I am trying to reset my planner life this week. I have been very tired since returning from the Chicago Pen Show and feel like I need to re-evaluate my planner/journal set-up. I may simplify a few things, take some pressure off myself and give myself permission to start over.
I enjoy making my journal pretty but am I putting too much pressure on myself to make it “fancy”? Do I set my expectations too high?
Am I the only one struggling right now? Let me know in the comments and left me know how you’ve reset your journaling or just commiserate with me.
Pens:
- Pen Review: Revisiting the Pilot FA Nib, This Time on the Pilot Custom 743 Verdigris Green (via The Gentleman Stationer)
- Video-Review: Pilot Custom Heritage 91 (via Scrively)
- Edison Pen Company, beginning of many things (via Fountain Pen Chronicles and More)
- Would I Buy Them Again? Take 2 (via Rachel’s Reflections)
Ink:
- Van Dieman’s Tasmanian Lavender (via Inkcredible Colours)
- Tono & Lims Explained (via Yoseka Stationery Blog)
- A Few Grey Inks (via An Inkophile’s Blog)
- Colorverse Erebus Crater Ink Review (via The Pen Addict)
Pencils:
- Mechanical Pencil Update, May 2026: Pentel, Pentel, Pentel (and Pentel, Pentel) (via Urban Adventure League)
Planners, Notebooks & Paper:
- Paper, scissors, glue: how to make a vision board (via – Flow Magazine)
- ACMc Blotter Paper (via Fountain Pen Love)
- Journal Pages (via Wonder Pens)
- The Best Planner Washi Tapes and Stickers (via JetPens)
Art & Creativity:
- Review: Ohuhu Cotton-top Watercolour Pad (via Parka Blogs)
- Flanders Poppies 2026 – Part 2 (via Apple-Pine)
- Little Things Here and There (via Apple-Pine)
Other Interesting Things:
- New zines: Not-knowing and Complexity (via Austin Kleon)
- New Book Offers a Glimpse Inside Kahlo’s Personal Sanctuary (via My Modern Met)
- Artist Review: Huawei MatePad Mini with M-Pencil Pro (via Parka Blogs)
- Rogue One: The Andor Cut (via Kottke.org)
- 2026 Chicago Pen Show Recap (via The Pen Addict)
- Sometimes it Needs Simplicity (via Dime Novel Raven)
- Travel Stationery: How to Pack for a Two Week International Trip (!?!) (via The Gentleman Stationer)
- Parting with parts (via The Typewriter Revolution blog)
- Twilight of the Velocipede: Typesetting Races before the Age of Linotype (via The Public Domain Review)
Check out our Patreon where you can get inspiration, gossip and free printables that include a biweekly podcast and more. Your patronage supports this site. Without them, and without you, we could not continue to do what we do. Thank you!
I’ve been using a vertical weekly layout for the last three years (I work at a small liberal arts college and have a lot of appointments) but I’ve realized more and more this year that I really rely a lot on my digital appointment calendar. It’s been making me wonder if I should set up a Bullet Journal (functional, not pretty) and start using that again, and rely entirely on my digital calendar for appointments.
So you’re not alone on the planner struggle.