-order, that was just too soon for me. Not buying anything before hobonichi reveals their new line up again☺️
I have to have a plan for each planner before i buy them... but there is always a wildcard that I want to try. I usually opt for an undated version on those or I will purchase a castoff. In 2024, i am planning to try journaling so that added a different level of diffuculty in choosing one... hope i chose right! Haha thanks for sharing these beauties!
I purchased the A6 Common Planner for 2024 to replace my normal Hobonichi A6 purchase. I used the B6 Common Planner this year for memory keeping and will use the Hobonichi Cousin instead for 2024. So many good choices finally, and it is a bit overwhelming for sure. TFS your unboxing and your views...I totally understand the dilemna!
It is amazing how many options there are!
Next year I will only have 2 planners. My budget planner which has been the EC monthly for a few years now. Also, I purchased a few of the A5 undated CP. Both allow for versitility. I usually stick with 1 planner for an entire year to get a full grasp of what I love and didn't love about it. This year I had 2 planners for personal/work (daily & weekly) and realized that I needed an all-in-one planner. I seen many videos about Hobonichi but I didn't like the colors and quotes. Then I learned about the CP and loved the minimal design and was happy to learn that it had an undated option as well. I appauld thos whp have multiple dated planners and can keep up with them all. I'm more of a couple planners and a lot of notebooks girl.
Girl I have 14 planners for next year and I found use for all of them. For me I cannot have one planner for all because I get too confused when I have many things to do for different things and end up not doing them so I have many planners for every aspect, from school, language learning, house, health, book reading, diary, memory keeping, travel, budget and so on. In that way I can focus on one journal, finish my task and move to the next one.
We’re kinda similar, did that this year but only 6 dated ones and as long as you have set intentions you can have as many or as little as you want.
I like watching these videos, but I personally need everything in one calendar. I just use Google calendar because it works for me.
I am so curious how you manage 14 planners without forgetting tasks or appointments or anything. I don't think I could do it, how does that look for you? Are there times that things are forgotten, or do you have a system to keep everything straight?
No hate or anything, I'm just genuinely curious how you do it.
@@emberk.7881 I can only speak for myself but I have about 12 different planners. But the trick is you don't write in every single one every day and most of them are glorified notebooks with a time element to them. I have a budget planner which I'm in 3 times a week. I develop recipes and cook twice a day so I have a meal planner. I'm in the legal field so I have a combination digital planner And paper planner with an hourly format. I also have a wellness planner to track workouts and weight loss goals and self-care. Then I have a few notebooksA reading journal and a Bible study planner. So all in all i'd say I have 12 different planners but when everything is called a planner it can get confusing. I have 2 main planners that are used for time management, but luckily I don't have too many appts.
Here's an idea - it's like shopping for clothes online. You can't try them on in the store so you buy it, try it on, keep what fits, return/sell/giveaway what doesn't. You can feel guilt and anxiety if you want and you can force yourself into planners just because you bought them but that's just self harm. So "try it on" now, keep what works and pass on what doesn't because girl, I, along with many others, would gladly take one off your hands 😉
I have four planners going into 2024 ( finances, fountain pen swatches, journaling, and health/meal planning). Having a goal for each one has made it easier to justify my purchases. 😮❤😊
I totally agree with you! I’m planning on getting one each for fandom, for school, and a general one for all around that I can bring everywhere (since digital ToDo lists and habit trackers didn’t really stick with me). And an A6 notebook for my junk journalling (the one I use this year is a Hobonichi Original)
Hard to resist the plethora of planners! Each line has a feature or two that make it unique or 'better' for one's purposes than others. I've tried to 'harden my heart' and move forward with what has worked for me (or not) in previous years. I've added a Weeks to my Cousin this year. We'll see if the 'overwhelm' happens. I've promised myself that I don't have to fill up every page of either one, or even use much of the Weeks, except for on the go stuff, like grocery lists etc. The one thing I can't do is planner hop. I get too scattered. I must confess that I have a weakness for pretty unformatted notebooks of all sizes ....
I've done the same thing. Purchased a bunch of planners and systems but I know I can't use most of them. I'm using it as a learning experience. 2023 has been a year of experimentation and I think I've finally learned what I need (and not just what I want). I ended up making a list of all the planners and systems, then a list of things I wanted and needed to keep track of. Then combined the two. After that, I would sit on that list and think if there was anything I could combine together. I've done that 3 times now. IT HELPS! I was able to keep all the systems I wanted AND pare down to just a few things to use.
I only ordered Common Planners this year - No Hobonichi for the first time ever. I fell in love with the B6 size for work, and will continue that for 2024. My work planner stays at my desk. My personal planner has been a Weeks for years, and I am switching to the N2 (Weeks) for 2024. I also got a passport as an EDC, mostly for weekends or doctor appointments, something small to throw in my bag and keep track of to do lists and shopping lists. I got a Passport notebook to try this out before 2024, and it's working extremely well for me. I do not put any pressure on myself to use the Passport during the weekend. My Weeks is still where I do most of my functional planning, tracking and memory keeping.
I pre-ordered the standard size and plan on pairing it with an undated insert from Papertess Designs.
As for the whole consumerism thing. In general it is a huge issue, of course, but i do wonder how big of one it actually is in the planner community. We do tend to see UA-camrs/ppl on Instagram buying several, but that seems more due to that being their content. I wonder how many of the rest of us actually overindulge and buy more than we actually plan on using. I'm sure there are some; fomo is real, but i think the majority get what they need or what they intend to use. It does take time to find a system that works for you. 🤷🏻♀️ idk. Its the middle of the night and im rambling now 😅
This year I got a Hobonitchi Hon and a Sterling Ink. I’ve decided to use the Sterling Ink as my travel planner/personal events. The Hon will be used for work.
The preorder definitely got me into FOMO state, but after receiving the passport common planner & looking at what I’ve been using, I decided to let it go and my cousin was happy to receive them. I’m using 6 dated planners for 2023, but that was set intentionally which I explained on my Techo Kaigi at the start of the year. It can definitely be overwhelming if you’re just randomly buying planners, but if you have a clear goal of what you want your planners to do for you, it doesn’t matter if its 1 or 6.
This year has been planner insanity for me as well 😭 somehow I ended up with 4 planners myself, despite using 2 this year (1 for functional and 1 for memories)
Oh i feel it 😭
I think a lot of the planner consumerism and overbuying is because there have been few options in years past (like b6, only so many with TR paper etc) and in the last 2 years these options have exploded for us! So it’s like ahh I want them all because they exist and they didn’t exist before (at least for me). There’s also the excitement of the new and the hype and wanting to support our small business friends.. plus so much more it’s a really deep topic lol
I am stuck in option paralysis, I don’t have any idea what I’m using next year yet there are so many things I would love to try! But I know I didn’t keep up with MOST of my books this year. I really need only one work planner, one home, and a journal, but which ones will I choose? Ahhh 😱 😅
That passport size looks perfect for a daily writing practice like gratitude, creative free writing, poetry, maybe even art! Micro creative size
I purchased B6-sized CP for 2024, but I do notice how the grid lines are more faint than 2023. I love how it is minimalistic and her themed monthly stickers work out so well for me.
I bought several SI books to try out this year and still waiting for them to arrive. I was in a Moleskine for 10+ years but it no longer meets my needs so 2024 is my search for finding new Planners for how my life is now. I bought a B6 Half Year Set for my personal, a TN vertical for work, a TN horizontal for one of my hobbies and a passport for my EDC. I enjoyed seeing your unboxing and appreciate the dilemma with choosing what to use for 2024. Looking forward to seeing what you’ll decide on. I love your honesty and the variety of topics on your channel to give us food for thought on planners.
I wish there was a simple way to destash the ones ones I won’t use. Now that I have them in hand, I realize I only need one but I fear that once I start using them, I will change my mind about what I need. I feel like I am in my last year of trying things out. I know the size I prefer and what I need for my lifestyle (I travel too much for large, heavy planners). I have figured out how to get my personal, professional and volunteer (plus partner cross-reference items like his trips out of town) in one planner to a place I can find the info when I need it. I think I may use one as a deco planner to play with when I get the urge to do pretty decorative things even though I am a functional-minimalist planner 80% of the time.
I have a hobonichi cousin as a familyplanner. It is always in one spot for every familymember to see and fill in. So we know what to expect from eachother.
I have a hobonichi week for all finances and the mealplanning with shoppinglists. To track where the money is disappears to!
For my personal planning cq journaling I use the hobonichi planner. As you can see I am a hobonichi fan😊
Hobonichi does make great stuff! I'm happy that this system is working for you.
I was juggling 2 planners this year and eventually just switched to one and I’ve found peace with it haha - I’m going to get another Ink + Volt planner this year, but if I wasn’t, I would probably consider the Common Planner. I am an under-buyer by nature so I usually research the heck out of these things and commit to them (unless they really are atrocious).
I agonize over what I will exactly use a planner before I buy it. I leave it in the cart for a while and really think it through. If they run out then I just let it go and say it wasn’t meant to be. That said, I have a few plans for the sterling ink planners that I am so excited for! Thanks for sharing your thoughts
I can’t wait to get mine. I have many options coming. I’ll sell what I don’t decide to use and I’m excited to work through the process. I take two weeks off work to goal set and set my planners for the new year every year. It’s a holiday tradition.
I have recently fallen in love with B6 but I am starting a new part time job so I’m wondering but I also love the weeks size for carrying every day - it’s a journey
Hi there 👋 I got an A5 dated forest half year bundle with gold edge. I have been using a half year undated and love it! It’s the perfect planner because it has months weeks and days. I use it as an every day carry and also for memory planning. It’s one I plan to keep. This is my first year of having multiple planners. I also have an Erin Condren A5 southbound academic planner for our home school. It’s not one that I plan to keep but the pretty planner helps. Keep me motivated to keep doing school with the boys. I have also an aura Estelle that has two vertical columns per page. I use that one for keeping track of my fitness stuff.
I love the portability of the A5 common planner.
There are SO many planners I’ve been tempted to buy but when I consider what I need, that usually kills the urge. But the Sprouted hourly planner - I came so close to caving!
I have been happily in the Common Planner this year - in fact, I'm going to run out of pages in the back LOL! I got another one for next year - mostly the same (I got the 2 book B6 instead of one). It's the only planner I bought for 2024 - it was really hard to not buy any Hobonichi stuff with all of the hype!
AMAZED that you are almost filling up your back pages!! That's wild. Good for you!
Love the mist blue color. Got the a5 full year compact in Caramel with gold edges. GORGEOUS! Also, you really should give the stickers a try. Catherine does such a great job with them. Thinking of using a Stalogy or some other blank-ish planner for work next year and getting Catherine's undated planner sticker set to set up my own spreads. Looking for suggestions on which notebook/blank-ish planner to purchase.
Archer and Olive has great notebooks. Fountain pen and marker friendly.
Trust me, stick to one planner. It will make your life easier!
I tried one planner for 3 years and was terrible, very mess and confused for me hahaha this year everything goes perfect with 2 planners 🙌
I’m a bujo lady and i use multiple planners (dotgrind notebooks). It’s a bit a of a trend that i decided to give a go. So my notebooks last longer and i don’t « carry around excess weight ». One for daily planning, one for collections that aren’t really planning related and i also have a party planner (and some journals lol)
I started a new notebook in September (my notebooks last around 4 months) and i moved in some of my collections again because they didn’t got used the way i wanted being « out of my sight » and discovered that i didn’t really need some others. Not sure I’ll have a collections journal for 2024.
The planner i will keep separate and that i use a lot is my party planner. I use it to plan the kids birthday parties (I’ve hot 5 of them) but also events like easter, christmas and some other family traditions in. Keeping guest lists, activity and decorating ideas.
I am waiting for mine and I can’t wait. Still dreaming of a horizontal b6 though.
I've used very cheap weekly planners from the stationery store because I know I"m not consistent enough to warrant the money I'd have to spend on something better. I'll give the Hobonichi Weeks a chance in 2024 because it fits into my mini backpack without bulking that up. I'm currently frankenplanning in an A5 ring binder using an undated monthly and an undated weekly planner, followed by dot grid paper for language learning notes and 5mm grid paper for work notes. And for journaling, I use a B6 hardcover journal to keep very personal stuff safely at home.
yes.. there are so many beautiful planners out there... \o/ and we have to choose just one... we became addicted to them!!
I’m going to use multiple planners this year and once I figure out which I’m going to use I will destash and give people who might have missed presales a chance to get them. I just need to figure out which ones that will be!
You are so relatable! I finally decided to only buy one planner for the first time. The common B6 compact. I have the b6 now and didn’t use nearly as many blank pages as I thought I would!
Great review! Your choices are lovely and I’m curious to see what you decide to use in 2024!
I was curious about the Common Planner, but held off on it (and every other brand) because July was too early for me to make a decision. I also wanted to wait and see what Hobonichi came out with. For next year, I got quite a few Hobonichi planners because I am someone who needs to separate my work, school, and personal life. Thanks to the way my brain is wired, I have I write everything down to process and remember things. I do well with compartmentalizing certain “subjects” (like meal planning - a chore I dislike, but must do to avoid eating take out every night!). I can see how this would be overwhelming for some - maybe even for me. I see 2024 as a year of experimentation and 2025 as a year of curation since I’ll hopefully be finished with school by then and will have a slightly less chaotic life (maybe!).
Thank you so much for your review! I missed the presale and I don't know if I'll be able to get the Common Planner when she opens it up (I wish I had a release date or something). I've been using my cousin pretty much like the common planner and I'm bummed I missed the preorder. June is just so early to think about the next year!
I agree, it felt really early to me too!
Do you have any inside intel on when the extras will go up for sale@@RachelleinTheory ? Not that I *expect* you to, but you're more in the know than I am lol
@@kraeftwerker No special intel, no! I just remember her saying that there would be more coming towards the end of the year. Her insta or youtube should be the most up to date.
Yes to all that. You are not alone.
I too am conflicted this year.
I may have already mentioned on one of your videos that I set myself the rule “no dated planners except Hobonichi“ for 2024 and I’m actually surprised that I managed to stick to that rule so far. It’s not that I wasn’t tempted by those beautiful Common Planner options; it’s just that I really don’t have the need for another dated planner. I need one (work) planner to rule them all, a place for dailies (best undated, because I’m not consistent with them), some place to write a summary of my day, a place for hobby stuff that’s on my mind, a place that I can put stickers on, and a place to do memory keeping. The last four are supposed to go in my A5 Tomitaro Makino HON in 2024 that is so beautiful that I couldn’t pass on it, and it‘s looking a lot like I‘m going to use a Weeks as my main planner in 2024 because I couldn’t pass on the Tomitaro Makino Weeks either. Will (probably unwisely) go for dated dailies because - guess what - I couldn’t pass on the “Like the Sun” A6 HON either. 😅 And I do think I would have regretted not buying either of these planners. But that‘s it. (Well, almost. I want to use an undated PaperTess Designs TN insert as my hobby planner/microjournal, and then there’s my Book BuJo in a B6 Stalogy that I started towards the end of 2020 and just keep adding to.) It was so hard to stick with these decisions because ever more gorgeous planner options kept popping up - not least the Weekbook by Twines & Paper, which I did preorder in an undated version. However, I went out of my usual planning in academic years for the sake of the Common Planner this year and I think I’ll go back to that next late summer. The undated Weekbook may come in handy then.
I think it makes perfect sense for you, as a content creator, to buy extra planners! It's useful for you to be able to show us how different ways of using planners can look in different formats. For the rest of us - yes, I agree it's hard to resist the urge to buy more than we need. I limited myself to a Weeks and an A5 common planner for 2024, but I keep buying blank journals that I don't necessarily have a good purpose for. The SI common planner has plenty of space and a good layout for me to use for everything. (The Hobo Weeks lives in my purse, I like having a planner and I use the extra pages for random brain dumping when I'm waiting in the carpool line and trying to reduce my phone use.)
The hype and such an early pre-order is probably why a lot of people got multiples. When Hobonichi dropped I almost caved, but I only need the two I have from Sterling Ink. I’ll live vicariously through everyone else
I bought…a few…👀…common planners before landing in the Wonderland222 in August, from which I haven’t looked back. July was prime “I can’t get my plannering together this year,” and I wanted to hands-on try them.
Now, October, I’m trying to decide between my 2024 W222 or the A5 split year common planner. I’m either gifting or selling every other option, ‘cause I’m not allowing myself the overwhelm next year. One and done, make it work.
Couldn’t agree more, they are beautiful. Do I need them? Time will tell, but probably not or maybe. Ha!
Her planners are all the ideal format for me, but I just don't have the time to stalk her IG and get all the updates just because I'm waiting to find out when the planners are getting released. So my only issue is they sell out so fast, and catching them on time is tricky. Frustrating.
I have to say the SI Common Planner is the first planner that actually suits ALL my needs. I've tried many other planners that just didn't work for me, they were either "too much" or "too little". What I love about the Common Planner (in addition to the paper) is that they are totally customizable because the grid lines and type is light enough that if you do something different in your setup you don't even notice it. This is my first year with them, I have the vertical passport for on the go and the B6 vertical for my desk. The passport has minimal info, just the dates I need to remember, etc., and I don't keep it neat and "pretty". The B6 contains more detailed info for daily use. I also have the B6 520pg Notebook which I absolutely love for daily journaling. I'm thinking about getting the N1 in the upcoming sale to use stricly for in-depth goals, we'll see. But in general, I'm not a multiple planner person, too time consuming for me, but having one for on the go and one for my desk hasn't been bad because I don't "embellish" a lot, I save that for my personal journal.
I have on order a B6 and an A5 from Sterling Inc. it will be here tomorrow says the shipping. I wanted them so bad! while waiting, I found Wonderland 222 all in one A5 which I absolutely positively adore because of all the trackers and the two pages after the month and the months are followed by the weeks, and there are almost 600 pages in this book it’s truly has everything. I also have the journey planner coming for health tracking, so what the heck am I gonna do with Sterling Inc.🤪 I love her planners too. I think the problem is that everybody’s making them really really good, and whoever comes out with them, first wins! i’ll be selling my sterling Inc. planners no Waste here!
My goal is to stick with one planner with the exception of a notebook. I use a Clever Fox Teacher Edition planner for work and just purchased a Clever Fox A5 to use personally but I did by a Sterling Ink Notebook to use for brain dumping and list making. I wanted to go for the Common Planner but held back and hair sticking to what I have. This was a great thorough video on the Common planner and what all it offers.
Hobonichi is my jam! I ordered the common planner last year and immediately realized that I would never be fully satisfied in it. It felt very flimsy, in my opinion…..and, I love the Hobonichi brand. It felt wrong to me to use a knock off! Betrayal, in my mind! Lol
I’ll be trying out a multiple planner system this year, including 2 hobonichi weeks, hobonichi A6,
A5, and Take A Note. I see the benefit of having multiple planners if you are someone who likes/wants to compartmentalize your life a bit. I think it helps me switch gears to think differently when I’m in a different planner. For example, I’ll be using my A5 Cousin for memory keeping whereas my A6 will be a media log. It’s definitely not necessary to have so many planners in your system, but at the end of the day, it really comes down to someone’s habits and how their brains are wired 😅
I get what you mean about feeling conflicted. I very much enjoyed using the Common Planner this year for journaling and I really can’t think of anything negative to say about it. I’m simply exploring other things cuz I don’t think planner peace will ever be a thing for me since I like to try all the things and I’m okay with that. It did show me though that my preference in a good and sturdy bound book in the B6 size.
I wanted one of these, but I didn't have the money at the time. I really like that you are so real. I am like you. I am just going to use one planner and a bullet journal next year. I know I am going to miss writing on my Tomoe river paper this year.
I got one common planner in the TN Horizontal planner size because I love the my Travelers Notebook and my Hobo Weeks, so that fact that Catherine combined the both, I'm looking forward to see how it all flows. Buuuuuut I couldn't resist buying the entire Tomitaro Makino line, so yeah I know it's overwhelming but worse case scenario, I'll repurpose them using planner date stickers.
Also resonating with the “why did I buy these” feelings. I ordered the B6 compact AND half year by mistake and cancellation was not allowed. I ended up just selling both to a neighbor. The weeks is what I am actually most productive in. I went back to that + a blank stalogy B6 for notes / whenever I feel the urge to do a daily page or weekly spread I can just draw it there. The weeks is a functional must for me, but more than 2 books feels like chaos.
I had the undated b6 for the back half of 2023 and surprisingly enjoyed it. I didn't preorder originally because it was like the Cousin, and I've never had luck with one. Maybe i just needed the b6 size? I used a Weeks as my daily carry for appointments and such. For 2024, I bought two Sterling Ink common planners the full b6 in forest green and the n2 weeks horizontal. I will definitely use the b6. The n2 is thicker than a Weeks Mega.
On the whole rush to buy, I definitely see that with the Hobonichi purchases. I tried to be as honest with myself and my habits.
I got the a5 compact common planner because even though I love my hobonichi cousin I dont think I need that many pages for next year, I dont plan on being that “busy”. So far I love how light it is.
There is actually a passport size vertical weekly. It is great if you don’t like the horizontal version.
My A5 common planners arrived today (the 2 books for the year). I've sat here and thoroughly compared it to a hobo cousin and I can honestly say that I can't WAIT to get into it. I struggled with the cousin and how I felt really restrained by having dated pages, so this is going to work brilliantly for me. I have to choose carefully because a) the exchange rate is super crap with the USD and b) shipping sometimes costs as much, if not more as the planner, so when I'm spending nearly 100 bucks on one planner system, I sure as hell have to use it.
I think the extra page is for the extra day in 2024 because it is a leap year
I got a Common Planner for 2024 to use exclusively for work. I've been bullet journaling for over 5 years at this point and it has been a good creative outlet for my personal planning and journaling. But my work planning has been all over the place, because I've changed jobs a few times in the last couple years and got in the habit of bouncing between random notebooks, and that isn't working for my current job anymore. So I'm excited to have a full year planner with goal setting that will actually already be set up and ready for my daily chaos, lol.
And I'm still getting a Leuchtturm 1917 for my bujo
I purchased the A5 full year and the travlers notebook compact. I knew I was taking a chance because I was nervous the print would be too light, the cover was too soft, and I prefer the TN inserts than a full book. I still purchased them !!!! It's completely my fault 😪 I haven't received mine yet. When inserts were offered, I wish she would have told us,but I realized it's a business to make money 💰 🤑
bc they are *content*~ lol. that being said they are cute planners and i appreciated seeing them cover to cover.
2023 is the 1st year I've had more than 1 planner, and I'm like it more than I thought I would. I have my A5 Cousin as a daily/catch-all, and then a Weeks for my writing planner. I got my 2024 A5 and passport size last week, and am still waiting on my black "weeks" size. I plan on using my cognac/caramel A5 for my daily, catch all, and some journaling, My forest green passport with gold pages will be a tiny memory-keeper that I leave on my bedside table to jot a few things down each night. I've found a system that works really well for me, and I'm keeping it for next year, with just the addition of the passport memory-keeper. I really, really love both my Hobo's for this year, and am feeling a little fear about switching to Sterling Ink for next. But I just need to remember that the 2 brands are so similar, and I'm not switching my process, just the books, which are *barely* different. I hope you find a use for these, or that you can re-gift/home them to someone who will love them :)
I ordered 3 Common Planners this year as well as a couple of Hobonichis and a Wonderland222, which sounds like a lot - except that I know there's just not enough space in one planner for everything I want to write down, not if it's going to be clear and readable. Hence my line-up is:
* A5 Hobonichi HON as my home desk planner - GYST lists and overall schedule
* A5 Common Planner for my side gig (author), tarot study and other creative endeavours
* B6 Common Planner for meal planning (I ordered this before her weekly booklets came out - they would probably do just as well for this purpose, so maybe next year...)
* B6 Wonderland222 for my day job, which definitely needs to be separate from all the above
* Hobonichi Weeks as my EDC notebook & personal habit tracker
The only planner I bought that I have no definite use for is the Passport Common Planner - like you, I thought it looked so cute, and I was sure I was going to use it as my EDC, but it turns out I'm too emotionally attached to the Weeks 😀
So the reason the note pages have a different amount is because there is 53 weeks in this year instead of the normal 52 weeks. I did get one common planner I got the N1(standard size) horizontal which is basically what I use now. Last year (2022) I fell in love with the layout but it was a little small so I upsized to the standard and drew it out in a cut down Stalogy and loved it. Was so happy when Sterling Ink came out with these so I didn’t have to draw it all out again for 2024
I really went overboard with my 2024 planner purchases. I intended to use SI only but I couldn’t resist the Hobonichi release 😩😩. I don’t have a need for 4 planners so I’ll definitely gift what I don’t use.
I have a compact size Franklin planner that I carry with me for appointments & reminders; a lot of info (family birthdays, religious holidays & weekly Bible readings) is filled in a year in advance. I also track my daily steps on the monthly pages. I also ordered an undated vertical weekly (week on 2 pages) Happy Planner for cleaning & decluttering schedules for the first time (&ASMR). I can use whiteout tape if I change a cleaning routine. I have a plain Composition Book to take notes while watching UA-cam videos. I schedule genealogy research in the Franklin. Hope to put it in a book for relatives.
i like these videos bc it lets me see the planner w/o buying it, bc i don't have the time or money to be getting more than one rip
I would quickly find a use for every planner. There’s a planner for bill paying and financial. One for grocery planning, one for doctor’s appointments, one for garden planning.
The list goes on, my only problem is I LOVE the idea of organizing my life like that, I don’t love overwhelming myself with so much paperwork and filing. I last for about 3 months then my life falls apart one planner at a time.
😂
I went with a Hobonichi Cousin again for next year (as I need the dated daily pages), then I added a B6 Sterling Ink notebook. It takes the FOMO out of trying to get a hold of a Common Planner as the notebooks seem easier to order.
I moved on the Common Planner for 2024 (team A5!) but then also got HON in A5. I'm not sure which one I'll be using but I feel like it'll probably just be one of them. I love the structure of the Hobos' daily pages, but sometimes I just need the freedom with the Common Planner to use multiple pages. I also got a Weeks, but no regrets there. I know it's use-case and there isn't overlap with the others.
Wow, this video's end is kind of crazy to me because your planning videos and demonstrations (Brain Dump, Energy tracking and planning, etc. ) in the Sterling Ink B6 is what got me excited about planning and about your channel. Kind of blows my mind that they possibly won't be in the mix anymore for this channel. Waiting for the Sterling Ink extra sales to drop, as I'm going to be getting the B6 half year for next year. (I'm new to the planner community and literally learned about Sterling Ink this past late August, but personally for me the freedom of Sterling Ink planners are a huge draw for me, and is allowing me to get done everything I wanted to do. I think the freedom of it really helps my neurodivergent brain, is what I'm guessing. And ironically, the reasons you laid out in your "Did Sterling Ink fix Hobinichi planners?" video are the very reasons I seriously can't even get my brain wrapped around the structure of the Hobinichi's, what with the colors, and the unnecessary space taken up by the writing at the bottom.) But, still happy while it lasted!
Same, but I think we’ll still see her CP in the mix. But no matter what I think Rachelle always does very versatile content so I’m sure whatever she comes up with will be adaptable to the CP even if she doesn’t always use it!
Hi Rachelle, I actually bought the undated common planner and dated it with her sticker pack for 2024. Then I also bought the week sized notebook. I have been drawing hobo weeks layouts on every other spread and then I have one spread with two weeks for "meal tracking" and "workout tracking". This year I have been using a B6 stalogy for journaling and an A5 stalogy for monthly spreads and weekly spreads that I had drawn in advance. And I also use two travelers notebooks. One for weekly spreads like the Hobonichi weeks and one for "meal tracking". And I also have a pocket sized travelers notebook for like a rapid log. So I will be sizing down my planner line up from about 5 planners to 2 😅
Thanks for your post and sharing.
Same, I think I have 2 planners from 2023 I didnt touch. One being the common planner, Split year. I like the stacked weekend, however the new design may work for me. I like the months with the weeks, but the Wonderland 222 split up the weeklys with the wrong month because the way it fell. Thru my schedule off a couple times this year. I wwould rather have a blank page. Anyway thanks again for sharing. I was so overwhelmed this year I have not really shopped
I had just started in Hobo weeks this year and planned to get Hobo Cousin, but then Sterling Ink came along... I got 2 A5 full year: one for work, the other for my Faith Planner, and an N2 compact (weeks) for personal EDC.
Thanks for your video. The reason I resist (and the struggle is real) buying multiple planners is that I DO NOT have enough life for them. I am a no sticker planner so filling up multiple books is impossible. So I use the one tool that is most flexible for my job in education administration: a ring-bound planner where I can add memos and notes. It seems to work for me.
After spending a lovely year in the black B6, I bought the forest green B6 full year and I am in LOVE (+ a black backup ;0). It has a smooth finish that feels amazing in the hand - nice and squishy which I love. The grid lines in the blank pages of the 2024 B6 are darker than the 2023 but yes, I agree, the text doesn't appear darker in the 2024. I do miss the shading across the monthly page headers - it helps me distinguish between monthly and weekly pages which have identical text and font sizes - may have to shade myself or figure out another way to distinguish monthly from weekly. That said [lol] I also got Hobonichi A5 Day Free and an A6 Planner - couldn't break my 8 year streak of Hobo use. I think I have uses for them but we'll see. I do know that my B6 CP will be at my side all year. Thanks for the great video Rachelle! Looking forward to seeing how your year evolves.
I ended up using a lot of shading this year. I eventually got in a rhythm and used the same color for the whole month.
I blow hot and cold over planners, preferring to use a home made one at the moment, but these look really nice. Thanks for sharing.
2024 will be my first year in a Common Planner -- my preordered A5 full year arrived today. I'm in a Hobo Cousin this year and it's working well for me. so I went for "same but better" for my personal planner. I'm in a Wonderland 222 A5 for my work planner and a Wonderland 222 B5 for my health and medical planner, but I must admit for the latter I do wish I had a Common Planner B5 or TN Standard instead -- I just didn't know I was going to need it until after the preorder.
I'm so impressed with the high quality of the Common Planner -- it's just so nice to handle. The Wonderland 222s are really nice, but they just don't hold a candle to the Common Planner.
I went a bit crazy this year. I got two common planners, and three Hobonichi planners. But I did make sure I had a use case for each. The A5 CP will be my main planner/memory keeper, B6 CP will be my tarot journal (currently in an A6 Techo). My Weeks will be a combo of ink/pen usage log and art journal, the A6 Techo my ink/pen review journal, and the I got an A6 5-year which will track seasonal observations and important memories/events. I’m planning a video on all this soon now that I received my CP order.
I love that you have a use for all of them!! The seasonal log is something I’ve wanted to do for ages, maybe this year I’ll finally devote one of my planners to it too ☺️
If only she did Sunday start!!! 😅
Edit to add: I can’t do the dated planners anyways…. But her notebooks are something I’ve been eyeing.
i forgot i preordered a common planner on a whim and ordered a few from hobonichi that i had actual plans for right when they went live. three felt excessive but i got smaller ones so that i could fill them and have each serve a necessary purpose. then my common planner arrived and i was like oh, i could have done everything in this one book, and now i'm a bit annoyed with myself for how much i spent and how much i now have to fill. i plan to use both simultaneously because both brands are new to me, just trying to find a way to transfer everything into my common planner too. i'm hoping using both for identical information will help me decide what's best for me? but i'm feeling a bit overwhelmed thinking about it too. this is my first year with a physical planner in a good decade, and i fear i made my switch from digital to physical a bit harder by not being able to resist any of the pretty notebooks i see.