My journey to Journal 21

Here's a fun story of planner obsession for you!

So as you may know, I've had lots of success this year using a large day per page diary (the Time Traveler diary, to be specific) as my everyday records book and journal. I've struggled a bit with the size and weight in my bag. But I have been so consistent with recording and journaling in it, which I've been unable to do for years, that the weight is worth it. I have decided that a large daily book is just my thing.

Cue panic: what will I use NEXT year?? I must have a large daily planner!

(I know, I know. I can't help it.)

Time Traveler planners are from the US, but I ordered mine from Amazon UK. But, what if Amazon UK won't carry the 2014 Time Traveler planners?? The Time Traveler website only ships within the US! And, Time Traveler planners don't ship until September, so I would have to wait a few months before I would know whether I'd even be able to get one or not.

I wanted to get a large day per page planner for 2014 as soon as possible, to have the security of knowing I have what works for me already on deck for next year. And in fairness to myself, usually by now I have at least one daily Moleskine planner in my hands. But I have decided I can't buy Moleskine planners any more because my pens bleed through and make the other side of the page unusable. I wanted either another Time Traveler, or something just as wonderful.

Steve recently did a guest post on my blog with his day-per-page Journal 21, which made me pull out my Journal 21 that I reviewed here several years ago. It really is such a nice planner, with super smooth paper and month calendars! Those are so hard to find in daily planners.

So I went to the Quo Vadis UK website because I know they carry some US Quo Vadis planners. Lo and behold, a Journal 21 refill was listed on the website. I ordered it up when I ordered my Space 24 weekly planner.

Then I received a very nice and apologetic email from Quo Vadis UK that they no longer have access to the 2014 Journal 21 planners (which are a non-stock item and can only be stocked from the US by special order very early in the year).

I was undeterred! By this point I absolutely had to have a 2014 Journal 21. So I searched US websites and found the least heart-stopping international shipping (from Alkos) and ordered up my 2014 Journal 21, with the gorgeous Club cover in Lilac!  It shipped only an hour after I ordered, and got here just a week and a half later! Super fast!

I love the color!

This year's Lilac cover is more pinky than the Lilac club cover from my 2010 Journal 21. I can switch out the refillable covers, so I'll use whichever color strikes my fancy that day!

The 2014 Quo Vadis Journal 21 day per page planner still has all the same great features as the 2010 Journal 21 (you can click through here to see my post with detailed photos of all the features). The only differences I noticed are that the corners are squared now instead of rounded like the 2010 version's, and the print in the 2014 is just slightly darker which I prefer because it looks more crisp.

Here is the excellent daily layout with month reference calendars and month indicators at the edge of the page to easily find the month you're looking for (a feature I LOVE!). (Click on photos to enlarge.)

There are monthly grid calendars, which are so hard to find in day per page planners!

And there are monthly column calendars to track expenditures and longer-range plans.

All the other great features are still there too like the Anno-Planner overview calendar for the following year, bound-in address pages and more. And as I mentioned before, that super-smooth Quo Vadis paper!

I'm happy (and I admit, relieved!) to have this daily 2014 planner in my hands!