It’s been two years since my last post. I’ve come to the point where I have forgotten about this blog. For that, I deeply apologise. There has just been so many things going on with other aspects of my life. Having said that, I feel that this avenue is a great way to connect with you.
Let’s get started!
A few changes to in my planner life…
I’m on a #stationerynobuy (with my own rules).
I’ve decided to use the MANY stickers I’ve been hoarding.
I’m actively choosing to use stickers made by Filipino artists, and items from Filipino shops.
A different kind of planning?
My planning style is still very functional in my HOBONICHI WEEKS 2023. But I also have my Kinbor planners (3 of them) that I tend to go sticker-heavy on. Don’t be surprised when I post my planner/journal pages with a ton of stickers.
DON’T WORRY. I still have a lot of functional pages.
My planners
If you would like to know more about the planners and journals I’m using, I recommend watching my Techo Kaigi 2023 video here:
I know that this is a lot but I’m really obsessed with planners, journals, and notebooks in general. You don’t need these many books to function. This is because playing with notebooks is my hobby and, also, my YouTube channel is all about planners and journals.
It’s been a year since I decided to stop using decorative elements (stickers/stamps) my Hobonichi Weeks. Although using decoration in your planner doesn’t mean it’s not functional, I wanted to have less clutter on my pages. In effect, I’ve gone the minimalist route!
It is a journey that requires its own post (coming in November). For now. Let’s enjoy this grayscale spread I made on my Hobonichi Weeks weekly pages.
Materials:
Ruler from Daiso
Born. Dual brush pen
Staedtler triplus fineliner (matching brush pen)
Kaweco Sport fountain pen
Sections from left to right:
Day overview: meetings, appointments
Daily section/Horizontal weekly: major tasks
Small grid (right page): minor tasks
Trackers (right page, top)
Notes: week’s impressions (right page, middle)
Next week’s reminders (right page, bottom)
It’s a very simple spread, where I used the Staedtler triplus fineliner to deepen the lines already on the page. I also used the brush pen to highlight areas that need to be emphasised (like meetings). Clear sections and highlight are really all I need for a spread!
Mind that this spread is only for work. I don’t document life things on these pages. That goes on my notes section and my pocket planner. In November, I’ll be talking about my planning system in depth. Make sure you are subscribed to my YouTube channel!
Firstly, I would like to apologize for the lack of posting. But, secondly, I promise to be a tad more active here. If you’d like to see what I’ve been up to, in terms of planning, I have been regularly posting videos on my YouTube channel (paperjoyph). See you there!
Today, I wanted to talk about my experience with ordering my Hobonichi 2022. This year, I wanted to try ordering from a local reseller based in Australia. Milligram.com is a stationery shop that sells a lot of brands, including Hobonichi. On the launch of the Hobonichi 2022 lineup, they posted a list of the available planners for pre-order. They were clear with their shipment date, and offered free shipping based on purchase amount.
SHIPPING SCHEDULE I ordered on the 10th of September, and the items were shipped on the 14th of September from Melbourne. I received the items on the 15th of September.
Before I ordered from a reseller, I did the math for both orders. Mind that I’m only ordering two things. So, I knew that buying from a reseller was likely going to be cheaper depending on the shop, of course. HOBONICHI TECHO STORE VS MILLIGRAM RESELLER
Official Hobonichi Techo Store – H. Weeks (27.37 AUD) + A5 Notebook (16.42 AUD) + Shipping & Handling (51.27 AUD) = 91.08 AUD total
Reseller, Milligram.com – H. Weeks (44.95 AUD) + A5 Notebook (34.95 AUD) + Free Shipping = 79.90 AUD total
NOTE:FREEBIES Although a reseller is a better deal, you may also miss out on the freebies. In this case, I didn’t get the Hobonichi 2022 pen freebie. If I had ordered the Hobonichi Original or Cousin, I would have missed out on the Not Scary Bear’s Little Spoon keychain pendant.
ALTERNATIVE: GROUP ORDER As an alternative to ordering from a reseller, it’s also possible to join group orders. A person (or several) would make an order in behalf of local buyers. In essence, all buyers would divide the shipping cost, making it cheaper. You can ask your friends or you can join FaceBook groups to participate in the order. There is a certain level of trust required. But just do your research.
SHOP MY ORDER Although I will make a separate posts on these items when I set them up, here’s quick links to the goodies that I ordered:
We are new here in Australia and are still adjusting to culture & ways. It brings me so much joy to have things I’m familiar with… like one my favourite planners: HOBONICHI TECHO PLANNERS from Japan.
Back in the Philippines, I had to buy it store from official retailers. In Australia, there is one store I know that offers Hobonichi 2021. There were more last year! But they had to close shop because of critical times, unfortunately. This became my first time to order directly from The official website in Japan!
It is also their 20th Anniversary! The parcels come in this bright yellow box with the logo stamped on blue ink.
As a student, I could never afford this much items (10 in total) in one go. I could have saved (I did). But since this was my first order, I didn’t want to be limited by my measly budget.
Zip Pay is a lay-away program that works like a credit card. In that, it lets you divide your total purchase into instalments.
The best part for me is that the instalments are divided into $40 AUD per month, instead of dividing into a limited instalments. That way you are charged a set number for each billing cycle. It works well if you made a big purchase (like me) but you aren’t pressured to pay more.
There’s a fee of $6 per month but only if you have a balance in your account. There is an option for extra payment if you want to cut down on the fee. For me, I just add the fees to my budget. I can even calculate how much fees I’d like to pay per purchase.
NOTE: For my limited budget, I don’t make more than one big purchase. I clear off the first purchase before I make another.In the event the I needed to make another purchase, if my balance allows, I will redo my budget!
This year, I expect major purchases in December for Christmas. That means I have to redo my budget for 2021.
Back to my Hobonichi 2021…
If you’re interested in what I got for 2021, you can watch my Haul video here:
Your BuJo tools don’t have to break the bank for them to work for you.
Tools you need for Minimalist BuJo
What’s good about Minimalist BuJo is that your tools (as well as your style) undergo major culling… think: Konmari Method but for your planning/journaling style.
Watch my latest YouTube video to see how I use my minimalist BuJo
What you think you need:
Leather bound notebook from reputable brands used by influencers, pens, other pens, even more pens, colour markers, another set of those markers but from Japan, gold ruler, gold scissors, gold paper clips, minimalist colour scheme page flags and sticky notes, etc.
What you really need:
Notebook that’s stitched (so it lays flat) and a reliable pen that works on your notebook paper.
Optional items:
One set of page flags, one block of sticky notes, a few paper clips, a good pair of scissors, glue tape, some stickers (a sheet per week will do – more on this soon!).
MY MINIMALIST NOTEBOOK
My Unicorn Notebook
My new notebook find changed my life & it is only A$ 3! You probably already know that you can use any notebook you use for your BuJo. This is by far my favourite!
MY FOUNTAIN PENS
Lamy Vista with Perle Noir
My current main fountain pen is my Lamy Vista with F nib. It has a clear body, which means it will go with any planner/notebook. If you are in Australia, you can get it here.
OPTIONAL ITEMS: page flags + sticky notes
Page Flags & Sticky Notes in action!
You don’t really need page flags or sticky notes (which I’m also using like a page flag haha). In my case, I don’t like the indexing system in the Bullet Journal Method. Plus, I can’t be bothered to number my pages. That’s where these optional items come in.
I use page flags for active collections or lists that I need to refer to in my BuJo process. Each colour of flag means a particular list. For example the pink flag means my laboratory work list.
OPTIONAL ITEMS: Stickers
EC vertical stickers in action
To be honest, I got these stickers before I changed my planning style. BUT I’m so glad I have them! They add a little something to my pages. My aesthetic is all about fashion magazine format (without any fashion photos… yet). There’s something about glossy magazines that makes me feel like my planner is so pretty and put together just like “Vogue” or “Vanity Fair”. I no longer indulge in these print products, but I do miss them.
OPTIONAL ITEM: Printed Images
Who’s to know that this is just printed in copy paper?!
Not all of us can get our hands on pretty printed sticker kits that matches our aesthetic. In fact, I only get the full box pages of kits since it will save me money and I don’t have pages of left-over stickers! But if I really can’t find what I’m looking for, I just download them off the internet and print them on normal copy paper!
It won’t show up on photos anyways. This is a really good money-saving hack. Plus, the amount of customisation is extremely large. Come to think of it, I should make a video about this soon!
I hope you are inspired to start your own BuJo and find this style appealing. Don’t forget to tag me on your Instagram when you post your pages inspired by this post!
This dashboard is a repeat of my first one… As I was using the page, I realised I needed to try it out for one more week to see if it would become a staple in my BuJo pages.
Since it was one of my simpler pages, and one of the pages that I practically pre-plan, it was a good YouTube video topic.
TAKE AWAY:
1) a dashboard is a quick overview of the week. Do not load it with information. Choose only your priorities. It also makes a good practice to reflect on your previous week, your priorities and where you spend your time;
2) all these spaces (daily spaces) are active. Don’t be afraid to cross things out in the week. It’s not meant to make sure your week is “perfect”. It is just an exercise for self-reflection; and
3) do not do away with the UNKNOWN space! This is the most important. It releases you from the pressure of setting time for everything and everyone. Be kind to yourself (& others) when planning.
Let me know if you’ve tried this page or have a version of it that works for you on the comments!
When I first tried out the Bullet Journal Method, I always saw the Daily Log as the operational to-do list. I was wrong. Not surprisingly, Bullet Journal didn’t work for me.
Daily Log Overview
According to Ryder Carol, the author of The Bullet Journal Method, Daily Logging contained so much more than mundane task lists. It was literally a journal in bullet form! It contained notes, information, feelings, ideas and everything else you can think of!
Seasoned BuJo user Plant Based Bride recommends allotting a whole page per one day of Daily Logging. She explained it as “letting the page breathe”. This changed my whole perspective on Daily Logging.
How I Daily Log:
I divide the page into several active spaces, with some spaces filled in before the day starts, and spaces for the end of the day.
ACTIVE SPACE 1: Priorities
{ ACTIVE SPACE 1 | PRIORITIES }
To avoid overloading my day, I practice essentialism – I pick out the most important things. Here, I’ve divided it into 3 areas: School/Work, Blog, and Home. For each area, I write down the most important tasks. It also serves as a good reference for the rest of the day. (Mind that my day is usually time-blocked!)
ACTIVE SPACE 2: Task List
{ ACTIVE SPACE 2 | Task List & Rapid Logging }
Of course, you can’t really do away with task lists. For me, this also includes tasks that came up and completed in the day. It allows flexibility and space for information or notes.
ACTIVE SPACE 3: Journaling
{ ACTIVE SPACE 3 | Journal Log }
This is my fave space. It’s where I get to write down all the feelings. I enjoy it so much that I have to stop myself from writing into the night. Here, I talked about how productive I felt with the progress of this blog and my YouTube channel {paperjoyph}. If I find myself with nothing to write, I’ll write that down too! It’s also a more descriptive mood tracker.
I’m beginning to see the adverse effects of hyper-productivity. This leads to burn out. I find that a more effective method is planning with self-compassion.
You don’t always need to be productive. BUT you always need to be kind to yourself!
Remember to forgive yourself for tasks you couldn’t do, for places you couldn’t go… You can’t and shouldn’t do everything. But you should make self-compassionate decisions/plans.
{ Weekly Log } is not officially a part of the Bullet Journal Method as developed by Ryder Carol. But we – meaning BuJo in social media – do it anyways. How else are we going to know what we need to do, or need to go, in the week?
Minimalist Weekly Log
I’m trying out this simple & succinct week-at-a-glance weekly log of only places & events. There are to-do lists here. And, only major appointments.
How to do this?
1. Divide the page according to the days of the week (7 spaces) & two extra space (+ 2 space)
2. Write down the days of the week according to how it appeals to you, e.g. Monday start with month & date or Sunday start with just date
3. Prioritize your events or decided on your “to-go” list. For me, it’s either home or uni. For those working from home, it could be home/out. Choose no more than 2 places/areas/events.
4. Write it down on its respective space. The extra spaces are for NEXT WEEK logs (a good reference) and a space for unknowns within the week.
5. Do not skip the UNKNOWNS. Life is insane. There will be events that are what I consider “floating” – which means it doesn’t have a set date or events that you don’t have control over (e.g. other people’s schedule). This space is a practice for developing FLEXIBILITY (more on this soon!)
That’s all for this instalment. I’m almost done with Ryder Carol’s The Bullet Journal Method audiobook I have on at my Scrib’d (good app for casual readers!).
{ Rapid Logging } is perhaps one of the corner stones of Bullet Journaling. Is there such a thing as too much rapid-logging?
Left hand side: Rapid logging on my Daily Log
Sometimes, I get lost in Rapid Logging. There are days when I’m in the mood to dump all my thoughts down on paper for hours. I do this when I’m stressed out about something/someone. It’s a good form of self-soothing. But that’s on a good day. There are times when it leads me to overthinking – as if rapid logging only expounds my frustration: making mountains out of mole hills.
When I find myself writing into the late hours of the night, I drop my pen (gently), take a deep breath… and wish myself a “good night” & “sweet dreams”.
A good trick to stop myself from overthinking. It’s a way for me to just release all the feelings into the darkness of the night.
If you’ve been creative planning for years, how do you plan without it?
Question of the Post
Since 2016, I’ve been a planner girl {official}. Informally, I’ve been a planner girl since I could write. Every few months, I would change into different notebooks or bound planners. It was especially helpful in uni. And, it had stuck with me until masters studies. By then, Erin Condren had launched the first round of the Life Planner, and Etsy was operational. Home-made stickers for to specific planners suddenly blew up.
I couldn’t resist. No one could!
– said all planners girls, ever
By 2017, I was running a semi-successful sticker shop: PAPERJOYPH.COM
By 2018, we launched our Hobonichi Weeks Sticker Kits – we were one of the first shops to make sticker kits fit specifically for the Hobo Weeks. I remember searching all of the internets to find shops who did the same. I found two others. Suddenly, our little shop was overwhelmed with orders. To put this in context, my husband chose to quit his job to focus on Paper Joy. I am proud of what we have accomplished. But it came to a point where I chose Higher Degree education over my sticker shop. But… that is a story for another blog post.
Push forward to right now…
To be honest, I surprised even myself at how I could work with only that little block of cut-up printed image. I never thought I would find a spread like this appealing – I never would have believed that this minimal decoration would be coming from my own planner/journal. I’m still half expecting my hands to automatically place washi and other stickers on this page. Spoiler: I’ve finished this spread and used it in a different blog post here.
If you want to see my full spreads ahead of my posts, make sure to follow me on Instagram.
PROS & CONS OF CREATIVE PLANNING
{ PRO } + Oh so pretty! It looks great when you look at your planner. Be honest, the cuteness is hard to resist. + Personalization! No one’s pages will look like yours. It’s a chance for you to express individuality {your likes/dislikes}. In a world that stresses conformity, this is god-send. + Instagramable! It looks great in photos. The planner community wouldn’t be as strong without the camaraderie on fb groups and insta. Pretty planners flock together – that’s not a bad thing at all!
{ CON } + Expensive! I’m lucky to find my creative planning style, and luckier to find shops selling the exact art I like. Unfortunately, most these shops have very expensive kits over $20USD per sticker kit. Accounting for 4 weeks/month, it does not come cheap. + Functionality {lack thereof}! Arguably, functionality is not the selling point of creative planning. Sometimes, though, it should be considered. Are full-box checklists really necessary? + It can be chaotic.
Everything has a place. In your heart, if stickers belong in your planner, you shouldn’t listen to blogs like this one.
This article is merely for those wanting to revive their planning style and are unsure of how to proceed.
It’s your planner – it’s your world – it’s your rules
If there’s an expert on creative planning… it won’t be me. But I speak from years of experience. I love starting the week with decorating my planner. It felt like an art project! Afterwards, I felt like I’ve accomplished something. Sometimes, I couldn’t get enough “high” that I would decorate several weeks ahead just to put down a sticker…
Now I wonder, was it the joy of a pretty planner… or the joy of accomplishing a task that drove me to such great sticker heights. What was it about putting down stickers that made me so happy?
And, then, it hit me. I had absolutely no answers. BUT… I knew I had to cut-down. It was time for a change… an elegant and sophisticated change.
TIPS TO AVOID OVER-DECORATING
01
Strategy
Before you start, write down the “spaces” you need in your planner. For example, I need a daily log space and also some small lists space. Maybe a weekly overview because things are popping up and I don’t want to write them down just yet.
02
Design
Design your page by mapping out (even mentally) where you’d be placing those important spaces. For example, under the date cover you chose place down your to-do list, and it is the same level everyday {easier visually}. The empty spaces without functional purpose is where the decorative elements go.
03
Execution
If it’s your first time, don’t be afraid to take it slow and easy. Be meticulous. Notice where you’re putting important spaces. It may be a clue to how you’re organizing your thoughts.
04
Grow
What about the unknowns, the unplanned, and similar? Remember to plan with self-compassion. Plans change all the time and don’t be afraid for your planner to reflect this. For rescheduled items, simply place another half or quarter box sticker on top.
I hope you find these tips useful. It’s something that I’ve been doing a lot lately. From there, I’ve graduated into using less stickers. This is a gradual change through several planners. Finally, I’ve come to a point where I’m using decorative boxes as SPACERS. But more about this in another blog post.
Let me reiterate something here before I end… Always plan with self-compassion. There are many planners and many stickers out there, but there’s only one of you.
The Elegant {Analogue} 