Category: hobonichi

My 2023 Planner & Journal Lineup

December 30th, 2022

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Since 2019 I’ve been exploring how to use different planners and journaling systems and I’ve (finally) decided on what planners and journals will be a part of my routine in 2023. Here is the lineup, going from smallest to largest:

1 – Midori Ring Memo // To-Do List 📝

This cute little notebook is what I use for a simple desk task list. I set it right under my monitor so I can see what tasks I have to do for the day and easily add/edit/mark off what I’ve done.

Using To-Do lists have many benefits, such as reducing anxiety and giving structure to the day so you can use your mental energy on bigger and more important things than keeping track of every little thing in the day.

2 – The Royal Horticultural Society Diary 2023 // Gratitude Journal 🌸

When I saw this lovely little pocket notebook in the bookstore I couldn’t help myself. It is a simple planner with a week spread on one page and a botanical illustration on the other.

Given that I have something else for a planner and this is a bit too simple for my needs I’ve decided to implement it as a gratitude journal. There are studies showing that gratitude can have long-lasting positive mental health effects. It has even been found to have positive physical effects. Ending the day by reflecting on the positive is a wonderful way to see the bright side in life. ✨

3 – Custom Blank Notebook // Therapy Journal 🌻

This neat little book is from a friends Redbubble store – when you’re able, support local artists! There isn’t anything particularly special about the inside, but I figured that having a completely blank page gives me more room for my thoughts and feelings that may come up during therapy.

4 – Art of Nature Botanical Collection: Garden Gathering Notebook // Tarot Journal 🌙

This cute notebook is what I use for my notes from studying tarot & for journaling about my tarot readings. A ritual that I’ve found great for connecting to my intuition via journaling is a daily tarot reading. All of my thoughts and findings are logged in this journal. I look forward to filling these pages!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ckt8rLSoAwU/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=eecd99da-e1f9-44e3-9224-acd0561ee7e6

5 – Well Managed Forest Suede Leather Journal // Journal 🖋

My main journal is this cute A5 genuine leather notebook. Here there are no rules except to put the date on the top line of whatever I’ll be writing or drawing.

It is no secret that journaling can help with mental health by managing anxiety, reducing stress, and coping with depression. Adding daily journaling to your routine can bring more awareness to what is and isn’t working for you in your life and therefore make way for positive change. 🌅

6 – Hobonichi Techo 2023 Cousin // Planner 🗓

The Hobonichi Cousin is my favorite planner. I have made many videos and posts on why the Hobonichi is so great for organization & productivity. This book includes a habit tracker, monthly spreads, weekly spreads, and daily pages so all of your planning needs can be met.

I’ll be making posts on the Hobonichi & all of the other journals so if you’re interested in tips on wellness, productivity, and creativity follow my blog and subscribe to my YouTube channel.
Deep Work in Documentary Production Revisited

April 28th, 2021

This is my final week of college so I would like to use this post for a moment of reflection. For my first graduate class I created a whitepaper on Deep Work in Documentary Production. I will be analyzing how this advice has worked for me so far and some new things that I have learned since then.

A Distracted World

In the whitepaper, I explain how the “attention economy” is enveloping more and more of our time. With the pandemic, things have only gotten worse.

When working at home or in a personal office, like many documentary producers do, it is even more difficult to avoid distractions. Through your computer you have access to hundreds of social and informational sites within seconds. Even away from your desk, your phone is a tether to constant connection and distraction.

In 2020 and 2021, it is not only documentary filmmakers who are staying at home – it jumped to 71% because of the pandemic. Working from home is not a bad thing, it can actually make your time a lot more productive – if you take the right steps to ensure that you do not get trapped by the only increasing distractions.

How to Do Deep Work

So how can we work from home, or anywhere, distraction-free and fully focused?

The first step is to decide what your deep work schedule looks like. There are three different types of schedules; bimodal (taking a chunk of days to focus on deep work), rhythmic (carving out time within specific days of the week), and a hybrid of the two. I had concluded that the hybrid schedule is best for documentary production where you can use the rhythmic philosophy for the “shallow work” of documentary production and the bimodal philosophy for “deep work”.

Having planned, filmed, and edited a documentary since that time I think that the “best” schedule depends on who you are and how you work. The bimodal philosophy can be extremely draining when you dive fully into a project and nothing else for a few days. I had done two very taxing shoots that would be in the category of bimodal and I can honestly say that it was not a stable way of working for me.

When I was editing my film, I tried the rhythmic philosophy: every morning I would get up at 5:30 AM to do another cut of the film. I would usually be done by 10 so I was able to use the rest of the day to attend to my other habits, duties, or shallow work.

Part of the reason that this was such a productive time for me was because I did this work in an uninterrupted and distraction-free environment. The apps on my phone would be locked (and I would use my phone for a Pomodoro timer) and my only task was editing – work that is definitely valuable and deep.

When to Do Deep Work

Carving out a chunk of the morning for deep work is no small task.

We only have 24 hours in the day, so we must make the most of it. Many people make the mistake of seeing the eight or nine hours they spend at work as the day and the time before and after it as bookends when we have nine more hours of conscious time to do with as we please.

The easiest way to make sure that you actually take advantage of each hour of the day is to find a proper planning system where you can plan exactly how you spend all of your time. While in my whitepaper I suggested using Trello, I have since moved to a physical planner, namely the Hobonichi Cousin.

Another tactic that I am still getting used to is living by the “hell yes!” or “no” methodology. I have been so close to burnout several times in the last few years, mostly because it is difficult for me to say no to opportunities that I am offered. (Actually, just last week I accepted two freelance gigs for the week of my finals – had I reminded myself of this method, I would not be writing this blog at 1 AM and two days late.) Really I need to practice what I preach, so this is a reminder for myself as well: only say yes when it is a hell yes, otherwise say no thank you.

Why Deep Work is Important

Deep Work is not only valuable in the sense that it creates something that is useful, entertaining, and unique; it gives the person doing the work purpose. In the whitepaper I talk about Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art and how it addresses the pain of facing resistance – a resistance that is strong, brutal, and ever-present – in order to create your life’s work.

Ask yourself ‘if I were the last person on earth, would I still want to be doing this?’ If your answer is yes, then you know that you can and will face any resistance necessary to create meaningful and irreplaceable work.

As my job search begins, I must keep this vital question in mind. I genuinely want to do work that is meaningful and that can allow me to make change in the world. I want to work somewhere where I am willing to face the resistance every single day with pride and courage. After reflecting on my whitepaper and the experiences I have gone through to get to this point, I am ready and more excited than ever.
How to Make Your Habits Happen // Atomic Habits Summary

April 19th, 2021

In this blog post I will explain the four laws of habit creation from James Clear’s book Atomic Habits. To see the video version of this post, watch the video below!

Law #1: Make the Habit Obvious

The first law of creating a habit is to make it obvious. The first way you can do this is to create an implementation intention. Simply fill out this statement:

“I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION].”

One of the first habits I strive to do daily is reading, so my implementation intention for my reading habit looks like this: “I will read at 8:30 AM in bed.” Next, you can use habit stacking to keep the momentum going:

“After I [CURRENT HABIT] I will [NEXT HABIT].”

My ideal day also starts with a session of yoga, so my habit stacking looks like this” “After I read, I will do yoga.”

One of the most important steps in this law is to set up your environment for success. Make the habits you’d like to do as easy to reach as possible and those you’d like to break as far away as possible. It is natural for us to take the path of least resistance, which is why we can easily find ourselves scrolling through social media for hours on end – because it is easier to do that than to get what you need to get done. So, do the work to make sure that path of least resistance the is the one you actually want to go down.

Law #2: Make the Habit Attractive

One of the most popular ways of making a habit more attractive is to reward yourself with something after you have completed it. If you’d like you can even create another statement to clearly define the reward:

“After I [HABIT] I will [REWARD].”

Continuing with my ideal morning, I will only drink coffee once I have already read and finished some yoga.

You can also join a culture or group where your target habit is a normal practice. Even having a single accountability partner can help you with that, but in larger groups you may learn more and be inspired about what you are trying to make a regular practice.

If one of your habits happens to be journaling (especially using a Hobonichi) check out my Facebook Group which has discussions on journaling, productivity, creativity, and habits.

One final way you can make your habit more attractive is to create a motivation ritual. It can be drinking a cup of coffee, doing a stretch, listening to a certain song – anything that gets you pumped and ready to get to it. Personally, I love going on walks with my dog. The combination of sunlight and exercise energizes me and simply makes me happy (can I get a hell yeah for Spring finally arriving?).

Law #3: Make the Habit Easy

Again, environment plays a key role in this law. Make sure that you can get to your good habits in as few steps as possible and try to make your environment bad habit-free. An excellent way to do this is to simply not buy things that feed into certain habits or to download software to lock you out of certain programs during an allocated time. You may think that these steps sound excessive, but humans underestimate how little self-control we actually have.

Try to automate habits that you can as well. You can’t do this for every habit of course, but for every habit that is automatically done there is another that you can focus on.

If you are having trouble actually sitting down to do your habit, try out the 2-minute rule. This is when you only plan to do 2 minutes of whatever habit it is you want to do. The reality is that once the timer goes off, the majority of people will want to continue. Sitting down and getting started is the biggest battle there is when it comes to habits.

Law #4: Make the Habit Satisfying

Again, it is important to give yourself some positive reinforcement after you complete a habit. Give yourself a small reward each time you complete a habit so that you equate that habit with positive emotion.

A great way to make a habit super satisfying is to keep track of it in a habit tracker. I am pleasantly surprised with how full mine has been lately after I became serious about following the advice from Atomic Habits.

While all of these tips have been helpful to me, it is also important to know that this is not something that comes easily. Sometimes you will have weeks where you are on a roll and being super productive, and others where the habit tracker is left completely blank. This is normal and it is super important to be kind to yourself. If you drop off (like I did for 2 months straight when the pandemic began) just know that in time you will breathe, relax, re-envision, and plan how to bounce back.

If you enjoyed this post, consider following my blog and subscribing to my YouTube channel. Of course, if you would like to learn more about habits, check out Atomic Habits by James Clear – I’ve only scratched the surface in this post.

What tip did you find most helpful? Are there any habits that you are having trouble maintaining that you might have a plan to change? Leave a comment below!
How and Why You Should Use a Paper Planner

April 12th, 2021

Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing Alaina Fingal from The Organized Money, a professional planner who was full of wonderful advice and insights when it comes to using a planner. In this post I will highlight some of the most valuable info she shared, but if you are interested in listening to the full interview check out the podcast here:

Digital Planning Does Not Always Work

Like many, Alaina’s first experience with using a planner was when her school provided her one to write down her homework assignments when she was in the 5th grade. When she got older, though, she felt as if she had to be more “adult” and switch to a more mainstream and professional method by using digital planning alternatives. This works for some, but for her it did not. At that moment she thought:

“Let’s just be us and go back to the planner.”

In our discussion we concluded that something is lost when you go digital. Using a paper planner every day sets up a routine and forces you to be more aware of how you spend every moment of your day.

“I’m more connected to what I have to do when I am writing out this to-do list.”

Be Kind to Yourself & Go Slow

Currently, Alaina is using seven separate planners to track her day. Do this mean that you have to do this? No! In fact, when she first began planning in 2018 she was using a single planner. As she continued to get in the habit of using her planner and refined her system to work optimally for her, she branched out. Even then, when she was a new mother, she stopped planning altogether.

A planner is not supposed to be a burden or something that you HAVE to do, it is a tool that should only help. So when it doesn’t help, step back and re-assess. Maybe the system you are using now isn’t right for you, or maybe you are simply doing too much.

“You have to know the seasons of your life.”

I have had a time where I had to step back and re-assess how I was using my Hobonichi Cousin. When the quarantine began last year, I completely dropped off on my daily journaling and habit tracking. At the time, I was super hard on myself, but looking back on it I realized it was just a different season. Once you are kind and forgiving to yourself, planning becomes much more joyful.

Trust Your System

One of Alaina’s biggest mistakes in her planning journey was giving into the FOMO. Whenever a new planning system dropped and it looked attractive, she would ditch her old method and try to adopt a new one, without asking herself if it was a system that fits her life or her style.

“I was afraid of settling into my system.”

It may take time to create a system that works for you, but once you have it and it is working trust yourself and the system. That’s not to say that there aren’t plenty of people out there who give wonderful advice about creating systems (Alaina and myself included), but be sure that you adapt whatever advice you follow to work for you.

Use Your Planner for Mental & Physical Health

In her planner, Alaina tracks what she calls “essential habits” – sleep, diet, and exercise. Unfortunately, these are aspects of life that many people neglect to attend to due to stress, busyness, or lack of direction. Having a planner to remind you to at least pay attention to these essential functions is a huge step toward making positive change.

Planning also makes room for more attention towards mental health. Alaina has a dedicated “faith planner” where she tracks her mood, meditation, scriptures, and prayers – by writing in this daily she is reminded to take time for herself and her mental state.

No matter what you are trying to improve, track, or organize in life, putting it in a planner will make it happen. If these tips helped you, consider following my blog or subscribing to my YouTube Channel. If Alaina’s insights interested you check her out too!

What do you like about planning in a paper planner as opposed to digital? Did any of these tips speak to you, or do you have any to share? Comment below – I would love to know your thoughts.
How to Set Monthly Goals

April 4th, 2021
At the end of every month I open my Hobonichi Cousin planner and assess how my month went in regards to habits, scheduling, and my month’s goals. Yes, dates (and time in general) are a fabrication of mankind and may seem arbitrary – but there is a lot of power in making a fresh start every month.

In this post I will break down my process for mapping out my monthly goals and how you can follow those steps to become a better and more balanced you.

The Three-Step Process: Reflect, Ideate, & Create

When I was researching different methods of goal creation, I came across this wonderful video by struthless. From his process for creating goals for a new year, I created an abridged version for a month-to-month plan. I still suggest you check out his video (and his entire channel) if you want to know more or go more in-depth with your plan.

Step One: Reflect

Before you can plan how to make this month better than the last, you need to first see what went well and what went poorly in the last. Ask yourself (and write out your thoughts about) these three questions:
1. What excited me?
2. What drained me of energy?
3. What did I learn?
My thinking process (yes, it is messy – but that’s me!) looked something like this:

Step Two: Ideate the Perfect Month

Next, assess two or three actions in each category that you could take to make you month better in these ten categories:
1. Personal Life & Family
2. Work, Studies, Profession
3. Belongings
4. Relaxation, Hobbies, Creativity
5. Friends & Community
6. Health & Fitness
7. Intellectual
8. Emotional & Spiritual
9. Finances
10. Bucket List
While you are typically thinking of all of these aspects in them back of your mind, specifically writing them out on paper makes the action plan much more clear and in-reach.

After all of your thoughts are written out, write these questions (warning: things are about to get introspective):
1. Why do you want this?
2. Who do you have to be to do these things?
3. What would you have to say no to?
4. What would you have to say yes to?
5. How will you persevere through hardship?
6. Why do you deserve this?
Again, here is my messy thought process:

Step Three: Create Goals & Habits

Finally, see which of these actions you would like to pursue the most and make them into habits. The Hobonichi Cousin has 10 slots in its habit tracker, but if you are new to habit tracking I would suggest you start with no more than six and work up from there. Here are the habits that I decided to go with:

For clarification: social is spending at least 30 minutes with a friend (virtual or otherwise) and the hearts are spending meaningful time with my husband (like doing something other than eating and watching TV together).

I also like to pick three major goals and map them out on the daily page that begins each month in my Hobonichi. This month I chose to focus on friends, finding my creative identity, and giving myself time for inner awareness.

To see my entire monthly planning process, check out my Plan With Me video for April:

I hope that you gained some insight on planning your monthly goals from this post! If you would like to learn more about productivity, habits, wellness, and creativity follow my blog and subscribe to my YouTube channel. If you are a fan of the Hobonichi, I also have a Facebook group where members share how they use their planners and journals.

Do you have another way of creating monthly goals? Let me know in the comments!
Organize Your Life with the Hobonichi Cousin Planner

March 24th, 2021

Are you feeling lost, unmotivated, and overwhelmed? Do you keep procrastinating even though you know it only increases your anxiety? I know that I was. At the peak of my anxiety and frustration, I knew that I needed some sort of system to put in place to make sense of things and get my life back on track. The system that works best for me is journaling in my Hobonichi Techo Cousin planner.

Why the Hobonichi Cousin?

Before I began researching new planners, my experience was limited to the ones provided by my public schools or those made by Blue Sky. These are fine, but rather limited in what you can do with them. My eyes were opened by JetPens’ stock of Japanese planners.

With so many to choose from, why the Hobonichi? The primary that I chose to buy it, and chose to continue using it, is because of its (structured) freedom.

The Hobonichi Cousin has four distinct sections – the habit tracker & monthly, weekly, and daily spreads – so you have some guidance for what to put where. However, the pages are blank enough where you can be creative and do what you want to do with each of them. If you are attracted to bullet journaling but feel that it is too hard to fill a blank page on your own, the structure that the Hobonichi provides is perfect.

The Habit Tracker & Monthly Spread: Reach Your Goals & Organize

The first section of the Hobonichi Techo is the habit tracker. Here you can list up to ten habits to keep track of daily. Visualizing progress of your habits is an important step to making them a reality, but there is much more that goes into habit formation than that. My next post will dive deeper into how to create systems to make your a consistent part of your life, so stay tuned!

The monthly spread is the most straightforward section in my own Hobonichi. You can use it to organize every event and appointment you must attend to so that everything for the month can be seen at-a-glance. As I explain in my video, I do not use it as much as the other sections, but it is still an excellent tool for organizing your time.

The Weekly Spread: Time Management

The weekly section of the Hobonichi Cousin shows every single hour of every single day, which makes it the perfect tool for time management. Balance between work and wellness was one of the main problems contributing to my anxiety, so having time blocking every minute of your day can be helpful in figuring out where you need to reallocate how you spend your time.

On this spread you can also add a weekly to-do list, create art in the margins, or track your mood. I like to use the bottom three hours of each day to track my mood with a cute sticker and a short summary of the day.

The Daily Page: Journaling for Wellness & Creativity

By far my favorite part of the Hobonichi Cousin is the daily page. Each day has a blank grid-line paper for you to write anything you want. There are countless videos and articles about the benefits of daily journaling (and the benefits will vary from person to person) but for me it is a sort of therapy to fill out the page at the end of every day. This page is a space solely for you – so do what speaks to you and makes you happy.

Besides the wellness befits, there is also ample space for you to keep daily to-do lists. I have another video on the power of lists so check it out if you would like to learn more. Helpful tip: even if your to-do list has multiple items (as it often will), highlight the item that you most want to get done and be sure to do that task first. That way, even if you can’t get to everything, you still make progress.

There are so many reasons why I love this planner that one blog post is not enough. To hear more about the Hobonichi Cousin, journaling, habits, and wellness follow my blog and subscribe to my YouTube channel.

If you would like to see what other Hobonichi Cousin owners do with their planners, join my Facebook group. Do you have a Hobonichi Cousin, or any questions about how to use it? Please leave a comment below!