September Planner System Review 2020 | Sterling Ink

[@leinaalam133]

Thank you so much for sharing your practice. I am using the same tools except for the Hobonichi Cousin Avec and I use a B6 dated Wonderland 222 in place of your Nolty. Hononichi Weeks is my EDC too and I agree, having the dates are vital to track all of the projects, tasks and people. Thinking and planning is messy so having different tools to track the thinking is helpful too. I look forward to your videos!

[@SterlingInk]

Thank you! It's great to hear that you are using a similar system. Yes thinking and planning is messy, and there is no need to feel guilty about using multiple planners. Whatever works for you works!

[@rebekahstinson8511]

Great video! I completely agree with you, when I'm not in the mood to clean, budget, or plan I just watch videos and then I'm ready to tackle the project.

[@SterlingInk]

Yup! I just started watching the home edit series on netflix!

[@BlushnBlue]

Love your organization Catherine. I think perhaps watching cleaning videos is what I should try now. I do remember that I was watching some last year and I was cleaning so well. Now not so much. Well I will try that again. Thank you very much for the tip.

[@SterlingInk]

Haha thank you. I also forgot that watching cleaning videos encouraged me to clean until recently.

[@latinbeautymaria]

Awesome video. It's the first time I watch your videos, strangely enough. My brain works in much the same ways. I'll be sure to take the skillshare class.

[@SterlingInk]

Thank you! I hope you will find it helpful :)

[@delicatejade]

It appears you use your Hobonichi Weeks as your tool to do "mental downloads" aka "brain dumps", then organize your lists into your Nolty. I use a similar system but never thought of using a compact planner which is a great idea. I've been using a notepad 🙄 then organize it into my classic size planner. My planner is too large to carry around. One like your Weeks is so portable. Thank you for sharing your system.

[@SterlingInk]

Thank you! You summarized it so well. I was using a blank notebook to brain dump before but realized what I was missing was the dates! I love the weeks size and layout, it's perfect for what I use it for.

[@theoryof.lauren]

i feel the same way! when i am doing reading for school i can't listen to music with words 😅

[@SterlingInk]

Lol and the lyrics would invade my brain space haha.

[@vtheb1299]

10:55 words of wisdom!! Makes so much sense!

[@SterlingInk]

Thank you !

[@iliana.m]

This is so true, I also think that a brainstorm messy area is necessary! Just curious, have you tried at some point using the Ryder Carroll original bullet journal method in an un-dated/not premade notebook? Since he strongly suggests to not preplan how much space you will need in a specific day/week/month, what this did for me was that it gave me the absolute freedom of having this messy unfiltered running list of mixed ideas, thoughts, to-dos, etc, for as many lines as I want each day/week without worrying in which category they should go or in which date or that I'm running out of space to write. He also suggests not rewriting the to-do list from the previous day to the next (except for specific tasks of that day) and instead to read the complete running list from the beginning of the month for example. It really solved many problems for me and the "messy" yet very functional brainstorming was one of the main ones! I tried other methods/systems/planners after trying this for several months and I just go back to it all the time....!

[@SterlingInk]

Thank you! I was actually using a blank notebook as my bullet journal for the entire year in 2019 and also November and December of 2018. I was also doing the same this year before April of this year. However, my life changed so much since April (quitting my 9-5, and managing my own businesses where I am responsible for everything) that it became impossible to be in one planner lol and I just want the dates to be already printed out so I don't have to "set up" my calendar because I already have way too much to do lol. I also feel like the Hobonichi cousin has plenty of space for me to spread out. I did really love bullet journaling and liked that I could create my own layout and arrange the pages the way I want and I am sure I will go back to it one day :)

[@iliana.m]

@@SterlingInk Thank you for replying! I see! Yes, it is also true that we need different things in different points in our lives! Regarding bullet journaling, having to set up the dates, and pages and everything is too much work even if you don't decorate, and it is not functional at all in my opinion. And I absolutely hate setting up blank notebooks, to be honest, lol. That's why I recommended the original method instead of the popular bullet journal take, where you practically don't set up anything in advance and instead you go straight into your day which can take as many pages as you need. The future log at the start of the notebook and then only a spread each month with the vertical 1,2,3,...31 numbers (which can also be the tracker at the same time), and a side blank page for monthly tasks are literally the only pages you set up and they take just two minutes. And you dedicate extra collections spreads only when you need them and not in advance each month. ☺️ So cool! Ryder's book also helped me a lot as well to understand the system and on goal setting. Regarding the method itself, he also has videos on his KZbin channel if you are not familiar with them already. The method really helped me in times of too much anxiety and too hectic days because I just needed to look/write in one book without spending time to set up a single thing or think where to write what or what to bring with me. In any case, please continue enjoying planning and journaling! I really enjoy your videos and hearing your thoughts each time! Many greetings from Greece!

[@SterlingInk]

@@iliana.m Thank you so much for that! I actually am not familiar with the original method I will definitely go check it out :) And thank you so much for the compliment!

[@iliana.m]

@@SterlingInk :D Ooh, then definitely check it out! The how to bullet journal and the Q&A videos on his channel explain it really well. However, it took me some time to really understand it in practice at first. One important thing (that I didn't grasp right upfront by watching the videos) is that you don't rewrite the to-dos from yesterday or other days to your current day, and instead you view everything as a running to-do list/notes/etc. And it really also helped me when I used the asterisc * sign to only mark the date-specific tasks of the day (not the important-but-not-date-dependant which is what I used to mark lol). Also, check out the book "the bullet journal method" if you encounter it! It has some really nice features and goes far beyond the system. :)

[@thoughtfulnotes8258]

I love watching your video especially functional part. Hehe. It encourage me. 💖💖

[@SterlingInk]

Thank you so much! I love functional planning videos too and absolutely love making them!

[@DeborahSutherlandDebinPei]

Yes, I need to do both as well 😃

[@micheledeanda4854]

I'm going to "borrow" your idea of using the hobo weeks as a brain dump. Something you can carry around easily and using your planner as the final draft.

[@SterlingInk]

Great! I find it to be very useful and it takes the pressure off.

[@JT1358]

That's what I do - a small pocket diary goes in my bag and gets matched to my neat master-planner later. Great system!

[@carriefrancis3571]

Thanks! I'm applying your goal setting idea in the Jubon Techo for this quarter to practice (thanks for the rec). Question - in your monthly layout (Nolty) do you set goals for each week of the month at the beginning of the month? or do you do this weekly? Thanks! I'm trying out the former, but curious about what has worked for you.

[@SterlingInk]

Carrie Francis yay! I would love to hear how it works out for you. I sketch out my goals in my hobo weeks monthly view before and I just transfer and adjust each week to Nolty.

[@5264143]

This is very helpful to me. Thank you! Quick question though. What is the difference in use between the cousin and the note T(?). I see the weeks as being a brain dump but the cousin and the note T’s usage seem the same. Tia!

[@SterlingInk]

Thank you Bess! I use my Nolty as my goal planner, I use it to map out my goals for business, personal and family for the year then break it down to quarterly and monthly goals in the notes section of the nolty, then I use the monthly and weekly to plan out more detailed tasks and etc. I compare this to the syllabus for your courses in college and it serves as a roadmap for achieving my goals. Hobonichi cousin is my daily planning planner that has everything mashed up together, errands, misc to dos, appointments, notes etc. I need the nolty mainly because I have two businesses that I need to plan out for so I just tacked the personal goal sections along with it. But if I didn’t l need to map out my schedule for my businesses separately, then I would be ok with just the cousin and weeks I think.

[@5264143]

@@SterlingInk I gotcha! Thanks so much. I’ve never even heard of the Nolty and I’m member of two hononichi groups! That tells you the bewildering choices out there. So much of them that it makes my head hurt! Lol. I need a system that works for me so that I don’t abandon it midstream when things don’t go well because of my lack of research. But I think I’ve narrowed it down to your system and another youtuber only because we hv similar way of “thinking” in this regard. So thank you. Quick question, what’s your favorite store to buy your hononichis? I know I will need the weeks and the cousin. I’m prepared to narrow down the styles and decide on what makes the most sense to me. Whew. It’s exciting!

[@BiddyBop7]

Thanks for sharing. Which Hobonichi weeks did you choose for 2021?

[@SterlingInk]

Hi Biddy, I got the cherry blossom mega and spring day

[@ghadadailycraft]

❤️❤️

[@hartereads]

Where did you get the numbered tabs in the Cousin?

[@SterlingInk]

I got it from mochithings

[@staceynelson2357]

Happilyahousewife has lots of great planner vids and she is also a mom vlogger😊🦋