My Full 2026 Techo Kaigi (SO EMBARRASSING!)

I thought I’d do a quick rundown today of all the notebooks I am currently using and what purposes they serve (or should serve). The goal of this post is to show the way I use a variety of notebooks. No one needs to have this many naotebooks, journals and planners but I am always curious how other people utilize multiple notebooks.

Planner/Journal: Aura Estelle 2026 Magnet Daily Planner

Aura Estelle 2026 Magnet Daily Planner : I wrote in a bit more detail about this in my monthly planner set-up this month. This has taken the place of my beloved Stalogy B6 and a Hobonichi Weeks which I was using to do my daily journaling and planning as well as tracking my Gamify planning. I am only a week into the Aura Estelle but I love it! It is the perfect combo of page-a-day journal writing space with the Weeks-style overview each week so I don’t need two books to keep all my info any longer. ONE BOOK TO RULE THEM ALL!

The paper is Tomoe River Paper 52gsm white (New Sanzen) and is working just fine (no weird issues like in last year’s batches so maybe things at Sanzen have been straightened out). I have it in my old leather cover (purchased on Etsy from a vendor who is no longer making covers but if you’re looking for a Traveler’s-style leather cover for B6 or another unusual size, there are lots of other vendors on Etsy you could try.) I don’t keep any other notebooks in the leather cover as the full year planner takes up the majority of the space but I do keep a few sticker sheets in the back cover secretary flap and a card with washi tape in the front cover. I added a pen loop and keep at least one fountain pen with the planner/journal all the time.

How do I use this book?

I use my planner as my day-to-day tracker for activities using Austin Kleon’s logbook system to track what I did or what I’m doing (books I’m reading, films I’ve watched, people I’ve spent time with, projects I’ve been working on.) With the addition of the weekly overview calendar, I’ve added my Gamify stats to the all-in-one planner as well as the monthly calendar for travel dates, events and other reminders. This is how I remember what has happened and what I might have been thinking about at the time. I am surprised how often I refer back to previous year’s planner/journals to see when and where we did things (car repairs, weird weather, visitors, travel, media consumed, etc).

I do add stickers, washi tape, stamps and other decorative elements. It helps make it a book I like to look at and use because its pretty. It’s not necessary to decorate but for me, it breaks up the pages, feels inviting and makes me want to use it.

Pocket Notebook: Mark’s Edit B7 Semi

I am still loving using the Mark’s Edit B7 Semi as a pocket notebook. The plastic sleeve cover keeps it protected from liquids, dirt and wear and tear so I feel safe carrying around everywhere. I use it as an alternative to digital notes on my phone or immediately googling or looking something up on my phone.

It’s on my desk, my kitchen table, in my bag when I leave the house, the coffee table while we watch television and even on the night stand at bedtime.

How do I use this book?

This book is designed to help me prioritize activities on my digital devices. If I’m watching a movie and wonder about an actor, I write it in the book. If I still want to look up the actor after the film or the next day, I’ll look it up along with anything else that may have caught my interest but amazingly, most of the time, 12 hours later, it wasn’t all that important or I remembered on my own.

I also write other notes that I will later transfer to my planner/journal, commonplace or work journal. Its a catch-all. It’s messy, there’s no fancy sticker or washi. It’s just my paper brain.

The paper is fountain pen friendly but in an effort to keep it a quick, simple note taking system, I’ve paired it with a Pentel Energel or other gel pen. That way, nothing is precious and the retractable pen makes taking a quick note very low effort.

Commonplace Notebook: Pineider A5 “Hollywood” Notebook

In December, I started reading all those Digital Delcuttering books and many of the books came from the library so I realized I needed a place to write notes from books I am reading, quotes or things that struck me while I was reading/watching/listening. I wanted to use a notebook that wasn’t precious to me so I dug out this Pineider “Hollywood” A5 lined notebook (90gsm, cream paper, 192pp — as far as I can tell this notebook is no longer available but its similar to a softcover Leuchtturm1917 or similar).

When I got it, it got stained with ink on the flight home. I have also generally not be a fan of lined paper in the past so I knew I wouldn’t be too precious with this book.

How do I use this book?

I keep this notebook with my ereader, library books or book I’m currently reading. I clip another gel pen to the cover so that it is ready to use when I’m reading. If I find an interesting quote, or a passage or chapter that strikes a cord with me, I write it in the notebook.

What I’ve discovered is for this sort of writing, I really like lined paper. I’m shocked. I’ve been so opposed to lined paper for so long that I am having a lined paper renaissance. It reminds me of taking notes in a high school or college course using a lined school notebook. Should I fill this up this year, I will probably find another lined notebook for this purpose.

Tarot Journal/Book of Shadows:

I have been keeping a Creeping Moon Astronomer B6 blank sketchbook for my tarot studies. I call it my Book of Shadows because I’ve added astrology information, crystals, and all sorts of other information that I like to refer back to when I do tarot readings.

How do I use this book?

When I find information online, on podcasts or YouTube, or in a book that I want to refer back to at a future time, I add it into this book. I tend to open the book randomly and add in the information so that content is not in any order, there are blank pages randomly throughout.

At the moment, there is not a lot of creative collage, art journaling or decorating but there is space to add more decoration if I want to “fancy it up”. The paper is heavy enough to add markers, fountain pens, stamps or more but I haven’t had the time to polish the book and make it feel more like the fancy Book of Shadows on Charmed.

This book stays with my tarot decks and books as that is usually when I use it.

Work Journal: Filofax Original

I resurrected my Filofax Original in black in personal size for work-related note taking. I purchased the black Original several years ago (pre-Plotter) because I wanted a simple cover. I am pretty sure I bought it secondhand on either Ebay or the Filofax group on Facebook. There are teethmarks in the bottom corner that I think one of my cats did when they were a kitten. It’s not horrrible and the wear and tear means its just a cover to use, not hoard.

I migrated over some of the notes and ideas I had collected in my Plotter last year and am collecting them in the Filofax. I like the larger rings which will allow me to collect more project ideas but still be able to either archive them when completed or throw pages away once they become irrelevant. For day-to-day project organizing, I found the Plotter a touch too small since I am juggling projects for the web site, YouTube, Patreon, the shop, AND freelance work.

How do I use this book?

I have tabs for various project categories and add an assortment of paper for writing lists, developing project ideas and tracking freelance projects. I am trying lots of different papers from Plotter, Iroful, old Filofax papers and even sheets I printed myself. I like the variety of colored pages. Because its a ring binder, I can hole punch other sheets of paper that might have notes or ideas on it, and add them in the section I need them.

Besides the tabs and the dashboard, the Filofax is “all business” — there’s no fancy washi or stickers or decorating but that could change if I find it helps motivate or inspire me.

Conclusion:

So, there you have it. I am currently utilizing FIVE different notebooks on a regular basis. I reach for these once a daily or at least on a weekly basis. Each serves a different purpose and allows me to focus on a particular project or portion of my life.

This is more than I would want to carry if I was traveling. I would slim this down to my Aura Estelle and the Mark’s Edit B7 if I was on the road, at a pen show or out-and-about. The B7 would be the catch-all for ideas, quotes, etc that would then be transferred into other notebooks once I arrived home again.

If I was at a Pen Show, I would add a notebook for pen show pen testing, ink sampling and stamps. Does that mean I have SIX notebooks going? Oh, geez. Let me know if you want to see some of my sampling, swatching, pen show notebooks. I tend to start a new book each year but I’ve used the same over the last couple years as I don’t do as much swatching or pen testing at shows these days.

Even though five books seems like a lot, even to me, I wouldn’t necessarily want all this content all in one or two notebooks. Each book serves a different purpose and is used in different contexts.

How many notebooks and/or planners/journals are you currently using? Please share your list in the comments!

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Sidenote: Today’s post was supposed to be a big color-ific post about the Van Dieman’s Dualis Multichromatic ink collection but I somehow managed to lose the swatches, samples AND my comparison ink cards. So, the post is postponed until I either find them or order more samples and redo all the swatches! Imagine if I lived in a bigger house… I’d lost everything!