if you want to skip the main explanation, the timestamp is 27:44 i thought about cutting the segment in half but i think i preemptively answer a lot of questions (about how i might hide the covers, why i dont want to use a different a5 book, the appeal of a two book system and “micro-wins” etc) so i decided to leave it as it is. absolutely no hard feelings if u want to skip and just watch me work 🫡

i really enjoy the longer&chatty videos, also i get secondhand joy from your excitement with your books! whether you stick with it or not, i'm glad you're striving for something that works for you rather than forcing yourself to use something that doesn't work because of outside pressures 🖤

This was such a joy to watch Megan!! Watching you work is never boring; just peaceful and a good time 😌 My prediction is that this is The System for you - it’s a manageable size. Every type of spread has a use. The day free has page numbers. It just seems to fit your needs and preferences perfectly!

an hour long video?? what a treat, thank you! happy weekend

LOVED the long video! and yes, we can tell that you feel happier in these books, the whole video had this peaceful vibe. Honestly wishing you all the best for the books and for all else too! So happy that you exist!

I’ve been really enjoying the longer videos. They’re great for body doubling and I like to rewatch them when I journal. I would love for you to include longer clips of you writing, that for me is where I feel like I’m doing my journaling along side another person. I love watching journal w me videos that are filmed too down ❤ Thank you

i've enjoyed the past two videos! i really enjoy the longer videos especially because they feel like a little companion while i journal.

Kinbor A5 daily doesn't have the weekly pages, it's a dupe of the hobonichi cousin without the weeklies, and much cheaper with the same quality

i think the best thing about the a6 hobonichi books is that they fit perfectly in the field notes box. it's so satisfying to see all the spines lined up

It was so nice to hear the excitement in your voice, you spoke about this system in an almost affectionate way and it made me happy! It makes perfect sense to me. Your videos this year helped me get back to journaling and now I have a lot to consider about what I'll do for next year. There are many ways in which we have similar needs and many differences as well, so I really appreciate that you post about your thought process so thoroughly. I'm sure it doesn't always feel like your content is entertaining and/or helpful from your perspective, but your videos are at least a welcome companion to me when I am working or stressed and at best, truly illuminating about systems and practices I should and should not try to add to my own notebooks. Thank you for every second of them ❤

i'm only like 15 minutes into the video so far, but it really makes sense to me about the split in what you're planning to include between the avec and the day free! it feels like 'inner world' in the avec and 'outer world' in the day free if that makes any sense :P

so glad to hear you feel like you've got it! your videos are always such lovely company when i'm journaling

If you have the capacity, can you one day chat about how you size your images and what you use to print your photos ? ❤❤

I love your long videos! I really enjoy when you exposing your process too and even when you put music on and journal. You are fab! Thank you!

i enjoyed this video sm 🤩 i'm really loving the longer videos with the talking and quiet clips ! as always, so so grateful for you sharing this with us ❤‍🩹 hope you're doing great

I’m excited to see how you use your books, whatever you end up doing it definitely seems like you are on the right track to something enjoyable and sustainable for you 🖤

I love the long videos and your love for the new system really shone through :)

Omg thank you so much for this 1 hour plus video! I literally need it to accompany me study for my upcoming exams next week. 😅 Thanks a lot, Megan and I hope you have a great weekend. 🤍

I absolutely adored every minute of this.

I really love these longer videos 🖤

on my third or fourth rewatch; the chatty, longer vid is so comforting and nice to have on in the background! i love that your system is still built on the same foundations you once used, just the practice has been refined. it's been comforting watching your evolution of the practice as i try and navigate my own systems of the things and books i want to keep ❤ always a nice reminder that these things take time and patience

I love your long videos! It's such a treat honestly and I end up watching them over and over in the background while writing in my planner / tidying my desk :) I'm also a bit overwhelmed by the A5 cousin I've purchased for next year, and your videos are definitely giving me ideas for the future lol.

It makes TOTAL sense Megan!!! So happy that you back to your original books from when I first found your videos back in 2022 and feel in love with your channel! I can’t wait to see what you’ll do with them now! I also really like your long chatty videos about notebooks, chefs kiss👌🏼 take care !🖤

Just by the way you’re talking about it I think this really feels like the one! It seems to have solved all of the issues you had with other systems, and maybe going full circle was the right answer. Super happy to see you’re having a good time in these books🍂

I agree with the sentiment of others saying the idea of we have enjoyed seeing you doing this for yourself in ways you enjoy doing it. It is your own personal books to be used as you want and need, not as anything more than that. Whatever we think is unimportant, including my own post here. As long you are not hurting anyone, including yourself, then do what you will.

im so happy you went back to the A6 avec because you inspired me to use it myself! :)

I loveeeee this system idea! I hope it works for you so much! Oooh I just got to the Halloween a6 spread and it’s perfect.

This was so relaxing to listen to. I love seeing you expiriment and see what works for you and what your thought process is. I recently bought a hobonichi original for 2024 and I can't wait to use it. It's my first hobonichi, before that I'd only use blank sketchbooks, but I want to combine them both. This motivated me to begin with a commonplace book again. I did one in the past but life gets in the way. I couldn't journal much because of my disability, but now I can write more than I used to and it's great for my wellbeing

the spooky nails are seriously glorious 😍 also, definitely didn't mind a longer video, i've just watched this one in more than one sitting so really it feels like i got more than one video haha

I will never say no to a longer video, especially when I'm sitting down with my journals. also, I don't know how to say it other than I can hear relief in your voice. and I want you to feel that with your system, genuinely from the bottom of my heart. you gave me a lot of inspiration for my bullet journaling way back when and I stumbled into hobonichi and found my system with time and with seeing how you used it. all this to say, go easy on yourself, you know your brain best and what will work best. also, if anyone is being an ass i'll fight them /j lots of love from an increasingly cold iowa

I really enjoyed this! A6 looks like fun. I hope you've cracked it for yourself too :)

I am so happy to see a long video ❤ and its lovely to see you use a6 again ❤❤

Oh, I like it! This looks like a great system. Sometimes it's just really comfy to stick with the same system for a while, and some times we need to test out new things. Thanks for testing all these new things and sharing them with us.

Love the long videos! And I feel like this could be theeee setup for you…hopefully! 😂❤

It's cool to see you go full circle. When i first started watching you it was around the Avec system era. and its the system i decided to go for as well. Been using it since, so to see you coming to the same system that started my viewing of you is like home somehow.

I know this video is an hour long but somehow as I journal alongside it, it almost feels too short somehow because it's such a pleasure to watch hgdsjk your own re-evaluation of your system has made me re-evaluate mine too and really check in with what my own planner needs are which is super cool (tho admittedly I got tempted to buy an A6 Hon but we persist ✊🏼)

I actually enjoyed this one. Seeing you work out what you wanna do for next year and seeing you working in your books makes me want to work in mine all the time. I think you'll stick with it, since it looks like it's going to work for you :)

I really like your approach to filming the writing sections; I think you get the balance just right :) I've been in an A6 notebook of some form for at least 5 years and it seems to be not as common as A5 so for me personally, I'm excited to see you back in the size! I really hope it works out for you!

love, love your videos 🤍🤍 you inspire me for real!

I have a similar issue as you mention here. And I think you cracked the code. Omg. The avec along with the day free makes so much sense. I mean it. I used the day free at the start of this year and lasted me about two months… but this method would have solved my issue so well. Omg. I feel so dumb now 😅 I will try something else on 2024, but now I know that if it doesn’t work, this might. I kinda want to slap myself for not thinking it through before making my purchases for this year 😅 Oh well. We’ll see how it goes.

I like the happy middle,the B6 that I used to use when I was using a passion planner. However, the paper was heavy, and in June of 2020 I happened on a KZfaq video about Japanese planners. Maybe it was JetPens. I ordered the two books they had back then. The Jibun Techo and the a6 hobonichi planner. I hated the latter because of the size of the grid, all the blank space around it, and lack of color. I then used the JT for 2.5 years straight, with the last year with the JT Daily. I did not mind the splint page format. What I minded was carrying around two planner books and covers. I tried to put it into one cover, but that meant constantly taking one out to write in it, and placing it back in. So, I finally got a cousin. All this worked great until I finished my degree 10 days ago. I needed that weekly spread to plan out my week, either WFH or go in to a uni or a local library. Blocks of time I could study depending on when I had the most energy. The time blocking was done with JT flags, that I had used permanent ink on with what the block was for. So, I could rearrange my schedule for the rest of week if need be. Long story short, I am now at a loss. I go around befuddled thinking, ‘is this all there is.’ Since I have now a huge change in routine. I should be looking for work, but who is going to hire me, if I plan on being in the States with my aging mother for 6 months? Come back to EU for my husband’s birthday and midsummer, and then back to the US. My narcissistic sister-in-law who is using me as a scapegoat to control her husband and children, has had made life unbearable here with no family. As you know, as autists we don’t have a ton of friends for support. My friends have ADHD, and well…. They forget to call and message back.

I am fascinated by your handwriting! It is so small, so consitent, so unique!

We wish you all the best, Megan. Keep working hard as always.

i rly loved this, megan! it's funny bc we have the same system since i rly Loved your system back in 2022 and i always come back to it and when my friend mentioned the day-free books i was like wait maybe it can be a good commonplace book and so watching this and thinking deeply of what i'll be getting for 2024, my decision's more solidified now frfr! so basically, i got the a6 avec (for planning, habit tracking, memory-keeping) + a6 day-free (media tracker, commonplace) + navy blue cover + navy blue pencil board hehehe i feel so excited about it! i was actually thinking of getting another one that's b6 but i've been experimenting on hobonichi this year and it would be such a waste if i didn't get to use it since i feel so familiar and comforted by hobonichi alr. so there we go! happy to see that you're happy with your books! i also hope you stick this mostly bc the system seems to suit you a lot hehe so thank you for this

Your journals are so neat and beautiful

this made me genuinely crack it for myself, i think my weeks mega + an a6 book would be it for me

quite literally just found your channel, we have the same journal/calendar set up (i except i don't use the hobonichis, i made my own) i absolutely love these type of videos! and i am definitely sticking around

Love a longer video! I had a similar realization, that A6 is my size, and that I don't need a weekly for journaling. I am going to try a Hibino, and I hope I'm as happy with it as you seem with your A6 system!

Haven't watched yet but I'm so happy it's over an hour long! Yay! 😊

Changing your mind is allowed 💜. I'm using a Weeks and a Cousin for 2024 along with a plain notebook for morning pages. I've used the Day-Free for Dungeons and Dragons and it is a good lil notebook. Thank you for the lengthy video!

I think this might work for you. Maybe out one index clip on your weekly to do so it’s not “out of sight, out of mind“. This way I think you would have solved all your problems from the a6 system. 😊

bro, your handwriting is so clean 😮👏

I love the long chatty videos!

Oooh I love these so much

I really enjoyed the video, but it goes for all of your videos :) it was great to have such a long one! I think the new system looks really good and I’m hoping that it will serve you very well for the upcoming year, thank you for sharing 🫶

Hi, Megan! I loved to see your experiments and I truly believe you don't need to apologize for sharing these struggles on YOUR CHANNEL xD you don't owe us a thing...plus, I felt encouraged to experiment a little myself, and I'll be changing my system to expand logs next year. I initially felt wasteful, but seeing how you got around that by handling it as a collection and also selling some books gave me ideas. Also, these books and logs and stationery are supposed to help us deal with the world a little better, and how much does our peace and fun cost? Sorry if this feels like a little sermon, it's more like a register for myself either. Thanks for sharing, as usual, your videos help me so much!

Actually this is the most sense you've made for a while hahahaha regarding you system, like it really sounds like it fixes the problems

I feel this video so much. I had like every size of Hobonichi this year and some Wonderland 222 books and it ended up being way too much and I’m struggling so much deciding what to do for next year.

the longer the video the better 🤭 I'm lying in bed with rly bad period cramps, this was great company 🤗

Love long videos so much❤️❤️❤️

So excited to watch this while I plan out my week! Just a heads up I think this is episode 4! You already have an ep 3 of 'a week with my notebooks' :)

i seriously had an eureka moment when you started talking about how you plan on using your dayfree, i really think it might just work out for you this year

Loved this video. It was super soothing to watch and it gave some insight into your thought process. I'm happy with long videos as long as the creator has something to say that is interesting and for someone who doesn't think a week in their life is very interesting, I assure you it was for me. I'm trying to get my planner peace in order before 2024 so I can focus on goals and other things etc, so I can empathize with wanting the chaos to end. I think you'll stick with it as long as it makes you happy and if you don't, try not to beat yourself up too much. I also highlight a ton with my non fiction books because the fiction I read while fun, is pretty fluffy. Which is just the way I like it. Non fiction on the other hand needs to grip me in a way that makes me want to come back to certain passages and re read them and dissect them.

Wow! I think you're on to a good thing! I hope the system works for you in 2024!

Here for it all!

Its really interesting to see what works for you! I take a lot of inspiration so thank you for your content! I was wondering how do you print out your photos? Do you have a template you use to size the photos like a instax?

The first shot of the video with the Ian Curtis photo 😩

What printer do you use? (Sorry if you've answered this before, I just found your channel a couple of days ago and am absolutely in love!) I'm going to swap from a bullet journal to a hobonichi next year and am looking for a printer that's not super fancy but can still print colour photos that I can use for daily journaling etc. Love the videos so much

I wanted to start keeping a hibonichi planner too, i really like the way you kept your weeks hibonichi, the whole layout, but i would also love some daily spreads like in the cousin. I don't really like the way how week's in the cousin are vertical and there's no extra page for notes, like in the weeks. So i think the best solution for me would be weeks mega, so i could still have the weeks spreads and i could use the pages at the back to write out daily spreads :)) The only thing i worry about is the size, its just that i've never used a notebook that is the size of the weeks, and i'm not 100% sure if i would love it so i just really don't know what to do, i guess i will just have to try

Both systems are awesome, but I completely get the whole not wanting to leave 1/3 of a book blank... The colour of the day free cover puts me off a bit BUT is is so much better now they don't include the doodle in every page (and page numbers!!!). Looking forward to see how you get on in either

This one was so goooood 😭 thank you Megan!!

I’ve also done some experimenting and have landed on the a6 avec for 2024 and a weeks for work notes. I do wish there was a size between the a6 and a5

Love your nales！

Thanks you for sharing!

Actually I think this video just convinced me to jump the gun and get myself a days free... I've been wanting to get the A5 HON for a while now but it's so expensive I didn't want to make a purchase without being 100% sure. The days free is not only cheaper but it gets rid of the part of the HON that's making me hesitate: the weekly section. I greatly prefer using a rolling weekly and it doesn't seem like it would fit in the vertical weekly of the cousins. and it's not too confusing to keep the weekly to-dos with daily journaling, I don't think. AND I don't have to feel too bad if I miss a day of journalling cus it's not dated. It's pretty much like working in a bullet journal but with a pre-made calendar and yearly section. It's kinda genuis.

I was wondering if you could share the article for commonplacing? I love the idea of having an exerpt in your notebook and I'd like to borrow this idea. Also your voice is so calming, I love coming here to watch you share with us.

i would be using a Hobonichi Hon in 2024 as my all in one planner/journal/commonplace book. and as someone who is used to bullet journaling in a b5, downgrading to an a5 is gonna be weird, i already know it. i used to have so much space. i cannot even imagine journaling in an a6. i get the struggle 😅

Hi, great video as per usual! You've probably explained this before but how do you use your margins?

Hi Megan, i did watch life 4 or 5 five videos of you in this weekend while studying, and i do love long videos of people who i do follow, so feel free to do more of this if you want!

I say genius plan!!! It makes complete sense to me 👻

Lovely video as always Megan!! I was wondering, if you run out of pages in the Days Free before end of year, do you think you'll just buy a second 2024 copy?

Do you mind telling me where I can find the commonplace notebook article? I would love to read it. Thank you for taking the time to make these videos!

We like a lot of the same music! Also, autism, I think that's why I love your content so much, well that and its really well done!

Megan. We have almost the same brain! My brain dump topic over the past few weeks is almost identical to what you wrote in tumblr. I also just recently got the A6 day free and Avec, but was thinking to do the opposite... Avec: schedule and daily task list/work meeting notes, and maybe daily journal; with the day free as commonplace with the calendar used for daily gratitude. The verrical weekly just doesn't work for me and the Aura Estelle A6 catch all doesn't have enough pages (and rhe grid pages are not numbered). However my issue is the quotes on the bottom of rhe Hobos still bother me as wasted space, and I need more pages/space for comminplacing ephemera. So a couple of days ago I ordered the Midori A6 Hibino (two pages per day) to use as a sole book for everything. And ordered the Midori B6 slim notebook & monthly stickers to use as a single everything book. I will try each over rhe next weeks to see if I can accomplish a single book. Otherwise I think I will use the 2 A6 books in one cover..

I have found my happy place in a B6 after trying everything also… would highly recommend if anyone still looking for ‘24 if A5 too daunting & A6 tad small. Love this video x

I also name every 2nd thing (playlists etc) electric boogaloo

Hi Megan! I would be interested in a long video of you just writing! KZfaq has been replaying your videos for me when I want to body double, but I would really really appreciate it if you make a longer one. ❤

what a TREAT

Someone commented on another video about your voice. I agree with them. It is so soothing for quieting my AuDHD brain,that I actually felt it was better than the Calm Sleep stories I have been listening to lately. I kept falling asleep. So, are you going to restock the autistic and tired tote? Would love a long sleeve shirt in this design since it is winter now. Well here in Denmark. I will be in Oregon soon where the moisture in the air will make it feel colder. I would love a how you film setup, and your iOS ecosystem for managing some of your executive function on your watch, phone and Mac.

Hi ! I wondered how you index ? I can’t find which video you talk about it and looking for some ideas

hi, sorry but what is the wrinckle free glue? where can I buy it? 👀

Hey Megan. I really like your desk stereo/speakers, who makes it?

I have used the Day Free for about three years now. It works best for me. I really feel comfortable with it. I used to use a Cousin A5 but I didn't use the weekly and the daily page was very limiting for me. The DF takes care of all of that. Anyway I completely understand why you might make the switch. I had the same thoughts as you in the past. Good luck with it

Which cover are you using for the A6 avec? I have been looking for a cover to put both books in but I'm not sure what to look for.

Which cover are you using for a6?

Why not just do a todo list in the weekly section ?

I will just do multiple comments. I have a B6 Sterling Ink, 2 book in the forest green. People have been jumping all over me daring to criticize her planner. All I am stating is the lines are too light and it hurts my eyes. Maybe if she made an underlay, but that would not work for the previous page. So, given her cult is being jerks, I am really considering selling it. I do not want to be part of such a community. Being hypersensitive sucks, but these people have never walked a day in my moccasins, so do they have a right to criticize me for not worshiping something? I went onto Etsy, found some B6 dot grid TMR paper that is hand stitched instead. I am kind of sad, being that planners are my special interest, that the people cave to non-functional planners who want to do water colors in their books, and they HATE the grid. It is like they are now excluding people who have vision impairments, or issues, and they just do not give a crap, I cannot wait until these designers get older and cannot see their own freaking grids in their books.

keeping track of the days right now through weekday telling socks because nothing else is pulling me into consistent practice haha 🙃 that book sounds so intrigueing but like a hardread, i'm pulled back towards NBC's hannibal series right now which i consider a hardwatch too but it's soso seasonal with that painterly quality of the color palette, spookyharshhumor for processing my favorite 🩸🪞🩸