2018 diary

13 Dec 2018 by Marcia Francois Leave a Comment

My favourite things about my 2018 diary

As I transition into the new year… and my new diary for 2019, I thought that I’d take a few minutes to note down and review my favourite things about my current diary.

Colour. I love the turquoise colour with the gold foil lettering and embossed feel. The pages are white with grey and turquoise shadowing.

Feel. It is gorgeous to the touch.

Zipper. I carried my bullet journal and other bits and bobs inside, and because it zips up, nothing has ever fallen out.

Paper. The paper is thick, smooth to the touch and is lined with a width that is perfect for my size handwriting.

Month at a glance page with a separate goals page

Weekly planner. It is horizontal which is possibly the only thing I didn’t love at the start of using it but I have had no trouble adjusting at all.

Special sections: prayer list, priorities and notes for the week

There are more things but I don’t use the rest 🙂

They did not import the 2019 version of this diary to South Africa but a reader (hi Michelle!) let me know that she got one in Germany. If you’re lucky enough to get one of these, enjoy it.

We have had a great year together 🙂

Tell me your favourite thing about your 2018 diary.

PS if you missed it, I showed you all my diaries from 2007 in my Instagram story highlights. I’m happy to add them to the highlights again – you need to just tell me to do so in the comments.

Filed Under: Goals, I love stationery, Intentional living, Personal, Planning Tagged With: 2018 diary, diary, weekly diary

21 Nov 2018 by Marcia Francois 10 Comments

Introducing my 2019 diary

my current diary

When I started looking for a 2019 diary, I fully intended to either get my current diary again, or go for a Moleskine or Legami weekly diary planner as I’ve had in previous years.

But alas, my current diary format was only available in a cover that did not feel very smooth to touch. I’m a very tactile person and I like a diary that feels good to touch, or at least doesn’t irritate me.

I’d just about eliminated everything and was ready to order my Moleskine online as I didn’t see any Legami diaries in store when something quite serendipitous happened.

Typo had a sale and I had a voucher!

I’d not been intending to buy a Typo diary because the standard weekly diaries have no lines (I need lines!) but when I went into the store, I saw 5 weekly diaries left (2 different covers) at 50% off, and my decision was made.

They were not my first choice but as I mentioned before, they did have my non-negotiables:

pretty cover that is lovely to touch
weekly format – horizontal preferably
lines and big enough for my handwriting
month to view with notes paper

And since I’m such a practical person, I couldn’t justify spending double that on another diary when this would work perfectly well.

Interestingly, once I brought my diary home, I now love it and can’t wait to start using it 🙂 It’s actually a 2018-2019 diary so I could technically start using it right now. If you’re curious, I’ll use the extra pages in the front for my bullet journal lists.

Here are some photos if you’d like to see inside:

Do you have your 2019 diary yet? And have you declared and scheduled your planning day?

Filed Under: 31 days of enough time, Four Tendencies, Goals, I love stationery, Intentional living, Personal, Planning Tagged With: 2018 diary, 2019 diary, diary, monthly view, weekly planner

26 Oct 2017 by Marcia Francois 12 Comments

Choosing your 2018 diary

August, as well as being my birthday month, is also the best bookshop month ever.

It’s when the new diaries start appearing.

I’m very clearly a paper-embracing gal and I love a paper diary, but I have had lots of back and forth within myself on which diary to buy for next year.

If you’re on my newsletter list (if not, sign up here), I wrote about this when I sent out the mid-month newsletter.

Here are a couple of questions that might help you decide on your 2018 diary:

Am I a J or a P on Myers Briggs?

This is a fun one to start with and I’ll tell you why. Js actually use their diaries; Ps like the idea of using a diary but they don’t. If you’re someone who stops using a diary by mid- or end-Jan, are you perhaps a P?

(take the test here)

Do I prefer the A6, A5 or A4 size?

Is your diary going to stay on a desk, in which case you can get a big, hefty one, or if you intend to carry your diary around with you, you may want to opt for a smaller size no matter how much you love the bigger one.

Do I like a daily, weekly or monthly planner?

I’ve seen very few monthly planners (literally just a month at a time with maybe a picture on the top), a fair number of weekly planners and tons of daily planners.

Is everyone really a daily planner? If you are, please tell me.

Then, the fun part, if you’re a weekly planner like I am…

Do you need it to start on a Monday or a Sunday, or does that not matter? Do you prefer a vertical or horizontal layout?

I saw a lovely Joyce Meyer daily diary with a weekly review layout just before each week starts. I was this close to getting it 🙂

Do you need space for notes in your regular planning, at the back of the diary or not at all?

Yes, yes and yes again for me (see the Legami planner above). I do know that some people don’t need note space.

Do you like a month-at-a-glance page before the month starts? Do you need a goals page?

I like to have an overview of the month, preferably in a block layout, not just lines running down the page, and of course I like a goals page.

What about other features that will make you like your diary more?

Do you like a bright diary or something that won’t stand out? Do you need a pen loop? Do you like perforation so you can mark where you are in the diary? Do you like a bookmark? Do you prefer hardcover or softcover?

Which of the options above do you definitely know you need?

So many things to think about! I could be very happy with 3 different diaries 🙂 and hopefully, I’ll be able to make my final choice soon (confession, I’ve bought one but I haven’t opened it because I’m not sure… I don’t want them to sell out though)

PS I asked my husband (high J!) and these are his diary preferences: