Planning in the Jibun Techo Biz

When I initially made the switch to using the Jibun Techo Biz for this year, I was a little skeptical of how long I could stick with it. As with any new analogue system, I had a Plan of how I was going to use it and hoped that this time, the Plan would continue working for more than halfway through the year. I had never used a vertical weekly layout for work, either. But after having used it consistently since December 2019, I’m happy to report that it works well for my needs - so much so that I have already pre-ordered the 2021 version!

Since I have used the same approach week after week, month after month, I thought it was about time for me to discuss the details of how I plan a week using the Jibun Techo Biz. I hope the step-by-step process below helps with your own 2021 planner decisions!

Here’s the weekly spread, untouched and in its blank state. I have a post-it on the right page with weekly tasks and specific deadlines, which I’ll use as a reference as I start writing. I do a lot of project management for my job, which means I plan deadlines weeks or even months into the future - I tend to write them down right away in future pages, but I saved them on a post-it for this week in order to show a better beginning-to-end planning process.

As a side note: project management is why I need my work planner to cover the entire year. I’ve contemplated using two 6-month books for more space, but I like having the entire year together for the purpose of being able to look forward more easily.

Before I write anything, I use a set of Zebra Mildliners to separate the vertical weekly layout into sections. Each color represents a different project and corresponding tasks show up underneath. As you have probably noticed by now, I don’t use the hour-by-hour breakdown on these pages. Instead, I use the grid lines freely to keep track of each project’s progress and to-dos with the corresponding color. This way, I’m able to adjust how much of each day I use for what project, depending on how many tasks I have for any project at a given time. For instance, if I need more room for tasks related to the green Mildliner, then I can allow a bigger section for it on a specific day without restricting myself.

After the commonly used project areas are highlighted, I transfer the tasks from the post-it to the actual days of the week. This is the part that takes me the most time, since I’m estimating when I will work on what task depending on that week’s meetings and what else may unexpectedly come up. I use a simple bullet point to write each task and check it off when it’s done - that way, I don’t need any stencils to plan.

I also use the very bottom of each day for personal tasks (where the gray Mildliner line is). Jibun Techo by design has a mood tracker here, but I use this section for social media/blog post planning, things we need to do before our big move later this month, etc. Although this means I combine professional and personal planning in one notebook, I haven’t had any issues with it so far. I’m still contemplating whether or not I’ll continue this approach in 2021 or try splitting professional vs. personal planning - only time (and my indecisive mind) will tell!

It’s rare that I plan the week perfectly - I make countless mistakes in these pages, especially during four-day weeks like this one. I cover up mistakes with washi tape and tell myself that it adds a little decoration to the page, since I typically don’t use washi tape or stickers in this planner. The washi tape pictured here is one of Baum-kuchen’s original designs called Seasons.

I also use the left hand side of the weekly spread to list weekly tasks that I have to get done, but don’t have specific days assigned to them yet. These to-dos are either broad initiatives that have more specific tasks attached to them, or various items I can turn my attention to when I don’t have meetings on my calendar.

I really enjoy that the checklist boxes are a perfect fit for the Mildliner highlighter, which helps me denote what project the task belongs to. I use the same color coding system here that I incorporate on the rest of the spread, so that I can easily tell at a glance what’s what. Having the pre-drawn square boxes there is such a nice bonus because again, I don’t need a stencil (or neat square-drawing skills, which I seem to lack).

And this is what the spread looks like when I’m all finished. Obviously, the spread will evolve throughout the week as things get moved around and added - for example, Saturday and Sunday are empty here, but I know I’ll write to-dos for those days later on in the week. Regardless of how these pages will change, taking the time during the previous week to plan for the next gives me peace of mind that I won’t forget critical tasks that need to be completed.

Even though the way I’m using this planner is a bit unconventional, the Jibun Techo Biz layout has been a staple in my day-to-day this year. I figured there was no point in fixing what’s not broken, and made the pre-order for the 2021 version last week. It’s the first time I’m using the same planner two years in a row since I was reintroduced to stationery a few years ago! Maybe, just maybe, I’m one step closer to planner peace.

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