why the hobonichi cousin isn't working for me 📓 💫 + my next journal
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- Опубликовано: 11 фев 2025
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✨LINKS & INFO✨
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Notebooks & Pens I Use (not sponsored, just love 'em):
Hobonichi Cousin
Sailor Pro Gear Slim Sapporo White Gold Trim Fountain Pen
Sailor Lecoule Fountain Pen
Parker Fountain Pen (exact type unknown)
Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen (Hard Tip)
Tombow ABT Dual Brush Pens
Shops I Love (again, not sponsored, just love 'em):
Stick With Kate: www.etsy.com/u...
Folk Paper: www.etsy.com/u...
Miso Paper: misopaper.co.uk/
The Journal Shop: www.thejournal...
Megan Rhiannon: www.megan-rhia...
The Coffee Monsterz Co: thecoffeemonst...
Untitled Paintings: www.etsy.com/s...
Salam Creative: www.etsy.com/u...
Kat Karas: www.katherinek...
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Sounds like you've really analysed well what works for you and what doesn't, so I hope your new system will be a step closer to "planner peace"! Personally, I enjoy using both the monthlies and weeklies but struggle with the dated daily pages. In my head, it just feels "wrong" to write on any page that doesn't have today's date. Which is irrational, but... yeah. Really happy with the Common Planner which has enough pages to use it exactly like you would a Cousin, but without the structure/dates. Now it feels like I can truly use as much or as little space as I need each day. I'm excited to see you use the Freely Noted!
Thanks so much, Ru, for the kind words and the validation! As someone else who struggles with writing on the “wrong” dates - I totally get it! So glad you found a book that works for you! ❤️
I had the same issues and now I am quite happy and at peace with the Leuchtturm monthly planner - only dated months and 136 pages of dot grid paper to fill whenever I like, no more stressful backplanning to fill the gaps... comes in B5 and B6 size.
Honestly Leuchtturm books are amazing, love their dot grids! I’m using one for my private journal! So glad you found something that works for you ❤️
This video has explained all the reasons why I kept myself from buying dated planners and kept to bullet journaling! It gives so much more freedom to experiment and learn what works, and I couldn’t keep up with daily pages, but I know for sure I need more space than what’s given in the weeklies. Plus time blocking for me works less than half of the time🥲. I’ll love to see the new planner! ❤
Tbh I was a bullet journaller for years as well and loved it, so maybe I should have realised a strict dated system might not work for me 😅 looking forward to sharing the new planner when it’s here!
Hi. We are soooo much the same person. ADHD is a super power but also crippling at times. The Cousin is so beautiful but too much and not enough. I don’t have enough room in the weekly and I have too much room in the dailies and I CANNOT deal with all the blank pages when I just don’t have anything to put in them. I have a separate book for journaling and I have a common place book so I’m thinking I might use a staology and just make up my own???? Also, I do not like the new cousin paper 😥
This was exactly what i was telling Ellie before i’d switched over to a freely noted from my cousin!! It’s too much and not enough all at once.
I also either run out of room in the weekly or don’t have enough to fill it and it looks bare- on top of somedays i might only journal a sentence and other days i write 5 pages.
I have switched to using the cousin like a brainstorm book / messy notes (like ones i normally write on a sticky note) and that’s been helping my little brain feel like im not wasting the book but also letting the chaos of adhd thinking out.
Too much and not enough is the perfect way of putting it! It’s so hard to find the balance of not too structured but also a bit structured when you have brains that work like ours. I’m also not a big fan of the new paper - I had a ton of bleeding/ghosting this year which never happened last year!
Wow, I’ve found my people. When Ellie started talking about dated planners giving anxiety and feeling the need to backfill I swear it felt like physical relief that I’m not just weirdly anxious about these things.
I had exactly the same issue with my hon, having undated pages has honestly cured that anxiety for me and has made me want to be in the book a lot more, so I really hope you have that same experience!
I also really struggled with the grid colour in the hon, I was confused because it didn’t bother me in the a6 but I think it was the scale of the book made it less obtrusive. So excited to see what you do with the new one Ellie!
Ahhh thank you for the validation!!! I’m really glad that switching worked for you and I’m hopeful it will for me too 🤞🏻 can’t wait to turn my new freely noted into a Bauldur’s Gate 3 bible 😌😂🖤
10:32 is sooooo relatable, when you are just too busy to plan
It definitely happens to all of us sometimes!!!
Appreciate your detailed analysis and honesty about your time with the Cousin! I was also dissatisfied with my Cousin and using multiple books, so I collapsed them all into rings, which I NEVER thought I'd be into. Cannot wait to see your new notebook!
Thank you so much!! Happy for you that you found the system that works for you - rings are so pretty 😌🖤
The dated dailies is what made me switch from the cousin. I felt that it made me nervous to have to fill a whole page to journal every day.
Yeah, it definitely feels more anxiety-inducing than helpful for a lot of us!!!
i've never tried a hobonichi but after being a bullet journaler for years, i decided to get the common planner this year. the one worry i had with it was that i did not know how i would use weeklies. i had the opposite problem, in that i don't do enough to quite justify using a weekly for tasks lists, my job is unstructured enough that i don't really need to timeblock, and i use the "daily" pages for journaling.
i really like it so far, tho i haven't quite gotten the hang of the weeklies yet. when i used them for tasks or journaling, i neglected my "daily" pages - which was unfortunate cus that just meant i wasn't writing a lot of what i wanted and needed to write! but then when i use my daily pages more often, the weeklies become kinda useless....i tried to use them for intention setting for my day but i am pretty bad at keeping up with that, lol.
i watch theory of lauren a lot and ended up buying a couple freelynoted and freelyplanned books from plannermonkeyco so i'm looking forward to see how it works for you!
I was in the same spot as you by the end in my Cousin - anything I tried doing in weekly spread, I realised I’d rather be doing in the dailies!!! 😅 Exciting that you’re on the Freely Noted train too - I can’t wait to get started in mine!!!
I feel you! I got the Weeks because I could NOT resist the sparkling stars cover, but it's been on my shelf pretty much since I bought it, and am now in personal rings. Excited to see how your new journal works for you!
Genuinely the main draw for me was the cover too, I loved the cats one 😭😅 hope rings is working well for you!
I hate backfilling as well - when I find that I slip on my daily journalling, i just fill the page with some large stickers & simply write "not much to update today" or "low energy day." Sometimes I will just paste news clippings on the page. I have a HC for my main planner & have a weeks as well, but use it exclusively as a garden journal. Not being influenced is super hard, especially if the person is very well spoken & makes their spread seem super easy & reasonable! 😢
Love love love these ideas - the short notes, the news clippings, and having a garden journal! So true that people can be so persuasive 🥲 might just avoid all the weeks setup videos this year 😅
You do what you gotta do for you girl can't wait to see what you do in your new journal
So true! Thank you so much 🥰
cant wait to see how you will use the freely noted!!!!!
Ahhhhh thank you! Together, you and my friend Dani were the motivations behind getting it! 🖤
Ooh can't wait to see the new book!! It's nice when we start to notice what's working and what's not and try to adjust and do whats best for us 💛💛
Thanks so much Bells! So true - it’s great to figure out our actual needs and preferences!!! ❤️
I think it's interesting seeing how people approach their different planner needs!! I've used a few Weeks in the past which were fine, but this year I'm actually using a Sterling Ink Common Planner for work, which I think is based on the Cousin but with some intentional differences. Like the months and weeks are there but the daily pages are blank, and for me it really suits my need for calendar structure but space to do what I need for my day. But work is my primary focus in it, with just enough other stuff to keep my brain motivated to use it. the only thing is I'm using my go-to A5 size, but next year will def switch to B6.
Meanwhile, I've still been bullet journaling, like with one black LT1917 dot grid, every year since 2017ish 🤣But that one for me is where I have learned to play with different spreads and tools and systems, and I am finally comfortable dipping in and out as needed. I now like looking back at all the variation of pages and how my moods and interests have changed over time.
It definitely is fascinating!!! And you’ve got a wonderful selection of notebooks in yours ☺️ I also bulleted journaled in the Leuchtturms for years. They’re so good!
I’ve changed planners 3 times already in 2024 so I feel you with the it’s not you it’s me thing. I do use the cousin as a journal and memory keeping thing and it works well. Can’t find a daily one that works the way I want it to (it’s either too big, not enough, not the right layout)
This makes me feel better - thank you! I guess experimenting to find what works best for us is part of the fun of this hobby! 🥰
I see a lot of people mentioning the stress of having to completely fill their calendars and blank pages and I wonder if that is a result of us thinking we have to always be doing something and then have the proof that we were productive.
I’ve gotten to the point that when I look back at blank pages in my planner I assume I didn’t have the time to fill it out or nothing happened that day and that should be ok.
That’s extremely astute - I think you might be right!!! Yet another downside of the “productivity culture” we live in 😒 I’m so glad you’re at peace with blank pages! ❤️
Ellie, fellow Brit here. I also fell out of love with the Cousin. I am currently using the Hubman and Chubgirl 3 month TRP planner. I am thinking about using the Stalogy once I have finished that planner. I have also started to use the Hubman and Chubgirl A5 wide weekly vertical planer.
Ooooh I’ve not tried any of the Hubman and Chubgirl planners - good to know that’s an option! Thank you for sharing!
I have a common planner on the way, basically for the same reason. 🖤 excited to see your new notebook!
Excited to see how you get on with the common planner 🥰 thank you!
I cant wait to see how you use the freely planned!!!
Ahhhhh thank you! So excited to get started in it 🥰
So excited to see what you do with your new planner!! The “it’s not you it’s me” is so real 😭❤️🩹
Ahhhhh thank you so much! Still waiting for it to cross the Atlantic… soon…. 🥲❤️
It definitely makes a lot of sense, Ellie ^_^ Hope they new planner will work for you~ Thanks for sharing!
I'm also having struggles with my (previous) system, as mentioned in the discord lol but 'm working on changing it!
Thanks so much Ezra! I hope you can find something that works for you too! ❤️
Sometimes filling out the Cousin feels overwhelming but I’m too stubborn to give up on it. If nothing else it cost enough and I do manage to get around small things that I dislike. That’s why for next year I’ll either buy the Common Planner or I’ll use Stalogy, draw out the monthly calendars and the rest of the blank pages use for whatever I want/need every day. Of course there’s still a lot of time till next year and I might change my mind but for now that’s the plan 😂
Honestly I highly respect that stubbornness 😂 that sounds like a good plan tbh - both the Common Planner and the Stalogy notebooks are beautifully made!
Thank you for this, such a liberating thought. Could you, please, post here which notebook you ordered… Would be interested to check it out. I too have problems with filling daily pages…
You're so welcome! I ordered the Planner Monkey Co Freely Noted - I've heard really great things and can't wait to get started in it! 🥰
@@ellesbooks Looking forward to hearing and seeing more about it!
Hearing and watching your thought process is very helpful, good video!
Ahhh thank you so much 🥰
this video couldn't have come at a better time - i am in the Exact Same Spot. i had gotten a beautiful black gingham hon, weeks, AND a6 avec (yeah i got influenced rlly bad) and i've tried all but constantly am feeling the same amount of stress of either too much or too little space, and the constriction of the dated planner (and tbh, the fact that my fountain pens, which are Supposed to be beautiful on the pages, smudge on this new paper) - and so i grabbed my old grid moleskine notebook yesterday and finally feel like i can breathe again. from struggling to fill a small a6 page w memory keeping, i went to writing 4 pages in one evening bc i no longer felt restricted. i hope you can find some planner peace again, and have a system that helps you rather than cause you more stress, and thank you for sharing your journey
Tbh I think a lot of us are reaching that point now, after three months in our systems, of realising what is and isn’t working!! The new paper is definitely worse for fountain pens (and gel pens too tbh) which is a shame. So glad you’ve found a solution that works for you! 🥰
Always love your videos.
Can I ask you how you deal with unfinished books? Does that bother you? I'm not enjoying using my weeks, but at the same time, my brain accept letting it go... I don't really understand why...
Thanks so much for the kind words 🥰 So to be honest, yes - unfinished books do bother me 🥲 I think it’s because I’m a completionist, and also a bit of a minimalist, so having lots of unfinished books around would bother me! The way I’ve coped with it is a little bit unhinged lol but I’ll share it anyway - I actually removed all the pages from the original weeks book, kept the ones I’d filled out in a ring binder, and then kept the unused pages to use as scrap paper! That way I’m still technically using all the book… just in a slightly odd way 😆
I will say - no matter what, a journal system should work for you and bring you joy. If it’s not any more, leaving books empty is completely understandable and acceptable! Things don’t need to be fully finished for us to move on!
Always enjoy your videos. I struggle a bit using my Hobonichi fully - I mostly use the weeklies for time logging work-tasks. I have rarely used the monthly calender and there are way to many daily pages empty but I was most excited to use them for daily journaling. I hate to have lots of empty pages. I have been extremely busy at work and in my personal life and like you talked about in a situation were I seem too busy to have take time to plan out my tasks and journal in the Hobonichi. I am gonna stick too it a little bit longer and see if I manage to make better use of it.
My advice would be to evaluate why you aren't filling the pages. Is it ACTUALLY enjoyable to you or did you add an additional responsibility for yourself because you like the *idea* of doing it, but not the actual process?
And if the answer to that is yes, it is actually enjoyable - are your priorities right? How come you can't find 15 minutes a day for something that brings you peace and joy and helps your mental health?
Completely relate - it’s so easy to fall behind in a page-per-day book when life happens (which it has a habit of doing)!
That was my same experience with the Cousin. I wanted to like it so much, but I found it very overwhelming.
So many of us have had this experience, it seems! I guess no planner is going to work for everyone!
My system is going exactly as planned and I feel a little guilty about that but I’m just going to own it.
Please don’t feel guilty!!! I’m super happy for you, and feeling happy and settled is completely fine and normal too! 🥰
The planner must work for you, not you for the planner. I feel I've heard people say this so many times this year already, including me. Lol. I've come and go with the Cousin several times. I'm with it again and it seems to be working well for me... But now I've stopped using the hobonichi weeks. I feel so sad about that, but it's become like a chore. Sacrifices must be made! 😊
Very very wise, and absolutely right! This is supposed to be a fun hobby/helpful practice, not something that adds stress. I also stopped using my Weeks - it's just not for everyone at every time in their life! ❤️
You just helped my AuDHD brain decide I need an undated planner or just a notebook with grid TR paper to get my butt in gear. I am paralyzed by trying to decide on a planner. I had my heart set on an undated Sterling Ink, and then found out they are not avail. LOL
What about washi tape over the dates?
Oh no, sorry to hear they didn’t have the undated Sterling Inks left!!! But yeah, I feel like brains like ours need something a bit more flexible 😅 I did consider the washi tape option but then the bulk that would create terrified me a bit lol
I changed out of my hobonichi weekly but I’m still using the daily I find my planning needs have shifted to …
It makes sense - we’re always changing as people so our planners need to change with us! ❤️
The cousin isn't working for me either this year but the weeks and the take a note are. I'm so annoyed its not working. I think its too big and I'm getting hung up on filling the page before I've even started
Honestly I had some of that too - it’s definitely very intimidating knowing you technically “should” fill a whole page a day!!!
ellie it's like we have the same brain haha. i've recently done a massive change in how i plan/what i use and it's because of my needs have changed.
Great minds think alike 😅 thank you for this, it feels very validating! Sometimes, our needs just change, and that’s okay!
Me sitting here knowing i absolutely contributed to this decision to move to a freely noted like 😈😈😈
You’ve done great work and I’m forever grateful 😌😂🖤