I'm from Brazil, a really hot country. And here, when we go to sleep and is very hot and dry weather, we put a wet towel on a chair next to the bed. It helps to humidfy and fresh the air. It's not the gratest solution but helps. I hope this can help you (and sorry for my terrible english)

can confirm the new tomoe river paper also fluffs up very nicely! my hon is already very chunky because I stick a lot in, but the pages are also fluffy and satisfying to flip through which I love. I think the cousin is a lot to upkeep if you want to fill every page entirely and, as you said, that's basically a full time job, but dipping in and out of it to make a few spreads whenever you get the craving for it and being ok with leaving pages blank or half filled would work very well. I definitely agree about thinking differently in different sized books and it's fun to have different formats to experiment with (which is why I like a multi-journal system even though it looks like a lot to upkeep: secret is I only upkeep my a6 hon on the daily and everything else is for dipping in and out of based on the need of the day - rambly journaling/thinking, commonplace entries or book reviews etc.) mostly still in the system I set up at the beginning of the year, the only thing that's changed is that I split my commonplace and my journal and started using an a5 ring binder for commonplace entries, and that's been working very well for me. it's always nice to hear you working out journaling things, so thanks for sharing^^

You might have already tried this, but blackout curtains! They helped my apartment stay cool last summer 😊 Not the most elegant of solutions, as you don't get any or little light.

I'm in Swizerland and use someting called a "portative air conditioner " (i think), its a cross betwwen an humidifier, a fan and a conditioner . You add some watter and some ice pack into it. Its's not as cold as a real air conditionner but it helps a lot

I've been using my Filofax for quite a few years now and every time I get the urge to get a bound book, I just remind myself that I'd lose the organization and edit-ability that ring notebooks provide, and I quickly lose all interest. Besides, I like to draw a lot and it'd be a nightmare not to have my art in one place. I also love the fact that I can just buy whatever cover that catches my eye and still keep all my entries intact.

I think adding a book (or more, I have two rn) to dip in and out of is a really good for sticking with a main system you update daily or more frequently, for me it really satisfies that "I want a new shiny thing NOW" ADHD/autism urge sometimes. Maybe you could add a Hobonichi for that, the Day-Free is basically made for this - though it is less structured than the others with only yearly and monthly spreads and undated pages. Or if your brain can handle it, you could even use unused pages from an old Hobonichi for this, if the main thing is wanting to experience the paper and layout again. And yes, Hobonichi paper is totally fluffy! ☁💛

Blackout blinds work a dream if you buy white ones to reflect the light and keep the windows closed until the late evening. Weather changes can be especially difficult for ND people unfortunately. It’s something we can’t completely control. Most domestic AC units in the uk are pretty useless 😩

Yeah I started the year in an a5 dot grid book, writing nearly every day and making lovely collage spreads. And now I'm fixated on making art books from old hardcover books, and I can't bring myself to write in the a5 more than once a week. I miss curling up and writing to process, but I just can't do it for some reason. I think its important to be gentle with ourselves when this happens. I know that one day I'll be writing again. Maybe my brain just needs to process with art instead and I have the power to give myself what I need.

I live in Sweden and I keep all the blinds closed during the day until it gets cooler during the evening and I have fans on. And drink lots of water or lemonade that I keep in the fridge.

We did buy an aircon unit for our attic, as it gets over 30c in summer. We only have velux up there, so we do have to use the hose and window kit, which is fiddly. The hardest part was getting the unit up there. We face north/south, with two velux, so we open them up to act as a chimney and pull the air up through the house

i'm autistic too and very, very heat sensitive, so sorry you're going through this. i like in the us south; frozen ice packs and ice pops help a lot, use black out curtains (and make them damp if the windows are open at all), wear a wet towel that's been in the freezer for a little bit around your neck, and if you have a fan, try putting a bowl of ice water in front of it. i hope this can help! 🖤

The FOMO can be so real!! I had downsized my discbound at the end of 2023 because the A5 was daunting and the pages almost hurt my hands to fill. I’ve been in a B6 disc with a moterm cover, and I feel very content in it. There are similar perks between rings and discs - I can punch whatever paper I want and ephemera to store it without needing to make those washi “flaps” I’d need to in a bound book. I love how varied it is, I can jump between whatever paper I’m feeling, and I’ve found a way for me to be more scribbly while also having my “neat” pages. Lowering the barrier of entry is key for me, with my executive dysfunction, and the slightly smaller pages make it feel easier. It’s my little tome of time and it is very near and dear to my heart. 💜 I definitely get the pull towards other things, because I haven’t ever seen someone who uses discs the way I do. Everyone else I see in discs are usually hyper-productive planners and parents, which I am neither. I physically can’t plan, at most I make to-do lists, it’s more of a log of my life because I have a chronic fear of forgetting. I’ve been tempted to make a blog post or something to share it with more detail and so I can ramble! But I’ve been in discs for nearly a decade, and any brief stint I’ve done with a different method (hobonichi and traveler’s notebooks), I’ve always come back. 📝 Also, watching you flip through the cousin, I recently started playing Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One after recalling it was something you enjoyed! There was a great sale so now I have four SH games to play and I’m excited. 🕵️

Your thoughts on consistency (in planning systems) and summers being difficult are very accurate and relatable; I think you are fantastic at putting those feelings into words. The same goes for your statements on the "accommodations" you make for yourself since summer is tough. Your videos lately have helped me be much more kind to myself (and I am sure others feel the same) - thank you immensely for sharing! Hope the temperature is kind to you!

me again... You can totally make it work. Why restrict yourself, really.?. I love using both my Hobonichi and my Filofax and other notebooks. I use them for different topics. Hobonichi has my daily "whatever I need it for that day". My Filofax is all about my designs. I call it my BOW book (Body of Work) it helps me see what I've got going on workwise more clearly. You inspired me to create my own pages in my Filofax. Thank you for that, I'm loving it. But having the different foci in different books means I'm not duplicating between books and I enjoy them all. No pressure. I guess, for me, I don't need one big book of everything-- as long as I can FIND everything (if you know what I mean).

i got the hobonichi fomo recently as well. i struggle in a bound book though, especially when it's too warm and i can't think straight. the disjointed and jumbled sections of thoughts that i can't move around really bothered me, so i dismantled an old hobonichi notebook to use in my filofax and realized it was just the tomoe river paper and grid i missed. i have been debating trying an a5 filofax so i don't have to cut the paper down though lol

A few months ago I was happy in the cousin. Then I removed the weekly pages from it and punched holes in it and spent like 2 months in a ring system with them... then just now I cut the still original cousin weekly pages to a Moleskine size (bit narrower than a5) and stuck them in hinge-style to a 400 page daily diary LOL... I have this Frankenstein's monster that I love so much, and this all taught me that for me, Hobo cousin weeklies are #life. I cannot live without them lol

As someone that feels this way in the winter, I'd never really considered the other side of it. Also just googled the cost of air con units and WOW 😬

You can get the new tomoe river paper (the sanzen version) that Hobonichi uses for rings planners from Sterling Ink if you want some fluffy paper in the filofax. I don't know if they have it in stock but Sterling Ink also do an undated journal with the monthly and weekly layouts (they are pretty much the same as the Cousin layouts) and then undated grid pages. I think a couple of other tomoe river based journals do this as well. Then you could just use it on the dates you want and it would always be there. I've been using a cousin as a journal, and A5 rings with the tomoe river paper as my commonplace (I have a plotter I got on a trip to Japan that makes it very easy to carry). I really like how small the rings are so it makes it more like carrying and using an A5 book. I really like tomoe river paper (I'm a fountain pen person) so having that makes the rings option work for me. I then use a grid notebook as a sort of overflow bullet journal which I use whenever I need more space for journaling or planning. I've used both Hobonichi and Sterling Ink and I prefer the SI as there is a margin around the edge, but I know others prefer the Hobonichi because it has 'sections' with different colours of grid.

god i completely understand you with the summer SAD and dreading the heat, it makes all my symptoms so much worse >.< i have been on multiple air con research bursts but i've also never been able to find something that would work either :/ the new tomoe river paper has been really good for me so far, its more crinkly than the old one? only a tiny bit, but i love that it just makes a little more noise. and i absolutely understand what you mean about the planner fomo, i use blank hobonichi notebooks for my journal because in practice, i just cant deal with the pre-formatted pages, but i still feel a little yearning for how satisfying it would look and feel to use one? i'm still in my main journal, just a plain hobonichi notebook in A5, and then my commonplace in the plain a6, but the hobonichi weeks i've been using i've been a little in and out of and using slightly differently, but i think that was more to do with huge flare ups in symptoms not letting me do as much? hard to figure out if thats actually what it is haha. oh about sleep stuff, i know it might not be something that you want to do but i use a hobonichi weeks as a symptoms tracker? i have a little habit-tracker-style chart (?) on the notes side, just to quickly see when symptoms happened and then i write a little more detail in the day sections. mostly just so i have concrete evidence to show doctors about how often things happen (i'm sure you understand) sorry this got so long!! i hope it was useful at least ^^;

I have an idea -- do houses in the UK ever have "whole house" fans? It is a large fan that is fitted to the highest window in the house (in your attic) and it pushes air out instead of in, so it pulls cooler air up from the lower levels of the house. You could run it at night mostly, and open the lower windows in the house, to pull all the cool air into the house. We had one in a previous house we lived in (where it would get to 110 degrees F / 43 degrees C) and it worked really well! And they are very affordable. Good luck!

I love your nails, desk set up. Because of you I have loved journaling. At the beginning I never thought I would but I tried it for the first time and is my self help note. Thank you for your videos.

I lived without aircon for years. Here are a few tips besides a window fan at night: 1. If you can, work during the day and be home at night when its cooler. 2. Get a BIG double walled stainless steel tumbler. These things will keep ice icy all night in hot weather. Sip often. 3. Get some terrycloth rags/towels. Get them wet, squeeze out and spread them out in the freezer. Take out one or two after they are frozen stiff and put around your neck and/or on your head. Trust me, its like an aircon on you. They last surprising long. Have a set waiting to go when those run out of cooling power and repeat.

Oh my gawwwdd, why do I love hobonichi flip throughs so much 😭

Hiya Megan! I personally am a Leuchtturm bullet journal girly, as I find that the customization is my safe space as an ADHD gal. I was tempted by Hobonichi so i switched to a Cousin and using my leucht. as a journal, but now I'm finding myself going back to my original safe space: the leucht. bujo. So I regret a biiiit my temptation into Hobonichi but like you said it's nice to dip in an out of it? I love the hobonichi as a planner for the year, vs the bullet journals where I go through at least 2 in a year. So I'm currently in both and i have noooo idea how next year will look hahah

I think it's excellent to see you develop ideas and systems regardless of how many times you use them, the most important thing is the definition and clarity in the use of formats, especially when you expose them on the channel. When I watch it it's always inspiring, so I know that now that you're going to add 2 formats, for me it's going to be even more interesting... the only thing I hope is that in the end it stays organized, I didn't really understand what it's going to be about one and the other, but I'm sure that in the next chapters I will understand better. 😉😘

i found your videos in late 2023 at a time when i was really struggling with the straight-forward 'write things down in a book' practice that i'd been steadfast with for 8 years and 25ish journals. i saw your video talking about your original plan for how to use the hobonichi cousin and something just... clicked in my brain; the set-up you proposed somehow touched on all of the issues i was hoping to resolve for myself. i had bought a hobonichi at the start of 2023 and didn't make it to february in it (yikes) so i felt like i couldn't justify buying another one for 2024... but i bit the bullet and i am still in my hobonichi, happier than ever, 5 months later! i've traded out some notebooks to accompany the cousin in the past few months, but i feel like i owe you a genuine thank-you for sharing the genius of your set-ups because my cousin has truly changed my life this year and hopefully years to come!

I started in a TAS B6 November-March. Then I ordered a hobonichi weeks with a black linen cover. I just carried it around stressed out and nervous to write in it for weeks. I bought a franklin covey zipperd personal cover and didn't like the zip so now that is my archive binder. Once I started to write in my weeks and got over the fear of ruining it I loved it. But, I had been craving a pocket so I got a soft stitch grey filofax pocket ring planner. I LOVE IT. And, it needed a friend. I also wanted to separate my work planning from personal so I started using HL discs for work because I knew I would throw away many of the pages when complete. this thankfully led me to the arc hole puncher. I wasn't sure I'd find something more satisfying than feeling of running my fingers across the top of writing with gel pens on tomoe river paper. But I did and its hole punching with the arc mushroom disc puncher. Just wow. To sum it all up I am currently carrying around a fat personal sized filofax stuffed with your inserts but I miss the tomoe river paper... so I ordered some cream A4 to print on. I use HL discs for work. And pocket for inboxing, lists, routines, business ideas, bible quotes I love referencing, and planner system ideas. I love having a stack of planners on my desk. I carry the pocket around in my purse. The hobonichi weeks is taking a break. I did about two months of plannin' in her with my beautiful navy blue leather cover from a small shop in the Ukraine. When I go to work (I work a corporate gig and run a business) I carry all the planners in my bag because I am still figuring out exactly which ones I like for what but this is basically what I have going on these days.

Around Feb 2022 I got the 365 day A6 Stalogy notebook as a sort of dupe for a hobonochi, and somehow I’ve been able to stretch it out for about 2 years now (I’ve recently just finished it). I’m very particular with the lining and the feel of my notebooks, as I hate wide/college rules or dotted lining and will only write in notebooks that are gridded. But the Stalogy notebook hit all the right box’s for me it was smooth, compact, and gridded. I will say the only downside to it was that it didn’t have a strap component to keep the notebook shut but I’ve just fixed that with a rubber band. I’ve been really happy with it as I found I loved writing and collecting quotes and images in a smaller, more portable notebook. But with being in that small of a space for so long I do miss the wide amount of space an A5 notebook gave me and I need a change. So now I’ve ordered a TruRed A5 notebook to see if that suits my needs for the rest of this year. I think I’m going to be happy with it as I’ve had positive experiences with the TruRed brand in the past. I’m exited for when it gets here so I can start setting it up!

as someone whos lived in Los Angeles with no air conditioning all her life, I second everyone who's saying black out curtains during the day and opening the windows at night

I am still in my Hobonichi techo. They only one that I have been using since 2018. (My decorating level has increased a lot this year... I got into a compulsive state and pre-decorated 99% of it with washi & stickers.) I have "stick-to-it-ive-ness" so I don't planner/journal hop. The hobonichi works, so I don't feel the need to fix my calendex, monthly, daily use. However, next year, I am going to add a standard horizontal weekly TN for menu planning & collaging.

I've been watching your videos consistently and I have no idea what you're talking about in them but I still love them a lot. I've gotten into really basic middle school type journaling now. I think it's nice seeing someone passionate about something personal and mundane

Hi, wanted to say that I like the unhingedness, listening to you talk through things always pokes me into actually sitting down and working through the daily life/ being a student / being neurodivergent things that I push off because its agravating. Also wanted to mention that I have had good experiences with standing air conditioning machines with the tube out the window. Not in the UK but living in student housing in Canada which means usually no air conditioning and older buildings. They are a pain to set up (and are quite heavy so might be difficult to get into the attic) but when I caved and bought one during a wicked heat wave a couple years ago I regreted not doing it sooner. I just spend an afternoon fiddling with it to get the tube and positioning right at the beginning of the summer and leave it in place until it finally cools down again in the fall. Also handy in Canada when the wildfire smoke gets too bad to have windows open if that is a concern for anyone else. Mine works very well, is surprisingly energy efficient, and actually makes working in my room during the summer feasible.

if you’re looking to dip in & out & use it mostly to put your common place pages in - what about the A5 day free? its about the same size with the quantity of pages as the avec, still gives you the hobonichi urge you’re looking for, but then its not really on the calendar year necessarily & it still has the margins! definitely in support of adding a hobonichi back in somehow, love seeing you work in them!

I started this year in the cousin, then you kinda influenced me to try rings but i cant stay clearheaded or organized enough for rings and i kept forgetting about things. I switched back to the cousin but i couldn't upkeep an a5 books anymore like you said, so i got the original avec with the weekly small book thats supposed to like go with it. i feel a lot more peace being in an a6 bound book now but i have a moterm cover and have the avec, the weekly, and a handmade book for health tracking all in the cover and i wish when i could have it all in one book like the a5. im glad everything fits in the moterm and i can house multiple books if i want to and they are all in the same space, but i def longingly eye my old a5 on my bookshelf sometimes. i feel like ive tried so many things in the span of just 6-7 months and nothing fits perfectly. i often wish i could entirely design my own like professional level book (the autistic perfectionism is fuckin real) will stick out the a6 original for now 🙃

Your pages are beautiful, no matter the size or the system you’re working in. Would it be an idea to use the Hobonichi for things that are organized chronologically, like to do’s and have done’s, memory keeping/journaling, tracking of habits/metrics/sleep, and the Filofax for a knowledge base you may want to build up around your special interests?

ahh so sorry ur struggling ! one of my friends at uni had an air cooler i think it was? basically just a fan with water reservoirs that you can put ice in - it did blow out very cold air! they're a little pricey but not much compared to an actual ac unit - i don't know how long they can stay cool for , and i don't know if more than one would be needed to make a difference for an entire room, but maybe would help! :)

the tomoe paper is still very fluffy! I've been using the hon since the end of last year and still enjoying it. I used the weeklies to help me keep up my schedule for school and work but now I'm on summer vacation so I may use them as sketch pages. I have been splitting the daily pages (like your system) to have a section for daily reflection/diary and commonplace. I've been pretty consistent with commonplacing, which surprised me because usually I would keep those things in a spiral notebook but it's nice having it all together :)

I've been using a layout that I design and print to use in a ringed folder like your filofax system since the beginning of the year and I am loving it! I print month by month my monthly and weekly spreads, and I get to tweak them a tiny bit every time, so now the system matches me and my needs so well. I also love getting to chose paper with the right texture and thickness for all my pages. I am also loving being able to archive the old pages and add new ones in the same cover, it removes the friction I had with the change to a new planner before.

i am still in the same book that i started the year with, which is the cousin. i am really enjoying it. about midway through march and through all of april, i fell off using it consistently, but now i'm back on the every day journaling grind again. i shifted my focus of the journal and that really helped. before i was writing about my day and what i did, but during my depressive episode i didn't feel like i had anything interesting to say even though i was drawing, crocheting, knitting more than before. so i decided to shift the journal entries to focus specifically on my creative endeavors and how i felt about them. i added colored pencils and crayons to my book, whereas before i was only using one color highlighter that i changed monthly, and some minimal stickers. now i add more stickers if i feel like it. it feels much more like me- before it was feeling stale and like i was keeping up appearances for someone else. but i realized my book is only for me, so i'm going to make it homey. so i wouldn't say i changed my book, but i shifted the focus and goal of the book.

I'm still using my 6 ring planner with loose leaf papers... but you guys can't imagine how I miss using proper notebooks☺️ I leave things incomplete, for example I start searching and writing about one topic and without finishing it I want to jump to another topic so having loose papers and ring planners make more sense for someone like me. It gives me freedom to jump from one subject to another and come back again. I can always add more pages, change their order and make it neat, I don't have to worry like "oh I should finish writing about this first and see how many pages it takes then I can move on to another subject" which is great. But I miss finishing notebooks😭. Seeing one all complete and worn out and dirty and pages crumbling. I miss completing it then having a flip through. Ring planners is not the same I just take the pages I'm no longer interested in and store them away and fill the new ones so I'm always in the same planner with endless pages and I miss the feeling of having one complete book if that makes sense. I decided to buy one a5 hobonichi or midori and use along with my ring planner. We'll see how it goes maybe I will change my system after years 😂

I bought a standing Aircon and it's brilliant. We bought the window fitting thing its not tricky. Its just like putting on velcro. We leave it on the window all year and it is not cute but it's not annoying. With the door closed the standing unit is brilliant. It was about 600 in total but seriously worth it. We chose a "quieter" one but it is loud but only for us. Outside we couldn't hear it.

I'm SO sorry that the weather is impacting you. I live in the U.S., in the Pacific NW. We generally have no air con here, except in newer/rich people homes. That said, more folks are getting it here. For those of us without limitless funds w

For medical journaling, here is my system: I have a Sterling Ink Common Planner in the Weeks (N2?) size. The monthly pages are used for tracking, for example, headache and migraine days and keeping track of when I took my monthly injection medication. The weekly pages have a little blurb about how I felt each day with any extra notes in the opposite page (I’ve also done tracking on the right page as well). The blank pages in the back have been journaling about health when I need to document something in particular in more depth than the weekly pages or to keep a medication log (such as documenting when I start or stop taking a certain medication, if I had any side effects, any procedures or tests, etc).

Slight change! I’m still in my a6 original, but I’ve dropped the weekly supplement and am doing a bit more daily planning! Funnily enough filling in the gaps with common placing much like you used to. Entering snippets of my thoughts on the corresponding day for Dracula Daily is very fun however

This reminds me of what you said in a previous video: you were feeling that when things in life get tricky, you tend to focus on your planning system because it's fun to troubleshoot and you get the "maybe a planner will fix me" feeling (relatable). From what you've said before, I feel like trying to upkeep the Cousin as well might take over your life more than you want. I wonder if making individual spreads on large sheets of paper when the mood strikes would give you the same feeling as Cousin spreads, but without the commitment? Would a new book truly add to your life or is the idea a way to distract yourself from anxiety (again, relatable xD), finding inspiration from pride in your previous work? You know you best, of course, and can do whatever you feel like, these were just my thoughts based on previous things you've said in videos. To answer your question: I'm still in the same book I intended to be! I'm in an A6 discbound system. It's working perfectly for me. I love that I can have different sections and everything in one book, but then take out the things I don't need any more while leaving things that I want long-term. Have a lovely day!

I'm holding on strong with the Hobonichi Weeks & my B6 Stalogy but you can see me spiral in real time in the gloom tomb.. I've been struggling with the Weeks and am slowly figuring out why; it's been very difficult to resist the temptation of a filofax but thankfully I just can't settle on a cover so it's been kept at bay. Seeing others experiment with it or use it consistently satisfies my curiosity to an extent too. Currently spiraling and looking at the Wonderland222 planners and notebooks because I've fallen in love with the B6 size. I also switched from my beloved Zebra Sarasa Vintage pens to a fountain pen and there's a lot of spiraling happening there too. A little unhinged recently.

I always forget to comment on videos because I have so much to say in discord usually. But! I picked up the A5 cousins wayyyyyyyyy back when you first picked it up and now it is my ride or die. Do I fill up every page? Nope! Do I mean to? Eh, it would be nice. But it does chonk nicely for lack of a better phrase. I think the thing I always like about the A5 is I have so much room to include what I do and don't need at the time! I had to pick up a second (blank) journal for a course I'm doing and part of my brain was just like *possum hiss* because I do love have a giant, chunky book of everything that serves as an archive of what my year consisted of, from little doodles, to do lists, to pictures either I took or printed from pintrest

have you thought about getting a hobonichi cousin and then removing the pages from the spine and hole punching the pages so you could put the hobonichi in your filofax? i did that and its awesome. the holes go a little onto the grid of the dailies, but its nice to have the flexibility of removing some days that i missed and adding just my misc commonplace/info pages instead of being totally beholden to the structure of a sewn-bound book.

Ive been rotating between my FCC rings, hobo weeks, and an unexpected aura estelle b6 for my daily pages. Never really thought about how the size/shape of the page affects things, but it totally makes sense. You also captured my feelings around planner season perfectly.

I'm in the same BuJo I've been in all year - a Tsuki from Notebook Therapy. I wish I used more pages so I could have a new set up in July, but I usually fit the whole year in one notebook, which is satisfying in it's own way. I start getting very itchy around May/June though!

I got a hobonichi weeks this year cos I started watching your channel last year, and while my uses of it have changed, I've pretty much used it every day since I got it. i recently got a highlighter set so I can organize my notes (I do a brief journal on the left and notes/reminders on the right) and now I love it more than ever lol. few things I love more as an autistic person than color-coding!

Cooling pads in the bed really help - I can’t sleep well if I’m too hot. When desperate, sleep on the floor, especially somewhere with tiles or wooden flooring instead of carpet.

I started in a Hobo A6 and Passport TN and now also have a Filofax personal and hobo weeks, I use each for different things, I don’t duplicate anything and update all of them every day, can be a bit overwhelming at times but I just love all these books so much I don’t want to drop any of them now 😂. Would love to have everything in one place but also love using different formats whenever the mood strikes so I make it work!

I use a Hobinichi Hon for my journal and memory keeping and personal rings for an everyday carry and have been settled in the two aspects of the way the two systems work for me. It actually keeps the FOMO at bay because I’m going back and forth and getting constant entertainment planner-wise. I recommend it as long as you don’t pressure yourself lol

I recently started journaling and honestly agree with you. I am having a weird patch where i want to have like ten journals at once. I definitely get into the loop of "oh that person's journal looks so aesthetic, I want it too" and because journals are so expensive here (I've been obsessed with those travel journals recently) there's a little chance that I can find them without spending a fortune. But I try to calm and distract myself from the urge and focus on the actual journals I have but it's definitely really tough. I just want them all haha. I'm someone who mostly does art journaling so like penning down my thoughts is pretty new to me and I'm very particular about spreads and don't like it when it's messy so all in all - just struggling

Hi Megan, thanks for this. I understand about the FOMO also wanting to enjoy all the different options. I go for hobo weeks for personal planning and use black blank pages for brain dump. A filofax for work and a hobo five year diary for memory keeping. A passport traveler's notebook for my bag for when I'm out. I don't like being without them in the different parts of life. Hope you feel better soon and hope you find a nice fan. A frozen hot water bottle wrapped in a towel on lap helps cool down when working at desk 🙂.

I am in rings, but I am dipping in and out of my Weeks because I love Hobonichi and bound books, and my needs changed part-way through the year. That's actually why I am still in rings - I've been able to adapt on the fly to my changing needs, which I can't always do in a bound book. But darn if Hobonichi isn't impossible to resist sometimes!

I've been in A5 rings for most of the year--I have experimented with a TN size but it only lasted a few days before I went back to my rings. I love the Cousin but wanted the freedom of rings so the A5 size has been perfect for me this year!

this was an interesting watch, always enjoy hearing your thoughts! i've been in the same system for over a year now -- for some reason at this point i don't even get tempted to try out new books, which i am very grateful for lol... so my main book, my tiny book of everything if you will, is an a6 hobonichi (black gingham my beloved

Started the year in a B6 Sterling Ink. Was just not the same as a Cousin. So I ordered the Spring. Best decision. In and out of the weeks. Have a little EDC field notes which is going well. I feel the FOMO. Notebooks are our thing. Why do they have to be full? I get it.... Nothing better than a full notebook.... the struggle is real.

I tried to take everything I love about the Hobonichi Cousin and put it in my personal rings: the TRP, the vertical weekly, the daily format... so far it's satisfying enough that I haven't had fomo for the last 4 months which is WILD. Fluffy crinkly paper abounds.

I started the year with a Midori Hibino as I loved the idea of a small fluffy book, but I noped out of it about 2 weeks into January as it's really hard to write in because it's so small and thick (my hand kept falling off of the edge of the page) and I was worried that I couldn't stick anything in it because it was already so uncomfortable due to it's size. So I went back to my Filofax for memory keeping with a Stalogy for bullet journaling and planning, and I liked the Stalogy but I just wasn't excited by it? Which I know sounds dumb but I feel like if journaling is my hobby then I need to enjoy what I'm using. I switched to a A6 Hobonichi for my planning with my Filofax still in the background, and on Monday I ordered a Hobonichi Cousin which I'm still waiting to arrive and I want that to be my one big main book and I'm really excited at the prospect of using it. I got the Tiny Dragons Hon so it doesn't need a cover as I want to carry it everywhere so don't want unnecessary bulk. This is how I'm personally going to be dealing with the size of the Cousin to stop it from feeling overwhelming, I'll take it everywhere so I can write notes in it as well as creating pretty 'spreads', and it'll even be my sketchbook at times too. A true Everything book. And My Filofax will still be in the background as my memory keeper, as it's really easy to maintain this way and it means I have all of my best moments in one book without having to wade through a years worth of pages. Last year I planner hopped SO MUCH and tried just about everything going, so I really wanted consistency this year and at first I was really hard on myself that I've STILL been planning hopping so much. But when I look back, 2023 was a really difficult year for me mentally and I was in a rough space so my planner hopping was about seeking comfort and distraction rather than functionality. Now I'm feeling more settled in myself and I can see that this time I'm actually seeking a system that works for me.

I sweared I’m not a planner hopper I have a hobo weeks for planning but for personal things I started the year on a tn which I found was too chaotic for me to maintain, then I tried hobonichi a6 which I loved but it’s too small and I want to write a lot more. Now I’m in a cousin and it’s just perfect. The space is just right, the pages look aesthetic without even trying and I love that I can write as much or as little as I feel like while also having space to stick things and have everything in full flat pages of a single book. I thought it’d be huge and difficult to maintain but as a personal journal is everything I wanted! I don’t see how or why I’d switch things up, for me it was an issue of "I need to find what works" once I did I’m not gonna change it again…

I've gone through practically every size this year so far, and right now I'm most content with the hobonichi weeks mega. I love the a5 size as i was in it last year, and I'm keeping my untouched a5 avec to experiment with if i get itchy, but I realized I needed a comfort book that I could always take with me, and that I could easily fill in when I miss multiple days in a week. I'm still learning how to use the system, but right now I'm pretty content. It probably also helps that I'm getting used to using obsidian for my studies/commonplacing. I enjoy having it all on paper, but I'm most likely to refer to it at my desk or on my phone, so having it digital just... makes more sense. Maybe I'll figure out a way to have both one day lol.

Sterling Ink does sell personal size binder inserts of tomoe river paper! It doesn't exactly solve your problem of liking the size/shape of the cousin, but it's a nice middle ground! Also personally what works for my FOMO is having a big tomoe river book (B6 Common Planner for me) for planning, then a filofax for commonplacing and art. That way neither sits empty, and I can dip in & out. And last thing...I live in the US, but I did have a portable AC unit in my last apartment, like the one you're describing. It worked great IF it was pointed directly at me, but didn't cool down the whole room perfectly. And it was loud. Still better than expected, but I hope that's helpful to know!

I have remained in my A6 but use it very differently. I have allowed (ok, forced) myself to have a no pressure approach to it when my life/mental health situation changes and I can’t keep up with it as diligently as I want too. I gaslight myself into thinking I need a different book when changes happen but when I research other systems (often during a sleep deprived googling session) I always seem to compare other systems unfavourably to the hobonichi. I think I need to go down the frantic FOMO rabbit hole to find contentment in my A6 because it really is the only system that has worked for me for 4-5 years 😅

Am in the UK and also unravel with the heat! We bought a delonghi pinguino air con unit and it is tricky as we don’t have sash windows but it is a life saver as it cools the room down to freezing really quickly 😊 they are expensive and very noisy but it means you can get some relief from the heat as I really don’t cope with it! The hose has to be wedged into the open window and we just use some furniture foam cut into the size we need. It isn’t a perfect solution by any means and it sounds messy but I cannot recommend highly enough as it does work and you don’t need it on for long before the room cools. Hope this helps!

I've gotten a day free in last November to try hobonichi and have memory keeping, planning and common placing together but i ended up buying a weeks last month because upkeeping my day free felt like a chore and also wanted to separate planning/memory keeping and commonplacing because i had a hard time remembering where things were. I've moved recently so it's a weird time but i've been upkeeping my weeks two to three times a week and i commonplace one time per week depending on my energy level and work so it's been fun honestly ! I've been feeling more at ease and not pressured to write in either books so it's working for now but i hope it will continue for a while !

Have you tried the Hobonichi ’Day Free’? It is an easy carry and you can jump in whenever b/c the pages are not dated😃

I have moved from a cousin and weeks to a tn standard and weeks. I have realised that the A5 cousin is wayyy too big for me. I feel lost in an A5 and it’s nice to be in a smaller size

r.e. the heat, try looking into "air coolers." the public hospital that my mom works for uses it and she says it's pretty cool. it uses ice that you put in the device that cools the air that it blows out.

personally, i'm not system i thought i'd be in for the whole year. i moved from a set a bound books to a 6 ring binder. the only thing i'm still hoping to keep up, is my mini memory log that i want to keep in one place. watching your planner experiment last year has helped me acknowledge and accept the fact that i sometimes need to planner hop to accomodate my adhd. if planner hopping would help you keep a system that works, it's worth it.

There's film you can put on windows that reflects light to the outside, and helps your place stay cooler. I've just ordered a portable ac unit, I've recently moved to Canada, that doesn't require a window, I'll let you know how well it works.

I went into an a5 binder and I’m using your layouts from Patreon. super exciting but im adjusting to the practicality from a b5/b6 bujo. Love the fact I can change it about but lots of paper to print haha. Xx

i am staying with the book i started the year! it's a couple of the hobonichis, so i hope it doesn't give anyone fomo...it's my 3rd year using the Cousin(A5) Avec, and it's true, it can feel very overwhelming to feel obligated to fill every page, which i barely did last year...i feel very emotionally attached to my planner, so it's always been really hard to recognize that a system isn't working, also cause hobonichi is very expensive...but after seeing more planner yt videos, even though there are weeks where i use more of the weeks/A6 day-free, i'm learning to avoid feeling the pressure and, ironically, started feeling more comfortable with using the A5 "out of the blue" after some blank pages which i can always fill with commonplace-related entries

There's definitely nothing wrong with planner hopping. A lot happens within a year you have to be able to adjust to what you need at any given moment. Sometimes you need a space that allows you to focus more and only enter in data, sometimes you need a space that will give you more room to journal and be creative and those can co-exist. It might not be in the same exact system, but who says it needs to be? I am a firm believer that gaps in your system also tells a story, especially if you're using it for memory keeping. Three years from now, you can look back in your book(s) and see what months/seasons allowed you to be creative and put thought on paper and which time of the year made you not and why that is - were you busy traveling, where you too tired to write because of x, y, z. I think empty pages are just as important as filled pages. I can go back and look in my Hobonichi and see weeks without writing and remember exactly why I didn't have time to write for three weeks. That being said, there's nothing more satisfying than flipping through a Hobonichi (you're right, that fluffy crinkly paper feel is magical) and seeing pages and pages of memories and writing - if you know you're going to be missing/skipping chunks of time, maybe you can consider getting a Day Free and that way you're not beholden to a date in the calendar and can have a "full" book when you're done.

Here in the Caribbean many of us thrive with a good electric fan. Maybe you can start with it and see how it goes! Hugs

Also I think about filofax as really unconstructed in a good way, because you don't have bounded pages with dates and you can use it whenever you want,because Filofax is actually living out of time, there is no thing that can show you that it wasn't used for a while or not, it just exist on it's own and never will judge you for absence... Hope it all makes sense, trying to explain wobbly concepts not in your native language is not an easy one 😅

Thank you for the video! 💙 I am happily using the three planner system that I started with this year: (1) a Sterling ink A5 common planner for personal - my primary planner, (2) a little Midori 5-year diary that I started at the beginning of last year and functions like an index (I update it at the end of each month as part of my monthly review routine, and I love that it prompts me to go back to my planner last year to look at old spreads and memories), and (3) a Sterling ink N2 compact (weeks) for work (my work notes are discoverable, so combining work and personal is not an option for me). I do also have an A5 Filofax (with Tomoe River paper, because its fluffiness is the best) that I bought at some point last year. I only use the Filofax as needed for experimentation and overflow of notes that I don't want in my primary planner; it's not part of my core system. I planner hopped a bit the past few years and found it to be a little frustrating and unsatisfying. Even though I enjoyed trying new things and the process helped me figure out what works best for me, my brain does well with routine and consistency so I was never going to be a long-term planner hopper. I also love seeing a bound book get really fluffy as the year goes by with consistent use. One thing that really helped me consolidate and stop the cycle of planner hopping was to ask myself, “what is working for me in this planner, and how can I incorporate it into my primary planner?” Similarly, when I was inspired by another planner on KZfaq, “how can I incorporate elements of this content creator’s system (often in a completely different notebook) into my current system?” Then I'll just use extra pages in old planners and notebooks that I never used to test out new ideas. Reframing my thinking this way helped me become more creative in the system that I love and that works for me instead of being tempted to try a whole new system because my planning needs have changed slightly or I'm getting bored with how I'm planning. As a result, I haven't had a desire to planner hop at all this year!

I am still in my Hobonichi Hon A6, but only bc I supplement with an A5 Tomoe River notebook and an A6 5 year journal. But I’ve been remarkably consistent. Last year, I probably should have jumped from my A6 rings but I really loved them. They just didn’t give me everything I needed. Best wishes for keeping cool and your sleep doctor appointment!

Ok here is the planner list! I use a Norfolk Filofax for daily planning and storage with Infinite lotus inserts the horizontal and calendar pages my Dividers are salty twenty two the jungle set! I use my hobonichi for commonplace in the back and the rest as a workbook for home and garden I also use it for literature. And poetry Iuse the calendar section for planning the month! My a6 Gillio is my self care and creative ring notebook I hope this helps! the Norfolk is my a5 rings and it has daily monthly and weekly in it!

hi! i started the year with my a6 hobonichi avec book, alongside an a6 journal/diary and an a6 commonplace book. i've been trying my best to keep up with my hobonichi, but i do have weeks long gaps from when i was too busy to write. i've also switched up my page setup a lot, so my book is super inconsistent. my goal is to make my second avec book much more consistent and aesthetic. my other two books i just use when i'm inspired or want to write!

I do love your hobonichi cousin pages :) go with what feels right. You seem happy in your filofax. For my daily journaling I was in hobonichi cousin but it got too fat so I switched to hobonichi avec in april. Using a6 hobonicho hon as commonplace book. Weeks as hobbies n interests and ours studio planner as journal of joy scrapbook type xx

For me, I'm still in my hobo weeks mega for planning and journaling, but the memo pads I bought to use as a common place notebook aren't for me (I should have listened to you lol). I replaced the memos with 3 kokuyo field sketch books, which I've been loving. Next year, I want to get an A6 hon for journaling so I can have everything separated mentally. Love the video

hello hello - love your videos!! just popping down here to answer your question :) My notebook system is very simple. When I used to do all my planning analogue I had a leuchtturm 1917 for my bullet journal, and any A5, blank paged notebook for my journal (which is largely memory keeping, ephemera, art, emotional processing, poetry, writing, etc...). Nowerdays, Notion contains all my planning and is working really well for me (I started to get quite tired and fatigued with having to draw out all my own calendars, weeks, etc. with bullet journalling) - and I just have one softcover flexi paperblank journal (again, only ever blank pages!!) for my journal, and have very recently (in the past few weeks) bought field notes books as a replacement for my notes app, which is very chaotic and stressful to look at. So a two notebook system for personal things, but one as a journal and one as a notebook for any passing thoughts, small poems, etc. And I don't see that changing any time soon! :) (I also have A5 commonplace notebooks for my degree, but they are essentially my schoolbooks & academic notetaking system).

I started in a Hobonichi original this April, moving from a passport tn stack, but I missed the weekly option and a place to have a weekly to do list. So I recently started carrying around a standard tn stack but there are things in the hobonichi that I need to keep me stable throughout the day (kind of like a fidget toy, flipping through the pages calms me). Sooo it seems like I might go back to carrying the passport stack and also carrying the hobonichi.

i missing your hobonichi too🤧

IV moved from a weeks size notebook to a travlers company notebook so I can have my journal and my monthly planner in the same place and also track my asthma and pain levels and refer back to how I was feeling in my journal pages

(Listens to your AC rant, nods sympathetically) Yeah it is a pain trying to get central air set up sometimes especially in older homes even here in the US (Realizes you’re talking about window AC units) Oh god, I’m so sorry!!! 🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵

I started the year with a Kinbor weeks and a Hobonichi sneaker weeks, as well as a Kinbor A5. I moved over to Filofax in March. I had 30 blank pages in my A5 by the time I moved into Filofax. Now I cut out the pages and hole punch them.

I miss you working in a bound book personally 💔

I'm still in the TN, which is what I intended for this year and it's going well. I think I don't really experience wanting to change it, because I use it predominantly as a planner, to keep up with my life, and my journaling and commonplacing is very minimal. If I wanted to start memory keeping and printing pictures (but I don't have a printer right now anyway) the small size of the booklets could become a problem.

I just bought a new Spring start A6. I have been consistent with my HON but have drastically changed how I use the weeks compared to my expectations but no consistency yet. I mostly bought it for the dailies anyway

i had intended to start 2024 in a B6 half year Common Planner (like, preordered it and everything), and then i got the itch to be in an A6 again so i got both an A6 HON and an A6 Common Planner. this was at the very beginning of the year. and THEN i jumped into an personal rings system, but i missed the size of an A5, so i got an A5 Common Planner and was in and out of that for a couple of months in the beginning of the year. and THEN i missed the Hobonichi paper and the system, so i got a spring start cousin and spring start weeks. but for the past month (April into May) i’ve been jumping between my cousin/weeks and my rings because i like the customizability and movability of rings inserts, but i love my Hobonichi system and paper so much 😭 i don’t know what i’m going to do at this poing

i’m the opposite i unravel when it gets cold (live in Australian, half indian and italian) and it could be cuz of my heritage but got i hate when it gets cold i need to hibernate and i tend to lose a lot of motivation, so i just make sure i productive hibernate!

I am quire unhappy with my current journal situasjon (hobonichi weeks) but i've been using this system for 3 years and as an autistic person i am reluctant to change. For me changing books without completing the whole thing first would be undoable, so ill stick it out for this year and hopefully have the courage to change books next year 😬

notebooks are peace but also chaos, I swear. started in a B6 sterling ink, got a passport TN, then a regular TN. I was happy planning in the passport and memory keeping in the regular, but I just bought a hobonichi weeks yesterday because I was tired of drawing out my own weekly and monthly spreads. not sure how I feel about it tbh 🙃

I started in a Sterling ink standard size and I’m back in my hobo weeks 😅 I’ve been using a weeks for the last 5 years

Re: the heat.. could you use a swamp cooler? I know it depends on the humidity of the area you live in, but I’ve heard they are very effective if you live in the right area.

Omg I’m sorry this is unnecessary but we’re using the same Sasara Dry pen and I love this pen for my writings! ☺️