When Erin Condren discontinued their A5 weekly Life Planner for next year, I started my search for a new 2026 planner. I discovered the Hobonichi Weeks and I have been loving it so much. I’m excited for next year and ready to change things up. Keep reading for my experience switching from Erin Condren to a Hobonichi planner:
I’ve used an Erin Condren Life Planner for so long (12 years!) I love my planner for organizing my weeks, remembering special dates/events, and tracking progress towards my goals. I originally used the regular 7×9″ Life Planner, but really found my perfect planner with the A5 version. I loved the smaller, compact size and I felt like I had settled into my planning groove.
I’ve used the A5 Life Planner version for 4 years now, and I’d planned on getting another one for 2026. So I was extra shocked to see that my beloved A5 Life Planner (the weekly version in the horizontal layout) was no longer being offered. 🙁 I was actually so sad because I really loved my planner and all the accessories I have for it.
I considered reverting back to the Erin Condren 7×9″ Life Planner, but I just couldn’t deal with how large it is. In fact, looking through my A5 Life Planner, maybe it was also too large. I had a lot of unused space and I wasn’t as involved in actively tracking my goal progress anymore.
So I started to look for another brand of planner that could reinvigorate my excitement for goal tracking, while keeping the same A5 size or even smaller.
HOBONICHI WEEKS
I actually didn’t need to look too far because I was already familiar with the Hobonichi Weeks planner. I used a lot of the full box stickers made for the Hobonichi Weeks in my A5 Life Planners throughout the years so I thought that would be a good place to start.
I looked at the features of the Hobonichi Weeks and I was drawn to its:
- slim, compact design
- weekly, horizontal layout
- grid paper in weekly spread
I decided to give the Hobonichi Weeks a try. I ordered the April-start Japanese version with this gray cover just because it was a little less expensive than some of the other options at the time I was ordering. There were a lot of other different cover options — from cute patterns to colorful colabs with other ip. But since this was just a test-planner, I went for the lowest cost.
I was really excited to try out this new planner and see if it would work for me for 2026. I was still planning in and using my current 2025 A5 Life Planner, so there was no risk in using the Hobonichi Weeks.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
I loved the cute, slim design of the Weeks. I looks so clean and classic. The cover is a fabric-like texture that is firm, but flexible. I thought it looked really professional and compact.
Opening the planner, I noticed that the paper is thin and smooth. It’s also a cream/parchment kind of color. I am used to the bright white, super thick Erin Condren Life Planner paper, so I was a bit worried that my ink wouldn’t dry quickly on this type of paper.
I flipped through and noticed that the Weeks planner is set up with the monthly spreads all grouped together near the front of the planner, and then the weekly spreads are following. This is different that I was used to — with the monthly spread preceding the weekly spreads for each month.
But overall, I was really excited to use this new Hobonichi Weeks planner. The planner is so light weight and cute. The weekly spreads were small and perfect for the few tasks I would track each day, and the grid page was perfect for setting up my trackers. I couldn’t wait to get started, and I haven’t felt like that about my Life Planner for a while now.
BACK FILLING AND TESTING
I felt no pressure to make this Hobonichi Weeks work for me because I still had my A5 Life Planner through the rest of the year. If the Weeks wasn’t going to work for me, I still had time to find something else. I think that mindset made it really easy for me to play around and see what I could really do with the Weeks.
I started out by backfilling some weeks with info from my A5 Life Planner. I knew how I liked to plan and what works for me, so I felt comfortable transferring things over and seeing what worked.
I like to use checkboxes each day to track daily tasks, and I’ll use the right side box area to write a highlight that happened that day. This works for me in my A5 Life Planner, and it also worked well in the Weeks.
PAPER
Because the Weeks is so much more compact, I had to get used to writing smaller. I already use a 0.3 Energel Clena which has a nice fine point, so it was easy to make that adjustment to my writing. I was impressed with the paper in the Weeks. I had been concerned that it would be too smooth and my ink would smudge/take too long to dry, but the paper is perfect. I’ve had no issues with smudging at all.
I found out that the Weeks’ paper is special Tomoe River paper that is resistant to bleed through, and lighter than previous versions despite being so thin. And with my April-start version, it has a smoother surface than previous versions by adjusting the fibers of the paper. I’m happy with the paper and glad that this is my first experience with the Hobonichi Weeks.
CUSTOMIZATION / GRID SPREAD
I really liked testing new trackers in the grid spread of each week. It took me a while to figure out how to organize some of the trackers I like. But each backfill week I did, I tried something new.
I love the freedom of the grid page. Each week can be something new or different depending on what’s important that week. I think I’ll continue with different trackers, but I’ve seen other people use that page as a journal or a running list.
Having so much to customize made tracking my goals so much more engaging and fun. I felt encouraged to work toward my goals and excited to see my progress/improvement. With my A5 Life Planner, I would set up the monthly dash but I would start to slack on updating it throughout the month. Having my trackers on a weekly spread puts them at the forefront and keeps me motivated to meet my goals. I am loving this feature of the Hobonichi Weeks.
CURRENT PLANNING / TRACKING
Now that I’ve backfilled a few months of pages and feel comfortable with what works for me, I’m using the Hobonichi Weeks along with my A5 as my current planner. So I’m duplicating everything at the moment just to be sure that this new planner really is working for me. But even though I have two planners right now, I am most excited to use my Hobonichi Weeks.
ACCESSORIES
I don’t have any of the official Hobonichi accessories, but I wanted to share what I have been using and some of the stickers I bought:
- ruler (I would prefer a firmer ruler, but this one is ok for now)
- pen case (I use this for my pens and highlighters, whiteout, etc.)
- washi tapes (these are Every Minute A Story and Simply Gilded)
- mini scissors
- post-it flags (I use these to pre-plan in the Weeks)
- hp sprocket (I print out little pictures to stick in my planner)
- stickers (I’m decorating with The Coffee Monsterz Co and Every Minute A Story stickers)
- mildliner highlighters
- hello kitty 0.5 pen (red and black inks)
- 0.3 energel clena pen
- 005 sigma micron pen
- stretchy band (I’m using this to help keep my Weeks closed when not in use)
2026 PLANNER
What would I do if Erin Condren started offering the A5 Weekly Life Planner again? Having the Hobonichi Weeks for this last month and a half has been so much fun. I’ve been so much more motivated with my tasks and goals. So even if they brought back the A5 Life Planner, I would still choose the Hobonichi Weeks.
I just love how the Weeks is so compact and clean. It forces me to be more creative and engaged each week which I really enjoy. I love the small size and I feel like I’m truly utilizing each page.
I’m excited about the teaser previews of the 2026 Hobonichi line up. I would probably get another solid color cover again like this^ Full Moon Yellow or Antique Green, but I’m interested in seeing the new patterns or special accessories.
I hope this post helps you if you are also looking for a replacement for your Life Planner. I think Hobonichi is a solid brand with a lot of accessories/stickers and planner support on socials. I’m super happy I found my Weeks before the end of the year!
