Sterling Ink Planner Check-In

First of all, when I pre-ordered my Sterling Ink Weeks-sized planner, the one with 369 blank pages in the back, I was quite excited. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. I already had two different Hobonichi Weeks planners that I was using for different purposes. The Weeks size was perfect for me. I could not wait to receive my Sterling Ink dated planner.

By the time my Sterling Ink planner arrived (that same year, yes) I had already STOPPED using both of my Hobonichi Weeks planners and I had been planner hopping for months, trying to figure out what I liked, what I wanted, what I needed…

The only thing I knew for certain was a Weeks planner would NOT be useful for me.

Then I found more of an art journal-style of planning, not necessarily Bullet Journaling, but enough of both the art, the planning, and the inspiration that I was finding I needed for the year. I also discovered that an A5 size had become a bit too small and too constricting for what I had in mind, although as I have a stash of very nice A5 Bullet Journal notebooks, a couple of my current notebooks are in the A5 size.

My main notebooks, however, are now B5 size. I have found that doing what I do now is better suited to a B5—unlike what I tried a few (a couple?) years ago.

But then, my B5 Ottergami publishing tracking/scheduling notebook turned out to be … more of a pain to use than necessary. I needed something that could help me track my publishing schedule better, as well as help me track other things.

Oh, out came the Sterling Ink weeks…and now I am happily using both the weekly spreads and the monthly spreads.

Firstly, on the weekly spreads, for each day I track my sleep schedule, the temperature and the weather, and my word count for the day.

On the other side of the weekly spread, on that right-side blank page, I write out the most important tasks I want to accomplish that week.

It is on the monthly spreads that I track holidays, the Moon cycle, birthdays, and so forth. I figured if I were using the Weeks, I might as well use as much of it as I can. But then, I started to track my publishing schedule.

I am still trying to find the best way for me to do this.

Right now, I have three different color dots that I use to mark what day what gets published where.

I have a color for blog prompts. I have a color for blog posts. I have a color for Medium posts. I haven’t published or scheduled anything to publish on any other platform as yet. If I did, they too would get their own dot.

I have a little key on the side of the monthly spread.

I wasn’t even certain I would touch all those back pages, but in the end, I did.

I keep lists of prompts from various sources.

Grimoire52 2024 (lagreenwitch on Instagram)

Junk Journal January (Meg Journals on YouTube)

A Year Of Planning 2024 with Jashii Corrin (Jashii is on YouTube)

As Above, So Below (fern.and.oak.art on Instagram)

This way, I can dip into these prompts when I want and need to without have to fuss and fight with myself to figure out where I have put them to keep them safe. They are all right here in the back of this planner, no worries.

I have very little decoration throughout as yet. A little washi tape on the weeklies. Maybe a sticker instead.

On the monthly spreads, a little bit of washi tape.

I haven’t actually filled out anything else in the front of the planner yet. No quarterly planning or anything. I have all of that elsewhere, so I am not certain I will bother with that or not.

I will say, I do prefer this planner to the Hobonichi Weeks, for one very specific reason: there is so little wasted space.

There are no extra superfluous pages, no illustrations, no quotes, no clutter all over the pages. I have no need to find washi or stickers or anything else to cover up text or whatever that I don’t want or need on the page.

At this moment, there is no way I can say that I will definitely buy another Sterling Ink planner for 2025. All I can say at the moment is, well, maybe.

Last year at this time, I would have sworn I would never be swayed away from the Hobonichi, Weeks or Cousin.

How is your planning journey going so far this year?