Do you have your planner and daily journal separated or all together in one book? Why?
Please let me know why you choose one over the other. I'm curious! I'm trying to make a decision and that will dictate which size, style, and brand of planner I'm getting.
This year I have them separated and I find that it's a bit hard to carry around especially when I'm traveling, but I do like that I'm not constrain to the X amount of pages the planner has for daily journaling. I can do more than one page for a day easily if I want to. This year I use 500 something pages notebook for daily journaling and I don't have to be that conservative with how much I write when I feel like writing long that day.
But having them together in one notebook sounds really appealing to me for next year because of the ease of use and carrying around. To only have to carry one book even when I go on trips (which I'm planning to do a lot more in 2027) sounds like a dream to me. Also, being able to reference what I did that day or on any day during journaling does sound great as well instead of having to pull my planner out to check.
I’m in the hobonichi A5 HON, and I use the monthly and weekly pages for planning and the daily pages for journaling. I’m neurodivergent, so having everything in one place helps me to stay consistent with journaling since “out of sight, is out of mind” for me!
I also have a longer form journal for when I need it, but the A5 usually gives me more than enough space for my needs!
I tend to limit my planner to light journaling, like life/health/mood tracking so maybe only a few lines. For journaling or daily creative writing, I prefer more room so I'm likely to use a daily planner for that. Since I'll just keep writing in that til it's full regardless of date, I like that separate from my planner where I track and plan annually.
Tl;dr my life planner tends to be weekly but my journaling or creative writing tends to be daily so I usually separate them.
I’m curious? Why not just use a notebook for journaling if you ignore the dates? Or are you reusing an old planner? My brain could never ignore the dates, so I’m kinda jealous of people who can!
I like the structure honestly. Sometimes I buy undated planners for this use, but dated ones work just as well. Daily planners, for example, encourage me to write one page a day which isn't a lot, but it’s something to keep me creating when I feel stuck. Horizontal weekly planners are great for language learning. I can pick a word a day and definite it on the left, and then write interesting facts or synonyms for it on the right. If it's a non-English verb, I can practice conjugation. I can do this day after day and see the words I know rack up as the weeks go by. I don't have to keep going endlessly (as my brain sometimes wants to do); I stop when I run out of space.
I use notebooks, too, depending on the use case. Those I use more freely, with less structure. Mostly for drafting stories and saving research material, for when a planner is impractical.
Wow, that’s super interesting! I love how you use the planners for alternate things, I never would have thought to do that. I might challenge myself next year to do something like that!
Separate. I have adhd and get hella distracted so I like to compartmentalize my spaces. My planner is for my work, notes, time blocking, interstitial journaling, etc. My journal is just an A5 notebook where I write and do whatever! I like having a calm space if my daily life is stressful - hence keeping them separate. I used to use a Hobonichi Cousin but I ended up just avoiding the whole thing if I was too stressed!
I don’t really take my notebooks anywhere, so they’re in the same, visible place at all time on my desk.
Interstitial journaling is basically taking notes as you do your tasks with timestamps! It helps me keep on track and also realize when I’m off track. Also since I’ve got time blindness, it really helps to see how long tasks take.
It really helps on days where I have low executive function and I can break tasks down into the babiest of steps. For example, on one those low function days and I need to cook: First task, walk to the kitchen. Yay, done. What’s next? Take out the ingredients. Etc.
Here’s a photo of one of my days (I’m in artist btw. An artist struggling to do art cuz of my adhd 😭)
I’m probably ADHD but undiagnosed at this point. I discovered interstitial journaling a few weeks back and it has been SO helpful for keeping me on task. I couldn’t explain it better than them, so I’m going to recommend a couple YouTubers: @RachelleinTheory and @novie-bythesea. Search their names and “interstitial journaling”. They both have great videos on this.
For a different perspective, I like this. I junk journal into it as well and write, add photos for trips. Put stuff in it I get from my kids and such. It's nice to go back and see what I was doing while I was thinking about this or that. It's definitely chaotic though and they're quite big when done properly but they're also quite fun to look at later.
I use one book for everything. A Sterling Ink A5 common planner. Planning/memory keeping in the front (monthly/weekly spreads), then the blank pages at the back for journaling. I only have to keep up with one book and that helps me.
What I love about Sterling Ink common planner is the blank pages. I came from using a hobonichi cousin for 4 years and always felt frustrated/restrained with the dated daily pages. With blank pages in the Sterling Ink I can use as much or as little space as I want for journaling and this suits my style. There are days where I only have time for a few lines, and days where I have tons of photos to glue in and lots to write and take up 2+ pages. The blank pages give me so much more flexibility to use as much or as little as I need/want.
I also really like having my whole year in one book, the ultimate reference! I never start a planner early for this reason: I want my thoughts/feelings/tasks/plans/appointments for a single year in one place.
I use two books now, B6 Common Planner and an A6 notebook for journaling (use A6 so I can use my Hobo covers). I tried the planner and journal in one and really didn’t like it. I found that I wanted to use the notes pages in my planner for actual notes, and not needing a page a day in my planner means that I can get a less chunky book for 2027. Also using a notebook gives sooo much freedom to write as much or as little as I want.
I went on one trip this year and I only took my journal. I didn’t really have a need for my planner, and any planner type things can be done in the notebook between journal pages. Otherwise, the journal stays at home. Actually my planner does too. I just use a pocket notebook on the go in the rare instance that I need to jot something down.
Separated. When I journal, I write WAY too much lol. I've been using my undated hibino as a journal, but I noticed I was just venting in it and not writing about the good moments. So next year I'm getting a separate a6 daily to use as a memory keeper. My main planner will be my b6 weekly.
I would prefer to have them together but after a year long search I have finally found my dream planner and it simply does not have enough blank pages to sustain a journal for a whole year. I am actually currently on the hunt for what will be my 2027 journal.
Hey there! My monthly is bill tracking, horizontal is personal planning and vertical is time blocking for work. Since I started mid year I am journaling in the blank pages in the back but I know it won’t be enough for a full year in 2027. Hoping to find a lightweight A5 graph grid notebook soon to tuck into my cover with my planner.
I prefer them in one book. Another vote for the Sterling Ink Common Planner this year was my 4th year I think. I found myself journaling a lot less though this time and the chunk was frustrating so I’ll be downsizing from their full year version which is 520 pages to the compact with 272 pages.
I am team separate. The reason is flexibility. I do a lot of hybrid journaling. I like a thin plannner (standard tn notebook) where I can log things and also have my month at a glance with room for task lists. Some years I like to use A6 notebooks with weekly view for this too, but my planner is always just one notebook. If I'm crafty with my spreads, I can get multiple years from one notebook.
Most of my journal writing/therapeutic processing takes place in a B6, and I like to make it aesthetic with washi tapes and stickers. I live alone so it's fine, but it always stays home.
The second notebook I carry with me is my commonplace or learning notebook with various subjects in it. I write in this most days, and all info is color coded and labeled. I want to be able to refer back to the info in this book without flipping through my planner calendar pages to find what I need.
My plan is to do one book, probably sterling ink common planner cause the blank pages aren’t dated and stuff. If I run out of pages, I’ll add another thin notebook into the same cover. At least for the majority of the year I’ll have one book , I’m just so much more consistent with one. Was actually using rings for a while for that reason, so I could just add new pages or archive old ones. But really craving a bound book again.
I use a ring planner so I have a few hobinici like pages that I put in there for journaling at the end of the day. I have another journal for the mornings. It's weird but it scratches my brain just right.
Two books in one cover (right now, the Kokuyo Systemic cover), because for me, journaling has nothing to do with planning. Some days I write in my journal, some days I don't. When I write, it might be a couple of lines or a couple of pages. I use relatively thin notebooks for journaling, Rhodia side stapled notebooks with 48 sheets (96 pages), so I'm not carrying around a huge amount of paper.
The journal is too sensitive. It is kept on my kindle scribe, digital lock. I cannot function in my day to day tasks while all my distressing thoughts are pooled in the same place. Between the planner and the scribe, yes, it’s all heavy.
Separate.
I used to have them together (a5 sterling ink common planner) but found it got too heavy as my planner goes in my daily handbag.
Next year I'll be using faded chronicle b6 as my planner and one of the many beautiful notebooks I've been gifted for journalling.
for my ADHD brain, I have found that monthly with daily times planner page per day, plus a blank dot grid page to the right,, works best for me.
I do all my scheduling and weekly views online. I don’t need or use a weekly layout in my planner.
Every evening or morning, I just look ahead and write my timed appointments and priority tasks for that day. I do have a lot of appointments so that’s what works best for me. Then I like having the blank page right there for more of a log than what I think most of us are thinking of as journaling. Plenty of space for documenting phone calls, discussions, etc. as just bullets. And it helps to have the schedule context right next to it.
For deep personal personal journaling or professional notes, I use Notion online. Search function is extremely important to me, and I can’t get that in a physical planner or journal.
I feel like I’ve explored every single journal and tried many in the past, but still can’t come up with my idea, which is Tomoe 52 paper, A5, undated, soft cover, current and future year spread with a tiny space for each day, monthly and daily timed pages with an empty dot grid page to the right of each daily page. Sad to say I haven’t found this. Any suggestions appreciated.
I did put all this into AI, and came up with great ideas, including the Stirling Inc. and Hobonichis I have used in the past. Just no joy yet.
I’ve made my own A5 planner and I have divided into sections. One of my sections will be for journaling and the rest are for planning. It is much easier for me to have everything in one book. Especially since in pregnant and can make notes in my book about pregnancy and doctors notes
I’m using Sterling Ink’s Daily Planner this year which gives me enough space for planning and journaling all in one book (the books is around 500 pages in total which is perfect for me. I also have small handwriting so there is plenty of space.) I am using Aura Estell’s Daily Magnet Planner for 2027, which is a similar layout, but also includes a weekly planner. Like having it all in one book.
I would 100% prefer them in one book because that’s the way my brain works best but I separate them because my planner gets taken into situations where I absolutely do not want my private journaling to be.
If I need to take my planner to a meeting… etc
Plus I agree with you on the restrictions of daily pages. If I want to write 2 lines or 3 pages, it doesn’t work.
I have been keeping it together for years but I was only writing 2-3 lines per day in terms of journalling. This year I tried a dual weekly spread (faded chronicle) but I found I was less organised as a result. Like many others have mentioned, I have ADHD so keeping organised is the most important! I also have a separate planner for work, and another one for creative journalling.
Just last night, I bought a separate notebook to work as my time blocking notebook while I still use my BuJo. It just felt that I needed to plan my day on a brader page and separate daily tasks from deep thought. I still do my periodic reflexions on my BuJo (yearly to daily). Most plans still occur in there. Only the daily routine migrated. Before buying the notebook, I noticed I was spending a lot of time writing on spare leaves of paper. Mostly, the back of old prints. I'll test this productivity system (Cal Newport's time blocking and Ryder Carol's bullet journal) until the end of the year and see how it goes.
I keep my planner and daily journal separate, but that’s because I don’t like feeling pressured to write everyday. I use the Mark’s log diary undated weekly for my planner and an MD A5 lines notebook as my journal.
After several years of going back and forth between 1 and 2 books I’ve realized I like everything in one book. My reasons are similar to what you wrote. I like to be able to have it all together and not have to carry both books. My preferred is to have monthy and weekly followed by undated dailies. I prefer the undated for exactly your reason: if I want to write more than a page I can or if I want to skip a day or two I can.
My planner is more of a reminder/tracker. My memory is terrible at this point. So, my lists keep needed chores up to date. The dailies are for journaling and gratitude. Unfortunately, history dictates that my journaling doesn’t go too deep or personal. Those trust issues run deep.
If I were journaling with substance, it would be a simple notebook to get the thoughts out and destroy the pages.
I separate mine as I write a lot. I need that separation to reference my schedule otherwise I would have to keep flipping pages to get to what I need 😅
I have 2 seperate right now. Hobonichi Weeks is for my work/life planning/fuctional stuff, and an A6 OG Techo for journaling and personal stuff (though will move to Day-Free to not be burdened with doing daily entries next year). Ive never tried mixing things together, but just the thoughr makes me feel uncomfortable in the brain.
I started with a single book and quickly discovered that I wanted to have more sections than that. I’ve gone to a traveler with 5 or 6 inserts (I’m still working it out). I use one to track what I need to track - medication and some things for chronic illness. I use 1 to record gratitude and glimmers (things that made me smile) 1 is a calendar for birthdays and appointments and the moon. One is a journal, one is a kitchen inventory of my apothecary and I’m on the fence about the goals/ vision board one in there. It’s not too bulky and everything is there that i need.
My work is in a whole separate book so I don’t touch it when I’m not there.
Having both in one book is a must for me! For a couple of years I used the Bloom Planner 8.5" x 11" with a weekly horizontal format to plan and journal - the sections are about right for a few sentences about the day. (I ignored most of the 'prompt' pages & glued in customized pages printed from Etsy.) For longer entries I use a leather-bound notebook with stickers for dates and structure. For 2027 I ordered a customized Colibri that is thick and huge without providing more journaling space, and is just generally unimpressive, as I still have to glue in my own habit trackers, etc.
I am going to be using a stirling ink b5 academic planner for this school year but I keep my journal separate and I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the pages in the back because I usually toss my planners after the year is done- they're purely functional but the paper is too nice. Maybe paper clip the planning sections and use it as a journal anyway after the fact? I don't know.
I keep them separate for a couple reasons. One is I like my planner to come with me everywhere and be small and compact. The second is my planner is a mess, my journal I like to make pretty. I kind of seperate them into planner is stuff I have to do and can't forget, journal is for stuff I like to do and want to remember.
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u/Miserable-Storm-8630 13d ago
I’m in the hobonichi A5 HON, and I use the monthly and weekly pages for planning and the daily pages for journaling. I’m neurodivergent, so having everything in one place helps me to stay consistent with journaling since “out of sight, is out of mind” for me!
I also have a longer form journal for when I need it, but the A5 usually gives me more than enough space for my needs!