2023 Analogue System

The autumn season is upon us in the Northern hemisphere - although there are only a few trees near our building that are turning red and yellow, the air is turning colder and I’m starting to crave warm drinks in the evenings. We also only have two months left in 2022, which I don’t particularly love thinking deeply about (where does the time go? I say that every year), but what I do love thinking about is my planner/journal lineup for next year.

Techo kaigi (planner meeting) is always exciting to do, and I have a few setups that I’m really looking forward to using. Let’s get to it!

2023 Planner & Journal Lineup

Personal Planning

PLOTTER 5th Anniversary binder in liscio green (bible/personal size)

I was using an A5 size PLOTTER this year for both professional and personal planning until I transitioned all of my work planning to Notion. Since all work-related notes and tasks are being kept digitally now, I am going to downsize next year into this very special liscio green binder. I don’t share too many of my planning pages because they’re filled with personal details, but the calendar/schedule pages from PLOTTER have worked well for me and I will continue using them in this smaller size.

Memory-keeping

Traveler’s Company 2022 Traveler’s Airlines notebook (regular TN size)

I am returning to the regular size traveler’s notebook for memory-keeping. I used a Hobonichi Day Free in the A5 size this year, and while I love the extra space to decorate and write, I missed using my TN on a regular basis. Next year, I’ll be writing down quick daily summaries in the older version of the 018 refill (undated vertical weekly) where the columns are a bit wider than the current version. I miss drawing in my journals, so I hope to include a few doodles here and there, too.

Health & Gratitude

Hobonichi x One Piece techo (A6 size)

I’ve been keeping a loose log of my meals and exercise routine within the calendar pages of the PLOTTER A5 size this year, but I want to separate this part into its own health journal in 2023. I don’t plan to decorate much in this A6 size - instead, I want to take a few minutes each day to jot down what I ate, if I moved my body and in what way, and reflect on my mental health and overall well-being by practicing gratitude. I believe the smaller size will also be more manageable.

Miscellaneous

PLOTTER binder in pueblo blue (mini 6 size)

I’m going to continue media journaling in this binder using tomoe river paper that I’ve cut down to size and hole punched. I like to create a decorative page about media I’ve consumed (video game, TV show, movie, book, etc.) and jot down my overall thoughts. I like to keep it simple so I don’t have a rating system, and it’s more fun for me that way personally!

A5 or regular TN size notebook

I have a good number of unused A5 and regular TN size notebooks that I want to start using up before buying additional ones. I love to collect ephemera from my daily life (cute packaging from snacks, happy mail bits from friends, etc.) and have pasted them into the Hobonichi Day Free A5 this year, but with my memory-keeping setup next year in the vertical weekly insert I may not have room there to include it all. Should I ever feel the need to put down some ephemera in a notebook, I have plenty of empty ones to choose from!

If there’s anything I learned in the last few years of analogue planning and creative journaling, it’s that I need to understand my own tendencies. For example, I found it difficult to keep up with two memory-keeping journals this year, so I’m reducing it down to one next year. I also know that it’s unrealistic for me to use too many notebooks on a daily basis because I get overwhelmed, so I usually keep the “daily drivers” (planner, memory-keeping journal, and health & gratitude journal in this techo kaigi) to a maximum of three.

If you’re interested in a lengthier, chattier version of this techo kaigi post, feel free to check out this video where I talk through each one. It’s a recap of my Twitch stream from October 22nd, and it proves that I can talk forever about notebooks (nobody is surprised).

No matter what analogue system you choose to use for 2023, I hope you find a planner or journal that works best for your life in this moment. Here’s to the last two months of 2022!