(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Bluesky. And her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)
Plans are like goldfish, they grow to fill the space you provide for them. This past year, I switched from a Hobonichi Weeks into a Hobonichi Cousin because I felt I needed more space for more and bigger plans. But that was too many plans. I need to return to a smaller planner and make a rule that when I'm out of space, I'm not allowed to add anything else to my day. With that in mind, I'm looking for teeny tiny planners. When I saw the Laconic Pocket Log Diary, I felt I needed to give it a try.
This pocket-sized diary is the same size as a passport (though much thicker), so it fits in small bags, and only allows for so many plans. It is a six-month diary, so it won't last the whole year, but who knows what our plans will be like six months from now, anyhow? These days, 12-month planning feels like hubris. The diary has a vinyl cover that is removable, and the insert is a soft cardstock-covered notebook.
The first section has a spread for six monthly themes to be described--perfect if you have a specific goal or focus for your months. Then there are six spreads of undated monthly calendars. The days columns are labeled with a Monday start. There is also a wee column for a memo. Each date square is only about 1.5 cm, which is just enough space for one work shift, one appointment, and one event. Which is PLENTY. Then there are the six months' worth of daily log pages.
Each daily log page has room to write in the date, circle a day of the week, circle the weather and record the temperature, a place to record something else related to health or fitness, a meal planning section, and then a to-do list with handy checkboxes. It's part planner, part diary, part logbook, and it will make a nice keepsake for reflecting back on the past months.
Past the daily pages are some list pages that allow you to document up to 72 things. Books read, movies watched, etc. Then there are a few sheets of grid paper for making notes. The final page has room for handy personal information. There is also a nice note on the back page assuring that the paper is made from properly managed sustainable forests, which was neat to see. There are also two ribbon bookmarks, so you can keep your month and day marked.
The paper inside this diary is very nice. It's smooth and a soothing cream color. It feels and looks much like Tomoe River Paper, but it isn't. While the paper provides a great writing experience, it doesn't work well with liquid inks. Rollerball, Sharpie, marker, and fountain pen all had some bleeding issues. Gel pens, ballpoints, and pencil worked great. With writing spaces this tiny, I'd likely be using a very fine point gel pen anyway, so it's not an issue for me, personally, but if you stick to fountain pens exclusively, this one would be a pass.
The Laconic Pocket Log Diary comes with covers in eight different colors, and it sells for $18.50. That feels a bit steep for a pocket-sized six-month diary, especially considering that the Laconic A5 notebooks are only $6 — though those do have fewer pages and no slipcover. While the price is a bit more than I would have expected, it's definitely a handy little book. I don't know if it will become my plan-minimizing planner next year, though. I frequently have to plan more than six months in advance for things--in fact I have quite a few big plans already that happen beyond the scope of this book. But I do like the daily log feature a lot. I think it would make a better diary than planner, for me. But if you're also seeking to reign in your plans and don't need a whole year at once, this one is worth looking into.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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