I’ve used a lot of planners, ranging from the more structured (Filofax A5, Traveler’s Notebook Week-per-Page) to the completely unstructured (Hobonichi Techo, Bullet Journal). Since my planning needs are pretty flexible, I can usually make any system work, but that doesn’t stop me from obsessively searching for the perfect planner, does it? Well, I think I found it this past year, and it’s a planner that receives surprisingly little attention for all its versatility.
The Jibun Techo is made by Japanese stationery conglomerate Kokuyo, which makes a wide range of products including excellent notebooks that are extremely ink-friendly. The Jibun Techo is no exception. I’m not 100% sure the planner contains Tomoe River paper, but it feels and performs like Tomoe River, and I can’t discern much of a difference if it’s something different. The Hobonichi series of planners gets recommended because they’re the default “fountain pen friendly” planner, but now that I’ve used both the Hobonichi and the Jibun Techo, I can shill for both in good conscience.
Note: Before I get into the “nuts and bolts” portion of this review, you’ll have to excuse me for showing you mostly blank pages, especially on the weekly layout. Given the nature of my day job (attorney), I obviously can’t publish detailed entries. Wherever possible, I’ve tried to provide an example of how I use this planner, but sometimes I can’t use a detailed photo of a completed page. Thanks for understanding!
Basic Planner Functions
The core of the Jibun Techo is what I would call a “classic planner,” broken down into two sections: a monthly layout section and a weekly layout section, each of which takes up two pages. While the primary language is Japanese, most of the headers are also show in English, so this becomes a non-issue for me. After the first couple of days I barely noticed anymore.
As you can see, I use the monthly layout for my blog’s editorial calendar and other TGS-related planning, such as pen show travel. On the left, there’s a column for monthly lists, tracking, to-dos, or however else you want to use it.
The weekly planner section is a bit more complex, though the great thing about the Jibun Techo is that you can make things as simple or as complicated as you want. Each week takes up two facing pages, with a seven-day vertical layout. I absolutely love how Saturday and Sunday don’t get short shrift - regardless of whether I’m “working” or not, I have plenty going on over the weekends to the point where I need to be able to track a full day of time and/or appointments. For each day, 3/4 of the column can be used for scheduling, with most space provided for 7am to midnight. The remaining 1/4 can be used to make notes, track your mood (or note good/bad/blah things that happened that day), and even record the weather. Someone who consistently takes advantage of all the Jibun Techo’s tracking functions will have a very thorough record of their year.
Dedicated Logging or Tracking Pages
The Jibun Techo shines with tracking, logging, and various forms of list-making. In addition to the monthly and weekly “classic planner” pages, which provide space for tracking various things, the Jibun Techo contains a more open-ended, versatile section that I use for tracking progress on work projects, exercise, reading, etc. I’ve been extremely inconsistent using this throughout the year, but at times it’s been absolutely critical to my efforts to maintain my sanity.
Want to track something? Exercise? Food? Time? Reading? The Jibun Techo provides dedicated space. Also, notice that the logging and monthly layouts go all the way into March of the following year, if you need to plan ahead.
“Extra” Pages
For lack of a better term, I’ll refer to the rest of the Jibun Techo as “extras,” because they’re not essential for me but still offer a nice convenient space to keep track of running lists and other thoughts. The two sections I’ve used the most are the “Book List” to track my reading (though I will probably barely manage to fill up one side, if that), and the “Movie List” (where I did even worse, though I don’t necessarily consider that a bad thing). I haven’t used the other templates, which include sections to track “Gifts Received,” “Gifts Given,” a “Recommendation List” and “Favorite Phrases.” Come to think of it, the gift lists could end up being quite useful over the next month, and I may re-title and re-purpose some of the others once I start my 2020 planner.
The “Promises” list is one of the stranger aspects of the Jibun Techo’s layout, and I assume something got lost in translation. IMHO, if you have to track 108 promises that you’ve made throughout the course of the year, make sure you’re not over-committed!
Takeaways and Where to Buy
After a few years of experimentation, I’m settling into the Jibun Techo for the foreseeable future. I’m somewhat of an obsessive list-maker and logger of various things, and having a set structure to do this in planner reduces not only the number of notebooks I have to cart around on a daily basis but also helps me manage the psychic load of organization by keeping all of these things in one place. The tracking/logging/listing function of the Jibun Techo is really its selling point - if you’re just looking for a planner with both a monthly and weekly layout in the same package, there are other options, but the true organization nerd will want to give Kokuyo’s planner a closer look.
The Idea notebook is a standard slim Tomoe River notebook of good quality, which mainly serves as scratch paper in the back of my planner.
I purchased the Jibun Techo 3-in-1 Planner/Notebook set from Amazon, which still has 2020 versions in stock. (If you don’t like white, or think it will get too dirty over the course of the year, Blue and Pink versions are also available, along with a smaller B6 edition. The 3-in-1 set includes a graph-ruled “Idea” notebook and a “Life” journal, the latter of which looks like a tool for planning your memoirs or autobiography. I haven’t delved into that one yet, and won’t review it until I do, but maybe next year?
Finally, if you’re just looking for a stand-alone planner refill, and not a 3-in-1 set with a cover, Vanness Pens currently has some in stock.
Disclaimer: I purchased the planner featured in this review with my own money, for my own use.