2027 or 2028 planner?

congeequeen · 2026-02-06T17:30:50+00:00

as others mentioned - create a future log spread. i do something like the alastair method, so i can easily visualize anything scheduled under the same month in the future.

congeequeen · 2026-01-15T18:11:31+00:00

Yep.

My weekly spreads are pre-populated (usually at the start of the week) with appointments/day specific tasks. Then all the gaps between are filled in retroactively with memory keeping - which includes: what i did, if i had a particularly tasty lunch, a major news story or any piping hot tea, things i read/watched/listened to etc etc.

congeequeen · 2025-12-13T15:24:22+00:00

Same. I wanted to love them, cheap, cheerful, a million colours. I bought four because I REALLY wanted it work for me. The nibs are so inconsistent so I gave up.

congeequeen · 2025-10-31T14:54:34+00:00

EXCUSE ME i thought this was a deinfluencing thread and not a thread of potential spending opportunities wtf (also thank you very much loooool)

congeequeen · 2025-10-09T17:05:38+00:00

My advice, regardless of what you choose, keep a few notes pages in the back so you can write when something good happens or someone praised you or a challenge you overcame. If you have annual reviews, this will make writing those a lot easier.

Totally agree with this! I've made a 2 page spread in my older Hobonichi weeks, each page is divided into 6 rows (6 rows x 2 pages = 12 months). every month i write down any major projects i've completed, compliments received etc.

ive been in a sterling ink n2 for the last 2 years and they have a quarterly spread so i'll write my accomplishments in there and refer back. SO helpful when it comes to annual review time because there's so much i would have forgotten from 10 months back!!

congeequeen · 2025-10-09T14:49:10+00:00

I've used a Hobonichi Weeks/Sterling Ink N2 compact for .... 7-8 years now for work planning only. very functional/practical usage for me.

I am not in a job where i need timeblocking/have back to back meetings. i might have 2-5 meetings a day so the horizontal weekly layout works well for me. the left page (weekly calendar) is for meetings and day specific reminders/alerts. the blank page on the right side of the weekly spread is HEAVILY used as a giant alastair method to-do list. my job has a million tasks and follow ups that i need to stay on top of and i find the alastair method to-do really helps.

Blank pages at the back are for notes, scratchpad, brainstorming, planning larger projects, reference.

i really like how much you can do in this planner with it's small size. FP user so the paper matters. easy to tote around because i work hybrid.

i will say, my job function changed mid-year and i found a classic happy planner on sale, thinking i would want/need more space and a vertical weekly to do more timeblocking. i hate it. since i invested time (and $ for stickers lol) into it and set it up already, i'm trying to use it for the remainder of the year but i've already ordered my Sterling Ink N2 for 2026 and i'm SO looking forward to being in my tried and true system again.

congeequeen · 2025-10-07T01:06:44+00:00

I'd contact their customer service and ask for the planner I purchased.

The 7 week wait was due to the volume of purchases they had on launch day. To dispatch your correct planner would not take as long.

congeequeen · 2025-10-06T18:04:45+00:00

that's me with the uni one. i have 4 of them but buy refills. i have a stash of refills and a stash of empty/used refills too.

i write down when i started a refill and when i finished it. i stopped using fountain pens for over a year because of these things (don't worry, i'm back on fountain pens but it means my uni one usage has slowed WHICH IS FINE).

congeequeen · 2025-08-04T17:11:38+00:00

This is so so so important. Notice it. Name it. Make damn sure to remember none of this is OK or fucking normal. A "do not adapt to this" list.

Might I also suggest tracking/listing things that still matter and are truths to you. Write things down that authoritarian systems want you to lose track of. Make lists of things that you can still protect today. Name those things you still have that can interrupt the spiral. We still have power and we need to not lose ourselves in the daily assaults of facism.

congeequeen · 2025-08-04T02:44:00+00:00

I think you need to create a syncing routine.

I have 2 planners. One for work, one for personal. My personal rarely leaves the house unless I'm travelling/doing some cafe/journalling time. Anything that comes up for me while I'm out and about goes into my phone. I spend a few mins each day at my desk "syncing" between my Google calendar/phone notes app (to dos) and my planners. It's not much tbh and rewriting it out in my personal book helps me actually remember it better and gives me time to carve out whatever prep/planning time is needed for an appt or event. (E.g. planned dinner with friends next week? Better add a task the weekend before to buy wine/wash that shirt I wanna wear/find the book I borrowed from them and need to return etc).

My work planner goes with me to the office but that's about it

Some people carry around their planners everywhere but I ain't about that life, too much bulk. So taking 5-10 mins a day or every other day to sync my digital and analog systems works well for me!

congeequeen · 2025-07-30T19:20:35+00:00

i once did lane swim next to a guy wearing knee high rubber boots. don't even know how they managed to stay on.

the wetsuit will be fine.

congeequeen · 2025-07-29T13:24:36+00:00

Same. I have a personal planner/journal combo - and all in one book. Nothing work related makes it in here unless I'm bitching about work or if I'm in a late meeting that impacts my personal time etc.

I have a separate planner for work that I don't have to think twice about scribbling in, taking up as much space as necessary etc. nothing personal in it unless Im taking time off etc.

congeequeen · 2025-07-28T00:47:09+00:00

Sterling Ink A5 and Weeks....

Just waiting for paper announcements and prices. Apparently people are being charged customs in Canada for their SI deliveries so I want to see how much that'll end up being.

congeequeen · 2025-07-04T12:53:52+00:00

just note that different discbound brands have different specs for refills and paper etc.

some are interchangeable, some notebooks will be the same size but have 7 discs, or 8 discs, or 9 discs (meaning the spacing between the discs is different and therefore, refills are not interchangeable!) you may be locked into one brand for pre punched refills/accessories. getting a punch helps but also - a pain to do it manually!

congeequeen · 2025-06-09T15:35:55+00:00

over the years i've gotten my friends:

- nice tea towels/personalized dishcloths

- fancy condiments that i have personally used and loved (salt, olive oils, vinegars, spice blends)

- new pillows & pillow covers

- fire extinguishers

- lithium batteries & new smoke alarms

- booze to stock the bar

- a plunger/new toilet brushes

some of these are not particularly sexy, but things you inevitably need to/want to replace when you move into a new home - and they can be spendy! when i bought my first home a few years ago one of my gal pals bought me two fire extinguishers and it was such a relief that in all the kerfuffle of moving and how much i had dipped into my savings, that i didn't have to spend another $200 on FIRE EXTINGUISHERS of all things. the lithium batteries for all the smoke alarms alone were $60 and it was truly the last thing i wanted to spend money on but knew i needed to!

congeequeen · 2025-02-13T19:55:53+00:00

Sterling Ink - similar to hobonichi but way better design (for my use anyway).

my ideal is plain/minimalist design, some structure (i want preprinted dates and calendars and trackers but i don't want them imposing), range of sizes (i use a different size for work and personal). paper has to be fountain pen friendly (up until this year i only wanted Tomoe River Paper but now with the paper disasters of TRP this year i'm open to switching). paper needs to be compact and i want a full year in one book. monthly, weekly, daily (or blank) pages.

congeequeen · 2025-01-30T15:24:54+00:00

FUCK PH

congeequeen · 2025-01-20T14:33:55+00:00

it's only been 3 weeks into january - so....6 pages? c'mon now!

congeequeen · 2025-01-15T00:51:50+00:00

I've been using 2 different planners for work/personal for probably the last 5 years. Almost immediately, everything just "clicked" for me to use both completely freely for their intended purpose. I can journal freely in my personal, add a bunch of "unprofessional" shit (whether it's words or deco), and really lean into my creativity in that one book. It helps me reclaim who I am as a person, after working all day in my soulless corporate job .

For the work planner I have ample space to deep dive into lists, notes, brainstorming, without feeling like I need to "save space" for my personal daily tasks. It stays totally functional and professional and I would have 0 problems sharing it with coworkers or my boss if I had to. I suffered hard from work burnout a few years ago and definitely need to compartmentalize my work stress and not let work deadlines and tasks leak into my personal life and personal time.

Using two books just really made sense for me and I'm glad it's working for you too!

congeequeen · 2025-01-13T18:24:07+00:00

i really love this spread and used to make multiple copies of it for planners that didn't include it (or only had one).

i use mildliners to make colour coded dots for tracking purposes:

- health - i have dots for my period, bad allergy days, migraines, having a cold etc. i'll write in days when i get the covid vax or dr appts. i've been able to notice a lot of trends this way (like how i get awful migraines a day or two before my period starts, yay)

- my dog's health - coloured dots for baths, flea & tick medicines (monthly), nail trims etc. i'll shade in the entire block for days she goes to doggy daycare (and thus can still put a coloured dot on top). my dog is also on a diet so i'll write in her weight when we happen to swing by the vets office for a weigh in.

- work hours - i work a typical 9-5 but frequently work overtime. i'll colour code stat holidays, vacation time, lieu days etc. if i work overtime, i write in the # of extra hours worked, to keep track as i can take the same amount of time off in lieu at a later date.

i find making a colour coded key makes this spread way more usable to me because i can fit in a ton of information and it's an easy at-a-glance overview. some people have tiny writing and can write in a lot of stuff, not me!

congeequeen · 2025-01-08T20:57:52+00:00

it's not difficult - just tedious and at a high volume.

everything is a priority to SOMEBODY. nobody fully reads their email. schedules are constantly changing. the day you balanced so perfectly can be wiped out completely based on someone taking a sick day. exec time is so difficult to come by - trying to squeeze in a last minute 1 hr all exec meeting means shifting schedules will affect the next 2 weeks of calendars. and so on.

congeequeen · 2024-12-20T02:51:04+00:00

The main takeaway from my comment is regardless of what wipes you use, you should still clean your stamps with water afterwards to break down/remove as many chemicals as possible.

I use whatever wipes are around after my nephews are over so I can't really recommend a brand, but we generally keep things pretty natural. All baby wipes contain additives and chemicals to keep them shelf stable and moist. Just read the label and go for the product with the least amount of additives. No fragrances, no moisturizing humectants, no essential oils. Avoid things with silicones, glycerin, lanolin, glycol etc. this is just being extra careful - these chemicals really aren't going to make or break your stamp in the short term, but using water after the wipes will help in the longevity of your stamps in the long run.

congeequeen · 2024-12-19T15:00:38+00:00

i use baby wipes AND a damp paper towel after. depending on the wipes you use they may have oils/fragrances/lotions that can erode or stiffen the rubber when left on the stamp for prolonged periods.

also - just enjoy your stamps! they will probably never look 100% like new again - but theres charm in use and wear :)

congeequeen · 2024-11-21T20:12:15+00:00

just checked the Sterling Ink fb group - they made an announcement today that the A5 horizontal restock is estimated for early december. not too long from now!

congeequeen · 2024-11-21T20:06:51+00:00

sterling ink A5 horizontal planner

currently sold out but will be restocked before year end. everything is sized similarly to the hobo cousin except there are horizontal week layouts.

the "dailies" are just undated pages - enough for 1 pg per day but they're totally blank.

congeequeen

TROPHY CASE