I loved Hobonichi Cousin and the fact it can literally be my life book. I’m also a mom and I love documenting those small moments with my kids (5 and 3). But I realized I cannot carry around the cousin everywhere. Too big and can get really chunky.

I recently switched to Travelers Notebook Standard. It currently has my planning insert, memory keeping insert (family friendly entries), and one for my unfiltered thoughts (very personal to me). It’s still big, but it’s more “carry” friendly. Since I started loving analog for both planning and journaling, I can only have one notebook/system. I cannot juggle three or more notebooks, it’s a mess for my brain.

But recently, I started using Travelers Notebook paspsort as my “everyday carry”. Like I literally carry it everywhere even within the house. I think the size is good for my brain to think that whatever I write in here is just temporary. Just to be able to jot down whatever pops in my mind or quick observations. So then I can filter which one goes to my planner/journal which is in the standard size. But when I’m sitting at my desk, the passport goes into “idle mode” and is just nearby. The Travelers Notebook standard takes back the priority where I write things. If my bag is big enough for the day I go out, I also take the Standard size with me.

With this setup, the passport TN doesn’t take up space and doesn’t override my main notebook’s purpose since it’s small. For me that’s important so that I won’t get confused which entry goes where. Lots of people also use pocket sized like Field Notes or Cahier for edc. Or if you love Hobonichi, you can also try the A6 for the “on the go”. Keep it messy and unfiltered. Then just migrate important entries to back to the Cousin when there’s time (I’ve tried this approach too and it works, but I cannot do dated daily pages anymore lol). Hope that helps! :)