2024, though, was my breaking point.
This was my first full year after my dad died. He'd lived with me since 2016, after my mom passed away, and while I kept track of daily things, he kept track of longer-term items.
With him gone, I needed to stay on top of everything myself which meant my planner needed to do more and be more because I was diagnosed with ADHD, and I cannot rely on my memory.
I always knew I needed to write things down. I've always created workarounds and systems, but I also always had my parents to remind me of things that fell through the cracks in my brain. Without that, my planner needed to do this. My usual planner suddenly was too small, too unusable for what I needed.
I went to a fine-point pen. I wrote two items per line. I manipulated that thing every way I could think of trying to make it work. By September of 2024, I realized I needed a new solution. This planner would never work for me again.
Just so you know, I paid full price for all the planners I mention here. There is no sponsorship of any kind involved.
In 2025, I ordered a ridiculous number of planners. I thought I would need a monthly, a weekly, and a daily all open at the same time, so I purchased one of each. I also bought an EveryDay Carry (EDC) planner.
My monthly was a Sterling Ink B5. The weekly a Sterling Ink B6, and the EDC was a Sterling Ink N2 (which is the same size as the Hobonichi Weeks). I also bought multiple daily planners, uncertain which one would work for me. My options were: Hobonichi Cousin A5, Sterling Ink Daily Planner A5 and B6, Hemlock & Oak Daily Planner, Plans by Just Scribble, and then I spotted Nisha Fernando Design's Journey Planner. It looked perfect for what I needed, and I ordered it in A5 size.
What I learned: I do not want a separate planner for my monthly and weekly views. Instead of being helpful for me, it was annoying. The planner that's become my everyday planner has monthly and vertical weekly pages and I'm using that instead of the planners I bought.
The EDC is good. It's better for me to make appointments and ensure I'm not double booking myself from a paper planner than from my phone. Yes, I do still add everything to my phone, just in case, but my brain just registers commitments better on paper. With the caveat that I have a weekly task to synchronize that planner to my primary planner so that there are no oopsies.
Next blog post will look at my daily planners.
