A Mini Techo Kaigi, and Plotter A5 Setup Thoughts

It’s the end of the year, and my favorite bloggers have been publishing Techo Kaigi posts for months now. Techo Kaigi is a Japanese term which refers to a “notebook/planner meeting,” often with oneself, to evaluate how well one’s notebook and planner setup is working, and to plan for the coming year. It’s a term that has become popular in the planner community. I’ve debated posting my own Techo Kaigi essay. But, I told myself, what’s the point? My system is rather minimal, with not a lot of variety.

I’ve had this post in my drafts for a few weeks, and in the end I decided publish it. Maybe my minimal Techo Kaigi will be useful to someone, or provide some variety during the Season of Inkvent Posts :)

Working in a coffeeshop on a gloomy, freezing December morning with my analog tools. Featuring the new to me Montegrappa Micra I got from Brad. It’s really bright. And has a cursive italic nib.

Journal and Planner duo

I organize my life in two notebooks: journal and planner. The journal keeps my thoughts, often stream of consciousness style; the planner helps me to organize by month, semester, and project. I also keep my daily tasks in my Plotter, but my actual schedule is digital. Other parts of my organization are digital as well - for example, I use Evernote for detailed research notes.

In 2023, I was doing great with my A6 journal (date-free Hobonichi insert in my Orange Leatherworks A6 cover), and my Plotter Bible. I was determined to keep going. However, in 2024, my Bible Plotter felt too small - especially as I wrapped up my sabbatical and returned to balancing teaching, research, service, and creative work. So I acquired a Plotter A5 in May, and have been using it daily ever since. I plan to keep going with this setup in 2025.

My Orange Leatherworks cover continues to serve as my journal cover. It’s more patinated this year than it was in 2023, when it was new. I’ve waxed it with a bit of Brillo this year. It smells good, and is showing signs of life. I’ve used three Hobonich day-free inserts this year: Jan-Apr, May-Aug, and September-current, which will hopefully take me to the end of 2024. Then I’ll begin again.

Hobonichi blank insert in the Orange Leatherworks A6, with a newcomer to the Gathering, Montegrappa Micra :)

The A5 Plotter cover in Liscio Wine got patinated rather quickly. I am a bit ambivalent about this - maybe it would have been better to get this cover in Pueblo. But the Plotter A5 is doing wonderfully in terms of function. I also waxed this cover with some Brillo. I also waxed my Galen Leather Magnum Opus while I was at it. Taking care of my things feels good.

A stack of journals and covers for my Techo Kaigi - only two are in active use. With Menagerie friends Dave (orange cat) and beadcat; as well as the grumpy beadcat on my Tokyo Travelers cover.

On Hold

Plotter Bible in Black Pueblo. I love the Black Pueblo, but the Bible ended up being a bit too small. I’ve been pondering using the Bible for something else in 2025, but nothing came to mind yet. I’m keeping it in reserve - I might come back to this format in a year or two.

My Travelers covers - I have two. One is the older brown suede one which I’ve been using for ink testing and ink creature doodles. I was planning to transfer my Travelers putterings to my new Tokyo cover, and I even rehomed the grumpy cat (who was Not Happy). The cat was correct. I’m not (yet) using the Tokyo and it’s not the right cover for the cat. I’m planning to transfer him back to the suede and will keep using it as the ink test/doodles playground. The Tokyo is going to have to wait until inspiration strikes.

So that’s my Techo Kaigi, folks. Not very long, maybe not very exciting. If that’s relatable to some of you, I am glad! Some of us are more maximalist than others when it comes to planners and notebooks, but at the end of the day, a setup needs to work for you, and what works for you is beautiful.

Plotter A5 setup thoughts.

Some things that go into my Plotter A5 this year:

Sticker Insert. I am a sticker fiend. Things are more happy for me with stickers. Stickii plastic sticker insert fits my Plotter A5! I carry a small selection of bird, creature, and tea-themed stickers with me to decorate both my journal and my planner pages.

I carry some cool stickers in a sticker insert. :)

Current Notes (2-3 lined pages). A few pages for Current Notes, which are usually related to meetings. For each meeting I note the meeting title, date, and if I can write fast enough, participants. Later I file Current Notes in my archival binder, or in a relevant Project Manager in the Plotter itself.

Daily to-Do (blue quadrant page). This is a blue quadrant grid layout with my dailies. Sometimes I mix a quadrant of daily tasks with a quadrant of notes. I’ve gotten used to the blue color and the format is useful.

I don’t use a monthly/weekly schedule insert - these are managed in my digital calendar.

Daily pages on a blue quadrant grid in my Plotter. With Kilk Yggdrasil.

Ink Palette (1 chart grid page). In September, I switched to doing my monthly ink palette in my Plotter A5. It works very nicely and I’m going to continue.

To-do lists Project Manager folder (PM), containing:

Monthly to-do list

Semester to-do list

Workflows - these are special to-do lists, like the one related to my son’s disability accommodations.

Teaching PM - notes and lesson plans

Personal Projects PM - contains health trackers and notes, career development lists, etc. I am also considering adding a list tracking murder mystery shows I watch. :) Maybe I will do this during the break.

Dividers are a very useful feature in my Plotter A5, allowing me to separate different parts of the organizer. This one comes before the writing parts in my plotter. I use snail stickers to remind myself that it’s good to work at my own pace. The snail ship is one of my favorite stickers in existence and it represents my research. The Embroidered Worlds sticker came with my contributor copy of Embroidered Worlds: Fantastic Fiction from Ukraine and the Diaspora. I love it.

What’s in my Writing 2024 divider:

Fiction Project Manager with various fiction workflows

List of articles and abstracts submitted in 2024 (chart grid)

List of article ideas and drafts in progress (chart grid)

List of journals for various subfields I am exploring (chart grid)

Project Manager folders for individual academic projects I am working on

A chart grid page with my journal list in disability studies. With the alabaster rabbit friend, and my Aurora Internazionale and Conid Tiger.

That’s it. The Plotter A5 works well for my needs. I want to add a motivational page in the front of the journal, and maybe longer-term goals/intentions, in 2025.

In terms of my digital organization, I am now in the process of switching to Obsidian from Evernote. It’s a learning curve, but so far it’s working well. I’m a fan of a hybrid approach.