It’s July already and we are halfway through 2026. So, I thought it would be a good time to stop and evaluate my current journal/planner/notebook set-up in an official Techo Kaigi (stationery meeting).
I started the year with a B6 Aura Estelle Daily (5053), a Mark’s EDiT B7 semi, a Creeping Moon B6 Tarot Journal, a Pineider “Hollywood” A5 lined notebook and a personal-szied Filofax. Some of these are ging strong, others fell out of use almost immediately (more ambition than time or energy, I suspect) and other notebooks have come into use. So let’s review…
STILL in REGULAR ROTATION
The Aura Estelle has ended up working quite well for me so far. I have stuffed it to the gills with paper ephemera in the form of stickers, washi, and personal ephemera like photos and other bits. As such it already feels extremely floofy. The used portion is measuring about 25mm thick with the unused portion measuring about 11mm with total planner thickness including covers at almost 40mm (about 1.5″) so far. This has lead me to consider using a half-year style journal/planner next year ro reduce my overall heft. Unfortunately, I love the layout and format of the Aura Estelle so I may stay in this same notebook next year I’ll just prepare some arm curls to build up my upper body strength to carry it around.
I continue to be loyal to the B6 as it provides enough space (usually for a day-per-page) without being overwhelming. If you haven’t tried the B6 size, its about 5×7″ compared to the standard Hobonichi A6 which is closer to a 4×6″ (these are rough size info that is common to most Americans. I know these are not specific numbers, just giving a ballpark) — it’s a little more space without being huuuge.
The Mark’s EDiT B7 Semi continues to be my catch-all. The fountain pen friendly paper and 300+ pages make it easy to grab and know I have plenty of space to jot a quick note, reminder, list or idea and still have many pages left. I gave my clear cover to someone at a pen show who really wanted a B7 Semi but I had sold out of the versions with the covers so I gave her mine. I’ll be getting more Mark’s EDiT notebooks in the shop soon so hopefully, I’ll be able to replace my cover. In the meantime, the paperboard cover is durable enough to survive being jammed into my backpack, tote back and such. The plastic cover did make it feel impervious to coffee stains and other natural disasters though.
Out of Rotation
The Pineider Commonplace journal was abandoned within a month or so as I wasn’t reading as much non-fiction that lends itself to a more structured style of notetaking. I still have it and if I decide to deep dive on a topic again, I may pull it out but for now its in storage.
Since I do most of my day-to-day tarot racking in my planner/journal, I really have not been using the more singular-purpose Creeping Moon B6 journal as much as I’d hoped. Again, it has not been ditched but put aside until I take on a more specific project around tarot like a deep dive or other sort of study.
Updated use
I started the year with the Filofax Original personal sized in black for work-related tasks. It is larger than my Plotter which gave me room to keep freelance notes and blog/Patreon/shop projects all in the same notebook. However, I had no sooner set it up then my needs for work-related content seems to have shifted or I just wasn’t using it for this purpose. So, the Filofax just sat since January.
The last few days, I’ve seen the appeal of resurrecting the ringbound planner for notetaking and tracking various projects more diligently. So I am brining back into rotation. I have cleared out some clutter, added some different papers and will be updating the tabs to make it feel fresh and new.
However, I’ve seen some people recently using ringbound planners in more creative ways so I may throw caution to the wind and turn mine into more of a play space at some point. I like the idea of pasting in inspiration from various sources — be it Pinterest or books and magazines — as well as using the binder to store ink swatches, pen tests and other stationery related tracking. In the past I’ve had other places where I kept these sorts of things but I like the flexibility of the 6-ring binders for being able to use different papers, rearrange the pages and generally just muck about.
Newly Added
I’ve added some pocket notebooks for junk journals and creative spaces. Some of these books I custom made from random scraps and paper I had floating around and others were existing Field Notes that are being put to use for various detritus collecting. I find that junk journaling and collage work is a great way to use and use up the notebooks that are not as fountain pen friendly.
I am pasting in random bits, quotes, ideas and just playing. I have one that is my travel journal with scraps and notes from various trips, one I am using for letter bits from friends and family and I am in the process of building one to save stamps from my father-in-law’s letters since he uses lots of wonderful vintage postage and it seems a shame to throw them away.
I also have a notebook I’ve turned into a mini, portable “Grimoire” with various tarot, astrology, and herbal notes. Its a commonplace book but witchy! It seemed like less commitment and less pressure than making some epic tome à la Charmed.
Conclusion
So, overall, most of my journals and notebooks are continuing to be used and I am finding that its okay to swap books in and out as the need arises. If I go deep on a specific concept, I may pull out the Pineider notebook agin to write down insights. I also belive firmly in the notion that should your life change, your planning, ournaling and note-taking meay also need to change. If I were to go back to a full-time, in-office job (not gonna happen but its an example), I might need a different planner or jouranl for “in the office” or for work-specific tasks. Since my life trajectory has not changed significantly since January, my system has continued to work despite the occasional hiccup.
Do you swap notebooks in and out? Are you planner monogamous or have you jumped around this year?
