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Monday, October 30, 2017

Moleskine 2018 Pro weekly planner

First of all I want to apologize for the very poor quality of these photos. I don't have much time but I wanted to get this info out there. I took the photos on my phone in poor lighting and loaded them up real quick.

The Moleskine Pro planners lineup has changed a bit for 2018. Below I talk about the Extra Large version, and further down I talk about the Large one.

Gone is the Action Planner. Now the only version of the Extra Large Pro planner has pages between each week for lists and notes like the Taskmaster did. Personally I think this makes the planner extremely useful for busy people and it's wonderful to have so much space to track tasks and projects each week!

The 2018 XL Pro also has excellent pages for annual goals, monthly goals and tasks, and something very exciting: a page with an index for each week! I tried to take a photo of it but it didn't turn out in the bad lighting today. It's a page that says Weekly Contents with a line per week and the weeks numbered, so you can index the main events or things to remember each week.

Here are some photos. The week is a standard vertical timed weekly, timed from 7 am to 8pm with lines every half hour. Saturday and Sunday are not timed.



In between each week there are pages for notes, tracking projects and tasks. The left page says Notes. The right page has Projects and Status at the top, and Tasks at the bottom.



There are also monthly pages, I love these! The right page says Monthly Projects and Goals at the top, and This Month's Focus at the bottom.



In the back of the planner there are several blank pages for notes, some of which are perforated if you want to tear them out. There are also perforated list pages. Personally I don't find the lists as useful as I use sticky notes for things like that,  but even if you don't remove them from the book they are convenient list pages.

Again I apologize for the crappiness of the photos but hopefully you get the idea. If you have any questions about this planner let me know and I'll be happy to answer them!

I tried to find out if the Large size Pro planner has pages in between each week like the XL has. I posted the question to Moleskine on their Facebook page, and they just sent me the link to the product page which I had already seen and which does not say if the Large and A4 versions of this planner have pages between the weeks. I found this page on the Jenni Bick website which says the XL has 264 pages, Large has 168 and A4 has 160 so if that is correct that would mean no pages between the weeks. I have asked Moleskine for a confirmation but have not received a reply from them yet.

(Update: Moleskine replied on Facebook to say I need to ask this question on the Contact form on their website:  https://us.moleskine.com/contact-us  However I was unable to, because the pull-down menus didn't work for me, and anyway I found it very intrusive that they asked for my phone number. I don't need them harvesting all of my data, so I left it. Then I ended up ordering the Large size one after all, because if it does in fact have pages between the weeks it will be so perfect! I don't think it does, but curiosity got the better of me. I'll report back after I have received it.)

UPDATE: I have received the Large Pro 2018 that I ordered and I am VERY happy to report it DOES INDEED have a two-page spread for lists and notes between each week! It also has the same annual goals page, weekly contents page, monthly pages, etc. All the content is exactly the same in the L and XL. There is no page count on the label, and I haven't counted the pages by hand, but the number must be the same in the L and XL because they both have all the same pages. Anyway, I am thrilled that there is a full two page spread every week for tracking projects, tasks, and notes! Well done Moleskine!!!

So if you liked the Taskmaster, I think you will like this planner even better with the monthly and goals pages. If you are very busy with a full schedule, lots of tasks, tracking projects and goals, then I think you will love this planner! It crams a lot in while still being portable and a reasonable size.

Please note: I am not affiliated with Moleskine in any way, and I paid for these planners with my own money. I am happy to answer any questions about these specific planners but if you want more info you'll need to contact Moleskine directly. I just wanted to put this info out there for anyone else who was confused like I was!

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Deafmessanger 2018 diaries

Due to popular demand, Deafmessanger now has a new larger diary for 2018! The Small A6 one is still there, and has been joined by the Big size that is slightly smaller than A5. I think they will be very popular!


My not very scientific measurements of the two are: Big: 7 3/8 inches tall and 5 1/4 inches wide; Small: 6 inches tall and 4 1/2 inches wide. Both sizes are very lightweight and easy to carry around.

Both sizes come with a variety of cover artwork. They sell out quickly every year so don't wait! You can see all the Small diaries here and the Big diaries here. As each cover style sells out they disappear from the website, so what you see is what is left.

The diaries are all handmade in Prague by artist Kucin. I absolutely love the style of his artwork. The art is stenciled and spray painted. In every book there are loads of added items that he has found like old maps or pages from ledger books, post cards and photos, and cutouts from magazines. These items are upcycled or recycled, and come from all over the world. Kucin finds them everywhere: flea markets, sales, and things that have been thrown away or given away. You never know what you will find in your book, and each book is unique.


The colored page edges are a nice contrast. Each diary comes with a pencil so you can get started right away and always keep your pencil with your diary. There is also a ribbon pagemarker, and an elastic strap to keep everything contained.

Inside the front cover there is a pocket made from cards, magazine clippings, or pictures. Each one is unique. This pocket is a great place to keep little slips of paper, reminder notes, receipts, cards, etc.


There are month overview pages with six months across a two page spread. This gives you a great overview of your year and lets you see important days, events, deadlines, holidays, travel, and the big picture of your year.


Below is a week spread. Each two-page spread has a full week Monday to Sunday with equal space for each day. Every week is different with a new picture or quote or something stuck in. This keeps your diary interesting all year. You never know what you will find when you turn the page! The weekly pages are perfect for planning ahead, writing memories or notes, and/ or keeping as a journal.


Here is a cool map that was stuck into the book, and a quote. I love all the surprises I find in the books!


New this year! There are stickers to label the lined and blank pages in the back of the book to customize them as you like. There are also stickers to mark special days in your diary pages.


Inside the back cover is the contact info for Deafmessanger.com, and more cool pictures.


Deafmessanger diaries and notebooks represent so much of what is meaningful and important to me: art, self expression, memory, history, and the importance of tangible things in this increasingly digital world. The books are engaging while being quiet, allowing you the headspace to think and express yourself on the pages. They give you the freedom to write your plans and memories, and a quiet space to reflect.

Deafmessanger notebooks and diaries make great gifts. They ship worldwide! You can contact them to ask about international shipping rates. You can convert the prices to your currency at XE.com or a similar conversion site.

You can see all the Deafmessanger diaries, notebooks, bags, posters, and puzzles at Deafmessanger.com.

Be sure to follow Deafmessanger on Facebook to see how they create their artwork! You can read their blog here for news and updates.

Also be sure to follow them on Instagram @deafmessanger

You can see my previous posts featuring Deafmessanger diaries and notebooks here, scroll down to see them all!

Many thanks to Kucin for sending me these diaries as samples to review! I love them!