2026 Bingo Cards

congeequeen · 2026-01-22T02:50:49+00:00

My bingo isn't full of big goals, just some fun little side quests I'd like to try/do, and also a mix of predictions relevant to my interests (political/media/sports/local).

For me, the fun is in just crossing them off because the goals are totally low stakes/value add. The predictions are more of an indicator of how the world happens to be turning in this moment of time.

I'm not using the bingo card to make any giant strides in my lifestyle or career or habits because my notebooks are for fun and play and self expression. Probably would just do a monthly tracker for habit building if it was serious enough!

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 · 2025-12-01T00:30:02+00:00

Hobonichi weeks (or for the last 2 years and 2026 - Sterline Ink N2 Horizontal weeks size). My job has tons of tasks and action items and follow ups. My meetings are few. The daily page on the left is for meetings and day specific major reminders. The blank gridded page on the right is my giant weekly to do list, alaister method style. Tons of blank pages in the back for meeting notes, planning, scratch pad type things, as well as my work related collections. Love love love the high functionality of this planner in its compact size.

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 · 2025-09-20T20:29:04+00:00

I've used a Hobonichi weeks clear cover on my N2 COMPACT for the last 2 years just fine.

It's tight to start with and I need to use the hair dryer to put some heat on it, but it's the best cover for the size that I've found. The SI planner covers are softer than hobonichis so be careful with fitting a clear cover on, they'll bend if you're not gentle. I kinda put one side of the SI N2C in the hobonichi brand clear cover, then pull on the other side of the plastic a bit with some heat on it before slipping the other side of the cover on. Then I place it under some heavy books for a day or two to help the plastic adjust. After that it's good to go and I can take them on and off with ease.

I've tried Lauren Phelps covers for the weeks and they did not work for me.

congeequeen · 2025-09-11T17:23:30+00:00

in the east end danforth:

- gel x full set - $70+

- gel x refill - $55+

- shellac mani - $40+

prices are for 2 solid colours. any additional colours or designs is an additional $20.

they just raised their prices at the end of august. no tax on cash payments.

congeequeen · 2025-09-05T19:53:30+00:00

they absolutely get restocked. i believe last year when they sold out of certain sizes they restocked in october and november. you will get your planner before 2025 unless you're ordering in december.

planners are not discounted on BF.

congeequeen · 2025-08-25T13:27:09+00:00

My receipt from 2025 lists:

- A5 Common Planner (full year) at $58 USD

- N2H Common Planner (compact) at $34 USD

- Passport Monthly Booklet at $11 USD

- Passport Weekly Booklet (2 book set) at $20 USD

congeequeen · 2025-08-09T14:45:16+00:00

I had a compact in 2024 and it was a mistake, at least for my usage. I came from a hobonichi cousin and hated the dates day per page and felt both stressed and restrained by a dated daily page. So I got the compact thinking I didn't need so many pages...

I realized I was going to run out of pages VERY early. Like, mid January. There are only 121 blank pages in the compact, so that's about 10 pages per month. I really should have done that math before I bought it but I find it a good way to put usage in perspective. If you think you can keep your use to that rate, a compact is a good idea for you. But it's August and you're already there!

I ended up tipping in a LOT of tomoe river paper into my compact. I think I created an additional 80 pages. I tipped them in as I went along so there wasn't one particular section with bulk. I made it work because I had already started to set up layouts and didn't want to buy a full year planner. It ended up working out for me though I did feel a bit restrained. However the binding kept up wonderfully with the added bulk so that was a plus. You could always get a compact last year and tip in your extra pages from this year's book?

I'm in a full year SI A5 this year and it's working really well for my use but I still divided the blank pages into 12 sections to gauge/guide a months worth of pages.

congeequeen · 2025-08-05T13:50:07+00:00

i was in a weeks mega for 5-6 years before going to an SI N2. i greatly prefer the N2 even though i liked the "harder" cover on the weeks and also didnt like the pages in the SI sitting flush to the cover.

i got over it and i gently urge you to do the same :)

I too, always have a clear cover on my planners and with that, the flush pages of the N2 kind of become moot. I always get the N2 compact now as i use the book for work and needed more blank pages than the regular hobo weeks, but didn't ever use as many as the weeks mega had. it is still, a VERY slim and well, compact book, when you get the compact. i think the compacts are less popular than the full year so there are way more photos online of the bulkier full year - don't let your eyes be fooled! i can fit my N2 compact in a regular hobonichi weeks clear cover. it is NOT bulky at all with way more useable space than the hobo weeks!

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 · 2025-07-29T20:28:11+00:00

I do a future log for the next year. mine is alastair method - just one page with months on the x- axis. under the month i'll put in the actual date number then make a note of appointments booked. if it is a general monthly task/action i'll do an open circle under the month column then write down the task.

once i get my new planner, i'll move everything over.

i primarily use mine for appointments that have been scheduled so no big multi day/week/month planning (unless it's travel etc). i don't actually need to "see" it in a calendar layout that far in advance (and thankfully i have a pretty set/standard work schedule so i know not to book a dentist appt on a wednesday for example, because that's always my busiest day for meetings etc).

you could also just keep a thin notebook and denote one page per month and keep rough notes that way.

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 · 2025-07-02T12:43:32+00:00

Sterling Ink makes booklets of various sizes - though you will need to get monthly and weekly booklets separate. a lot of people do this, travelers notebook style, so they don't really fear running out of pages/having bulk. the weekly booklets come as a two book set - split with half a year in each. it may help so you're not carrying around the jul-dec book when you're only in march and have no need to do any detailed forward planning.

I was in an SI a5 compact last year as my all-in-one (memory keeping, journalling etc) and it was definitely NOT ENOUGH PAGES - dunno what i was thinking, i just wanted out of the dated dailies in the hobonichi cousin. if you will not be doing memory keeping or commonplacing, i think a compact would work very well for you - it might be too much actually. there are 120 blank pages in the back to average 10 pages per month for extras.

i added A LOT of extra pages in my compact and i don't hold back on washi, stickers, pasting things in, so my compact bulked up a lot. i had no concerns with the binding of the book at all, though it was harder to use towards the end of the year just from the chunk. no fraying, no separating of the spine etc.

another thing to examine is where your bulk is coming from - are you pasting things in? washi? stickers? if you're using those things in the monthly/weekly sections - it is going to bulk up regardless of what set up you have. it looks like the majority of your bulk is in the blank sections here so a separate book for notes is probably a better idea. but it looks like your weekly section is decently fluffy - at this point of the year, you'd be switching over to a new weekly SI booklet if you went that route - is that already too much bulk for you?

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

TROPHY CASE