My 2020 Hobonichi Planners

This year I’m trying to buck the trend and get my annual Hobonichi post out way ahead of the new year! So if you’re keen to see what I’ve opted for this year and how I plan to use my journals then grab a cup of coffee and read on.

Makino Collection / Navy x Brown

I’ve always had a fondness for Japanese fabrics and materials so when I stumbled on the fact that Makino was collaborating with Hobonichi once again after several years I jumped at the chance. Using a journal for a year means that you’ll constantly be carrying it and holding it, so if it’s got an interesting texture that can only make the experience better. That’s why I always tend to have leather covers if at all possible for my notebooks.

As usual, this A6 size Hobonichi will serve as my personal journal that I’ll use for a mix of notes and personal habit tracking with the odd bit of writing thrown in. All my daily journalling is still done in my 5 year Hobonichi so this journal will fill in all the other needs / gaps I might come across.

Colors / Calm Navy

A couple of years ago I used a Weeks planner at work and found it really useful to jot down short notes and to-do lists for the classes I taught. Its small size also made it really easy to thrown in a bag and carry around.

So this year I’ve decided to go back to my Weeks habits of old and forsake the larger and heavier A5 Cousin planner from last year. And seeing that I always need a bit of calmness in my daily work life I thought it best to pick up the Calm Navy Weeks!

Some other notes

A small snag this year has been that Hobonichi closed down their WeChat store here in China at the end of June and then opened a TMall store on Taobao. While that makes it easier to browse for me as I live in China, it also meant I was unable to purchase and pay for anything from them! Apparently it’s a customs restriction placed on the store by Taobao which means that only Chinese residents with verified ID cards can buy from them. So of course I was left out in the cold and had to resort to friends and third party Taobao sellers to get what I wanted. On top of that, their Taobao store is actually much smaller than the international store with fewer covers and accessories on offer. It’s a shame but hopefully next year will be better.

So there you have it, my 2020 choice of Hobonichi planners. Six years of journalling all in a small compact journal that contains all the ephemeral details of my life. If I’ve learnt anything from it, it’s that writing down a few paragraphs a day is a great way to clear your mind and reflect on the things that are important in your life. And for that I’ve got the wonderful folks at Hobonichi to thank!