Summary of the 7 Planners I Used in 2025 | Real Reviews of How I Used Them for Different Purposes

2025 has flown by, and I have spent every day this year with many planners.

From the staple planner I used every day as my main hub, to sub-planners for enjoying little insights and records—.

In this post, I will introduce the planners I actually used in 2025.
I have compiled them with real feedback, including what I liked and what I didn't like about using them.

I hope this will be helpful for choosing your planner for next year.

Chapter 1 | Overview of the Planners I Used in 2025

In 2025, I used a total of 7 planners. First, I will give you a rough overview of the whole picture.

Main Hub Planner: The Foundation of My Daily Life

• Hobonichi Techo Cousin
  My main planner that supports my entire life, including daily to-dos and schedules.

Daily Records: Planners for Documenting My Day

• Jibun Techo Days
  Used to roughly jot down my daily activities and tasks.

• Jibun Techo Diary
  Used the weekly vertical layout to reflect on and record how I actually spent my day.

Feeling the Seasons: Planners That Align with My Mood

• Planner for Living Happily with the Seasons
  A planner for carefully recording the changes of the four seasons and myself. While it was very comfortable to use, I realized that the weekly left-side layout just isn't for me.

Specialized: Themed Planners for Specific Purposes

• Daigo Gantt Chart Planner
  A slim planner introduced for visualizing tasks. It's lightweight and perfect for carrying two planners.

• Planner for Balancing the Autonomic Nervous System
  A planner for writing a 3-line diary at night.

• Business Reading Planner
  A workbook-style planner for deepening my reading records.

Now, from the next chapter, I will introduce each planner one by one.

Chapter 2 | Hobonichi Techo Cousin

— The 'Mothership Planner' That Stayed by My Side for 365 Days

The Hobonichi Techo Cousin was at the center of my life in 2025.
I used its large A5-sized pages to manage everything in one place: schedules, to-dos, household accounts, and point-earning activity notes. I open it when I wake up and open it again before I go to sleep. It has naturally become a daily routine and is my 'mothership' planner.

◎ The A5 size that accommodates everything I want to write

The appeal of the Hobonichi Cousin is, above all, the spaciousness of the pages.
It gives me peace of mind knowing I can write down anything, from schedule management to quick shopping lists, social media ideas, and records of my thoughts and feelings.

◎ Weekly for household accounts, daily for to-dos and schedule management

Here is how I use it:

• Monthly pages: Point-earning activity schedule.I write down all the campaigns I've entered. I mark completed ones with a red pen and expired ones I didn't do with a black pen.

• Weekly pages: Household accounts by payment method.Credit cards, debit cards, prepaid cards, code payments, other electronic money, cash, etc. I write them down in different colors based on the payment method. For other household accounting, I use the 'Chiikawa Household Account Book 2025,' where I record by category.

• Monthly divider page:From the two books by Ai Okubo, 'Shokuyaku Shukan for a Body That Doesn't Get Tired' and 'Shokuyaku Shukan for a Mind That Doesn't Get Tired,' I write down the ingredients good to consume that month.

• Daily pages: Schedules, to-dos, and point-earning progress recorded chronologically
  Tasks, schedules, shopping lists, etc. I don't write about work like blogs or videos here.

◎ Never forgetting important appointments or point-earning deadlines

Because it has become a habit to open it every day, the Hobonichi Techo keeps track of everything, including important appointments and campaign deadlines I might otherwise forget.
Since I open it every single day, I felt reassured knowing that 'if I write it in my Hobonichi, it's safe.'

For example... this is for those who do point-earning activities, but there are things like the '20-Store Favorite Registration Campaign' held every month on Rakuten, or the 'Favorite Store Flyer Browsing Campaign' on Point Screen's recommended flyers.
I used to add them to my favorites but would often lose track of when to remove them, causing my favorites list to grow and grow.
Now, I write it as a task on the daily page for the day the points arrive, and I remove them from my favorites on that day.
With this method, I've been able to participate in many campaigns while deleting unnecessary ones as I go.

I manage all these small daily to-dos in my Hobonichi Techo.

In the next chapter, I will introduce the Jibun Techo Days, which I used as my 'planner for recording daily actions in detail.'
This one was also very unique and packed with clever features that made writing in it fun.

Chapter 3 | Jibun Techo Days

— A partner for recording and organizing "the me of the day"

In 2025, I used the Jibun Techo Days to roughly record how I spent my day and what tasks I did throughout the day. The one-page-per-day design with a vertical layout and time axis is
the perfect format for those who want to organize their daily rhythm.

◎ Weather, mood, sunrise/sunset... plenty of features to make recording fun

What I particularly liked about this planner were the

• weather icons (sunny, cloudy, rainy, etc.)

• a section to express the day's mood with face icons

• color-coded sunrise and sunset times

and other detailed entry spaces.

Sunrise and sunset times are items I definitely want in a vertical planner, but I rarely see them in other planners.
Because you can see the changes in the seasons, I also felt that my own daily rhythm and activity hours naturally became more organized.

◎ How to use: Task log + carry-over notes for the next day

My style of using it was...

• During the day: Roughly write down tasks and activity notes on the time axis

• At night: Carry over things I want to do the next day to the memo section

It was a style that worked well.
It was especially easy to use as a task log,
and it helped me reflect on daily insights, such as "I spent too much time here today" or "What I did at this time was surprisingly efficient."

◎ The list pages and opening page exercises are fun!

The monthly opening page (the right side of the photo earlier) has a space for writing that feels like a small exercise, where you can fill in things like:

• Goals for this month

• Things I want to do and things I won't do this month

• Reflections on this month

and more.

This sense of a workbook that makes you want to write naturally is the charm of the Jibun Techo.
The monthly transition became something I looked forward to.

◎ What I found disappointing: The time axis was a bit of a hindrance...

However, after using it for a year, I felt that thethick time axis in the centerwas a bit of a hindrance when I wanted to write long sentences.

While this T-shaped time axis is the biggest feature of the Jibun Techo Days...
For example, when I tried to write a bit more lengthily like a diary about "things I felt today" or "random events," I inevitably felt constrained by the layout.

This point might be a concern for those who seek "high-freedom recording."

Overall, it was aplanner that was visually enjoyable and made it natural to keep recording!
I think it is the perfect planner for those who want to organize their daily rhythm or roughly record the weather and their emotions.

In the next chapter, I will look back on theJibun Techo Diary, which is in the same Jibun Techo series. It had a different feel to it than the Days.

Chapter 4 | Jibun Techo Diary

— A quiet, watchful planner for looking back on the day with color-coding

The Jibun Techo Diary is a planner I used tolook back on my weekly schedule and actions after the fact.
As for how I used it, at the end of the day, I would record "how I actually spent the day?"
Rather than for planning, I used it as aplanner exclusively for "post-event logs".

◎ Able to get an overview with the weekly vertical format

The vertical format, which allows you to see the whole week on a two-page spread, is perfect for checking the overall balance.

• Morning: this task

• Afternoon: shopping and shooting

• Evening: video editing and SNS management, etc.

By recording what I was doing during each time slot while color-coding, it was very good to be able tovisualize the days I pushed myself too hard and the days I was in good shape.

◎ Fun with a wide variety of weather icons

An interesting part of the Jibun Techo is theabundance of weather marks(common to both Days and Diary). It includes not just sunny, cloudy, and rainy, but also icons for "snow," "thunder," and "typhoon," so there is always a weather mark that perfectly matches today's weather.
This sense of perfect fit is very comforting.

◎ The bottom memo section and the color-coded sunrise/sunset times are also appealing

Below the vertical schedule, there is a small free space where you can freely jot down things that caught your attention, realizations, or small diary-like notes.

Furthermore, the vertical section features color-coded displays for "sunrise" and "sunset" times, which was another favorite point of mine as it allowed me to align my daily life with the rhythms of nature. (Common to both Days and Diary)

◎ Points of concern: Size constraints

The only drawback was that the slim size often made the text feel cramped.
Compared to the Hobonichi Techo weekly vertical, the Jibun Techo diary has a slightly narrower width for each day. Because there are writing spaces at the top and bottom despite the narrow width, it felt even more cramped.
Also, the time axis is not uniform, so the narrow space between 4:00 AM and 6:00 AM is difficult to write in.

That said, both Days and Diary are solid choices.
Both are designed with features that make them easy to write in, and I think they are user-friendly even for planner beginners.

In the next chapter, I will introduce the "2025 Planner for Living Happily with the Seasons," which focuses on emotions, physical condition, and the joys of daily life.
This was a wonderful planner with a completely different approach.

Chapter 5 | 2025 Planner for Living Happily with the Seasons

— Feeling the seasons in daily life and gently organizing yourself

I chose this planner with the desire to "face myself while enjoying the seasons."
The product name is also memorable; the 2025 version is titled "Planner for Living Happily with the Seasons," and from the 2026 version onwards, the name has been changed to "Planner for Feeling the Seasons and Writing Down Daily Life." *It seems the atmosphere of the planner, such as the illustrations and fonts on the title pages, has also changed slightly.

Rather than being chased by daily schedules and To-Dos, this is a planner that allows you to face your planner as if you are savoring your life.

◎ A structure that links the rhythms of the four seasons with your own feelings

The greatest appeal of this planner is that the monthly and seasonal reflection and planning pages are very comprehensive.

• The seasonal title pages include a "Season List" where you can write down things you want to start, enjoy, or are curious about

• The monthly "Seasonal Mind and Body Manual" provides a trigger to predict changes in mood and physical condition and think about how to take care of yourself

• There was also a mechanism with a habit tracker that allowed you to visualize "habits for taking care of yourself"

It is a pity that I cannot show you the pages because I have written so much on every one of them.

Also, the weekly pages feature small columns about things like "seasonal foods of the week" or "seasonal activities," which were relaxing just to read.

◎ How I use it: As a "notebook for my feelings"

Since I post recipes on my blog, I chose this planner because I thought it would be a great match for recording my blog work while feeling the seasons.

At first, I recorded things on the weekly pages, but the writing space in the weekly left-hand layout was just too narrow for me....

Even so, I wrote in it at the beginning, but it became so packed with text that I couldn't read it back later.

After that, there were days when I didn't write for a while, and in the end, I used the whole thing like a free-form notebook where I would "open it when I felt like it and write down what I was thinking."

Still, the calm illustrations, gentle colors, fun weekly columns, and the paper that feels great to write on made it a pleasure to use.
I ended up using it as a memo pad, but it was very pleasant to use.

◎ The paper quality is also wonderful! A planner that makes writing fun

The paper quality is solid, and gel ink pens glide smoothly, making it a joy to write on.
It doesn't bleed easily, there is almost no show-through, and it had a texture that made the time spent with the planner itself a healing experience.

"I want to observe changes in my feelings," "I want to live in harmony with the seasons."
I highly recommend this book to anyone who feels that way.
Even though I couldn't use it properly, it's a planner that makes me want to buy it again next year.

In the next chapter, I will introduce the "Daigo Gantt Chart Planner," which specializes in Gantt charts. I introduced it for recording work, but it was a planner that led to unexpected realizations.

Chapter 6 | Daigo Gantt Chart Planner

— A thin and light, yet "record-specialized" planner that requires choosing how to use it

Among the 2025 planners, this Gantt chart planner was the simplest and lightest.
I adopted it not for schedule management, but for the purpose of getting an overview of work records, but as I actually used it, it became a planner where the "good points" and "points I couldn't fully utilize" became clearly visible.

◎ Appeal 1: A clean structure with a 1-month spread + Gantt chart

This planner has a structure of:

• Monthly block spread (for schedule management)

• Gantt chart spread (for recording)

The feature is that you can quickly get an overview of one month.

The Gantt chart has many rows, and it was
perfect for me, as I want to record things side-by-side by genre such as "video production process," "SNS posting status," "point activity management," and "visualizing housework tasks."

Furthermore, because the number of pages is kept to a minimum,it is incredibly thin and light!
The fact that it doesn't add bulk even when tucked into the cover of my main planner was a major benefit.

◎ Appeal 2: Easy to use as a sub-planner

It is suitable forgetting an overview of movements in specific genres,such as "workflow" or "habit tracking," which are easy to overlook in a main planner.

I personally bought it thinking, "I want to visualize my work records."
Initially, I used it for the purpose of checking, "How much time did I spend on which task this week?"

Instead of writing down daily to-dos in detail,using it to track only work results and progress with brief noteshelps clear your mind.

◎ However... its role overlapped with Days and Diary

The user experience was good, but
the Jibun Techo Days also comes with a habit tracker, and the Jibun Techo Diary I bought later in June also has a Gantt chart page.
I gradually began to feel that "it's difficult to use them separately"as a result.

So, because there were entry fields in two other planners, the opportunities to intentionally open this planner decreased...
In the end, I stopped using it.

It is thin, light, and allows for a focused way of using it, so
I recommend it to those who are "looking for a sub-planner" or "want to keep records specialized for Gantt charts."

I've seen people use Gantt chart planners as "itemized household account books," so that seems like an interesting way to use it too.

In the next chapter, I will introduce the "Autonomic Nervous System Balancing Planner," which served as my "mind reset time" every night. It is a somewhat unique and gentle book that also includes coloring pages and reading material.

Chapter 7 | Autonomic Nervous System Balancing Planner

— A 3-line diary to take care of yourself at the end of the day

They say that if your autonomic nervous system is balanced, most illnesses will be cured...?
The author of this planner, Dr. Hiroyuki Kobayashi, has published many books related to the autonomic nervous system.
Having read several of his books, I became interested in this planner.

This planner is designed to
vent the frustrations of the day, overwrite them with the fun things that happened that day, and finally, organize and write down what needs to be done tomorrow to execute it.

It is a planner created as a simple mind-resetting technique.

◎ The "3-line diary" style is easy to keep up with because it's simple

The basics of this planner are very simple.
So, you might even be able to try it out with your own favorite notebook without buying this one.

• The worst thing that happened today

• The best thing that happened today

• One thing I definitely want to do tomorrow

These are the three lines to fill in. Whether it was a day where you worked hard or a day that just passed by, this is a planner that helps you find closure by "writing it down."

◎ Regulating your autonomic nervous system with columns and coloring pages

This planner isn't just a diary; it is also full of reading material and mini-exercises.

• How the autonomic nervous system works and when it tends to get out of balance

• Recommended foods and habits to help regulate it

• Coloring pages (It is said that using various colors improves the overall activity of the autonomic nervous system)

◎ The downside is... it's hard to write in

Although it has the word "planner" in the name, it's more like a "book."

It doesn't open 180 degrees flat, and the paper quality is hard to call easy to write on. It was a bit rough, which I didn't like.
Because of that, I started to feel a sense of stress every time I opened the planner...
If you aren't picky about the writing experience, I think it's a very good planner.

In the next chapter, I will introduce the "Business Reading Planner" I adopted to deepen my knowledge from reading. It was a planner I struggled a bit to master, but it was a very unique book in terms of its structure.

Chapter 8 | Business Reading Planner

— A workbook for turning reading knowledge into "your own words"

I chose the "Business Reading Planner" I adopted in 2025 because I wanted to really internalize the content of the books I read! of that desire.

It is positioned more as a workbook to deepen learning
than just a planner. It is packed with features to help you turn the knowledge gained from reading into action, rather than just writing down your thoughts.

◎ A structure that helps you internalize book content in 6 steps

This planner uses the "Katz Theory" to help you acquire the skills needed in business settings through reading. It incorporates the Katz Theory into the process of "Reading → Practice → Gaining Wisdom," clarifying the skills you want to develop and enhancing your overall capabilities as a business professional. It is designed to allow for goal setting, plan adjustments, and self-management.

The "6 steps" of this planner are:

1. Know your challenges and areas for growth: 3 types of Skill checks

2. Choose the books you need: Find books using the recommended book list

3. Gather knowledge from books: Fill in the Week page

4. Put knowledge into practice: Fill in the Week page

5. Gain knowledge from practice: Fill in the Month page

6. Utilize wisdom: Fill in the Year page

It is designed to summarize content and specifically write down insights gained and things you want to actually put into practice.

It is quite an interesting feature that you start by working on the sheet where you can check the "skills you want to develop" (Step 1), and it comes with a QR code that allows you to find recommended books based on that (Step 2).

◎ "Merits" I felt after using it

• It doesn't end with just reading; it helps you organize your thoughts and stay conscious of putting things into practice

• The weekly record page has space to write down knowledge gained from reading, things to practice, and a weekly review, allowing you to engage deeply with one book

• There are also monthly review/reading plan pages and a yearly summary page, making it perfect for continuous learning

I felt that this planner is a great match for people who "want to put their reading into action."

◎ But honestly... the reason I couldn't use it well

Actually, this planner was a bit of a high hurdle for me.
I can't fit a summary of one book onto a single page. I end up using two to three weeks' worth of pages for just one book.

When I tried to force myself to summarize one book on a two-page spread, I couldn't write anything I wanted to, and I ended up not knowing what to write at all.
(The fact that my handwriting is large might be one of the reasons.)

I felt a bit stressed about not being able to write according to this planner's format.
As a result, I stopped using it halfway through...

◎ Planning to restart with a "partial use" approach from now on

That said, the structure is very good and the format is sophisticated, so
I will create a separate reading notebook and write in it to my heart's content.
And for the business reading planner, I think I'll use it for "summarizing from my reading notebook."

This way, I think I'll be able to use the monthly summary pages and the annual summary pages as well.
It's a planner I gave up on in 2025, but I think I'll try using it again next year.

I think this is a highly recommended planner for those who don't want to just finish a book and be done with it, but want to truly apply what they've learned to their own lives.

Summary | The way of using planners that suits me, revealed through "writing"

Looking back like this, I really spent 2025 with many different types of planners.

From schedule management, recording emotions, and seasonal living, to outputting my reading—
I feel that each planner supported my "daily life," which couldn't be contained in just one book, in a different way.

◎ Because the roles were clear, I was able to continue without strain

Rather than trying to "put everything into one book," "writing separately" for each purpose actually led to it being easier to continue for every planner, I think.

Even as the amount of writing increased, it didn't feel like a burden, and each planner became like a "place of my own."

◎ What I learned from what I kept and what I let go

There is a reason why the planners I kept using suited me. And the planners I let go of also had their own charm, even if they just didn't fit.

• Ease of writing (paper quality and format)

• Amount of space

• "Just right" for the content being written

• The feeling of mental clarity

When these elements are present, I feel that a planner is "easy to use."

There is no single right answer when choosing a planner, so whether it fits "who you are right now" is probably the most important thing.

◎ For 2026, I will choose loosely, focusing on the things I want to continue.

I have already finished choosing my planners for 2026, but next year, I hope to use a "loose approach to planner usage" where I start with a planner I know I can rely on, and then add one more, and another, as needed.
I hope to use a "loose approach to planner usage" where I start with a planner I know I can rely on, and then add one more, and another, as needed.

And a year from now, I would be happy if I could have time to look back like this again.

Thank you so much for reading this far.
I hope your planner life is filled with many pleasant moments as well.

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