2019 Analogue System Review
The fall planner season has come and gone, and so many of us are already anticipating using our 2020 lineup. Before I start on my new planners and journals in December, I wanted to take the time and review what I used this year. It’s always good to reflect and be honest about what worked and didn’t work for me - so without further ado, let’s dive in!
MD Diary B6 Slim
I’ve used the monthly/weekly version of the MD Diary for work from December 2018 to now, across two different jobs. It’s currently housed in a Sojourner Gedi folio with a natural scoop pocket in front. My reasoning for this setup was that it was portable, and I could throw it into my work backpack without a worry.
What worked?
Paper quality. MD paper is one of my personal favorites to write on due to how well it takes most media and how quickly ink dries on it. I’ve been using this planner in conjunction with a Zebra Sarasa Mark-On pen in 0.4mm, and I can pretty much write something down and close it right away without any ink transferring to the other side. It works really well for on-the-go planning or jotting down reminders whenever I recall a particular work task I need to check on.
The planner itself held up incredibly well to daily use. Having it in a cover definitely helped with that, and choosing a cover I really liked also meant I reached for it more often.
Weekly view. Over the years of using paper planners and digital calendars, I’ve realized that a weekly view is essential for me. I find that it registers in my brain the best when I have various tasks and events laid out for the entire week ahead. As I get closer to the end of a week, I can review everything that took place and transfer what I need to the following week.
Since I also balance my planning by making use of digital project management tools, a weekly view in a paper planner is sufficient. Daily pages, while nice and roomy, make for too much flipping back and forth.
Lay flat binding. This feature is another must-have in a work planner for me. I usually leave my planner open on one side of my desk all day, adding and rescheduling as things come up. Sometimes I close it, thinking I’ve wrapped up for the day, but then remember something else and have to open it again. If the planner I used this often didn’t lay flat on its own, it would drive me bananas!
What didn’t work?
No dates. The undated pages, while convenient for planning freely, didn’t work well for me personally. My job requires me to plan meticulously, often weeks and sometimes even months in advance - while not everything happens according to plan, it’s critical that I have the dates written down for me to see when I look ahead. This meant that I had to stamp dates for two to three months at a time, which got old pretty quickly. I began to miss pre-dated pages where I could plop down a tentative deadline six months ahead if I wanted to.
Limited layout. As my responsibilities at work grew, I began color coding my tasks each day. There aren’t any additional separators in this layout aside from the slightly thicker gray lines that I use to distinguish one day from another, so I’ve been using a square bullet for each task and then coloring that bullet according to the color code I have. While it looked neat in execution, it was time-consuming and not the most practical - I knew it wasn’t working when I found myself getting annoyed by it time and time again.
Size. Although the smaller size worked in the planner’s advantage when I first chose it, I found that I had to use two columns to fit in everything on a day-to-day basis.
I’ll be switching to the Jibun Techo next year and using the hourly blocks to break up the projects I have into different sections. More to come on that in a future 2020 setup post, but in short, the layout as well as the smaller size of the planner restricted me from effectively tracking my to-dos for projects.
Will I use it again next year?
Yes. The fact that I used this notebook for almost an entire year is a miracle, so I want to keep it in my journaling rotation in 2020. I’m going to use it for weekly memory-keeping instead of planning, and see how that goes.
Traveler’s Notebooks
TNs have been my tried and true staple since I began my journaling journey in 2017. I own four of them now from Traveler’s Company and have finished a number of notebooks for traveling and memory-keeping.
What worked?
Versatility. The flexibility of the system allowed me to make use of all covers I owned to some extent during the year. Whenever I felt like switching or trying something different, all I had to do was swap out the notebook or accessories inside and voila! It was as if everything about the cover was new again. I truly appreciated how easy it was to make the setup more refreshing for myself at my convenience.
Design. The simple yet functional design of the TNs is what drew me to them in the first place, and its design continues to hold up for me after being introduced to it more than two years ago. A leather cover with an elastic band around it doesn’t sound like rocket science now with so many brands producing the same style, but I’m forever grateful to Traveler’s Company for popularizing the style and leading the way in representing a traveler’s spirit.
What didn’t work?
“One cover per topic” approach. When I first started using TNs, I tried to assign one cover per type of use - for example, one cover for memory-keeping, one cover for travel journaling, one cover for art journaling, etc. I quickly discovered that this way of using TNs felt very stifling for me because I was limiting myself to reaching for certain covers.
Will I use it again next year?
Yes. I return to my traveler’s notebooks time and time again, whether it’s for daily journaling, junk journaling, memory-keeping, traveling - the list goes on. I will definitely continue to use them in 2020 and beyond.
MD Notebook A5
My intention when 2019 began was to use my A5 size MD notebooks for art journaling. Along the way, it briefly took a life of its own as a travel journal during my adventures in Europe and New York, then returned to its original function as a sketch journal.
What worked?
Paper quality. Not to bring this up again, but I really do love MD paper for its sturdiness. It takes fountain pens and watercolors without any bleeding and dries fairly quickly, as I mentioned earlier in this post. I was able to really experiment with all kinds of pens and art media without fear of ruining the paper, which is what I wanted in an art journal.
What didn’t work?
Size. Honestly, I’ve come to the conclusion that the A5 size is way too big for me. I often found myself struggling to use the additional room effectively. A large part of this is because I like to fill up my pages, so I fully recognize that this is a personal issue with me and white space! For others who use white space creatively or simply enjoy having a lot of breathing room on their journal pages, the A5 size will work well.
Will I use it again next year?
No. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be going back to the A5 size next year. I find the page size overwhelming and the notebooks too bulky to carry. Although I love all of the notebook options available in this size, it doesn’t fit into my current lifestyle and flow of creativity. Perhaps I’ll return to it one day when the time is right.
All in all, I’d say I did a fairly good job of trying to stick with my initial choices when this year began. At the same time, life is constantly changing and there are so many different kinds of notebooks available to us online, so it’s important to recognize when a certain setup isn’t working and make the changes you want! On that note, I’ll be sure to share more about my 2020 setup before the new year begins. Until the next blog post, happy journaling!
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