Mid-Year Work Carry Update
It’s that time of year - August, right past the middle of 2019 - when some of you may already be thinking about your 2020 planner setups. Stationery companies show up as early as this month with their new line of planners for the following year, which puts many of us in a frenzy of evaluating our current setup and deciding what new systems we want to try. (What, I can’t be the only one, right?)
Alongside an analogue system, I’ve also started to reevaluate what I carry with me to work on an everyday basis. I’m at a point in my life where I want to simplify my daily carry as much as possible, so I’m starting to put some thought into it!
Planner
Surprisingly, I’ve been using same work planner all year. There was definitely some trial and error in how I experimented with it, and to be honest, I’ll probably try something different next year to improve on one specific functionality I’ve been looking for. That planner is the MD diary in the B6 slim size, with monthly and weekly layouts.
Left: Shiny mini dater stamp; Middle: Zebra Sarasa Mark-On in 0.4mm; Right: Shachihata number stamp set and Delicata stamp ink; Bottom: Uni-ball Jetstream in 0.5mm
I like that this notebook lets me look at the entire week at a glance. I’ve realized over the years that this is an important feature in a planner that I look for. Weekly spreads are my most used pages, whereas I don’t find a need for daily pages as much. I color code my to-do bullet points by the type of project the to-do item belongs to - it’s useful, but can get quite tedious as I scope out the day-to-day.
In my planner, I use a number of products I received from previous The Stationery Selection monthly boxes:
For writing, I almost exclusively use the Zebra Sarasa Mark-On in the 0.4mm. The ink is jet black and dries quickly, which is great for on-the-go writing and planning.
Since the notebook is undated, I stamp each date with the Shiny mini dater stamp that has rotating months and days to accommodate free stamping.
Occasionally when I feel like switching things up, I’ll go for the Shachihata number stamps with the Delicata black stamp ink. This particular stamp ink has subtle glitter in it, which makes the stamping process that much more fun.
For general note-taking and longer writing, the Uni-ball Jetstream ballpoint pen is hard to beat. The khaki body of the pen makes it stand out just a little more from the rest.
Wallet
I recently made the switch from using a black trifold wallet to the camel passport TN. For the longest time, I thought of traveler’s notebooks as journals only - with this setup, though, I was happy to be proven wrong.
The inspiration came from a leather insert I purchased back in April during my travels to Korea, made by Posh Projects. I was struggling to find a daily use for this well-made beauty because I hadn’t used a passport TN regularly since my trip.
The very front of the insert has a few card slots, where I keep my ID and credit cards. Opening up the insert, I keep additional cards on the left hand secretarial pocket as well as other temporary items like coupons and gift cards. The right side has a zipper pocket, which is perfect for some cash and coins. The zipper pocket is deep enough that I don’t need to fold my bills more than once.
I’m still undecided on what to use the blank notebook it came with - a daily journal, or perhaps for a brain dump? We shall see. The cover remains undecorated for now, so I don’t force myself to use it for something that might not work in the long run. I have a strange tendency to be stubborn with what I use notebooks for, and continue to try and stick to that original purpose even when it’s not working for me anymore. Maybe I’ll switch it up this time and decorate the cover last.
This is my first full week carrying this setup with me and it has done very well so far. The elastic keeps everything together nice and secure, plus the passport size is so compact that it fits perfectly into a small inner pocket of my everyday backpack - exactly where the old trifold wallet used to be. I’m looking forward to seeing the camel color age and wear with time.
Other Essentials
When I opened the August box for The Stationery Selection and discovered this pouch by The Superior Labor, I was absolutely delighted. I had been carrying these items in another pouch by The Superior Labor, though it was a bit too large and constantly needed to be stuffed into my backpack. This pouch is not only a better size to pack everything in, but it’s also in an exclusive colorway for existing subscribers.
I keep a pack of tissues, a Tide to-go in case of food or drink stains, a lip balm, some medication, a portable bag, and hand cream. I don’t use everything shown here all the time, but most of them are really useful to have around in a pinch. I’m so happy that I get to bring this pouch with me and use it on a daily basis - it feels great to receive something so lovely in the mail and put it to use right away.
Now that I’ve refreshed my everyday carry items, I’m looking towards 2020 planners and putting together a working setup for next year. Stay tuned!
If you’re at all intrigued by the monthly stationery box I referred to so often in this post, feel free to check out The Stationery Selection. The service is run by the lovely and kind Mits and lets you try all kinds of awesome stationery products directly from Japan. The boxes often include new releases that take a while to reach overseas countries and from time to time even include surprise collaborations (like The Superior Labor pouch mentioned above, or a full spool of Avril yarn during the collaboration with Cute Things from Japan).
Disclaimer: I was a guest design team member for The Stationery Selection this month, which means I received the August 2019 box free of charge. However, I’ve been a paying subscriber since late 2017 and plan to continue purchasing these boxes. All opinions and enthusiasm in this post are my own!
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