I’ve been using an a6 sized notebook for a few years now. For me, the Hobonichi Weeks doesn’t have enough space on its weekly pages. And the Hobonichi Cousin has too much space on it’s daily pages. So the Hobonichi Techo original a6 is their best size for my journaling, planning and scrapbooking needs.
The Hobonichi A6 comes in an English version, a Japanese version (with either April or January start and either Sunday or Monday start), an Avec version, and a day-free version. All 4 types are cool, but the one I’ve purchased most is the day-free kind. It’s basically a blank notebook (no quotes at the bottom, no dates/moon phases at the top). But it still has the monthly calendar at the front of the book, which comes in handy for me.
My 2nd most purchased Techo is the English Hobonichi Techo A6 because sometimes I want the dates already pre-printed at the top. It’s convenient and the day-per-page format helps me focus on what’s truly important in order to conserve space. I also like the moon phases and quotes, even though they take up precious room on the page!
So this time, I’m going for the Hobonichi Techo original English version. I was using a blank Stalogy notebook this year, but I miss having the dates and calendar pre-printed, so I’m going back to Hobonichi for the 2nd half of this year.
Why am I not trying the Avec even though I’m shopping in August? It’s because the Avec is more expensive and takes longer to ship right now. I also prefer to keep the whole year in one notebook, rather than split between two notebooks. But a plus side to the Avec is that you can use tons of stickers/photos/etc and the planner won’t get overly bulky.
How to use the checklist at the top of the Hobonichi
You can use it to track to-dos, goals or even what you ate that day.
How to use the hourly section of the Hobonichi
I like the idea of using it for meetings, meal planning, or other tasks that may happen at a certain time.
How to use the monthly calendar in the Hobonichi
I use it to track bills that are due and appointments I have. It’s nice to see the whole month at a glance so I can see what’s coming up in the next week.
How to use the monthly table at the front of the Hobonichi
This section is a monthly calendar as well, but it’s in a table/list format instead of a visual calendar format. There’s only 1 line per day rather than a larger box per day. So I use it to track daily steps/miles, an overall feeling for the day, or something I’m grateful for.
How to use the “My 100” pages at the back of the Hobonichi
Think of a big goal and break it down into 100 smaller pieces. For example, if you want to read more, you can use this section to list 100 books to read. Over the years, I’ve also used it to track hiking trails and restaurants I’ve visited, as well as movies/shows/songs I experienced.
How to use the few blank pages at the back of the Hobonichi A6
Every year, I like to make a vision board so this is a good place to do that. I also use the area for my overall monthly budget, yearly savings goals, pen tests and favorite photos. You can list favorite songs, make a reading log, or track whatever your heart desires.
How to use the Coming Up! blank page at the beginning of each month
I would use this area in the Hobonichi to reflect on the previous month and think about what I want for the coming month. You can also put a favorite photo or other mementos like a ticket stub there. Or a quote that resonates with you, a shopping list, goals for the month, print off a recipe to try and paste it in there…get creative 🙂
Are you wondering where to buy the Hobonichi Techo in the US?
I buy my Hobonichi here because of fast shipping. But I’ve also shopped here before and had a good experience. Or you can buy the Hobonichi Techo directly from the Hobonichi store here.
Also, I love the Tomoe River paper that comes in all the different Hobonichi versions. The paper is super thin and lightweight, but still sturdy. It’s something special for sure. Tomoe River paper is renowned for showing no bleed-through with fountain pens. Even though I rarely use a fountain pen, I love the soft smooth feel of the paper (trust me it feels different from regular paper) and the way my pens and markers glide over it.
My favorite pens to use in the Hobonichi are:
And for fun, I like to use washi tape (here’s my favorite brand) and stickers. Here is one of the sticker shops I love and another great sticker shop I’ve purchased from. I also enjoy browsing Etsy to find small businesses to buy stickers from (here’s one of my favorite Etsy sticker shops). When I feel like using stamps, I shop here and here for fun options.
To keep things organized, this pen case holds everything quite nicely. I have an acrylic drawer set for washi tapes. And I like these albums for stickers. To contain my large stationery collection, my desk “legs” are actually these drawers, and I also have a cart like this one.
To print my photos out on sticker paper, I use this printer here. To print larger photos, I use an older version of this printer. Additionally, I have a regular inkjet printer for printing things like dashboards.
I also like to keep my Hobonichi in a leather notebook cover. My favorite shop is here and I love that you can email them to customize your cover’s dimensions. I get the Codex A6 cover with the spine narrowed by 6mm, and the pen loop enlarged to 11mm.
So those are a few of my ideas for how to use the Hobonichi in the a6 size! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or send me a message and I’ll be happy to answer.