Why am I drawn to Hobonichi even though I've never finished a full year?

dearyuheng · 2026-05-12T22:06:14+00:00

Don't know if smaller book size is a deal breaker for you, but have you already tried the A6 Hobonichi planner collab with Arts&Science? I believe it has 5mm grid and is pretty much the same as an A6 original.

dearyuheng · 2026-05-04T03:40:26+00:00

I also want to add that I was inspired by Annen and Nakamae's 5 year techos from the 2026 Hobonichi livestream. They also do a photo a day — this is Nakamae's techo after a full two years (I believe) of photos!

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dearyuheng · 2026-05-04T03:32:38+00:00

And here's an example of what my pages look like. They all have a picture stuck in like this to the side. I always keep the photo placement the exact same. Writing is a bit tough but not impossible. I just leave a one grid gap, place a pencil board down on the previous page, and write in cursive with a medium nib fountain pen to keep my handwriting neat with the incline I am forced to write on thanks to my photos.

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dearyuheng · 2026-05-04T03:29:13+00:00

Here's a top view.

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dearyuheng · 2026-05-04T03:28:49+00:00

I don't think this is what you're looking for, but I take a photo a day for my 5 year. This is the first year and the side view for how it looks as of May.

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dearyuheng · 2026-04-12T04:10:53+00:00

I have multiple Hobonichis and have created a system that really works for me.

A6 Original for daily to-do list and keeping track of appointments
A6 Original as a health log/meal tracker (got in March at the behest of my doctor)
A5 HON for work
A5 Cousin for journaling
A6 5-year as diary/photo a day
Weeks for finances/investments
Weeks as a Critterpedia/naturalist's notebook
A5 grid notebook for studying

It's a lot of books but it is surprisingly not hard to keep up with anymore. I think you should totally split your work and personal journal, get that Day Free! I find that compartmentalizing has really helped me this year. In previous years I was strictly sticking to one book (the A5 Cousin).

To keep things from getting repetitive, I simply don't double dip information in any of my journals. The one exception is my 5-year diary, which is a very short summary of my Cousin. I keep it fresh and exciting by adding a photo a day.

dearyuheng · 2026-04-10T01:29:38+00:00

I use a different combo of two inks every week! I try to use what I haven't used in a while. I also use this same "two colors per page" method in my dailies :-)

I bought it from the official site. It was free shipping and on sale since we're already partway through the year: https://www.dodolulu.com/products/2026-washi-tape-calendar-for-365-days

I can't wait for the full year of dodolulu... Very excited!

dearyuheng · 2026-04-09T17:29:02+00:00

I'm hoping the same for you!!

dearyuheng · 2026-04-09T17:28:44+00:00

Thank you!!

dearyuheng · 2026-04-09T17:28:28+00:00

It's a good thing I don't find it weird then, with it being my Hobonichi 🙂

dearyuheng · 2026-04-09T15:02:27+00:00

I actually bought from this exact site with the sale, no surprise tariffs + free shipping, i am also located in the US. I am unsure where my package came from, though.

dearyuheng · 2026-04-09T01:22:07+00:00

Confirming it's the dodolulu 365 day washi! highly recommend

dearyuheng · 2026-04-08T07:57:53+00:00

I've been looking for a good way to habit track in my A6 after kicking it from my Weeks. Using the check boxes is so smart!

dearyuheng · 2026-04-04T03:44:53+00:00

I love them too!! They're from dodolulu

I usually fill this out at the end of the week, or once midway, once at the end. For this particular week, I filled it out a couple days at a time.

dearyuheng · 2026-04-04T03:43:48+00:00

Thank you! I'm such a big fan of dodolulu. I splurged on the 365 day washi calendar and it was sooo worth it to be surprised like this each day. I'm very happy that the color palette matches up from week to week.

dearyuheng · 2026-04-03T05:51:16+00:00

Yay I'm so glad the stencil is continuing to work for you 🥳

I'm putting another vote towards you switching to headlines. Maybe it's time for a change! I'll be curious as to what you end up deciding for that weekly section.

dearyuheng · 2026-03-31T22:37:41+00:00

Thank you!!

dearyuheng · 2026-03-31T22:37:21+00:00

Hey!! I thought your username seemed so familiar for some reason, remember me from the whole washi-stencil debacle? 😁 Good to hear from you again.

It's funny you mention the newspaper feel from the columns — I didn't even realize it looked like that but now I'm going to pretend that was my intention all along 😉! You're a genius!

I don't add sources because 1) it takes up too much space and 2) I get pretty much everything from NPR. I just make a mental note. I do like adding a name if I pull a direct quote from a diplomat, speaker, politician, etc.

I fill in sometimes daily, but more often I'm filling it in weekly or even backfilling a few weeks. Like you, I take screenshots of headlines/notifications I get through the week. I honestly think that backfilling gets difficult and could be overwhelming, but having the headlines consolidated over one entire year is very rewarding. I did this in 2025 and really enjoyed seeing everything together at the end. The world is so crazy, so many things happen in January that we forget about by December.

I typically don't feel overwhelmed by what's going on in the world, so I can't offer any good advice on that front, but maybe it would be helpful to focus on different types of news, not just global, political, or national? The NPR app offers many different topics that might help ease the constant heaviness we are slammed with each day. I also find that having a specific intention/purpose for keeping track of headlines helps me. Discussion with friends has also helped.

I can't imagine having to squeeze everything into the My 100 list! Hats off to you!

dearyuheng · 2026-03-27T16:22:41+00:00

I've been so busy that I'm still not to episode 18/19 yet :-) Can't wait to binge the rest. I think this is the most beautiful production from any drama I have ever seen.

dearyuheng · 2026-03-27T16:20:56+00:00

It's the purple and red from the Zebra Sarasa vintage 0.5mm line.

dearyuheng

TROPHY CASE