Muji B6 Planner - for my appointments and my tasks
in my previous post I have given you an overview of my planners and notebooks which are in use right now (as of 09Dec21).
Muji B6 weekly planner
In 2021 my set up changed a lot, mostly because I earlier on wanted to have an all-in-one set up, with everything in one cover/planner.
But, no matter what size I used, it always ended up being too bulky or too big, and in no way I was able to take it with me in my bag.
But I wanted to have a planner with me, whenever I`m away from home, small enough to put it in my handbag (a nice one from Rickshaw Bags by the way ;-) , but that one will be shown in a later post) but with space enough for my appointments, my tasks and some notes.
There is a Muji Shop near Zürich/Switzerland. I have bought a notebook in that shop before and was not very happy with the paper, too much bleeding with my fountain pen inks.
When I went there again, browsing their stationery department, I saw a certain planner for 2022, I thought, ok, nothing to lose, the planner is not that expensive, maybe my inks will work, maybe not.
So I brought home this weekly planner in B6 size
Lovely size, I`m a fan of B6, not too big, not too small but still portable.
It has a plastic cover, the planner itself can be taken out of the cover. The cover is kind of a beige color.
It has monthly overviews, weekly overviews and at the back some note pages with a 5mm grid (9 sheets).
The monthly and weekly overviews start with the first week of December and end with the last week of January 2023.
The paper is fairly smooth, a bit off-white, a bit like MIO paper, I would say the same thickness as well. But definitely thicker than any Hobonichi Tomoe River Paper or even Jibun Techo planner paper.
I made some ink tests and I have to say it was not that bad, better than I have expected. Thinking about the notebook which I had bought before and which had horrible bleeding, this paper surprised me, still bleeding, but not with the inks that I wanted to use:
J Herbin Bleu Myosotis, Pelikan Red, Montblanc Unicef and J Herbin Vert Olive or Kaweco Palm Green/Lamy Green.
After pen testing the decision was made, I will use that planner for my appointments and for my tasks.
Appointments go into the monthly overviews, including any birthdates.
But, while filling out the monthly box overviews, I (again) realized that I do not really like the box style monthly overviews.
I actually have forgotten about that problem, I always run into it again whenever I use box overviews. And with any new planner, it`s a déja vu, and I should remember it before I buy a new planner.
I rather like vertical monthly overviews!
For me such a vertical overview makes more sense and I can see my appointments much better. Because it is kind of a "list style" and when I have two appointments on one day I can see it more clearly than in any daily box.
This is the best thing when you have a printable planner shop on Etsy ... you already have created such a vertical overview :-)
I used the B6 wide size, printed it out single sided and cut it down to fit into the Muji planner. You can not only use the printables in any ringbound or disc planner but cut down to size even as a tip-in into a bound planner.
I used Tomoe River Paper, thin enough to not add any bulk and lovely for any fountain pen inks.
And the white Tomoe River Paper is nearly the same color as the paper of this Muji Planner, maybe a bit ligher.
On the left side the dot grid page in 5 mm gives me enough space to write down any important notes for the month or upcoming birthdates. On the right side I have added a small colum for the weekdays.
These inserts are undated, can be printed over and over again and even a 29-days February is included.
And here is the link to my Etsy shop PlannerPrintsByAndy:
tasks go into the weekly overview
I used to write down my daily tasks in a daily overview. And then rewrite them every day if I didn`t finish them.
This was kind of nice as I had to write something every day ... but this was just stupid copying and I found it tedious to do it every day.
I`m now writing them down in a weekly overview, which makes it easier to see when do I have to do what during the week.
I adjusted the monthly Alastair method to a weekly method.
The Alastair method is, in short words, a list of tasks, written beneath each other.
But a monthly list is getting cluttered and with time you start searching for any tasks and keep overlooking some of them in the end.
But just for one week, with less tasks, this method is working great!
Just some lines with a thin pen (I have used a Sakura pen) and the layout is ready to be used.
Here you can see how a nearly finished week looks like:
- left side
- my weekly appointments
- right side
- daily tasks marked with a dot on the day that I should do them
- marked with a dash to move them to the next day
- marked with a red check mark when I have done it in the daily box
- marked with a red check mark before the task when I have either reentered it to any future week, or when that task is finished
- the numbers in front of the tasks mark the days which have already passed since I should have done them
- color coding (blue = household, green = indoor plants and garden, purple = shop tasks)
I can add tasks like a list, one below the next, whenever any task comes up, mark the day when I have to do it. Whenever a task is done and it is a repeating one, like grocery shopping once a week, I mark it with a red check mark and enter it on next week`s page.
With this system I have a very good overview of my week. I can see at a glance when I can do something because I can see my appointments on the left. And I will not have a guilty conscience when I have to move something to the next day from a day where I had to work.
small problem arising :-)
Maybe you have seen that I used two different green inks for my garden tasks.
Well, this could be the breaking point why I will not use this planner any further ... because these inks bleed through the page! Not a lot but I can`t stand bleeding.
Ghosting I don`t mind, but not bleeding....
I have quite a few green inks but all bleed a little bit.
I will now use the planner a bit longer to see how much this might bother me, but to be honest, I think this will change in the near future.
So stay tuned for any update!!
Thank you to all, stay healthy and (planner) peace to everyone!
Andrea