Happy new year everyone! A new year implies a new beginning, which inspires people to think about changes to make and achievements to aspire towards in the new year.
I started bullet journaling last year and have found it so beneficial in keeping me focused on my numerous deliverables at work and juggling family commitments. But I must say it got tiring setting up the pages every month and every week, even with a minimal, non-artistic setup.
As a newly converted planning enthusiast, I got sucked into the myriad of ideas on social media, and got hooked onto the Hobonichi fever. It sounds so fantastic – the Japanese design which puts so much attention to little details, the Tomoe River paper which is a dream to write on, and a planner to last a whole year (I went through 3 bullet journals last year). So for 2024, I bought 3 new Hobonichi planners and this is what I am going to use them for:
Hobonichi Weeks Mega – Everyday carry
I am using this as my catch-all, capturing work and personal to-dos and random thoughts, bullet journal style.
There are 217 blank note pages at the back, which I will use for my weekly team meetings and 1-to-1s with my team members throughout the year. This Weeks Mega accompanies a blank notebook which is used for meeting notes in general.
The reason why I segregate my notes this way is because I tend to go through several commonplace notebooks a year, the bulk of which includes meeting notes, but of all work conversations that I have, the most important ones are the ones I will have with my team members and I want to keep sight of them all in one place, throughout the year. So they stay in the Weeks Mega, while other meeting notes are elsewhere, ready to be thrown out when they lose their relevance.
Hobonichi Weeks – Reading journal
Last year I started being more deliberate and conscious about taking a reflective approach in my reading.
This year, I plan to continue the same and maintain a dedicated journal for this purpose, taking quick notes of my impressions everytime I finish a book.
In the journal I also maintain a list of books that I’ve bought but yet to read, a list of favourite authors and a list of books that I would like to buy. I find these lists to be useful on my book shopping trips or whenever there is a sale.
Hobonichi Cousin HON (A5) – for daily reflections
One of my priorities this year is to grow as a leader, and documenting daily reflections is a good way to embark on this journey. I have dedicated the Hobonichi Cousin HON for this purpose.
Work will no doubt be challenging this year, and I feel it’s important to keep sight of the successes that we have achieved as a team, to look back on as an encouragement when things are down. Hence I’ve also planned to use sections of the book to record achievements and words of gratitude received.
When researching about leadership journaling, I came across an article on LinkedIn about Hodology’s Four-step framework for enhanced self-awareness. This became one of my first notes in my reflections journal and how I’ve structured my daily reflections so far. Let’s see how this works out for the year and I shall share my experience at a later stage.
So, this is my setup for 2024! I’ve stuck to it so far in the first week and feeling good about it, so I hope to stick with my intentions and continue this practice throughout the year.
How does your planning and journalling setup look like in 2024?
Rin Ranger 
Love Hobonichi but my handwriting clashes with the narrow lines. I used Filofax for decades, some Travelers Notebooks (too narrow) but am now in a Leuchtturm. I use my phone for reminders and appointments but details are in my LT. Would love to hear how the separate books work for you after a few months.
LikeLike
Thank you for your comment! I use my phone for personal appointments and work email for work meetings, but I found it useful to write key events in my planner just to see which days I need to be in the office or working from home for the week. Happy to share how my new system is working for me in a few months!
LikeLiked by 1 person