Analog Blues: A Sort of Techo Kaigi?
Planning for...Disaster? A Sort of Techo Kaigi
Last year I got obsessed with planners. For the uninitiated, it may seem a little strange to be obsessed with how one got their shit done, but if there is a will there is a way. And, if you can purchase a "collection" of something, you can guarantee a community that follows. I have always journaled and only informally "planned." I thought I was limited to what was given commercially and labeled a "planner." I hated the majority of the layouts I interacted with, then somehow found out that there are many many more options out there than I previously thought. Particularly, the option of making your own was realized through the bullet journal or "bujo" community. After seeing the interesting system of customization that a "travelers notebook" provided, I was pretty hooked on finding the most "optimal" set-up for keeping on track. Using dedicated booklets with an intuitive rubber band system is nice for someone obsessed with archiving my work. Any time I get to write with a pen or pencil on paper is a special moment, and it was nice seeing others who also enjoyed analog ways of recording their daily lives, thoughts, and ideas. However, as I have developed another sense of self by doing my best to separate my digital life from my lived life, I realized how much I kind of hate the content made around planners and journals, well really, any hobby nowadays. I never truly see anyone explore how things work for them, I see a lot of shopping and "unboxings", (and I understand they gain a lot of views), but content on layout reviews (not just set-ups!), showing previously used planners or journals, etc., is actually the best part of the community I wish to see more of. This post is a classic "techo kaigi." Techo kaigi is a japanese term meaning "notebook meeting" where you review how your planner and journal is treating you and if you should change anything. Here is my contribution to what I desire to see other hobbist doing! Sharing their process! A techo kaigi!
Experimenting in 2024
My little passport TN was born with three inserts. First a planner I made myself, second, a notebook that held things I learned, reviews, and my creative writing ideas, and finally, I had a scrapbook for doing puzzles, and long-hand writing ideas, or if I needed to leave a passive aggressive note for shit-parkers. I was looking for a personal planner because I needed to keep things together in my final semester of undergrad. Not only that, I was beginning to redefine my relationship with my phone. I always had an extensive list of notes in the notes app, but never did anything actionable with them. I kind of just wrote anything down, instead of really thinking my thoughts through. The "ideas" book I called STALIS, a bad acronym of the words Study, Tales, and Lists, was meant to be a place to help cure my boredom instead of my phone. When I switched over I actually experienced the issue of "writing without thinking" again, but that was because I was fascinated by the "common-place book" idea that was making the rounds of YouTube at the time. A real shame. I actually made many of the cahier Moleskine journals I bought into what are now abandoned commonplace books. I did end up using one for journaling my sewing! So all is not lost. But again, I was experimenting. I wrote down concepts or facts of things I learned. Such as the "lost-wax technique" or "Japanese hornets." Also during this time, I wanted to better my writing, not only for school and work, but also for creative writing endeavors. Creative writing has been a hobby I sporadically participated in since elementary school, I failed to make a good habit of writing every-day last year, hence this blog to help oil-up the habit!
Previous Set-Up
While setting up, I tried to use a lot of what I already had on hand. I cannibalized paper from abandoned journals to make new little booklets when I ran out, and I also used the planner stickers I got from one of the "swag" planners given to me during undergrad. I learned that I loved stickers, and how to be resourceful. For my birthday a couple years ago I was given a big sticker book, it's been fun decorating, and I highly recommend considering stickers as a way to decorate! I recently obtained some craft tape to make my own stickers to get back into drawing. I also learned that if there is any resistance when it comes to using my little notebooks, I won't! Who would have guessed? I was successful the first half of the year of using my planner and even tracking my spending (something I surely need to get back on), but I began grad school and it all slipped between my fingers. So now that I am used to the demand and schedule, what am I planning on changing?
Refining in 2025
Enter in this year and what I had learned. The size of the passport is actually great, I didn't need anything bigger, but, it got big horizontally as I mixed and matched the inserts I had. I went from two passport sized notebooks and one folder, to three notebooks and two folders. This was a limitation in the original TN I bought from the eponymous company. I wanted a wallet and my notebooks so then I didn't leave one behind while I grabbed the other.
In the summer, I decided to commission a leather artist named Ting at ApplePig Leather on Etsy. I spent at least two or three weeks crafting my idea of what would work best for me, hemming and hawing, before I ordered and messaged Ting my specification's. Because the leather craft comes out from Asia, shipping back is a pain, I knew better than to come up with something I wouldn't use. I deconstructed an old leather (and flimsy) wallet I had and tested out the idea before I confirmed the final design. There is a Facebook group where lover's and buyers (some collectors) of ApplePig leather trade with each other, usually within the US or other countries closer than where Ting's business is. I noticed a strange phenomenon where I am not sure people understand that craft has the artists hand left behind. My personal commision was a modified version of what he offered on his shop, where the wallet porition detaches from snaps. It's a little chunky, together, but absolutely works for what I usually wear bag wise. I also sized it to a "pocket size" instead of a "passport size," why? I wanted to prioritize compatibility with a pocket notebook size incase I couldn't get or want, a travelers notebook insert specifically. Some patron's get too particular about how "smooth" or "bumpy" the leather is, or it seems the rush of getting a truly artisan craft object and going through a commission process is intoxicating. The mind can conjure delicious ideas, but reality can hardly be escaped. As a lover of the arts and crafts, I suggest really considering your life style before obtaining numerous artisan-made objects. I actually made this mistake myself. I bought an Oberon Design journal in a size I didn't need. It was beautiful, but it didn't fit into my life. I gifted it to someone where it could get some use. I did keep the large journal cover as I have ALWAYS wanted one of their leather covers, since I was about 13 actually. I am happy to have it too. It is where I write my creative writing ideas by longhand.
Anyway, I got down to three notebooks and one folder insert. I have a flap on the inside of the cover to hold extra ephemera, and the wallet takes care of the receipts easily. I thought about commissioning for a slim version of the wallet, but I've decided to just keep using what I have. Now for the three notebooks and folder:
- Planner
- a one page a week layout with monthly overview to mark a change in the months. Most one page a week layouts have a notes page opposite, I didn't want that and it was slightly cheaper than the weekly layout provided by the Traveler's Company. Last year I used just pencil, this year I used stickers I bought from JetPens.com. The Iconic Diary Date Stickers in Vintage.1 I also used Midori Chiratto Index Tab (Sm) for marking each monthly overview.2
- STALIS
- I had four different parts, but I merged down to three prioritizing, Tales, Media, and Lists, due to the fact I used them the most! I made tabs using some washi tape and regular tape to reinforce them. I labeled them from my P-Touch label maker. My library has a "free" section and had some blue refills that worked for the model I had! Love the library!
- Think-Pad
- This notebook is one of my franken-journal's I made and it has some sewing ideas already, and lots of NYT Connection's notes. I love NYT Connection's. And is also where I grab an extra piece of paper to leave my passive aggressive (and sometimes positive) notes.
- Folder
- I made this to hold extra planner stickers, some cut-in-half post-it notes and some other important information for quick reference. It got used a lot before I covered it into packing tape and I love it to bits.
New Set-Up
I am excited to begin the new year with a tool that has helped me so much in the last year! I was nervous about this set-up getting compromised because I have school/work dedicated planner that is in a Franklin Covey Compact Binder I bought second-hand. I'll post how that is going once the school year concludes. If you haven't used a planner before, and think it may help, just get some scratch paper and make a list. Or even use a notebook you know has some blank pages still! You don't need anything fancy, and soon enough you'll know what you need to be on-top of things.
