Planning Engineered · Guides
Buying guides, head-to-head comparisons and setups, written from the gear I carry every day. When a guide names a product, its card links to that product's review on my Stationery Shelf.
Buying Guide
Print-your-own six-ring inserts are the ones I actually use. They go in a MeePlus SlimPad, personal size. They do not drop into a Lochby or a Traveler's Company notebook.
Reviewed on the shelf
Setup
Six months into 2026, I sat down for a techo kaigi, the Japanese planner meeting with yourself, and cut two systems that weren't earning their spot. Here's what stayed, what got cut, and why.
Reviewed on the shelf
How-To
For a long time I thought that more applications, more systems, more technology was the correct answer to solve some of these issues, but in reality it was just having the right practices, the right habits that helped me understand and process that anxiety and symptoms of ADHD that come with forgetfulness, with time blindness.
Read the guideHow-To
You're probably just like me and started one, two, three, four, five journals and have never finished them.
Read the guideSetup
A planner, a pocket notebook system, and a memory keeper for 2026.
Reviewed on the shelf
Setup
I spent years cycling through bound notebooks trying to make them fit a system that kept changing shape. A ring binder finally let the paper move instead of me.
Reviewed on the shelf
How-To
Why paper externalizes working memory, why simpler systems survive, and the analog tools that actually stuck for a working bridge engineer with ADHD and time blindness.
Read the guideHow-To
A calm, no-overwhelm setup: pick a size, build a five-insert core, run a one-page index, and add nothing until you miss it.
Read the guideHow-To
Print planner inserts at true size: the one printer setting that ruins them, the right paper weight, and how to trim and punch clean pages that fit your rings.
Read the guideHow-To
Exact dimensions for all six ring sizes, why the names make no sense, and how to pick the one you'll actually carry.
Reviewed on the shelf
Comparison
Stop picking a side. Split your tools by the job, not by loyalty: what to keep on paper, what belongs in an app, and why switching tools isn't failure.
Read the guideTested
I wrote with my fountain pens on one Field Notes page to see which ones ghost and which ones bleed through.
Reviewed on the shelf
Tested
Four papers, one test battery: feathering, bleed, ghosting, ink pop, and feel. Rhodia won outright. Tomoe River earned its reputation, and two big names came up short of the top. A living guide that grows as more papers get graded.
Reviewed on the shelf
How-To
Why fountain pen ink feathers and bleeds on some planner paper and not others, the three failure modes, and the papers and weights that hold a wet nib.
Reviewed on the shelf
Comparison
I compared a $10 full grain buffalo cover from MILITARIA STUFFS against covers from Paper Republic, Traveler's Company, and MeePlus. The buffalo cover is the toughest, but the Paper Republic still gets my pick.
Reviewed on the shelf
Comparison
Field Notes are definitely my favorite. I use different notebooks for a few different jobs.
Reviewed on the shelf
Comparison
The Paper Republic Grand Voyageur Pocket and the Traveler's Company Passport, compared on size, closure, leather, capacity and paper.
Reviewed on the shelf
Buying Guide
The Paper Republic Grand Voyageur in the pocket size is my favorite pocket notebook cover. Here is what the other six covers ended up being for.
Reviewed on the shelf
Comparison
I carried the Lochby Mini Field Journal for several months. Field Notes inside, a four-notebook system, and it worked. Then I switched to the Paper Republic Grand Voyageur in pocket size, and the reason had nothing to do with which one is better made.
Reviewed on the shelf
Comparison
After three years of Traveler's Company monthly and weekly refills, I switched to Sterling Ink N1 booklets for 2026. Here is how the two compare.
Read the guideHow-To
I switched to having just a simple pocket notebook to really process all these ideas. These are the three simple habits I use to retain what I read and watch.
Read the guideHow-To
The things that I like to do right away to pick a new notebook, and some of the things I like to set up at the beginning.
Reviewed on the shelf
How-To
Different ways that you can utilize your pocket notebook, what my setup looks like, and some of the things that you can do to improve your own setup.
Reviewed on the shelf
Buying Guide
Field Notes are my favorite pocket notebook, but the paper is not the most fountain pen friendly. The Dialog Notebook and the LOCHBY Pocket Journal are the two alternatives I would pick.
Reviewed on the shelf
Buying Guide
One notebook can't do the job. The three-tool analog carry I actually use: Field Notes, a MeePlus binder, and a Traveler's Company notebook.
Reviewed on the shelf
How-To
I've got a ton of questions about how I swapped the nib on this Traveler's Company fountain pen or one of these Kaweco nibs.
Reviewed on the shelf
Comparison
I haven't seen too many comparisons online, and these are my two daily drivers. Capped they're about the same length, but posted, the Traveler's Company pen is slightly more comfortable in the hand.
Reviewed on the shelf
Setup
I run two Conklin fountain pens in one Traveler's Company notebook for daily journaling, no app, no template. Here's why two pens beat one, and which ink goes with which.
Reviewed on the shelf
Buying Guide
I ranked every pen in my Lochby Quattro by how often I actually pick it up, not by what it cost. The most expensive one in the pouch didn't come close to the top.
Reviewed on the shelf
Buying Guide
Budget pens are something that is good to have around. If I were to pick just one pen to have a lot of the time, it would be the Zebra Sarasa Clip.
Reviewed on the shelf
How-To
The Xteink X4 Pro is a 72 gram E Ink reader that fits in a pocket, which is the one thing my Kindle does not do. Here is the article workflow I built around it, and why it is the reason the device stays with me.
Reviewed on the shelf
Setup
It's not about replacing all the digital tools with analog tools. It's finding the places where you notice some things are starting to break, and for me that was the constant switching on one screen.
Reviewed on the shelf
Setup
My journaling kit lives in an ALPAKA tech case. It's not designed for stationery, but honestly, it fits everything I need.
Reviewed on the shelf
Setup
I want to walk you through what I keep in my pen pouch as well as my extended stationery. I see some redundancies currently, and I want to make sure I fix those.
Reviewed on the shelf
Setup
Every tool in one pouch, and it still fits in a pocket. Here is exactly what is inside my daily pen case and why each piece earned its spot.
Reviewed on the shelf
Setup
A Kaweco pen tin, a little narrower and longer than an Altoids tin, holds a writing kit better. I built mine as an emergency kit for the car or a backpack, not for daily carry.
Reviewed on the shelf
Setup
When I travel, I like to travel super light, so I don't have a checked bag or any big carry-on with me.
Reviewed on the shelf
Buying Guide
A gift guide focusing on stationery and analog tools that really make my life, my personal life, a lot better.
Reviewed on the shelf
Setup
For most days I reach for the Aer Day Sling 4 Max because it is the only bag that fits my full stationery kit and an iPad Pro without turning into a brick. When the iPad stays home, a Peak Design Field Pouch does the job in half the space.
Reviewed on the shelf
Every product these guides name has a card on the Stationery Shelf, with my verdict and where to buy it.
