It’s been a few weeks since I started bullet journaling (properly) in my Midori TN and while I haven’t stopped lusting after a LT 1917 I am really loving the set up.

I figured I’d do a quick post with my thoughts so far for anyone debating dipping their toe into the bujo world and wondering which notebook system to go for.

The first thing to get out there is that the initial outlay for a travelers notebook can be more than for a regular notebook. My Midori for example was around £40 but you can find cheaper ones and beautiful fabric ones on Etsy (such as Lyra and Co). However the ongoing costs probably work out the same in the long run – you can pick up new inserts for around £3. The inserts also tend to have fewer pages than ordinary notebooks – most of the ones I have only have around 30 sheets so depending on how much you use your bujo you could be changing inserts out every month (or even quicker than that).

Therefore if you have a lot to write about, this system may not be for you (but read on, as I’ve got a potential workaround for that later).

The one bit of bullet journaling I don’t like it writing things out repetitively – checklists, calendars etc. The great thing about travelers notebooks is the pre-printed inserts you can get including weekly and monthly inserts. I use a monthly insert as my future log. These are plain inserts so I can still spruce them up nicely each month (if I want).

This brings me nicely onto the workaround if you’ve got a lot to write – you can have multiple notebooks on the go in a Midori. At the moment I have three in mine, plus a storage wallet. I have a monthly insert, a daily/weekly bujo insert and a collections insert. This means I’m not changing out my inserts quickly and losing information or collections that I need to keep to hand. This insert is called house at it was intended for house moving stuff… then it kind of expanded into just general collections.

The plastic wallet I have in my Midori is perfect for keeping cards (as I take this everywhere) and extra post its or washi I may need if I’m planning away from the house. I generally take this away with me if I’m going on holiday or away with work, so the extra storage is a massive help as I hate carrying pencil cases. I love the flexibility of a Filofax and so it makes sense that I love the Midori. Not being able to change things around and carry supplies have been the two biggest reasons I haven’t bought a ‘proper’ bullet journal so far and while I’m loving this set up, I’ll be leaving the LT in my Amazon cart!

There is something I’m not a massive fan of when it comes to my Midori though – the size of the inserts. They’re very thin. It took a while for me to adjust to the width of the pages and after spending hours on Pinterest looking at people’s weekly spreads I got a bit sad that I wouldn’t be able to make most of them work in the Midori. I created my own style/layout though and I’m really loving it. To be honest, sometimes I think the layout works better than my regular Filofax due to the inclusion of the long to do list down one side and the space for food and IG planning. For something so small I actually managed to fit my whole week at a glance! Though this may have a lot to do with the lack of washi and millions of stickers (unlike my Filo)…

Obviously though, if you don’t write small you may have an issue with this set up. These inserts in particular have a very small dot grid. My inserts from Idea Owl or even Ali Express have larger grids/dots but they’re probably still not for people with huge loopy handwriting.

I’m really happy with my Midori impulse purchase from whenever it was (last year?) It’s been set up a couple of different ways over the months but I’ve finally got a bit of planner peace with this bujo set up. I don’t see enough people bullet journaling in a travelers notebook so if you do, please let me know your blog or Instagram name so I can follow!

Em x

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