Journal Jam Fall 2022 Day 3

[annofowlshire]

Day 3 Question:

What prompted you to get into using a planner or journaling?

(If you answer elsewhere, drop us a link in the comments.)

Comments

[mothereader]

I remember very vividly when I started "Bullet Journaling" (see comment for day 1): i showed up at school a few times that were close together and was surprised when people asked me if i had studied for an exam. I did not, in fact, because i'd clean forgotten that i had any exams at all.

I started keeping a diary in high school after reading The Princess Diaries series. I'm on and off with it. Some of it is on paper and some of it is digital. I've been looking at those 5-year daily journals though, to start on January 1^st.

[lunabee34]

I have been looking at those, too, the ones from Mark's and the Midori ones. I really like the idea of just writing a few sentences every day for five years (or three; I've seen three year versions) and then comparing where I was over that course of time on any gien day.

[mothereader]

Oooh, Mark's is really nice. The price tag though, oof.

I looked at journals in different price ranges. On the cheaper end, i chose something from Chronicle Books and Leuchtturm1917's Some Lines a Day. I already use Leuchtturm's notebooks and know that i really like how the paper feels and how they keep.

On the more expensive end, i picked Midori's 5-Years Gate (there's also an embroidered one that's really cute!) and Hobonichi 5-Year Techo. Hobonichi is hands down my favourite when it comes to the design of the interior. I also like that "5-year journal" isn't pasted all across the front in big letters—or i can't read it if it is. I'm a bit worried though, about the state of the paper after 5 years of daily use.

[lunabee34]

Have you used Tomoe River paper before? I absolutely love everything about the way the Hobos look and all the functionality of them, but Tomoe Rive paper is so fiddly. It's super thin, so you pretty much have to use some kind of pencil board so that you don't indent the next page too badly when you're writing. It picks up hand oils that keeps the ink from adhering to the paper, so you have to keep a piece of paper under your hand as you write. Ink dry times are also really long (which if you're just using gel or ballpoint might not matter so much), so you have to make sure you close the page on a piece of blotting paper. I was really happy I tested out a cheaper notebook with TR paper in it before I invested in a Hobo.

Those embroidered covers for the Midori ones are so pretty; I think they come out with different ones from time to time.

[mothereader]

I haven't but i have heard that it's fiddly. I had two things in the cons column for Hobonichi: one was the paper and the other was the memo page (what would i use it for??). I doubt i'd like to use a cotton glove every day for the next five years when i write in it, which would be the best protection against hand oils. I usually use Pigma Micron or Uni Pin pens when i write in my journals and planners, so i think i'd be fine on that front.

Actually, when all things are taken into account, i'm leaning towards Leuchtturm. I've been using their notebooks for the past 4 years and they're amazing. One of the notebooks has been banging around my backpack for the past year and a half; it still looks good and the binding hasn't loosened.

[lunabee34]

I love Leuchtturm, too. My penultimate journal was a hardcover one, and it was so so nice. I will definitely be keeping that brand in the rotation.

[annofowlshire]

Leuchtturm is my favorite when I'm not using my Traveler's Notebook. I flop back and forth depending on what's my planner/journal needs are at the time.

[lunabee34]

I love all the color covers, the bookmarks, the numbered pages, and that the paper holds up to fountain pens.