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Business News/ Lounge / Ideas/ The joy of finding a notebook-diary to plan the new year

The joy of finding a notebook-diary to plan the new year

5 min read 31 Dec 2024, 08:00 AM IST

Whether you plan every day down to the minute or just enjoy daily doodling, these diaries are just what you need for a great start to the year

Midori’s MD Notebook Diary

Digital diaries and apps are convenient but there’s something about making a list with pen and paper that makes you focus on a task. And then there's the tangible satisfaction of ticking off a job well done. Whether you’re jotting down ideas, writing reminders, making to-do lists, tracking meetings or planning meals for the family, committing to paper is a good way to break tasks down into manageable parts and ease stress. And to keep track of those tasks, as we move towards 2025, it's time to invest in a good planner or diary.

There are a few things to keep in mind before you pick a planner—don’t get swayed by the cutesy covers and earnest affirmations, they’re really not going to help you with day-to-day organisation. To start with, check the paper inside—you don’t want blots and splodges marring your day. Layout is the other thing to decide on—do you need a daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly planner? In general, daily planners that have a page for each day are best suited for those of us with lots of daily tasks. Planners also come in a range of sizes, so pick what works best for you. If you commute for meetings or travel a lot, a compact, light, softcover one is best. Heavier hardback planners are great if you’re at your desk most of the time. Pocket diaries are good if you’re only listing meetings and things to do. Overall, if you want to carry just one notebook-diary that combines scheduling with note-taking and general planning, a softcover A5 diary is what you need—and we’ve picked out a selection for you.

Also read: The year in books: Hits and misses of 2024

Fabriano Daily Diary 2025 Ispira

Made from fine yet durable paper, this stylish and dependable diary comes in two sizes and six colour combinations. There’s a lined page for every day of the week, and it is light enough to travel with. There’s a practical back pocket in which you can tuck tickets, photos, notes or business cards, and a ribbon bookmark to help you keep your place. For a more playful iteration, check out the Diary Flock, which has a cover with velvet polka dots that give it a three-dimensional effect. Both also have a weekly option, which means you could combine the fun Flock page-a-week planner with the monotone daily Ispira or vice versa. (Available on Fabriano Boutique website, hardcover, ₹‌2,200)

Hobonichi Techo 2025 English Planner Book

The compact Hobonichi Techo (techo is Japanese for planner) has a cult following around the world, and now ships to India as well. Its Tomoe River paper is light yet durable, and it comes with plenty of writing space along with a weekly and yearly calendar. The graph paper is a departure from the usual lines and is light enough to guide your writing while not getting in the way of your work. The overall colour scheme on the inside is a classy grey and red, and the daily pages comes with a quote from Japanese philosophy. The A6 diary comes with a black leatherlike cover but you can brighten it up by pairing it with any of the other covers—cactus flower green to cherry-blossom pink—available on the website. (Available on Hobonichi Techo website, softcover, ₹‌2,150)

Marg 2025 Planner

Each month starts with a work of art based on the year’s theme, and a honeycomb-like calendar, followed by about five pages. Strictly speaking, this is more a notebook than a planner, since the lined pages are undated, making it ideal for long-term goal-setting. The theme for 2025 is ‘Take a Seat’—rather apt since diary devotees are likely to spend most of their lives in that position—and feature contemporary and past art about sitting. And if you’re not the kind to save your diaries after the year is done, the art inserts can later be cut out to create postcards or be framed as miniatures. (Available on the Marg website, softcover, ₹550)

Bombay Lettering 2025 Planner

This compact, useable diary works for daily or weekly planning as well as doodling and note-taking. With ruled as well as blank pages and a ‘vision board’ section, there’s plenty you can do to customize it for yourself. The inspirational inserts (‘let the beauty of what you love be what you do’; ‘a new era of me’) are irritatingly trite but layout itself is practical and the paper a lovely shade of ivory with the right gauge for a fountain pen, biro or roller ball. It comes in three colours (blush, sage and charcoal) along with a brass book mark, three sets of stickers with inspirational messaging (to remind you to ‘hydrate’, ‘love’ or ‘take it easy’), post-its and three magnetic bookmarks. (Available online, hardcover, ₹1,999)

Also read: A 2024 smartphone report card

Midori’s MD Notebook Diary

MD Notebook Diary

Best known for their Traveller’s Notebooks, Midori’s MD Notebook Diary is a versatile, light one that includes an annual calendar, a monthly schedule, lined pages for notes and blank pages for doodles. It’s designed for both productivity and creativity as every page has enough space to allow you to write, stick notes or post-it reminders, add to-do lists, sketch or draw ideas as well as make everyday plans. It opens flat, which means the two-spread page can become a single canvas, and comes in three sizes. It’s an unassuming-looking white notebook—thread-stitched binding and a string bookmark—but the paper is smooth and fine yet tough and the finish subtle yet beautiful. Typically subtle and functional Japanese design. (Available in stores and online, softcover, ₹1100)

The Legacy of Guru Dutt: 2025 Diary

This might not be the most functional diary out there, but Nasreen Munni Kabir’s tribute to celebrated filmmaker Guru Dutt—by making sure you learn a factoid about him every day of 2025, his centenary year—is a keepsake. Friends, colleagues and family members remember Dutt’s best and worst moments, quirks of personality and mercurial nature, candidly sharing anecdotes and photos with Kabir. These are laid out alongside the pages of a daily planner, helping you make memories while remembering a great director. (Available online and in stores, softcover, ₹599)

Also read: All the wellness tech worth taking note of in 2025

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Shalini Umachandran

Shalini Umachandran is Editor of Mint Lounge, Mint’s award-winning magazine for deeply reported features, opinion and articles on issues that matter. She splits her time between New Delhi and Bengaluru, and has worked as a reporter, a podcaster and an editor for publications across India. She is the author of ‘You Can Make Your Dreams Work’, a book of 15 stories of people who switched careers to do what they love. She is an IWMF reporting fellow for Honduras, and a fellow of the Institute of Palliative Care India and St Christopher’s Hospice London.