Mid-year Techo Kaigi 2021

Techo kaigi is apparently a relatively new term that simply means “to review your planners for the coming year.” Note that this is not a translation, but just the act this phrase describes. I learnt about this term from the Stationery Cafe.

And it makes sense to take stock around the mid year, when new planners are being released (Hobonichi, one of the most beloved brands, even has an Animal Crossing cover this year) to take stock of what worked, and what didn’t. So, let’s begin.

2021 Review: Jibun Techo Mini 3-in-1

Late last year, I began using the Jibun Techo Mini. A quick recap, there’s three components to the 3-in-1 I got, which comprises the Diary, IDEA and LIFE notebooks.

As I expected, I ended up using the Diary notebook the most. In the beginning I was very good with keeping track of my tasklist and important events but as time passed, I ended up not using the notebook as much, especially if the priorities changed over the day and needed to be completed within hours. There was also a habit tracker that was fun to do in the beginning, but once I’d have gotten the hang of doing the habit, it quickly fell into disuse. Plus the thought of not achieving the goals I set myself made it much harder for me to even appreciate the effort and the thought of finishing said goals and habits, so I eventually gave up.

With that said, I also found it much easier to keep track of everything if they were on the same page. This is one of the reasons why I’m looking at the Jibun Techo Lite mini for next year. I do use the monthly calendar now and then, and having the habit tracker on the same page would seem to give me more incentive to both use the habit tracker and the monthly pages more.

The daily part also seems to have condensed the weather into a single box rather than splitting it into two, which works for me since I’d do a summary in that section. I’m still thinking about whether I’d want to switch to this system though, because realistically, I really mainly use only the daily pages on a regular basis, and I’m hesitant to commit to a monthly spread, especially since the Diary pages also has a mini monthly calendar printed at the start of each week.

New additions to the group

When I moved house, I suddenly found myself with a lot of semi-free space. I say semi-free because the urge to immediately clutter fill it up is huge for me. Instead, I focused on trying to keep the area both accessible and filled only with things I use on at least a weekly basis.

This has led to the compilation you see above. These are all notebooks I either reach for, either on a weekly or daily basis. All other notebooks are kept in either drawers or on another shelf to be pulled out as needed, especially since they have no purpose (or are very special occasion notebooks). These books are:

Old Twestival KL notebook

I got this as part of said event many years ago (holy crap have I been on Twitter that long) and I think I got two of these instead of one. I found this while packing and brought it over. Once I learnt that it could accept fountain pen ink, I made this my “work notes” and “scrap paper” notebook.

I am using this notebook with the intention of throwing it away, as it’s used mainly to either take meeting notes (which usually expire after 3 months at the longest) or to test sentences and paragraphs when I’m having issues writing at work.

One thing I’ve learnt from using this notebook is that I can’t use anything smaller than A5 to write in. The smaller spaces can actually hurt my hand if I’m writing over long periods or even during focused sessions, so for these kinds of notebooks I’m probably going to aim for B6 or A5 minimum (I had a B8 notebook I gave up using after two weeks).

Hobonichi Plain Notebook (A5)

I got this when Hobonichi was doing a clearance sale on their site. The Hobonichi Plain Notebook is a multi-coloured gridded notebook – the grid lines change from red to blue to green to purple every 72 pages. I actually used this notebook whenever I came across an interesting prompt on the World Anvil Summer Camp that I didn’t want to write out in public.

Because it uses Tomoe River Paper, this notebook takes fountain pen ink very well. Writing in it has been a true joy and I should poke myself to write more in it often. As the papers are split into different colours, I’ve been experimenting with using it to denote different categories, so I’ve got one tentatively for organisations, another for characters, etc.

I’m training myself to use this notebook as a “bible” of sorts to catch all my ideas, regardless of writing project. The cover is from Shopee actually, and not from the original Hobo site. While I like their notebooks, I can’t justify spending over RM200 (which is the minimum including shipping even for the smaller sized covers).

Midori 5 years diary

No images here, cause I didn’t want to take one.

I can’t remember the inciting incident for this particular diary, but I think it was because I wanted to keep track of things that have been happening to me. At the very least, I wanted something I could reflect on a yearly basis.

I got the Midori 5 Year Diary mainly because it is much more fountain pen friendly compared to the Leuchtturm1917. And yes I got this one on sale too, from Cziplee Bangsar (currently out of stock).

I’ve been very bad at filling in, but I make it a point to update at least once a week, and then I backdate it. So far because it’s got limited lines (about 5 lines per day), filling it up requires me to distill what I want to remember about the day, or what I remember most about the day. This ends up being either work-related, or happiness related, because apparently my brain doesn’t really want to remember sad things. And yes I keep it in the box because it allows the book to stand alone and thus support the other notebooks too.

Midori MD Notebook Journal A5 – Dot Grid

This is a purchase from last year, and it’s been one I really enjoy and love. I originally got it as a replacement for my TN ephemera notebook because it could take ephemera forms that were larger than the TN but since then it’s become my emotional journal.

As usual the paper is just a dream to write on, but more important for me the larger canvas allows me to write more for longer, and decorate the page if I feel like it. Because it’s dot grid it’s also great for helping me align my handwriting (which can get pretty out of line).

Finding a clear cover was super hard though. By default the MD Journal Notebook comes with only a thin paper book jacket covering a slightly thicker cardboard notebook cover, and I wanted to keep it looking as it is, so I was on the hunt for a clear cover for a long time. Finally managed to snag one not too long ago and it’s been amazing at also giving the book stability to stand on its own.

Hobonichi Day Free A6 with Navy Blue Cover

This was another impulse purchase (both of them!) though they were years apart. I got the Day Free during a Stickerrific sale recently while the Navy Blue cover is from 2017 I got off secondhand from Rin. The cover has gone through several notebooks, none of which I used more than five pages.

With the Day Free though, the cover is finally getting regular use – I’m using the Day Free to record weekly reflections, mainly about work and career trajectory.

It’s a supplement to the Notebook Journal – the Day Free is probably my only journal that has a dedicated “ritual” where I sit down with it every Sunday morning to write in. Doing this has allowed me to be more mindful both of what I want to accomplish while giving me a reason to use up my stickers and washi tape. I’ve finally discovered the true joy of journaling layouts and making use of stickers.

What I’ve dropped

Compared to last year, I’ve stopped using my TN, unless it was already 3/4ths filled. One is a black paper TN insert used exclusively for DnD and yes I have the right Pilot JuiceUp and Sakura Gelly Roll pens to write in it. This adds a touch of fun to the entire session.

The other is a notebook I still use mainly to stick ephemera in, with little notes to myself. I’m keeping these mainly for receipts and cards people give me, though most of them usually end up in the MD Journal which is larger.

Conclusion

I’m probably going to switch to the Jibun Techo Lite when it comes out in Malaysia, or for next year at least. I can afford to wait because by default the Jibun Techo Diary has a sixteen months calendar instead of the usual 12, so it’s not too urgent.

I also think I’ve reached the point where I can focus properly on writing what I want to say – I’ve reduced my own friction in selecting a notebook, so I have less inclination to avoid writing due to indecision and thought process.

What have you learnt from your own techo kaigi?