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Thursday, March 3, 2011

It's already here! My 2011-2012 Extra Large 18 month Moleskine weekly notebook

Ever since I ordered this planner yesterday from The Paperie UK I've been thinking about it nearly incessantly a lot. I expected it would arrive early next week.  Imagine my delight when it arrived TODAY!  I just ordered it yesterday!  And the shipping was free!!!

Please excuse my less-than-perfect photos taken hastily in my windowsill in my excitement about posting this as soon as possible. You can click on the photos for a larger view.
Look!  It really is the 2011-2012 planner! You guys, I have a planner that goes ALL the way through the end of next year! And it's only just March! (Yes I realize my level of excitement about this is sick.)
Once I got done hyperventilating, I ripped off the wrapper to inspect the monthly calendar situation.  You see, in my excitement last night I was surfing Moleskine websites and looked at MolekineUS to see if their 2011-2012 18 month planners are in yet.  They weren't, but they are listed as "coming soon."  (***Update: the 18 month planners are now available for purchase on MoleskineUS, click here for the product page.)   But I noticed, with alarm, they have noted: "Also included is a monthly view for the year, in column format on a 6 page spread."  Noooooo! I tried not to panic thinking my beloved months with days as squares were gone after only one publication year.

But I am extremely happy and relieved to report that the monthly calendars with days as squares are there!  Whew!

**Edited to add: I especially like the spaces at the top and bottom of the monthly calendars. In the top space I write things that are due that month, like if someone is due for a vaccine booster or if my insurance is due for renewal.  In the bottom "Notes" space I write goals or projects for the month, progress toward them, and anything else specific to that month.  Click on the photo below for a larger view.

In the Extra Large page size, the monthly calendars are especially wonderful.  You can see in the photo below that each daily square is more than an inch wide, which gives lots of space to write in each day:
(Yes my ruler is purple. What other color would it be? :) )

In the past I've abandoned the Large size weekly notebook because the day spaces are too small for my needs. I really don't think this will be a problem in this Extra Large size planner!  The day spaces are about 7 1/2 inches wide, and nearly 1 1/2 inch tall:

And I love that entire right page for lists, notes, reminders, quotes, party guest lists, whatever!

The Moleskine 18 month weekly notebook has all the international info pages that come standard in Moleskine planners including dialing codes etc.:

Something that the 18 month planners have that the 12 month planners don't are Timetable pages, of which there are two 2-page spreads like this:
This timetable is extremely handy even for those of us who are not in school ourselves. I will use it to keep track of the busy schedules of each of my family members. There's a 2-page spread each for the fall and spring semesters, so I can stay on top of who needs to be where for after-school activities.

The Extra-Large weekly notebook only comes in the soft cover, which is too bad because I prefer the hard cover. Oh well. There is a back pocket, but it doesn't have an address or reference booklet. It does contain 3 pages of handy color-coded stickers:

My biggest complaint about Moleskine planners is that I don't like black covers. I find them boring, and a little depressing.  Of course I would prefer purple.  Then I had a sudden realization: my faux leather Dodo Pad diary cover in iridescent lilac is the same size as the Extra Large Moleskine!!!!!!

But then I discovered to my extreme frustration that the Moleskine was just a tiiiiny bit too tall to fit into the cover.  So I had to butcher the cover just a little bit by ripping out the top seams of the inside flaps:
The result is that the Extra Large Moleskine fits in beautifully!  I even have easy access to the Mole's back pocket:
And I get to look at the beautiful lilac color around the edges of my weekly pages every day!  Not to mention I get to handle the softness of the cover all the time. 
Enormous planner + cover combo Win!!!

So now I have a Moleskine planner that will carry me through all of next year, in a gorgeous and soft purple cover.  You guys!!  I may have reached Planner Nirvana with this!!!

33 comments:

  1. Ooh this is fab, because I was worried there was no monthly calender. Now I can order it too! Thanks.

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  2. I wants me one of them things! My Planner Pad is NOT working for me this year a'tall. Thanks!

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  3. Laurie - You really made me laugh with this one! The gamut of emotions is what really makes it funny - I CAN RELATE!!

    I hope the two of you (three, counting the Dodo) live happily together right through December 31, 2012! Or, even, just through your move!

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  4. LOL Nancy! Definitely an emotional rollercoaster this one.

    If I can manage to stick with this, I'm hoping to use it for the entire 2011-2012 school year and then stick with academic year planners. With kids in school it helps to be able to see the entire school year all in one book.

    Rori, too bad the PP isn't working for you. I don't know why I've never tried the Extra Large weekly notebook before now. Seems like a no-brainer if I liked the format but just needed more room to write that I would have bought it sooner!

    Femke I'm glad to hear someone else prefers this type of monthly calendar too! I hope Moleskine stays with this monthly format forever.

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  5. Looks brilliant, especially with that gorgeous (now butchered) Dodo cover. So, do you have access to stationery in your new place? Or do you need to bring a whole pile to last you through 2012? I actually hope that you will find some beautiful planner things in Indonesia and share them all with us!
    Good luck with the packing! (I know if I were in your shoes, I would have a serious nervous breakdown by now. I HATE moving!)

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  6. Thanks Jotje! Luckily we have movers who will pack the household for us, otherwise I would definitely be having a nervous breakdown by now. Just filling out the insurance forms for medical, dental, vision, life, accident etc. is about to send me over the edge. We just found out about 30 minutes ago that we have to have full physical exams, blood workups, chest x-rays etc. Good luck to me getting that all scheduled before we go!! It usually takes 3 weeks just to get a normal appointment.

    I have no idea what kinds of stationery/ planner things will be available. There is a bookstore outside Jakarta listed on the Moleskine website as being a retailer but I have no idea what their selection will be. I'm planning a trip to the US in July and am already compiling a list of things to buy there (including some of the beautiful new artists' series Moleskine notebooks!)

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  7. I'm sure we can arrange a Philofaxy 'Red-Cross' parcel of essential, not available items if you need them... just say the word.

    One of our previous quiz winners lived in the Far East, the postage wasn't too bad.

    But your new planner looks great in that cover.

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  8. Thanks Steve! :) I may very well take you up on that offer someday!

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  9. Looks fantastic Laurie.....this one might just tick all the boxes for me, and I'm in London in two weeks time with some time to spare, so since I'm someone who likes to hold something in his hand before he buys, I might pop off to one of the major London stores and have a very close look......I think Foyles sell the Moleskine range in its entirety, and they have Ray's Jazz Cafe as an added incentive :) Thanks again for reviewing this.....

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  10. She is a beauty Laurie - I bet you can't wait to use her in anger! I'm with you on the covers though - I only like black if it is patent leather adorned with crystals!!! I wouldn't imagine it would be hard for moleskin to make diaries and notebooks with coloured covers.

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  11. I'd love it if they made all the sizes of planners in the colors the Extra Small planners come in, especially the pink!

    I don't count that screaming red that the Pocket and Large planners come in as a color because it makes me feel like my brain is melting when I look at it.

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  12. My husband has one of these in the small size. He needed something that covered the end of '10 into '11 & recommended the Moleskine.

    I don't use the weekly format but I take it out just to look at it sometimes. It's a neat format with the dates on one side & room for notes on the other. Only a planner/notebook junkies would understand. ;-)

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  13. Oh! There were some highs and lows there! Lol!

    I love an academic year calendar - especially a big one that begins in July! Have fun with this one!

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  14. Wow someone who loves purple as much as me! Black covers have kept me from many choices. Ahhh now I NEED a purple ruler. I'll see your
    ruler and raise you purple rubber bands! Ha!

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  15. Great post!!!
    Do you find moleskine to be the best planner (especially compared to Filofax)??
    As I just posted on my own blog, my planner-part of my filofax doesn´t quite work...
    I used moleskine weekview-calenders earlier and they worked quite well...

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  16. Interesting that you asked that DanishGTD! Because this summer here on Plannerisms I will have an epic planner battle between my A5 size Filofax week on two pages, and my extra large Moleskine weekly notebook! We shall see who wins!

    Advantages of the Moleskine are that you get a larger page size in a slimmer book. But the flexibility of the Filofax might be preferable if you can deal with a bulkier book.

    I'll have a post about this exact topic here on Plannerisms in a couple of days, so stay tuned! :)

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  17. The flexibility of the Filofax is off cause unmatched by any other product, but as a Calendar in a GTD-system (at least my interpretation of it) which only uses a calendar for day and time specific events, maybe the Moleskine will be better...

    I don´t know... Trying to go all digital for a little while now. Will see what happens.

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  18. Hi Laurie,

    After reading your post, I bought a 18 month large Moleskine planner for myself! I am curious as to what you write on the week pages and what you write on the notebook pages? Thanks!

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  19. Hi! I write appointments and other day-specific things in the day spaces on the week page and my to-do lists for that week on the notes page. I usually categorize my to-do lists like @Computer, @Phone, @Home etc. I also use the notes pages to jot down phone numbers or websites, or to capture other bits of information that come my way during the week. At the very top of the week page in that space above Monday I write my goals for the week.

    Hope this helps! Enjoy your new planner! :)

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  20. I do have a question as to how you organize your calendar. I have an 18-month Moleskine was well, from July 2010 to December 2011. I love Moleskine, but if I get the 18-month planner from July 2011 to December 2012, I'm going to have an unfinished planner for the rest of this year. Suggestions?

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  21. I do have a question as to how you organize your calendar. I have an 18-month Moleskine was well, from July 2010 to December 2011. I love Moleskine, but if I get the 18-month planner from July 2011 to December 2012, I'm going to have an unfinished planner for the rest of this year. Suggestions?

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  22. Hi abs, yours is an interesting question.

    (First of all, if you want an 18 month Moleskine you should buy it soon, they sell out very quickly!!)

    On to your question: you have two choices: leave several months unfinished in your planner, or use it all the way to the end of the year and switch to a 12 month planner after that.

    Moleskine does make 12 month weekly notebook planners, if you want that option.

    Personally, I like the 18 month planner because I have that 6 months of forward planning at the end of the academic year, so I never have to carry the following year's planner along with the current one for forward planning. I do a lot of forward planning, so I like being able to see that extra 6 months. Then when my new planner starts in July, I transfer over everything from the last 6 months of the year from my old planner into my new one and I'm good to go.

    Some people are really bothered by that extra 6 months in their planner and feel like they are wasting the pages. I'm not bothered by them because I do use them a lot for forward planning. Just a matter of personal preference.

    Hope this helps!

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  23. Thanks, Laurie!

    I'm graduating next May and I would like to have an entire academic year in one planner. So I'll just let the last six months stay blank in my current planner, as much as it pains me.

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  24. is there supposed to be a page with "in case of loss return to..."

    because mine does not have one.

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  25. Really? All Moleskine planners and notebooks have a "In case of loss, please return to:" area on the page facing the inside of the front cover. So technically it's an end paper, not a page in the book itself.

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  26. So, lacking one my planner is a defect? Does yours have one?

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  27. It's either defective or not actually a Moleskine, because every Moleskine planner I've ever seen has this inside the front cover. Has anyone else ever gotten a Moleskine without this page?

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  28. dragonfly, just curious, where did you buy your possibly defective Moleskine? And did it have the Moleskine product wrapper on it when you bought it? I've heard rumors of counterfeit Moleskines, I wonder if you got one!

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  29. I considered that too, although it seems unlikely. I bought it at Barnes and Noble and it came completely wrapped in the typical Moleskine wrapping. Everything else seems to be very comparable to the other Moleskines, quality control sticker etc. The book itself has the end paper, however there is no trace of any printed "In case of loss..." (or any other ink) on the paper. If you have the exact same product and it has the printing it must be a defect.

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  30. You might want to contact Moleskine's quailty control and send them a photo of the inside cover pg where the printing should be. They will want to know if a product is defective. Be sure to include the number on the quality control sticker included in your Moleskine.

    http://www.moleskine.com/contact_us.php

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  31. Goodness - I hope it was the Moleskine that got butchered and not one of my lovely Faux leather lilac slipcovers (sadly now all sold out...they were the most gorgeous colour). We do have a few of the others left (Aqua Blue, Intense Red and Apple Green) though so any would be Moleskine hacker/butcherers see here!

    http://www.dodopad.com/shop/leather-faux-leather-slipcovers/faux-leather-slipcover.html

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  32. Before I go ahead and send the photo, I just wanted to get confirmation from a few more people that their journal, (same model) does indeed have the "in case of loss please return to..." inscription. I am starting to believe that every planner in this model was made without this text, as some other journals etc. are.

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  33. dragonfly the only Extra Large Moleskines I have are this Weekly Notebook planner (which does have the In Case Of Loss, Please Return To... lines on the first page inside the front cover), and the Extra Large Cahier notebooks (which do not). I also have the Moleskine Community Cover Art notebooks (which are 8 1/2 x 11 inches in size) and they also do not have the inscription inside.

    From what I understand, all the Classic Moleskine planners should have this inscription. Does anyone else have a Moleskine planner without this inscription?

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