A Hobonichi Weeks is a Japanese planner with Tomoe River paper, a vertical weekly spread, monthly calendars, memo pages in the back, and a cult of people who treat it like an altar. It costs around $300 by the time you add the cover and accessories. There’s no good reason for that except it’s the right object.
My best friend gave me my first one. I lost it. I looked for it for months. I found it. I’ve been faithful to the Weeks format ever since — not because I’m a planner person (I am very much not) but because this specific paper, this specific grid, and this specific community have made somewhere I can actually think about my own life.
I took bookmaking in college. That part of me has been patient for years, waiting for somewhere to go. Hobonichi is the answer. I bind little zines inside the cover. I print with my own printer. I cut stickers on my Cricut. I stamp. I tape. I collage. I keep a box of "good trash" — receipts, ticket stubs, fortune cookie slips, Post-its with one good sentence on them. They end up in the spreads.
