Paper Planners

I used to be obsessed with trying to find the right organization apps across all of my devices. And then one year I was in Japan on January 1st, the day that everyone buys their stationery and planners for the year. So I decided to get a paper planner, and I've never looked back. There is something so satisfying about the ritual of actually writing down an event, a birthday, a plan, or a to-do list on paper. It feels more real. I also really enjoy taking 30 minutes out of my Sunday evening and out of each morning to plan the day, whether it's what I have due, the meetings I have, or my meals. And it's so nice to look at monthly spreads and see whether you are taking time for yourself or filling up your social calendar enough. Once you get into paper planners, you'll see there are a lot of passionate opinions online. Some of the more popular options are Hobonichi, Sterling Ink, and -- my personal favorite -- Wonderland 222. You'll have to decide what size you like, whether you want stacked weekends, how many blank pages you want, if you're also going to use it for a journal, etc. You can spend hours watching YouTube and TikTok videos of people showing how they use their planners and even how they have multiple planner systems. But the most important thing is just to start with something. You can always switch or learn what you like and try something different next year. It seems crazy to be talking about 2027 planners, but actually most of the sites are taking pre-orders now.