(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)
I had a delightful revelation last week. While I knew my new Hobonichi Cousin planner started in December of 2024 (at least on the monthly pages), I hadn't looked closely enough. Because December starts at the end of the week, there are actually a few days of November in there! Which means I can actually start using my new planner on Monday! I was thrilled. It's the little things.
As I gleefully prepared for the annual planner switch, a second feeling set in. Just a very small sad one. And I realized I was also a little blue to let go of the planner that's been my constant companion of 2024.
Maybe that's weird, but I'll own it.
Another thing that's weird is that I did not switch planners mid-year this year. I'm fairly notorious for giving up on a planner and swapping to a different style. But usually my year starts with me resisting the hypnotic pull of a Hobonichi, buying something else, and then buying a Hobonichi in April when the academic year versions come out. In 2024 I just started with the Hobonichi and saved myself the trouble. This wee planner has been with me through what one refers to as a Very Bad Year. We're buds, now.
I was tempted to switch early in the year, anyway, but only because I'd bought a Hobonichi Weeks (which is my favorite layout for planners), and then got a new extremely busy job, and found the Weeks to be a little small for all the plans I had to plan.
For 2025, I got the Cousin, hoping that the extra space will serve me well--though I still prefer the weekly spreads. If there was an A5 Hobonichi with the Weeks layout, I'd be in heaven. "But Sarah," you say, "There are other planners that are A5 with a weekly layout!" I KNOW. I buy them every autumn, start them in January, and then buy a Hobonichi in April. It has happened more than once.
The daily pages in the Cousin are going to be perfect for meeting notes, looooong to-do lists, and brainstorms, which is going to help me at work a lot. I've been doing all that in a second notebook, carrying both that and my planner with me around like Linus with his security blanket--so combining those into one tool will be lovely. I will lose the "Oh crap--that's tomorrow!" reminder feature of the weekly pages, so I'll have to keep the habit of scanning the monthly calendar every day, or flipping through the daily pages, or both. I cannot live one day at a time, as much as I would love to.
Today I transferred my ongoing task list to the new planner, moved my goofy bookmarks and made sure there weren't any notes I needed to move forward, then I tucked away my 2024 Weeks on my shelf-o-planners. Most of the planners on that shelf are half-empty. But 2024 has been a very full year, and while not every memory in that book is a happy one, I'm happy to have them all there.
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