2026 Planner Lineup: How I Set Up My Planners for the New Year

There’s something about choosing planners for the new year that gives me a burst of motivation. As soon as November starts creeping in, I automatically begin thinking about how I want next year to feel—more balanced, more organized, and hopefully a little healthier too. Setting up my planners feels like a small reset button, and honestly, it’s one of my favorite end-of-year rituals.

My 2026 planner lineup is a mix of things I’ve already been loving and a couple of shifts to make everything clearer. I’m not changing everything (because most of my system genuinely works well), but I did reorganize the roles of my planners so that each one feels more natural to use. My goal with this planner setup 2026 is simple: keep things intentional, but never overwhelming.

Why I’m Using a Multi-Planner System in 2026

I used to try using just one planner years ago, and it never worked for me—I’d stay consistent for maybe a month or two and then completely fall off. Some pages stayed empty, others became messy, and eventually I just stopped opening it. Ever since I switched to a multi-planner setup, things have been so much smoother. Having separate notebooks for different parts of my life keeps everything clearer and a lot more manageable.

Because this system has worked so well for me over the past few years, I’m continuing with the same approach for 2026. A multi-planner setup feels organized without being overwhelming, and it gives me the flexibility I need. Each notebook has its own job, and that makes planning feel simple instead of stressful.

System Techo: My Reference and Idea Hub

In 2025, my System Techo was my main planner. But for 2026, I’m shifting all scheduling and personal planning out of it. Instead, I’m turning it into a long-term reference binder—something that stores information I want to keep, but don’t need to check daily.

A few of the main things I’m keeping inside are:

Plant Log

Watering schedules, new leaves, repotting notes, and stress symptoms. I don’t need daily entries here—just a place to track changes over time.

Decluttering & House-Cleaning Plan

Rotation cleaning, deep-clean tasks, small home maintenance things… this section is honestly my favorite part of the System Techo. It’s so flexible that updating these lists feels easy, and nothing ever feels “out of place.” I love that I can keep adding and adjusting things as the year goes on.

Health Information

This is different from daily symptom tracking. I’m talking about vaccination dates, medication history, doctor notes, or anything I might want to look back on later.

Spending Log for Impulse Control

This one works surprisingly well for me. I record things I wanted to buy, whether I still want them later, and what I regretted. Looking through this helps me understand my patterns and avoid repeating the same mistakes.

Wishlist

Sometimes writing an item down is enough to stop me from buying it. If something stays on the list for months, I know I’m actually interested.

Skincare Notes

Products I’ve tried, which ones worked, which ones irritated my skin, and which ones I’m curious about. Having it all in one place helps me avoid buying random products.

Techo & Stationery Ideas

DIY projects, inserts I want to make, materials I want to try—this type of content works perfectly in the System Techo because I don’t have to worry about structure.

Craft Brainstorming

Knitting ideas, sewing plans, brainstorming for future DIYs… this notebook acts like a creative sandbox.

KIUKIU Ideas

Blog features, digital product planning, or small business ideas. Again, these ideas don’t need dates—they just need a steady home where they won’t get lost.

The System Techo becomes a calm space for anything long-term and non-urgent. It’s not flashy, but it’s essential.

Hobonichi Weeks 1: Personal Health & Life Planner

This is the planner I’ll use the most next year. My main focus for 2026 is health—not just occasional tracking, but a consistent routine that helps me understand what’s going on with my body.

Daily Health Tracking

I’ll be using it for things like headaches, sleep, energy levels, PMS symptoms, hydration, and neck pain. It’s a lot, but Hobonichi’s layout makes it easy to keep up with because everything has a place. Being able to look back and see patterns is something I really want to do.

Meal Planning

I’m trying to reduce flour, which means cooking at home more. Planning meals ahead helps so much. Even writing down a quick weekly outline makes my evenings less stressful. I’m hoping this becomes a habit I actually stick with.

Household Planning

Cleaning routines, small maintenance tasks, monthly bills, and home-related reminders will all live here. I like having my whole household schedule in one tidy place.

Personal Schedule

Appointments, daycare events, and my general week-to-week flow will all go here. I want one clear location for any time-sensitive things, and Hobonichi is the perfect fit for that.

Hobonichi Weeks 1 will basically be the “foundation” of my everyday life in 2026.

Hobonichi Weeks 2: Creative Growth & Project Notebook

This Weeks is where I want things to feel a little more structured compared to last year. Most of my long-term ideas and non-urgent plans have always lived in my System Techo, but everything gets mixed together and I end up juggling too many things at once. For 2026, I want a clearer flow—brainstorming in the System Techo, and actual planning and execution in the Weeks.

KIUKIU

KIUKIU is the main focus of this notebook. I’ve always had a lot of ideas floating around—new features for the blog, product ideas, small things I want to try—but managing all of it inside one flexible binder made it easy to lose track. Projects overlapped, timelines got blurry, and some ideas just disappeared under newer ones.

In 2026, I want to schedule things more realistically and follow through better. Hobonichi Weeks gives me enough structure to plan timelines and break bigger tasks into smaller steps, which is exactly what I need. I’ll still brainstorm freely in my System Techo, but the Weeks is where those ideas will finally become actual plans.

Tracking a Personal Goal

I also have one personal goal I want to focus on throughout 2026. When I studied for the JLPT, I used a separate Hobonichi just for Japanese, and that experience was surprisingly fun. Watching the pages fill up with progress made everything feel more motivating, and I’ve missed that sense of momentum.

I want to bring that feeling back.

So just like the JLPT days, I’ll use part of this Weeks to track that personal goal step by step. I’m not ready to share the details yet, but once the plan becomes clearer, I’d love to introduce it on the blog as well. For now, I just want a place where I can build steady progress without rushing.

So I’ll probably split the weekly view in half—one side for kiukiu projects, and the other for that personal goal. I want to build both steadily over the year without losing track like before. Weeks has the right amount of structure to keep me accountable without feeling heavy.

Midori 5-Year Diary

This is the notebook I write in every day—just two or three lines. And that’s why it works. The space is tiny, so I never feel pressure to write more than I want. It’s peaceful, simple, and easy to maintain. Reading old entries stacked on the same page later is always such a nice moment.

Midori 1 Day 1 Page

People often feel stressed about filling a daily notebook in one year, especially a 1 Day 1 Page diary. But I’ve never used it that way, and I don’t plan to. I’ll be continuing this one for 2026 and probably 2027 too. I even made a cover for it because I knew I’d be using it for a long time and wanted something I’d enjoy picking up year after year.

I ignore the monthly pages entirely. I doodle, draw, take notes, or use them however I want. The daily pages become a slow journal that grows over several years. Since it’s not tied to a specific year, I never feel rushed.

Midori MD Note A6: Childcare Journal

My childcare journal stays the same. I don’t write every day, but I like recording little memories or milestones whenever they come up. It’s a calm, ongoing notebook that doesn’t need any strict structure, and I plan to keep adding to it at a slow, natural pace.

Traveler’s Notebook Regular Size

I’m keeping this one exactly as it is because the setup still works really well for me. The regular size has just the right amount of space, and it’s the notebook I reach for when I want something more hands-on.

I’m carrying three inserts again:

1. Reading journal — one of the few journals I actually keep up with consistently. I jot down short impressions, quotes I liked, and anything I want to remember from the books I read. It’s simple, but it’s become a nice record of what I’ve enjoyed each year.
2. Craft journal — this one isn’t for brainstorming; all the ideas, sketches, and planning still happen in my System Techo. The craft journal is more like a “final record” where I write down the step-by-step process after finishing a project. I also note down my personal tips, adjustments, or things I’d change next time. It’s basically my reference book for future me, so when I make something similar again, I don’t forget the details.
3. Gacha strip collection — purely for fun. I like having a place just for things that make me happy, and the regular size works perfectly for that.

Traveler’s Notebooks always feel open and inviting. I like having each insert dedicated to one clear purpose, and this setup makes it easy to flip back through and revisit things when I need them.

Traveler’s Notebook Passport Size

I’m keeping the same setup for my passport-size Traveler’s Notebooks. I use the blue one as a sticker binder and the olive one as a washi binder. The passport size works perfectly for this—small, easy to flip through, and fun to fill little by little.

Whenever I get new stickers, they go straight into the blue binder, and any washi samples I want to keep go into the olive one. They’re not part of my planning system, but they’re my go-to notebooks when I want quick inspiration or just want to look at something that makes me happy. Watching both binders slowly fill up has become one of my favorite parts of using Traveler’s Notebooks.

Keeping Everything Manageable

Having multiple notebooks sounds overwhelming, but it’s actually easier for me this way. I use each one only for its purpose and never force daily writing. The only true daily book is the 5-Year Diary.

Here’s how I keep things manageable:

• Each notebook has one clear job
• No duplicated information
• Zero pressure to fill pages
• Used only when needed
• Long-term notebooks can last 2–3 years (or more)

This makes my planner system feel light instead of heavy.

Final Thoughts

My 2026 lineup is really about keeping things clear, steady, and manageable. Hobonichi gives me the structure I need for health and daily routines. System Techo keeps my long-term logs organized. Midori holds memories I want to keep. And Traveler’s Notebooks help me stay inspired creatively.

Setting up planners for the new year always gives me a sense of excitement, and this year’s lineup feels just right for where I am. I’m ready to step into 2026 with a system that supports my life—not one that overwhelms it.