2023 Planning
In 2017, I discovered the Hobonichi planners and delicious Tomoe River (TR) paper. It started with one planner (English A6 Techo) and now, I have a planner stack.
My 2023 Planner stack!
Bonus: My daughter’s Hobonichi Techo (not mine).
My 2023 stack includes:
Hobonichi Weeks (English): Write Life
Wonderland 222 B6 Weekly Planner and 368-page Notebook: Day Job
Hobonichi A6 Techo (Japanese): Daily doodles
Sterling Ink B6 Mauve Common Planner: the ME journal
Hobonichi A5 Cousin (English): Family Planner/Scrapbook/History
Select closeup! Kept my Wonderland 222 books minimal for work.
Hobonichi Weeks
This post is a deep dive into the smallest of them, my Weeks, how I’m planning to achieve my 2023 writing goals and my love of stationary.
As a lover of all things space, I couldn’t resist the Hiroko Kubota: Aurora Duty planner. It’s my aesthetic: cute meets interstellar. This is my third year using the Weeks for writing. Last year I hit a stride and hope it improves this year.
To separate the months, I’m using The Coffee Monsterz Co (TCMC) Mini Hobonichi tabs in Twinkle color. I’m going to attempt not to use the ribbon markers as they’ve always frayed no matter how much nail polish I put on the ends. (They tend to get caught in the zippers of carriers or bags.) Instead, I’ll use the Midori Chiratto Index Clip as a “thumb” guide for current week and my place in the Notes pages in the back. There’s a few Book Darts I use as well as placeholders, but I really prefer the Midori clips for the little tabs that stick out. Both are great for how thin the TR paper is, but with the Midori clips, I have to be a bit careful pushing them in or they will cut the paper.
Other stationary items include the Hobonichi Page Keeper elastic and the Hobonichi Pen Case with elastic band for the Weeks in Dalmatian print
I’ll probably swap the Hobonichi page keeper elastic with a nice elastic hair tie or ribbon since it’s already denting my October tab. I actually think the red Dalmatian fabric case clashes but until I come up with a better solution this will do to carry the pens and markers dedicated to this book.
My goal is to use more stamps over stickers and washi tape to keep the book from chunking up .
First Pages
Interior cover and first page sticker bombed decorated
I couldn’t decide what to put on the inside and first page so I used it all. Stickers are from Pipsticks (couldn’t resist the fuzzy space theme), NASA, and of course TCMC. I also added a quote befitting my theme of writing for children. Despite the warning on the Hobonichi site, I put this planner inside the clear cover and use it to hold stickers and a small ruler.
Goal Tracking
Daily tracker using colors to match my writing goals. The TCMC popup sticker says “You Got This” inside.
I’ve seen many ingenious ways of using this spread on social media but I’m going to use it to track progress against my 2023 writing goals (more on that later!). For title lettering I used a Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen Hard in purple.
Monthly
Top left shows my penciled plan for January 2023 (not complete) while bottom right shows the second half of December 2022. I’ll keep the daily word count written record and reward myself with a mini sticker for writing anything that day!
I hand-lettered the month in Spanish before I even realized it was in Spanish (thanks bilingual brain) using a Zebra Midliner Double-Sided Highlighter Brush marker in Mild Gray. I’ll track the number of pomodoros I do per day along the side as well. At least for January, I’m using De Artramentis Document Ink in purple in a Sailor Blue Dawn Pro Gear Slim (PGS) with a H-EF nib.
Weekly
Overlapping weeks between December 2022 and January 2023 shows my layout migration.
Starting with January, I’m moving all my to dos and notes to the Notes page in the back. On the weeklies I’m leaving columns for appointments and my writing inspirational daily journaling: what I did, six-word memoir, what I heard, what I saw, and notable words or doodle for the day. I might rearrange the order of the columns but this was super helpful to look back on in 2022’s journal and highlight the provoking memories.
Notes
I’ll repurpose the Useful Abbreviations page for a Vision Board, and I’m giving myself January to come up with it. On the NOTES introduction page I decorated with two types of book themed washi tape, one from mt Ex and the other from Roundtop, with a cute little reader sticker from Pipsticks. I’ll add to the index section as I fill in the rest.
Goals
I divided mine into
Process
Product
Publishing/Marketing
Read
Goals with a smudge!
The color coding matches the annual tracker in the front. Inspired by the Wonderland 222 layout, I split out quarterly sections to celebrate my achievements and see what needs changed as the year progresses so I can be more realistic to attaining and setting better goals.
Log of titles
I’ve got so many digital drawers full of works in progress that I decided this year I’ll dedicate a log to what pieces I finish (or don’t) this year and practice my pitch writing with a 1-2 sentence blurb.
Investments and Applications
Next in Investments, I’m logging what I spend on related to my writing, so workshops, retreats, or any purchases related to the craft will go here. Under Applications, I’ll jot down all competitions I enter, or any journal/anthology/etc submission.
Crit and Motivation Groups … and a Blank Page
My support groups. Personal cheerleaders and empathetic group of people I’m proud to have curated over the past few years. These are the folks I meet with on a regular basis to propel each other. This page records when we meet and names of everyone since my memory is shot most days due to exhaustion. Hence the planning!
I’m debating what to include on page 8. I toyed with documenting my favorite craft books, sites, blogs, journals, social media handles and the like for general craft inspiration.
Monthly Notes Page
This is new. I found myself moving the same to dos week to week so I am relieving pressure and rework (hopefully) by setting up a monthly notes page where the first page will be dedicated to to dos and the rest is for notes overflow from the weeklies. I’ve put sticky notes where each month should start approximately for an idea of the amount of pages I use.
Swatches
The final two pages are swatches for pens, inks, markers, etc. I’d love to keep it simple and same for the year but I probably won’t… too many inks and markers!
Idea Board
Where my misfit ideas go. The first page has ideas curated from last year’s weeks. This kickstarts my writing when I’ve drawn a blank. The second page will be what new ideas come up as the year progresses. Eventually I’ll print out on vellum so the gorgeous stickers gifted to me by a mentor can shine through. For now, sticky notes work.
Favorites
This section will hold my favorite readings and/or favorite inspirational event/activity/item. I didn’t use this page at all last year (across any of my Hobonichi planners) so I’m not sure I’ll actually do it.
My 100 Recommendations
My 100 recommendations! I started with those from my 2022 Hobonichi Weeks and figure I’ll have enough room to grow. Each time someone recommends a book, author, site, etc to me I’ll jot it down. If I review it, I check it off. If not, I don’t. No biggie!
Prompts and Guidance
My Favorites (as opposed to “Favorites”) pages is new this year and is a spot to write things like favorite meal, etc, which I will never use. Instead, I’m repurposing these pages to prompts and guidance. Right now, it’s sticky notes gathered from my 2022 weeks, but I hope to print on TR or vellum and remove the stickies.
365 Days
When I push, I can write 5,000 words a week. It’s not consistent, but I like the challenge. If I write 0 words that week, I have to pay a charity $50 that week. If I write more than zero but not quite 5,000 words, then I have to pay $25. If I make it to 5,000 words or more, then I don’t have to pay. This page will track this with dots representing the colors on every 7th day.
I need deadlines and money based incentives work for me.
Back
Finally the back page will be a stack of space-related washi, and it’s still incomplete. I’ll get to it! It’s got a cute rocket from Pipsticks and a sticker patch from Stickii Club on top of my sticker and notes pocket.
Pencil Board
I’m using the pencil board to make off either the month or the week I’m currently using. What I’ve stuck to my pencil board are sticky notes about my novel in progress, questions bugging me, and scene or plot ideas to incorporate (or not). I like keeping it up front to remind myself what I’m working on, what troubles me and my protagonists and their world, to answer those questions or not (but with purpose). I switch between the Hobonichi Navy x Pink and Saul Leiter Weeks Pencil Boards.
The Common Planner
And for me? The Common Planner annual B6 in mauve cover with beautiful golden edges and Tomoe River Sanzen paper. Despite using planners since high school, I stopped actually journaling—for me. Too many times my personal thoughts were invaded by those I loved despite reassurances to the contrary. This year I vow to prioritize self care and writing for me is self care.
I love the form factor and free pages and won’t penalize myself for not writing every day or even if what I write won’t make sense because it’s for me. It’ll be a brain dump of a chaotic life from a full time engineer mom struggling up a technical career ladder with a creative obsession poured into writing and drawing. That really means I’ll fall asleep mid sentence and my hand will fall off the page with pen in fingers evidenced by a slanted line down the middle.
And that’s ok because it’ll be a testament of loving myself. Scribbles and all.
