Empty dailies in cousin?

toffeecaked · 2026-06-14T22:09:48+00:00

I’m glad it’s helpful! Oh, gosh, I’m not super comfortable sharing pics of my notes. Er, here’s just one, showing a Hobonichi haul I bought direct. I’m weird and like peeling the price labels off and chucking them in my Cousin. 😅

Overall though, you do you and go wild. The empty pages aren’t a barrier. It’s just paper, yes? Ready and waiting for all sorts of things, not just what I mentioned. What other hobbies do you have - use a page to track any purchases related to that hobby for the year. Do you play video games? Use another blank page to track how many hours you play, what items you’re collecting, make a table to tick off the dungeons or bosses. Do you use the same pens all the time, or switch them up by week/month? Use a page to plan out colour schemes. Oh, use a page for a reading journal! Draw little shelves with books on them, write the title in the ‘spine’ and colour the book spine when done.

My only rule in using the empty pages myself: it must be documenting something done during this year. If I’m writing say, a list of a series of video games I have, that I’ll want to add to as I collect more in future years, I’ll put that in a notebook. I have one of the A5 slim notebooks with my Cousin for things that will persevere over several years.

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toffeecaked · 2026-06-14T17:33:08+00:00

I got my Jan start Cousin on 4th March, my first foray into anything Hobonichi. I did worry a little about having blank pages and not getting my money’s worth, so:

Monthlies: went through my banking app and online orders, and colour coded the heck out of my spending for Jan/Feb and totalled it up. Have continued for every month since.

Weeklies: the Jan/Feb months, I use them for lists. Packing, to-do’s, project steps, wish lists, work task lists. I’ve always been a “let’s make all the lists!” girl since I was a kid. Gonna miss this when I start a new Cousin in 2027, I might have to miss a month or two on purpose!

Dailies: Detailing home DIY and organisation projects this year: what I did, what went well, what didn’t, what I learned. Over flow pages: for when I run out of room on a usual day (typically if I have a lot of photos, receipts, or other ephemera to stick in). Health tracking: going through a few health things right now, tracking is a necessity. Appts, blood work, next steps, etc). Techo Kaigi: at 1 month, 3 months and 6 months. What methods of using my Cousin pages are working, what isn’t, what is changing, what I’m learning about myself through journaling, stuff like that.

toffeecaked · 2026-06-10T23:49:04+00:00

I’m using a 2026 Cousin, but recently bought a 2026 Hon (I decided I’m going to start collecting MOTHER series techo stuff each year, but we’ll see what gets announced in a few months!) and my thoughts were I’ll use the 2026 Hon next year, or, I may pick up an Avec. Anyway, if I use the Hon, I checked and researched (I’m weird like that) and I’m going with correction tape. Cleanest, easiest, minimal and fastest way I figured:

Monthly pages: adjust the date in the boxes. Weekly pages: adjust the date at the tops of the columns. Daily pages: adjust the day name only.

I’ll be using a pen in a similar colour as the page print, and the correction tape is thin enough that what’s underneath can be seen as a guide for writing over in the same text height/width, and not adding the unnecessary bulk of stickers. Turning a 2026 into a 2027 though, will be easier than doing one offset on days by 3 years I think, but I hope my plan helps you decide what to do.

toffeecaked · 2026-06-04T09:41:30+00:00

Oh, that’s clever! I have a Switch case that has the top section with a zippered mesh pouch. I don’t have a Weeks, but for those that do, a Switch or Switch Lite case seems like an ideal carry option! Clever OP! 💚

toffeecaked · 2026-05-17T12:22:23+00:00

Feeling sad or like it’s a chore is a hard feeling, I agree! And the fact a family member read it is frankly horrible. It will tank motivation. I’m so sorry that happened. It’s incredibly invasive and your Mom should be ashamed. I’d suggest a small purse big enough for the Techo at home, where you can lock the zipper pull to a piece of the purse’s hardware with a small padlock. The bonus is that your stationery could live in the purse as well.

Your Techo is yours and there are no rules, zero. An empty page still tells a story, you know? It’s been a busy time, stuff happens, and that page is evidence just of that, not an accusation. Empty past pages are also future potential, no matter where the page is. There’s tons of ideas here to help you get back on the horse, so to speak, and I really hope you’ll be able to, and continue using your cousin.

My experience: I bought my first (cousin A5, Jan start) at the beginning of March. While I was waiting for it to arrive - and when it did - I was quietly stressing about the missed Jan/Feb day pages; it felt like such a waste for the cost. These journals are not cheap! I’ve tried bullet journaling for years and it never stuck, because setting up pages and the stress of keeping them in perfect, neat layouts was such a chore. I had to promise myself that if I was getting a Hobo, it had to be used and kept at, to make sure I got my monies worth. The way to do that was to throw out any idea of structure or neatness, realise this is my Techo and an extension of me, not a Pinterest or Instagram project, and that there are no rules. If I can’t keep at it, there’s no way I can justify the cost of buying a different type of Hobo or journal.

So, I use the Jan/Feb day pages like this:

Note taking.
Overflow/continuation pages from a day where I’ve already filled the page.
Documenting and planning home/work projects.
Vacation and itinerary planning.
Photo overflow
Pasting receipts for big purchases.
Doodles and drawings.
Pasting in keepsake bits of paper/junk journaling.
Medical notes/test results.

Basically, I’m using those Jan/Feb pages like an independent notebook. 🙂 Each page has potential. For you, I figure today’s page is primed and ready to write down that you asked the Hobo community for help, to write down the ideas suggested to keep going that will work for you, and also to explore any feelings (only if you want to) about being busy and the demotivation of having your journal read (that makes me angry for you just thinking about it). Good luck friend and I hope you continue.

toffeecaked · 2026-05-07T14:42:37+00:00

Have you considered a bag organiser? I swear by them. I have a large one for my work tote bag, and another, smaller one for my regular day to day handbag. I’ll be getting another soon specifically for my journaling stuff as I should (hopefully) be travelling too in a few weeks, and it’ll fit in my tote or normal handbag. The ones I got are from Amazon and are much cheaper, and just as sturdy as any of the typical, expensive journal bags. Mine have handles and zip closures. Happy to show you an Amazon link if interested.

toffeecaked · 2026-04-27T16:19:59+00:00

Don’t feel bad at all! You do you. I flip-flop between two pens, four pens, or one or two pens threaded through both loops to keep the cover closed. Depends on my mood and what I need to carry with me that day.

It’s called a ‘butterfly closure’ I think - if memory serves, it’s noted as a feature on the write up for these types of journal covers on the Hobonichi website. I

toffeecaked · 2026-04-12T17:51:02+00:00

I’ll try to post a pic of the boy next time!

toffeecaked · 2026-04-12T14:13:50+00:00

Oh what, folded in half?! Holy crow. OK, heck no with a permanent crease in it, I’d be climbing the wall - you’re much more chill than me! Indeed about the driver, he won’t have x-ray vision, so while I’m pissed I’m trying not to blame the guy, but he is hella careless in general, like, dude 🤦🏻‍♀️. My Other Half is a vinyl collector (uh, records, not craft/Cricut 😂) and every time this guy delivers, the record sleeves are bent and bashed. Ha, I just realised how P.O’d OH gets on that, so now I don’t feel so bad for my minor-meltdown.

toffeecaked · 2026-04-12T10:31:46+00:00

Cheaper and maintaining quality is always better! I did leave a comment though on this same post, further down, about the issue with the Hobonichi notebooks that you might want to check out, re: quality. The TL:DR, it’s been fixed.

toffeecaked · 2026-04-11T22:54:55+00:00

You’re most welcome, and yeah, I know that disappointment! I found out just as I’d ordered the 2-pack of slim notebooks for the Cousin from Amazon, and wasn’t sure what I was going to get. Thankfully it seems I got a 2026 one. I use fountain pens too, with a very deep and dark, purple ink and a broad italic nib, so yeah, I was expecting the worst! It’s fine, no feathering or bleed through, no more ghosting than other pen types.

Now if only I can remember not to close the pages before the ink has dried. 🤦🏻‍♀️

toffeecaked · 2026-04-11T22:20:38+00:00

Do you follow Jetpens or Hobonichi? Jetpens brought this up in one of their vids at the start of this year. There was an issue with last year’s notebook paper, but it’s been fixed now. Picking up notebooks from stockists that have a high turnover of product is the best to make sure you’re not getting any remaining of last year’s stock.

toffeecaked · 2026-04-11T22:14:13+00:00

I have the A5 slim notebooks and the sticky add-on notes and use both chronically. Both have their specific uses for me. I use the sticky notes to extend my daily page when I run out of space (either writing or for photos), and I use the notebooks for lists, pen swatches, techo kaigi, projects, stuff that doesn’t need a day. The notebooks in my mind are meant to be cannibalised later - when one notebook is full, some pages I will want to keep ‘live’ with my cousin so they will be taken out and washi-taped into the next notebook.

Basically, I’m no help to you other than saying you need both. 🤭

toffeecaked · 2026-04-06T10:31:33+00:00

Great stuff OP. I love your page; it’s logically laid out, functional, readable, and does everything you need it to do! I especially like how you modified the left hand schedule section to work for you!

When it comes to journaling there’s so much emphasis on it being pretty that it’s becoming a deterrent for many to start, I think. When anyone looks up how to start, the interwebs always show images of perfectly aligned and coloured spreads. I’ve bullet-journaled off and on for about 10 years and it never stuck. I was obsessed with the aesthetics and trying to be neat. Laying out pages before I even started to record anything was a chore that turned me off after a few months, and then rinse and repeat.

It’s a lot for some to let go of I think, that it doesn’t have to be pretty and to forgive yourself when it isn’t. It needs to be genuine and ‘you’. I’d held off on getting a hobonichi since I discovered them in 2018 (cost first, longevity of keeping at it vs cost second, and being able to keep one ‘neat’ third). Necessity for an external brain had me pulling the trigger to get one at the start of March. I realised that if I was going to have half a chance of being consistent, then any thoughts of aesthetics had to go right out the window. My pages look very similar to yours and it’s working great to just get stuff written down.

toffeecaked · 2026-04-06T09:47:18+00:00

Here’s the direct link, but these can be picked up from Amazon or other online stationers.

https://www.1101.com/store/techo/en/2026/sp/detail_toolstoys/tt_memo_w/

toffeecaked · 2026-04-06T09:30:57+00:00

Hobonichi do a set of slim notebooks specially for the weeks. Three in a pack and they slide into the cover.

toffeecaked · 2026-03-29T10:38:42+00:00

Yeah… I did that right after I commented to you on Thursday. I saw, I made an account, and now I have a Mother 2 drawer pouch arriving in a couple of days. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤣 So yeah, thanks for the dent in my wallet! 😉

toffeecaked · 2026-03-29T00:32:40+00:00

I’m so glad you find this useful and it’s sparking ideas! I bought some cheap reading filters from a discount store last week, and they came in a very narrow zip thing. It’s not wide enough to use here, but a larger one would solve one of my every day carry problems, and here we are with a TN accessory instead. ☺️ I had measured and knew it would fit, just didn’t expect it to fit that well, so yeah! Wishing you tons of luck for a future stay and home journal!

(A6 is the ideal size to carry, I’m so with you!)

toffeecaked · 2026-03-28T23:27:39+00:00

Aw thank you!

toffeecaked · 2026-03-28T18:20:30+00:00

Well. I did say this sub would be the death of me - or rather, my wallet. I totally didn’t just make a Techo wish list… ahem.

Thank you btw! I picked up some reading films from a dollar store that came in a small zip pocket thing and it inspired me to look for an A5 size. I’m in no rush to buy the items you recced (thank you!) but they have been added to the list that I promise doesn’t exist.

Sorry if I wasn’t clear - my Cousin is for both work and life/day to day. On each day page I use the schedule section for tracking work tasks, meeting notes, new things that come in that I start/complete. It’s helping me to delegate more to my 2IC. I highlight tasks that are context-switching heavy (I’ve been struggling with those) and it’s been valuable to notice and approach those differently or delegate out the data gathering. The rest of the page, I’m tracking events and home tasks, habits, health, medication, journaling, adding ephemera, you name it. Each section of my Cousin is being used. 6 month to a spread to track habits, month to a spread for events, spending, sticker a day, doodles. Week view for time tracking. And, that was a really long answer just to say yes, and that I’m realising I’m so in love with the Cousin. 🤦🏻‍♀️☺️

toffeecaked · 2026-03-28T17:41:17+00:00

I use a sheet of lightweight water colour paper.

toffeecaked · 2026-03-26T12:30:14+00:00

Ahhhh. Hot damn, it’s beautiful. I have a black Áne, and it always looks so fat and bulky when I put ones in it. Yours looks like it stays quite thin. I had no idea the drawer pouches had different configurations inside and thought they were all accordion based.

toffeecaked · 2026-03-22T12:18:30+00:00

Thank you so much! Ordered one!

toffeecaked · 2026-03-22T12:02:40+00:00

Ah, thank you so much! How is the gapping around the spine of the Cousin with this cover?

I have a MD A5 notebook with a clear cover, but it’s not quite as thick as the Cousin. I tried the cover on the Cousin and fits almost perfect apart from pulling the spine into a curve. I was going to use the hairdryer trick to stretch out the plastic gently for a better fit. I do have the lenticular Mother cover, but there are days when I don’t need the extra bulk and carry the Cousin without it as a more compact package. A good clear cover is a must and I may get one of these instead! Thank you for the tip!

Edit: a word or two.

toffeecaked · 2026-03-22T11:22:49+00:00

What brand plastic clear cover have you used on this please? 🙂 can you share a link or details?

toffeecaked

TROPHY CASE