Planner Glossary

A size of notebook that aligns to the ISO system of paper sizes. The B series of paper sizes are half way between the associated A sizes, so B6 is midway between A5 and A6. While A sizes are standardised globally, the B sizes are different in Japan being between 3% and 6% larger than their european ISO counterparts. The exception to this is B5, where the Japanese B5 is the same as the European B5.

A hard cover and ring or disc system that can hold interchangeable planner inserts.

Ink or print impression marks showing on the reverse (undesirable) of a printed page insert, sticker, dashboard. See also feathering, ghosting.

A system of planning invented by Ryder Carroll, designed to be a to-do list, diary, notebook, and sketchbook.

In the context of planning, a bundle is usually a collection of themed items designed to work together, including planner inserts, stickers, dashboards and even accessories such as pens, clips and more.

A type of book binding for notebooks, journals and diaries (usually hardbacked) that involves a combination of stitching and gluing to secure the pages together inside the cover. This is ordinarily the most expensive type of binding, especially for smaller journal makers.

CMYK is a colour profile used in digital printing representing the 4 main printer ink colours Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key (black). A PDF is a common format of read-only printable files such as at-home printable digital planning pages. CMYK PDFs are therefore a digital file with a built in colour profile that should be compatible with most modern home printers and still provide a fairly accurate colour reproduction when printing digital planner planner downloads.

A special page at the front of a planner section, usually with enhanced, attractive or ornamental decorative designs.

Selling unwanted planner supplies, both new and part-used.

A print process where the text or design you want is indented into the surrounding material. Letterpress is a form of deboss printing.

Stickers that are used primarily for decoration and visual design, helping to achieve a pleasing aesthetic to a planner.

A print finishing process where the entire sticker sheet (including the backing paper) is cut to the desired shape. Used mainly for larger, single stickers.

A print process using industrial or commercial grade printers related to home inkjets and lasers (but costing many times more) allowing for fast printing of short runs with a reasonably high print quality with a low up-front cost.

Thicker pages in a planner, usually made from heavier paper, card or plastics that serve to divide logical sections of a planner. Often using tabs to help the user quickly access the required section.

A way of describing planner / diary layouts as day/week/month on 1 or 2 pages. One of the most popular layouts is Wo2p (Week on 2 pages) as well as Day on one page (Do1p)

Abbreviation for Erin Condren, a well known planner brand and personality.

Abbreviation for Erin Condren Life Planner, one of the main product ranges released under the Erin Condren brand which uses a distinctive vertical box arrangement.

A print process where the text or design you want is raised from the surrounding material. Intaglio is a form of emboss printing.

A marketplace of independent sellers for handmade, vintage and craft supplies. Based in Brooklyn, NY but with a global presence.

Where ink absorbtion is accelerated due to capilliary action by the fibres of the paper leaving a mottled look to pen strokes.

A process of applying foil using a hot metal plate to press foil material onto the target material. More costly than foil sublimation due to the equipment and effort involved.

The use of coloured metallic foils (typically gold, rose gold and silver but other colours are gaining popularity) to enhance and highlight designs on stickers, planner covers, dashboards and inserts.

A sticker designed to cover an entire box in the EC Vertical planner layout.

Stickers that have a particular purpose of function as their intended use, for example tracking the number of cups of water consumed in a day, noting work shift start and end times, recording your mood and feelings on a given day.

Often confused with bleed, ghosting is where the ink on one side of the page can be seen on the other, even where the ink hasn't physically bled through.

A material with a surface that is shiny and reflects light.

A sticker designed to cover half of an entire box in the EC Vertical planner layout.

The arrival of some planner supplies in the mail, triggering a release of endorphins.

A brand of planner by the company 'Me & My Big Ideas' with a disc-binding system

Short for Hobonichi

A Japanese brand of diary/planner famous for its use of a vertical layout and Tomoe River paper.

A planner format with the days of the week running across (horizontally) the page.

A planner and diary layout with the day divided into hours.

A simple sticker with a single design element/shape that signifies or represents something specific. Example could include a water glass icon to remind the planer to drink enough water, or a gym shoe icon that signifies going for a run.

Pages that can be 'inserted' into a binder-based planner system.

The notebook(s) held within a Travellers Notebook cover. Also called a refill.

A Japanese 'cute culture' design style originating in the late 1960s student protest scene (arguably even further to the Heian Period) and the phrase 'kao hayushi' meaning 'face aglow'. Characterised with cartoon-like characters and designs, which lean on shyness & vulnerability.

A print finishing process where a finely controlled blade cuts the topmost layer of sticker paper without cutting the backing paper layer below. This process is used when there are multiple stickers on a single sheet.

A collection of sticker sheets in a themed set with a coherent design, intended to fully populate one section of a planner (usually a week or a month). Common sizes of kit are mini, weekly and monthly.

A print process using industrial printing presses which require the production of print plates to make impressions on the paper. Litho offers greater print quality than digital but is rarely economically viable for short print runs (fewer than 5000 pieces) whereupon it becomes cheaper than digital printing.

A material with a surface that does not reflect light.

Related to scrapbooking, memory planning uses planning methodology to help record and remember past events.

A type of binding for commercial brochures that binds the pages together using glue only.

Sizes of notebook originating in the US imperial measurement system, popular with planners and can be found within the Travellers Notebook system as well as standalone.

A format of video on YouTube / Facebook Video showing planners (both new and experienced) carrying out their routine or one-of-a-kind planning activities. Useful for inspiration.

The journal, diary, notebook, binder or other collection of pages within which a system of personal or professional organisation is stored.

A person who has a planner, or is thinking of buying their first or 500th planner, and is attempting to achieve Planner Peace (see below)

A planner who can't resist buying that extra set of stickers. And dashboards. And inserts. And pens. And...

The owner of a planning supplies company. From the smallest hobbyist to the big names.

Achieving planner peace means you have a system of perfect organisation and beauty, that meets every planning need you have currently.

A sticker designed to cover quarter of an entire box in the EC Vertical planner layout.

Random Act of Kindness - a gift of something planner related by and to a planner enthusiast.

A type of binding for smaller notebooks that uses a number of metal staples in the spine to hold the pages inside the cover.

A type of bullet that adds emphasis in bullet journaling, such as asterisks for critical tasks.

A planner spread is a page or a pair of facing pages that usually represent a specific range of time (such as a week) and decorated with a theme that comprises stickers, writing, illustrations, washi tape and other decorations around the plan information.

See kit (stickers)

A method of applying foil using heat to sublimate the foil from the roll of material onto the prepared surface. In chemistry, sublimation is the process of going from a solid to a gas instantly without passing through the liquid state.

Card or vinyl pre-cut shapes that fix to dividers (or insert pages) and allow quick access to planner sections.

The notebook(s) held within a Travellers Notebook cover. Also called a refill.

A brand of very thin, highly engineered and quite expensive paper which can accept common planner inks well without bleed. Made by Tomoegawa company in Japan.

A notebook system invented by Iijima Atsuhiko of Tokyo firm Designphil comprising an outer cover (usually leather) with an elastic string inside to hold one or more notebooks (commonly referred to as TN inserts).

After kiss-cutting, the excess surrounding material is left on the sticker sheet.

A planner format with the days of the week running up and down the page. Common vertical formats include morning/afternoon/evening and also hourly divisions.

Sticker material containing a paper-vinyl blend in laminated layers, or sometimes mixed. Better for resisting moisture & dirt, can be more expensive than paper-only stickers.

Traditional Japanese paper made from the inner bark of the gampi tree, the mitsumata shrub, or the paper mulberry sold in coloured or decorated rolls and used to decorate planners or other stationery. Modern washi can also be made from synthetic materials. Commonly used for both decorative and functional reasons, for example to divide a page.

The removal of the excess and unusable sticker paper around the kiss-cut sticker outlines which makes them easier to remove.