It’s the end of an era. At least, for now.

When I think about my bullet journaling, I can’t help but chuckle. Taking on a number of extracurricular gigs this year, it was one of the first things people asked me about, seeing as this site is one of the first things to pop up when you search for me online. Not to mention, it was all I was posting about in 2018…

…when I had a lot more free time.

That’s actually why I made the switch for 2020. Sadly, it was becoming challenging to carve out even an hour to set up spreads for the month. I tried to do plain layouts that took less than 15 minutes. I tried going layout free…but it didn’t feel like my agenda. I went digital for a few weeks in December. It was horrible; I do well writing things down because the act of writing helps me remember to do things as I am a kinetic learner.

One of the things I’ve found helpful for my mental health is having something that I put work into but can also look back on. I’m not a big journal person anymore, but I love looking at photos and remembering the stories behind them.

“But Ria, that’s what Instagram is for.”

I don’t get the same gratification because it’s just so easy and the photos feel like metadata at that point…so I needed to figure out a happy medium.

Enter the Moleskine planner

I found my 2020 planner quite by accident: on sale at Chapters. I like a good deal, and 40% off was nothing to scoff at. You can click here for the specifics. It’s a standard agenda, though it does have some nonsensical pages I’d never use…like two pages dedicated to time zones. Otherwise, the pros outweighed the cons: there are a number of blank spaces you can decorate or put trackers in. The planner itself is small and can fit into all of my everyday bags.

I spent the latter half of my vacation decorating it, which was a lot of fun! Hilariously, my sister-in-law and her fiancé gifted me stencils and washi tape. It went to good use.

Looking forward to sharing with you how the year shapes up in this planner!