In our previous BK story, we shared some of the critical questions you can ask yourself when you are thinking of the analogue system for the upcoming year. I find it is so helpful to get many different perspectives on the topic so we asked our BK friends to share their thoughts on the 2019 analogue system as well as words of advice!
I hope you enjoy reading through them.
SORAYA
For 2019 I decided to separate work and personal and will use my Jibun Techo specifically for work. This year, I moved up a size and will be using the A5 slim because I can slip a regular TN insert in it! I can move the insert into my regular TN as needed.
I also caved and got a Hobonichi Weeks Mega, which will be a master calendar for both work and personal. The fact that it’s thin, portable, and has the yummy Tomoe River Paper in it makes it so scrumptious. You know what I mean:)
One thing for sure, I’ll keep my Travelers notebooks - both regular and passport. Both sizes will have a monthly that will be synchronized so that I can move between them if I need to minimize my carry on certain days. I decided to not go with a weekly insert but will use a grid insert for bullet journaling.
Words of advice:
“Give yourself space and permission to find which planner works for you. Try it out and if it doesn’t work, it’s ok. Ask questions - the planner community is an amazing wealth of information and we are also a group of enablers. We love sharing our love of planners, notebooks, fountain pens, and all those wonderful analogue tools that are out there. Find inspiration around you and just trust the process.
You can find Soraya Love for Analogue Story, "Living the Now" here!
MARCY
First of all, my system is always changing to reflect my life so while I may tweak it for the new year there are also many, many other tweaks that happen throughout the year when needed. So while these may be my thoughts about my system for the coming year they may also be my thoughts for any other day.
Over the past year, I’ve tried so very hard to incorporate the second notebook into my one notebook system to no avail. I just can’t seem to get more than one notebook to work for me. I don’t feel the urge to separate my life into all kinds of sections. So, for me having a planner/notebook mashup is still my sweet spot. What’s working really well for me right now, and what I’ll be carrying over into the new year is the following:
For 2019 I will be using my Camel Travelers Notebook with a monthly calendar - for future planning. I design my own monthly calendars and print and bind them for my TN. Bought calendars tend to be far too busy for me, and this way I can add in birthdays and Canadian holidays before I print. I include a blank notebook - for everything else. Journal, lists, plans, thoughts... everything gets thrown in here. Perhaps it’s because of my minimalist tendencies but one notebook feels like enough for me. I struggled a great deal with “to-do lists” this past year and finally decided that this is not something I need to archive. So permanent stuff goes in the notebook and disposable lists (like to-do's) go in the Post-it notes or index cards. I also have a kraft folder - for my monthly cleaning list, crossword puzzles and so on. I have started keeping this folder in the back of my notebook so it doubles as a secure writing board.
That’s it. Simple and freeing.
Words of advice:
“Overall I would encourage anyone to look at their life and build their system from there. In the planner world, one size does not fit all. Just because a particular set of notebooks/planners is working for one person doesn’t mean it will work for you. Decide what you need and then find a system that works for your life. For me, I LOVE the simplicity of the MD daily dairy but that’s just not a size that I typically use. Plus it would mean me carrying two notebooks around. Instead, I had a custom time-stamp made which will allow me to recreate the daily spreads in my TN whenever I feel like it.
It’s easy to get lost in what’s working for someone else and assume it’ll work for you too. Whatever system you try out for the new year do your best to make sure that it will work for YOU.”
You can find Marcy's Love for Analogue Story, "Life Lived with Intention and Simplicity" here!
MADALENA:
I am going to use the Jibun Techo Biz again in 2019, but this time, I'm going to switch from the A5 Slim to the B6 Slim, hoping it will be lighter and a bit more compact to carry around with me more often. I use it for business and volunteer commitments, tasks and all my appointments (as well as my husband's so I don't overbook!). I also use and will continue to use in 2019, the BK Dashboards. They are so good for my daily work and volunteer tasks! I also love that they are slightly longer than the B6 Slim size so the one I'm using for the week will act as a bookmark. I continue to journal, but that's in a different notebook.
Now the big question is…what cover?!?
You can find Madalena's Love for Analogue Story, "Analogue Life as a Reflection of Life" here!
JEN:
I'll be sticking with the Jibun Techo B6 mini for 2019, except I'm switching over to the regular version rather than the Biz which is what I've used all of 2018. I know everyone loves the MIO paper, and I really wanted to love it too, but I guess I'm just a Tomoe River girl at heart. I am a little apprehensive about the colors and how they could potentially be distracting for me, but I found that I covered the date headers every week in the Biz version anyway (just to add a bit of interest and keep me motivated to plan each week), so I'll just continue doing so with the regular edition which solves that problem for the most part :) I toyed with the idea of trying out the Hobonichi Weeks, but I'm too obsessed with my BK x TSL Jibun Techo cover to not keep using it this coming year!
The main reason I'm switching to the regular Jibun is the paper - I found the MIO paper limiting as far as what mediums I could use on it. I don't go too crazy with decorations, but I want to be able to use any fountain pen + ink combo with reckless abandon (I need more Emerald of Chivor in my life). I'd also like to do little bits of watercolor here and there and the experience I've had using watercolor over the MIO paper is that it started to pill up and didn't hold up to the amount of water I like to use.
The 3 things I keep in mind when choosing a system for the new year are:
1 - I absolutely need a vertical weekly spread on two pages. I'm a list maker so horizontal doesn't work as well for me, and if I can't see the entire week at a glance I won't check ahead and will forget things that are coming up on the days I can't see. Monthly pages are a bonus, which is why I love the Jibun Techo, but I could probably do without them if I had to.
2 - Size. It needs to be small enough to throw in my purse but big enough to give me enough room for writing out each day. If I were to use an A5 size Jibun, I'd be much less inclined to take it everywhere with me as I do the B6 Slim, and A6 fits my hand perfectly but I can't write small enough to pack everything in the tiny spaces!
3 - Paper quality and aesthetics are tied here. I need a fountain pen friendly paper but the planner also needs to look nice. I think anyone reading this would agree that aesthetics are important, that's how we found Baum Kuchen in the first place right? ;)
You can find Jen's Love for Analogue Story, "A well oiled analogue system to run business and life" here!
0 comments