The next phase in my Digital Declutter is analyzing and changing my relationship with my phone.
Make it boring
I found advice on YouTube from other Digital Minimalists/ Declutterers that the quickest and easiest way to make your phone “boring” is to change the home screen icons to black and white. It is very easy to do and if you add in changing your home screen background to black you would be amazed at how uninteresting your phone becomes. If you need even more “blah” you can turn the whole interface black and white which mirrors most of the look of a LightPhone or other simplified phone. There are also launchers that can be added to remove the quick access to many apps and make your phone look “dumb”. Ryder Carroll walks through how he simplified his phone and when I found the video, I realized that it’s not just me who wants to spend less time on my phone. Other stationery folks want to break away too!
Delete the problem apps
I started by removing some apps (or rearranging them) on my phone. I removed YouTube from my phone so I would be less inclined to watch videos while I ate my lunch. I also hid a lot of apps that are time wasters (for me). It is possible on iPhone to remove apps from your home screens so they are only available in the library (the last swipe page of the home screen).
Create personal Downtime
The last step I’ve taken is trying out the ScreenTime tool on my iPhone. For years, I didn’t “think I had a problem” so I had never turned ScreenTime on. Even now, I don’t need a number to tell me I spend too much time looking at my phone. What I wanted was some of the other tools that are in the ScreenTime app including the Downtime option. What this function does is allow you to “lock” certain apps at certain times of the day. For me, I tend to spend the most time scrolling thoughtlessly in the evenings so I set my ScreenTime to block Instagram, Reddit, TikTok, etc from 7pm until 7am. I left apps that I might need access to like my language app (that’s GOOD time wasting) and Libby so I can listen to audiobooks or check out an ebook when needed.
The phone function and chat are still accessible so I can stay in touch with real people. In ScreenTime, you can even set who can reach in your Downtime so you can curate a list of close friends and family and block the non-important texts.
I can override the Downtime functions when needed but the moment of pause allows me to decide if I want access and then the window asks if I want access for a minute, 15 minutes or until the next day, allows me to decide if I need to look something up is necessary or just disruptive.
My Wrap-Up
I am definitely more aware of how much I pick up my phone now. And I like forcing myself not to scroll Instagram or Reddit in the evening. Picking up my phone is often a nervous habit and I realize that now. I will continue to keep track of how much time I spend on my phone and try to make more conscientious decisions about how I spend my time.
Are you tracking your phone/internet usage? Do you doomscroll? What are you doing to change your habits?
I thought I’d do a quick rundown today of all the notebooks I am currently using and what purposes they serve (or should serve). The goal of this post is to show the way I use a variety of notebooks. No one needs to have this many naotebooks, journals and planners but I am always curious how other people utilize multiple notebooks.
Aura Estelle 2026 Magnet Daily Planner : I wrote in a bit more detail about this in my monthly planner set-up this month. This has taken the place of my beloved Stalogy B6 and a Hobonichi Weeks which I was using to do my daily journaling and planning as well as tracking my Gamify planning. I am only a week into the Aura Estelle but I love it! It is the perfect combo of page-a-day journal writing space with the Weeks-style overview each week so I don’t need two books to keep all my info any longer. ONE BOOK TO RULE THEM ALL!
A page spread from the Aura Estelle Magnet B6 Daily Planner. I really like the title bar for writing in a overview for the day like a holiday or a mood.
The paper is Tomoe River Paper 52gsm white (New Sanzen) and is working just fine (no weird issues like in last year’s batches so maybe things at Sanzen have been straightened out). I have it in my old leather cover (purchased on Etsy from a vendor who is no longer making covers but if you’re looking for a Traveler’s-style leather cover for B6 or another unusual size, there are lots of other vendors on Etsy you could try.) I don’t keep any other notebooks in the leather cover as the full year planner takes up the majority of the space but I do keep a few sticker sheets in the back cover secretary flap and a card with washi tape in the front cover. I added a pen loop and keep at least one fountain pen with the planner/journal all the time.
How do I use this book?
I use my planner as my day-to-day tracker for activities using Austin Kleon’s logbook system to track what I did or what I’m doing (books I’m reading, films I’ve watched, people I’ve spent time with, projects I’ve been working on.) With the addition of the weekly overview calendar, I’ve added my Gamify stats to the all-in-one planner as well as the monthly calendar for travel dates, events and other reminders. This is how I remember what has happened and what I might have been thinking about at the time. I am surprised how often I refer back to previous year’s planner/journals to see when and where we did things (car repairs, weird weather, visitors, travel, media consumed, etc).
I do add stickers, washi tape, stamps and other decorative elements. It helps make it a book I like to look at and use because its pretty. It’s not necessary to decorate but for me, it breaks up the pages, feels inviting and makes me want to use it.
Pocket Notebook: Mark’s Edit B7 Semi
I am still loving using the Mark’s Edit B7 Semi as a pocket notebook. The plastic sleeve cover keeps it protected from liquids, dirt and wear and tear so I feel safe carrying around everywhere. I use it as an alternative to digital notes on my phone or immediately googling or looking something up on my phone.
It’s on my desk, my kitchen table, in my bag when I leave the house, the coffee table while we watch television and even on the night stand at bedtime.
How do I use this book?
This book is designed to help me prioritize activities on my digital devices. If I’m watching a movie and wonder about an actor, I write it in the book. If I still want to look up the actor after the film or the next day, I’ll look it up along with anything else that may have caught my interest but amazingly, most of the time, 12 hours later, it wasn’t all that important or I remembered on my own.
I also write other notes that I will later transfer to my planner/journal, commonplace or work journal. Its a catch-all. It’s messy, there’s no fancy sticker or washi. It’s just my paper brain.
The paper is fountain pen friendly but in an effort to keep it a quick, simple note taking system, I’ve paired it with a Pentel Energel or other gel pen. That way, nothing is precious and the retractable pen makes taking a quick note very low effort.
In December, I started reading all those Digital Delcuttering books and many of the books came from the library so I realized I needed a place to write notes from books I am reading, quotes or things that struck me while I was reading/watching/listening. I wanted to use a notebook that wasn’t precious to me so I dug out this Pineider “Hollywood” A5 lined notebook (90gsm, cream paper, 192pp — as far as I can tell this notebook is no longer available but its similar to a softcover Leuchtturm1917 or similar).
When I got it, it got stained with ink on the flight home. I have also generally not be a fan of lined paper in the past so I knew I wouldn’t be too precious with this book.
How do I use this book?
I keep this notebook with my ereader, library books or book I’m currently reading. I clip another gel pen to the cover so that it is ready to use when I’m reading. If I find an interesting quote, or a passage or chapter that strikes a cord with me, I write it in the notebook.
What I’ve discovered is for this sort of writing, I really like lined paper. I’m shocked. I’ve been so opposed to lined paper for so long that I am having a lined paper renaissance. It reminds me of taking notes in a high school or college course using a lined school notebook. Should I fill this up this year, I will probably find another lined notebook for this purpose.
Tarot Journal/Book of Shadows:
I have been keeping a Creeping Moon Astronomer B6 blank sketchbook for my tarot studies. I call it my Book of Shadows because I’ve added astrology information, crystals, and all sorts of other information that I like to refer back to when I do tarot readings.
How do I use this book?
When I find information online, on podcasts or YouTube, or in a book that I want to refer back to at a future time, I add it into this book. I tend to open the book randomly and add in the information so that content is not in any order, there are blank pages randomly throughout.
At the moment, there is not a lot of creative collage, art journaling or decorating but there is space to add more decoration if I want to “fancy it up”. The paper is heavy enough to add markers, fountain pens, stamps or more but I haven’t had the time to polish the book and make it feel more like the fancy Book of Shadows on Charmed.
This book stays with my tarot decks and books as that is usually when I use it.
Work Journal: Filofax Original
I resurrected my Filofax Original in black in personal size for work-related note taking. I purchased the black Original several years ago (pre-Plotter) because I wanted a simple cover. I am pretty sure I bought it secondhand on either Ebay or the Filofax group on Facebook. There are teethmarks in the bottom corner that I think one of my cats did when they were a kitten. It’s not horrrible and the wear and tear means its just a cover to use, not hoard.
Inside cover of the Filofax with the Dashboard I made at the Plotter event at Dromgoole’s last spring.
I migrated over some of the notes and ideas I had collected in my Plotter last year and am collecting them in the Filofax. I like the larger rings which will allow me to collect more project ideas but still be able to either archive them when completed or throw pages away once they become irrelevant. For day-to-day project organizing, I found the Plotter a touch too small since I am juggling projects for the web site, YouTube, Patreon, the shop, AND freelance work.
How do I use this book?
I have tabs for various project categories and add an assortment of paper for writing lists, developing project ideas and tracking freelance projects. I am trying lots of different papers from Plotter, Iroful, old Filofax papers and even sheets I printed myself. I like the variety of colored pages. Because its a ring binder, I can hole punch other sheets of paper that might have notes or ideas on it, and add them in the section I need them.
Besides the tabs and the dashboard, the Filofax is “all business” — there’s no fancy washi or stickers or decorating but that could change if I find it helps motivate or inspire me.
Conclusion:
So, there you have it. I am currently utilizing FIVE different notebooks on a regular basis. I reach for these once a daily or at least on a weekly basis. Each serves a different purpose and allows me to focus on a particular project or portion of my life.
This is more than I would want to carry if I was traveling. I would slim this down to my Aura Estelle and the Mark’s Edit B7 if I was on the road, at a pen show or out-and-about. The B7 would be the catch-all for ideas, quotes, etc that would then be transferred into other notebooks once I arrived home again.
If I was at a Pen Show, I would add a notebook for pen show pen testing, ink sampling and stamps. Does that mean I have SIX notebooks going? Oh, geez. Let me know if you want to see some of my sampling, swatching, pen show notebooks. I tend to start a new book each year but I’ve used the same over the last couple years as I don’t do as much swatching or pen testing at shows these days.
Even though five books seems like a lot, even to me, I wouldn’t necessarily want all this content all in one or two notebooks. Each book serves a different purpose and is used in different contexts.
How many notebooks and/or planners/journals are you currently using? Please share your list in the comments!
Sidenote: Today’s post was supposed to be a big color-ific post about the Van Dieman’s Dualis Multichromatic ink collection but I somehow managed to lose the swatches, samples AND my comparison ink cards. So, the post is postponed until I either find them or order more samples and redo all the swatches! Imagine if I lived in a bigger house… I’d lost everything!
In the spirit of color week, I thought I might share a little story about my favorite rainbow — a shawl I made in 2015 that featured white lace mixed with rainbow stripes. It was my constant companion when I traveled – particularly to pen shows as I was often chilly in the ballrooms and lobby areas. In San Francisco in particular, I think I wore that shawl wrapped around my neck everyday at some point to ward off the cold. This year, however, the shawl disappeared. I had it on Thursday at the opening of the pen show but by Sunday, it was gone. Did I drop it? Misplace it? Did someone take it? I do not know. I put multiple calls and emails to the hotel in hopes that it might turn up but, alas, several months have passed and it remains absent. In the interim, I found a kind soul on Ravelry who still had a few skeins of the delightful rainbow gradient yarn and was able to purchase it in an to attempt to make a replacement shawl. This week, I started the process of building a new rainbow shawl.
When I made the first one, I did not think for a second think it would become my favorite shawl. But here we are ten years later and I making a replacement for it. I guess I love color more than I though I did. All the color, all at once.
This week, thinking about and talking about color makes me realize how much I celebrate color from inks, to pens, to colored pencils, to the covers of my notebooks, accessories and ephemera. Color is such a joy and a pleasure to me and part of why I love the stationery world where I can inject a little bit of color into my day.
Do you have a favorite accessory, stationery-related or not that is your signature piece? A favorite book cover, bookmark, hat or bag? Share it in the comments.
In links, this week, I was recommended a link by one of my Patrons that aligns with my Digital Declutter project, called the Analog Life Project by Little Truths Studio. If you are looking to kickstart a less online life in 2026, check it out!
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As Ana indicated in yesterday’s post, we have thoughts about color! Or rather, thoughts on where Pantone’s lack of color has gone.
A few years ago a colleague of mine wrote an article called “Where Have All the Colors Gone?” and it got me thinking about this trend. All of a sudden I was noticing that our world was becoming significantly more beige. I’m not exactly sure the cause.
Some studies posit that in today’s world we get blasted with marketing content, tv, digital streams and more, with everything in bright colors and that using more neutral colors in decor, clothing, etc. helps us reset and calm in between. Others look to the influence of Nordic cultures and the concept of “hygge” which tends toward soft, neutral colors and a sign of coziness, particularly in winter.
In the knitting industry in particular, there has been a huge rise in garments and accessories in beige, ivory, ecru, tan – the “natural” colors. Here I think the idea is it inspires coziness and also allows the knitter to imagine themselves in the garments, even if they tailor them to their own color preferences.
Frankly, I’m so confused by it all. To me, most hobbies exist in technicolor. Sure our fountain pen experience can be in black and white (or blue and white, or blue-black and white), but there is so much color to be had in thousands of beautiful inks. Sure you can buy your Hobonichi planner in a plain black, but the covers are part of the fun right?
My 2026 Planners and Notebooks
And most hobbies have an element of color. Do you love to garden? Tons of natural color. Cook? An abundance of fresh colors in produce, spices and other elements. Photography? Studying the world through light and color. And I won’t go into all the artistic hobbies (painting, drawing, all the needle arts….).
My most recent spin (turning this into yarn!)
To bring it back to stationery, I love color. Give me all different colored pens, and all different colored inks. Even my notebooks aren’t plain!
What do you think? Do you prefer neutrals or more color? How do you think this slow bleeding of color will affect pens and inks and stationery?
We have waited long enough to talk about the uproar that has surrounded Pantone’s announcement of their Color of the Year for 2026.
For 2026, Pantone announced that Cloud Dancer is the Color of the Year which is white. We can certainly bicker as to whether Cloud Dancer is a warm white or a cool white like we are picking paint colors for our new rental apartment but the bottomline is that many saw Pantone’s choice as tone deaf for a multitude of reasons. First, the name sounds vaguely Native American which feels disrespectful to a whole culture of people who were not asked about it.
Second, in our current US cultural climate, the choice of white feels — extremely cultural white-washed. And that’s downplaying much of the language that filled my social media streams for days.
Why is this important to us in the pen community? It’s not really. To be honest, Pantone’s Color of the Year isn’t important to anyone but it was something that has, in the past, brought us joy and thoughtfulness. This year, it’s just brought anger and frustration.
For this site, Laura loves to sample and review inks that coordinate with the color chosen for the year. I often put together a Fashionable Friday inspired by the color choice too. Ink samples are out for 2026 to match the Color of the Year and I’m not very inspired to build an all-white pen and stationery suite. So….
Some Color Alternatives:
Laura and I chatted at length about color alternatives for 2026. She works in the fabric industry and recommended the Kona Cotton Fabrics Color of the Year for 2026, Wander which is bright, saturated green like moss on the forest floor.
Culture Hustle hosted a contest for folks to vote for the color of the year for 2026. Anarchic Venom was the winner and became their “color of the people”.
The international trend forecasting company WGSN and Coloro chose “Transformative Teal” which I quite prefer to white. I even put together a Fashionable Friday recently with a similar palette.
In 2026, WGSN predicts that old ideas will be challenged as people demand urgent changes to how we treat our societies, organise our industries, and cooperate with our environments.
Transformative Teal is a fluid fusion of blue and aquatic green that reflects the diversity of nature and taps into an Earth-first mindset. It represents change and redirection, and can help encourage resilience in the face of complex climate challenges.
Choose Your Own Color of the Year
I like the idea of choosing your own Color for the Year. In the same way that some people choose a word of the year, I think I will pick a color for this year. I’d like to use the color throughout the year in pens, ink, paper, clothing and even household items in hopes of creating a visual touchstone for hope, kindness and generosity. I think the Wander Green or Transformative Teal might work. What would you pick?
*All images link to their original posts on Instagram. I recommend clicking through for the full details as their are often multiple slides and lots of comments.
A few weeks ago, I started my own person Digital Detox/Digital Minimalism journey which started with reading a lot about why I should create a healthier relationship with my technology but also why it is so vitally important to my health and well-being. What I didn’t mention was the impact a lot of apps and services have on my wallet.
So, today I want to take a dive into some my digital distractions.
I have a lot of streaming media subscriptions that directly relate to the amount of content I consume. I’m going to come clean with what we were subscribing to and where we are now:
PBS $5/mo
Apple One (which includes AppleTV): $37.95/mo
Disney =$18.99/mo
Paramount $5.99 (with ads)
YouTube Premium $17.99/mo
NY Times $4/mo
Netflix: $17.99/mo
Total: over $109/month (that’s $1308 per year!)
I realized that I am spending more now than we used to have a standard cable package back in the days before we all “cut the cord”. Not great. I already cancelled our Amazon Prime subscription at the end of 2024 and we cancelled Spotify last year as well after they decided we did not constitute a family and kicked me off the family plan. Spotify said I could submit a request to be added to the family plan in a year and I said “Nope! Goodbye” and had Bob cancel the plan and we fully switched streaming music to Apple Music which we had been paying for with the Apple One suite.
After some serious heart-to-heart with Bob, we made some shifts. We downgraded out Apple One account to just iCloud backup and Apple Music and downgraded Netflix to the lowest tier plan which now includes commercials. It wasn’t a huge savings there but neither Bob nor I really used the additional apps included: Games, Fitness or News so really we just removed apps we felt like we should be using since we were paying for them. The biggest “loss” was AppleTV but we will probably swap out Netflix or Paramount at some point and swap in AppleTV for a few months.
I think trimming these apps down reduce the endless scroll that we often do looking for “what to watch” on any given evening. I get so bored scrolling on some nights, I end up just going to read a book instead because my decision had been made by what I got from the library or downloaded to my ereader. Am I the only one who get frustrated trying to find just the “right” thing to watch?
The hardest for me to give up was the YouTube Premium subscription which provided me hours and hours of ad-free content and access to the YouTube Music app. I don’t think any of the subscription services realized that those “end of year” wrap ups that show how many hours you used the service would actually be an impetus for me to cut it out of my regular content. “I watched how many hours of YouTube last year?!!?!” So, for me this was the hardest to let go but for my time and brain, probably the one I needed to use less. I will still be able to access YouTube for information and entertainment but the commercials will be enough to snap me out of the endless hours or algorithmically served content I had been consuming.
We also parted with Disney which has become more expensive. We left it with the caveat that, at any time, we can switch services in a one-in/one-out rotation.
So our new subscription list:
PBS $5/mo
Apple downgraded to Music and iCloud: $26.95/mo
Paramount $5.99 (with ads)
NY Times $4
Netflix: $8/month (with ads)
Total: $49.94/month (a little less than $600/year)
By removing and changing services we trimmed our monthly media content bill by over half. I don’t feel like we are living an austere life as a result, just a little more curated. Will we change or adjust this list over time? Most definitely.
We will still watch lots of shows and movies but maybe we rent a movie from our local library or (gasp!) go to a friend’s to watch a sporting event or series together?!?! Remember when going over to someone’s house to watch a movie or tv show was a common occurrence? I think its time to bring that back. The idea that we might watch things as a social activity or be more choosy about when and what we watch seems like an important step to reclaiming our attention instead of turning on the tv and then mindlessly scrolling on our phones.
Have you taken an inventory of the streaming services you currently subscribe to? How many do you actively use and how many are you paying for “just in case”? Have you considered paring back?
I’ve always loved the idea of keeping a multi-year diary. I’ve envied people who keep 3 and 5-year diaries. I have this romanticized fantasy of flipping through them once they’re complete and revisiting all the great memories.
Except for two things: I suck at daily challenges, and I hardly ever look back at my journals.
Exhibit A: Here are some challenges I’ve tried and failed to complete:
I’m usually good for 3-5 days, sometimes more, but once I miss 1 or 2 days, I quit. Why continue when I’ve already failed? Hello, I’m Thien-Kim, a recovering perfectionist and overachiever.
The Midori Mini 3-Year Diary is a hardcover journal and comes in a cardboard slipcase. The journal has a fabric hardcover with a debossed gate design and lettering in gold. It has a satisfying weight and feel. It’s available in a dusty lilac and light brown. I chose the former which JetPens calls blue-purple. We pen people call that blurple.
The mini measures 4.5 inches across, 6 inches long, and about 0.9 inches thick. In metric: 11.5cm x 15.2cm x 2.5cm. Here is the diary next to a Midori A6 notebook. The mini diary is slightly bigger and thicker (due to the number of pages).
The slipcover is slightly bigger than the mini diary so it fits snugly. It also has 2 bookmark ribbons in dark blue and gray.
A look inside the diary
The cream paper is Midori MD paper, the same as my A6 Midori notebook, so I knew it would be fountain pen friendly. I did some quick pen tests with some wetter nib/ink combos for you. The last page has a section for your personal information. It even has a space for your blood type.
The brown endpapers compliment the brown text inside the diary. The first page has a cute drawn-image of a key with space to note when you started and finished the diary.
There’s also a prologue page, which I’m not sure how I want to use it. There’s also a similar epilogue page at the end. Each month has its own title page with a drawing.
Each daily page is separated into three sections, one for each year. Each section is comprised of a blank space followed by three lines. You could write or draw in the blank section, if desired.
I like that I can add the exact year for each section in case I skip a year (maybe I will?) If for some reason I didn’t start the diary in 2026, I know I can use it whenever. You could also technically start this diary in any month of the year, but I like the clean start in January.
Each page has a drawing that acts as a colored index on the page edges. It’s very clever in its simplicity. There’s no extra bulk or cutouts needed.
How Should I Use It?
Now that you’ve seen what it looks like, I need your opinions. I’m not sure what I want to document for 3 consecutive years.
Here’s what I’m considering so far:
One thing that delighted me that day
Daily gratitude
Whatever the f* I feel like putting that day
Something else???
Because of my past history with daily challenges, I know what works best for me is:
A general guideline/prompt that gives me flexibility
It should be an easy lift
I can quickly backfill when I miss a few days in a row
The last bullet point is important because I have days of brain fog (thanks perimenopause and chronic illness!) and can’t always remember all the things I did two days before or even yesterday.
I’ll try to update you periodically throughout 2026 on my progress.
If you keep a multi-year diary, I’d love to hear how you’re using it. Hit me with your suggestions on how I can use mine.
I purchased the diary with a gift card and my own money.
The last step I’ve taken is trying out the ScreenTime tool on my iPhone. For years, I didn’t “think I had a problem” so I had never turned ScreenTime on. Even now, I don’t need a number to tell me I spend too much time looking at my phone. What I wanted was some of the other tools that are in the ScreenTime app including the Downtime option. What this function does is allow you to “lock” certain apps at certain times of the day. For me, I tend to spend the most time scrolling thoughtlessly in the evenings so I set my ScreenTime to block Instagram, Reddit, TikTok, etc from 7pm until 7am. I left apps that I might need access to like my language app (that’s GOOD time wasting) and Libby so I can listen to audiobooks or check out an ebook when needed.
