Writing Wednesday - 2026 Planner Lineup

Yes, it is definitely that time of the year!

Planner set-ups for the coming year.

And yes, I know there are people out there who don't have a planner, analog or digital, at all. I figure I am making up for their lack of planners. 

But for me and my brain, these are necessary. So let's break it down.

This is my budget planner. Since 2026 is going to be a really tight focus on my finances for several reasons, I am using my Budget Mom planner. If you are interested in really focusing on your finances (which I really need to do) and you have multiple pay days during the month, this is the planner for you.

These are my garden journals. The one of the left is where I am recording what I do in my own garden. A composition notebook, nothing fancy. The notebook on the right is where I am getting track of my programs and responsibilities with Extension Master Gardeners. I have 4 programs I am leading during the year, so it will contain my research and notes for those programs as I create them.

These are my 5-year planner and my morning pages notebook. Every morning I get up, let the dogs out, make my coffee and do a bit of journaling/writing. Technically, I am supposed to write 3 pages per Julia Cameron and The Artist Way.  I am excited because I will fill out this notebook by the end of December and get to start a new notebook on January 1. The 5-year planner is from Hobonichi (and Savvy got one last year for Christmas). This is my second one and I am finishing up the third year in this journal. 

Then there is my daily tarot card draws. This year I am going to use a Hobonichi Techo (A6) to record my draws and do a bit of journaling. The Seasons of the Witch planner has various prompts and layouts which I will use in tandem with my other planner. In fact, I would love to get all the card packs. The artwork, if nothing else, is right up my alley. 

Actually, this is the pairing which will be #2 in importance to me in 2026. This is my writing planners. The top on is my writing notebook. It contains notes, character info, scene info, book outline - basically everything about my novel. The other planner is an Erin Condren planner (January - June) where I want to log my word count, post ideas, days I am focusing strictly on writing, etc. While I will probably just put 'writing' in my main planner, this is where I will add more details. 

To accompany my writing planners, this is the notebook where I am holding additional information on the 'business' end of writing and being an indie published author. Things like website set-up information, meta data, algorithms, etc. Of course, one of the cats has 'decorated' the front with footprints (which I haven't wiped off yet). 

On the left is my 2026 Hobonichi Cousin - my main planner. Already there is information for the year noted in the planner. I have been planning into 2026 for the past 2-3 months. On the right is my 2025 Hobonichi Cousin. Yeah, I tend to 'chunk up' during the year. And I love it!

And finally my main planners. The dark blue planner is my stay-at-home, control-center planner. The smaller one is my EDC (every day carry), the planner I throw in my purse when I go to meetings, etc. 

There you have it - my planner line-up. And if you think I am overboard, take a gander at YouTube this time of the year. There are those out there who make me look like I don't use a planner!