I consider myself a kind of expert on giving up. My list of abandoned hobbies and half-attempted goals is long. This week’s episode is a philosophical one, looking at choices and agency in our lives and what we give up in order to live our best lives. If you think about life as a series of focused decisions, then who knows where an unfocused life will lead? This is where planners come in.
My newest hyperfixation is the Hobonichi Techo, a Japanese daily planner notebook that debuted in 2001. Since then, it’s gained quite a cult following. Hobonichi fans use it for everything: tracking daily schedules, meal prepping, journaling, scrapbooking, to-do lists. You can personalize and decorate the planner however you like, and at the end of the year you are left with a record of your life, all inked and covered in cute stickers.
After spending a good chunk of change on my Hobonichi and stationery supplies, I’ve been able to complete a total of… three entries. As someone with ADHD, I’ve given up on many journals and planners in the past. There’s nothing sadder than a stack of partially used notebooks, filled with all that’s unfulfilled. I’m trying not to give up on my Hobonichi though. If anything, not using my planner has taught me that there is much more for me to give up if I want to make space for all the big ideas and plans I have in my head. Instead of being an expert on giving up, I’m going to be an expert on trying.
– Angelo