2026 Techo Kaigi

Do you have a physical note system? Do you write anything down by hand? If not, you’re missing out. Digital notes are convenient, but there is something special about the tactile act of putting pen to paper. Perhaps it’s just the old artist in me, but it feels like an expansive idea space. There are no boundaries, no database or field restrictions, no rules; just you and the paper. It’s the ultimate fidget; it occupies both my hands and my brain. Some days it’s the only way I make it through marathon meetings.

I’ve tried several products and approaches over the years, but in a haphazard way. I recently learned about a Japanese practice called “techo kaigi,” which roughly translates to “Planner Meeting”. It’s a self-guided investigation of your stationary system to see what’s working and plan changes to improve it.

There are a lot of videos of people going through this (check out the videos from the folks at Yoseka Stationary up in NYC), and it’s fascinating to see what people are trying. I was struck by the love and joy embedded in these items—they weren’t just utilitarian objects, they were reflections of their owners who clearly took joy in using them.

So I’m gonna try it. There are only two main requirements:

1. It needs to be compact. I often work from different spaces, and the available table space can vary wildly (sometimes it’s just my own lap!).
2. It needs to be enjoyable to use.

The Old

Components

• Self-hosted personal wiki (Tiddlywiki) - Work and writing
• RETTACY A5 Spiral-bound dotgrid notebook - Notes, thoughts, and everything that doesn’t fit elsewhere
• 2025-26 Bluesky Academic calendar A5 size - Planning and daily tasks
• Random spiral Fivestar notebook - Health and Fitness
• Bic Cristal pens - ‘ol reliable.

The Good

• Wiki
  • The wiki is for work and for writing. It’s loosely based on the zettelkasen concept, snippets with interlinked ideas. II also keep project logs, writing drafts, and side-project ideas there..
• RETTACY A5 dotgrid notebook
  • Dotgrid is my favorite paper format. It’s perfect for outlining, quick sketches, or simple wireframes. I often use it to map out logic flows or make sense of a problem.
• Bluesky Calendar
  • The month view is the main benefit for planning my personal life. I don’t use it for work meetings (as it’s futile to duplicate work calendars), but for events, objectives, family logistics, and goals. I also use it as a habit tracker to mark off the days I’ve completed my goals.

The Neutral

• Bluesky Calendar
  • The week view is useful for planning discrete tasks in a week and creating time-bound todo lists, but once they’re done I never reference them again, meaning most of the pages in the calendar are either not relevant yet, or no longer relevant.
• Random spiral Fivestar notebook
  • This works fine for planning and logging my workouts. It’s durable and effective. Writing down my progress lets me see what’s working.
• BIC Cristal Pens
  • These are the most reliable pens I’ve ever used, they take a beating and never clog… BUT the feeling of writing with them isn’t always the smoothest.

The Bad

• Wiki
  • Inaccessible outside of my laptop, which means it’s context-locked to when I’m sitting down to officially work.
• Dotgrid notebook
  • All topics are mushed together. When I need to reference something, I have to scan all the entries to find what I’m looking for.
  • When I feel overwhelmed, I write out to-do lists, but they get lost in the flow and are hard to reference quickly.
• Calendar
  • The calendar was too big. I like to work from different locations throughout the week, and sometimes I don’t have a lot of desk space. When I don’t review it, my planning suffers.

The New

Components

• Self-hosted personal wiki (Tiddlywiki) - keep largely the same.
• Wanderer’s Traveler Notebook, 3 inserts - the biggest change!
• Self-printed 2026 calendar insert - Such compact. Much DIY.
• Index cards for floating lists - new way to track weekly tasks.
• Random spiral Fivestar notebook - keep the same, it’s working fine.
• Zebra Sarasa Fineliners, all the colors of the rainbow!

Changes

• Wiki
  • No major changes. I’m pretty happy with how this one works; it’s been valuable to me as a reference and an idea generator.
• Traveler’s Notebook
  • This form factor is new to me. The ‘notebook’ is a leather cover with two elastic bands and an elastic closure that keeps everything closed. It comes with 3 inserts that are slid through the elastic bands, forming three mini-notebooks in one!
  • The replaceable inserts allow me to work through 3 categories (Work, Study, Journal/Prayer) while keeping everything together. When I finish a category, I can simply replace the insert with a new one and continue. This helps with referencing as I don’t have to flip and scan for entries as much.
  • I can still use my dot grid paper, or whatever paper I want (lined, unlined…). There’s a large variety of inserts for this format!
• Self-printed 2026 calendar insert
  • Because the Traveler’s Notebook is so insert friendly, I made my own 2026 year booklet, which gives me the month view I rely on, but allows me to keep it physically connected to the rest of my notes. No more excuses for not reviewing the calendar!
• Index cards
  • I’ve always liked the idea of the Ugmonk Analog System, but really, it’s a bunch of overpriced index cards with a fancy stand. Index cards are readily available and fantastic for short lists. We have the power to make our own!
  • Each index card serves a specific purpose. I have:
    • Two ‘Week’ cards for the current and upcoming week which I divide into 3 sections on each side (6 sections total) with a daily list on each section (grouping Saturday and Sunday) together
    • A ‘House’ card with all the longer-term projects I have around the house.
  • All the cards are clipped into my Travelers Notebook with paper clips where I can easily reference, access, and update them. I usually pull the current week card out as a reference for the day.
  • If an item grows to where it needs its own list, I can just reach for another card and create a new one.
• Zebra Sarasa Fineliner pens
  • As a lefty, pens can be tricky. These pens are very ‘push’ friendly, meaning I don’t have to pull them in a specific way to get the flow of ink working correctly.
  • The different colors help make different days easier to scan without drawing dividers everywhere. I pick a new color for each day (in rainbow order, of course, except for the yellow, which is impossible to read).

So there we have it, my first personal techo kaigi. I found a lot of value in reviewing and intentionally redesigning my systems, and I’ve been enjoying the changes so far. Check back in a year, and we’ll see how things are working!