Notebooks I'm using this 2026

from planning, to journaling, and everything in between

Welcome to Documented!

In this post, I’m sharing my 2026 planners & journals.

These notebooks will carry me through the year, whether that’s writing about my plans for the week, drawing my design drafts, or recording my daily musings. Keep reading to know more.

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Happy new year!

I’m writing to you with a cup of coffee on hand, sitting on my couch beside Gingy (yes, I have a plushie of the Shrek character), staying warm in this wintry start to 2026. The days have been slow, and I’ve been learning to feel less guilty about moving intentionally through the first week of the year. After all, how do you get things done in this weather? I’m considering this an invitation to take my time.

Before we get to my notebooks, some thoughts:

1. Personally, I’m not a fan of the “analog” buzzword. I’ve been seeing it everywhere on social media, and you might have noticed me restacking some notes around the topic (here’s something Caro wrote that resonated). It often feels condescending, especially considering we’re having these conversations on digital platforms. At the very least, I think it’s worth being mindful of how we spend our time, and how we choose to use the tools available to us.

2. I cannot, for the life of me, get myself to use the term “ecosystem”. Sorry (not sorry). It simply does not encompass how I feel about using my tools to plan and document my life.

Here’s a rundown of everything I’m using this year, and at the end of this post, a video to show you more in detail.

I am my own boss, so it’s no surprise that I care a lot about how I plan and organize my life. In this digital focused world (and don’t get me wrong, I use my Google Calendar religiously for my meetings) I still have notebooks open on my desk for referencing ideas, writing notes, and tracking my schedule.

Main planner: TRAVELER’s notebook (Regular Size)

I’ve been using a JIYU planner since last summer, and decided to continue as it’s flexible enough for my planning needs. I added a TRAVELER’s notebook monthly insert for travel plans, appointments, and deadlines.

Big picture plans: Leuchtturm1917 Classic Notebook (A5)

For the second year in a row, I use my Leuchtturm1917 notebook as the book, aka where I plan a lot of what my year looks like. I’ve started to set a monthly meeting with myself to write out my intentions and plans, and use it as reference to schedule my days accordingly.

Occasionally, this is also where I jot down meeting notes (especially for regular check-ins with my manager, editor, and people I work with) so I can use it as a guide to decide on my projects.

I’m sorry, it sounds really boring, but yes, I write all of these things and don’t encode them on my computer.

This category is the most consistent one (aka I never changed it) for years, except for a little fun addition this year…

Everyday journaling: Hobonichi Techo Original (A6)

Third year in a row and counting!

There’s a fairly simple reason why I keep going back to this particular dated notebook—it’s compact, easy to fill in, and has a pleasant design layout that allows me to focus on what I want to write about every day (which usually is what I ate, what I did, who I spent time with).

This year, I’m using a lovely Butterscotch cover that, in my opinion, screams autumn and Abbey. I share a lot of tips and ideas on this particular journal on my YouTube channel.

Monthly memory-keeping: analogue keeper Monthly Diary Planner (approx. B6 slim)

RJ of Pinky Elephant sent me a package over the holidays and it included this monthly planner from analogue keeper. I had never heard of this brand up until I did a quick Google upon receiving this.

Since I don’t use the monthly view of my Hobonichi Techo (I find it too small), I figured this would be a fun addition to track some of my activities, hone in on non-work endeavours, and log my media consumption without having a dedicated notebook for it. There’s also a big chunk of focus pages on the second half of the book, so that’ll be interesting—maybe for overflow? Extra notes? Who knows!

Travel journaling: TRAVELER’s notebook (Regular & Passport Size)

This has always been a mainstay in my travel journaling system since 2017, and still is in the rotation, of course. As I’ve shared in a previous post, I love how this format fuels my journaling practice. Depending on my trips this year (which will be far less than my usual, big sigh of relief), I’ll be switching between the Regular and Passport sizes to accommodate my needs.

My foolproof combination has always been any of my brown covers with an MD Paper Cream insert.

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My Skillshare class, Everyday Journaling: 5 Creative Ways to Document Your Life, is all about building a journaling habit and capturing life’s little moments. If you’ve ever wanted to try journaling or need some fresh ideas, I think you’ll enjoy it.

Here’s a free trial link to the class 👩🏻‍🏫

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As I hope to share more project debriefs in future posts, here are my daily drivers to get my ideas going when I’m in designer/creator mode.

Project drafts: Blackwing Slate Notebook (A5)

Every time I’m tasked to come up with designs or plan my monthly mail, I’ll take out my Blackwing Slate Notebook and get drawing.

I call this my drawing book—and sure, it can be so easy to combine this with my other notebooks, but since I come from a lettering background (in which I had dedicated drawing books for as well), I like to have a separate hub for my drafts and when I’m deep in drawing mode. My favorite feature is the pencil holster on the side—such a genius addition!

Director’s notebook: Field Notes (Pocket Size)

I wear my director hat when I’m knee deep working on a YouTube video, or a series of Instagram Reels. After all, I get to conceptualize, produce, edit (a split job between me and my editor) and publish videos for my social media platforms as part of my job.

I will forever vouch for Field Notes pocket notebooks because they’re so easy to bring around and write on. You can never go wrong with the Original Kraft set, but for this year, I’m using their 1943 Edition—a “Two-Way” Memo Book format.

Here’s what you’ll find inside my Field Notes:

• shot lists (i.e. overhead, talking head, b-roll, etc.)

• comments and notes on videos

• thumbnail sketches

• idea dumps (that I will later revisit)

Having an adulting category is so Capricorn coded, but I’m not as strict with how these will turn out. After all, the PLOTTER ring system allows for more flexibility.

Thirties diaries: Leuchtturm1917 Classic Notebook (A6)

Entering my thirties has been very transformative so far, and as I turn thirty three in a couple of days (!), I wanted to have a space to write my reflections on every year in my thirties. I bought this on a whim while browsing in Dussmann, and I do love a good softcover Leuchtturm notebook (in this cute size).

Inside this diary is a hodgepodge of monthly recaps, travel notes, ratings of people in my life (yes, that includes friends, people I’ve met that year, etc.), learnings, and everything I’d love future Abbey to read and look back on. The notes inside are more of nuggets of wisdom and inspiration, compared to my daily journal which is more of a record of my days.

Everyday carry: PLOTTER (Narrow Size)

Adding this to my lineup was not part of my BINGO card, but alas, here we are. Heavily influenced by the PLOTTER pros April and Job, I decided to take out my PLOTTER Narrow (which the PLOTTER USA team kindly gifted to me!) and repurpose it for my everyday carry this year.

The EDC term is thrown around in many different ways, but I’d like to think of mine as a second brain. I have a bad habit of typing no context words or phrases in my Notes app (the kind that makes me go “what did this mean?” once I revisit them) so I decided to house everything in this ring system.

Since I can add and remove pages as I go, it’ll be super flexible and hopefully a more streamlined way of managing my life outside of work. I also noticed that I needed a place to plan apartment-related tasks that don’t necessarily fit in my work planner (i.e. dimensions of my flat and other technical stuff) so they will all be in my PLOTTER.

Additionally, I’d love to have a place to write my purchases, my wishlist, and other things looming in my mind that don’t seem to have a place on my Notes app or Notion.

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For a closer look at each journal, I’ve linked a video below so you can see the pages, formats, and how I plan to use them throughout 2026.

Which notebooks are in your lineup this year?

Of course, if you’re using only one, or five, or ten—it’s entirely up to you! I hope they serve you well this year. I’d love to know what intentions you’ve set for your tools and how you’re using them this 2026.

💛 Abbey

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A quick note: For January’s monthly mail, I designed a fun BINGO sheet and punch card to kickstart your journaling habit. Slots are still open, and you can find more details here to join my journal club 📮