Trying a Five Year Diary

“I kind of want to do one of those five year journals,” I said back in early May, popping into Clo’s DMs at an actually not ungodly time (timezones are great) for either of us.

Five year diaries/memory books/journals are something I’ve heard of before: it keeps track of five years, with each page dedicated to a day in the year and divided up into five equal sections. Each section has space for a couple of lines about the day, where you can reflect and record to look back on at the end. There’s also three year versions and ten year ones from Midori. Either way, it’s a long-term commitment, and as someone who has a tendency to abandon things, one of my greatest fears is falling off and abandoning the Five Year Diary after a few months for… whatever reason.

But I wanted to take on that challenge – it’s not like I abandon everything in my life within a few months (at least, I try not to).

The Why (April 2025)

The idea was simple: I mostly wanted to keep track of my therapy progress/events of my life in relation to therapy. I also wanted to keep track of the changes in my life from this year and the next few years for personal reasons I won’t disclose.

I knew I normally didn’t look back at my old journals once I complete a notebook (if I complete them) – having them on one page would force me to look back at those years and would be a way for me to look back at them*. The closest I had prior to a five year diary was the throwback function from the Journey app where I usually journal – sometimes there were some great entries, other times I cringed, and other times I hated the entries and would like to never see them again.

*at the risk of one or two (or God forbid, all) of the years being so traumatizing that I don’t even want to look at them, so I just start a new one instead – maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t start one in 2024.

Picking a Five Year Diary

With my purpose for the five year diary figured out at the time, I went on a little hunt for a diary.

Conveniently, my mom wanted to purchase some things on Amazon and since I’d rather buy a book than give money to Amazon each month* for the convenience of 2-day shipping, I needed something else to reach the free shipping threshold. So I decided to do a search for five year diaries on Amazon and came across a few of them, most of them from the One Line a Day line from Chronicle Books. I’ve seen one of them during a trip to Paper Source once, so I had a tangible idea of what the size would be.

*Personally, I’d like to not use Amazon, but alas.

For my purpose, I figured the A6 size would be good enough and I’d probably have room to add in some washi tape and stickers to decorate the section. The one I settled with was the Malachite Green One Line a Day*; there were a few others I liked, but this one was on sale and I figured a sale would be a good opportunity to try this five year commitment out. I also liked the green pages and thought it was a nice touch. But mostly, I thought, if I abandoned it a few months later, then it wouldn’t hurt as much.

*Tragedy that I got rid of it before I took pics of the one I had. Past Hannah was not looking out for Present Hannah here.

Getting the Five Year Diary + Starting Out (May 2025)

There’s a certain joy to getting a new notebook; something I’ve found joy in recently is decorating the cover and internal pages with stickers. For a long-term notebook/commitment, I wanted to choose stickers that would bring me the most joy for the next half decade. I opted to use washi tape to hold stickers in place so I can switch stickers out (and since I was using a cover), and I decorated the end pages since I’d have to pass that on a regular basis when getting to the entry of the day.

I also went through and created tabs with my washi tape for each month so I can flip to a certain month if I wanted to read an entry down the line. Additionally, I decided to mark the first entry with one of my Midori Index Tabs so I could see when I’d reach the end of the year for it where the fun really begins.

My first entry was on May 16, and unfortunately for me, the first entry is also about the tornado that whipped its way through St. Louis. Not exactly how I wanted to start a five year diary…

The first month went well, and I kept up with it regularly, though some days I forgot about it. My goal was to write the day’s entry within the next day if I couldn’t write it before bed or in the morning when I woke up. I think part of the ease was I was still transitioning to a single full-time job, so my body was still running on the previous schedule (it was only about a month since I became full-time at the library).

Around mid-June/early-July I was probably skipping about 2 days at most because I was tired or forgot; part of that might have been affected by summer reading at work, which is one of the busiest times of the year for us. July was when I started keeping a daily physical journal where I kept a longer list of the going ons in my life, so that was when I started filling in the five year diary twice a week. It gave me the chance to look back over the past week and choose the entry that I wanted to put for the five year memory book.

What Wasn’t Working (July 2025)

Despite my intentions to keep track of events in my life in relation to therapy, I ended up keeping track of things I was doing for the day or a news headline if it was significant. Sometimes I was able to add in a sticker or use a small amount of washi tape to decorate the entry, but I realized very quickly my larger washi tape (most of my washi tape, in fact) couldn’t be used unless I wanted to skip an entry, and that was not something I wanted to do.

I also realized I wanted to elaborate on what book I actually finished rather than “finished 3 manga!” or “finished a book!” I could use Goodreads or my reading tracker app, but I was also fully aware Goodreads (or any reading tracker online) could be taken down at any time. And sure, I had my own blog to help me keep track (god knows how many times I searched for a movie or show on here because I don’t remember if I watched it yet) that wouldn’t be taken down unless my host had issues or the Internet goes down (I think we’d have bigger problems to worry about then), but it just wasn’t the same.

There’s a small part of me that thinks it’s the commitment and remembering to fill in the entry for the day – probably because I already have a journal that I write in daily that kind of functions as a five year (just not divided into those sections per page), so deep down I thought it was repetitive. However, I’ve been regularly journaling without any issues and frankly enjoy decorating it a bit, so I don’t think it was the commitment involved.

In conclusion: it was likely the size I had an issue with. Maybe it should’ve been a sign since I normally don’t gravitate to smaller journals… And with that, I decided to go on a search.

The Other Options (August 2025)

I had a few options available before I went on my search:

I could create my own layout with my own notebooks.

Most of my A5 notebooks are around 192 pages, which won’t be enough for a full page dedicated to each day. I could do two days per page, but I might as well go back to my A6 sized notebook. I’d need two notebooks to cover the entire year, which would amount to 384 pages – enough for 366 days in a year (leap year included).

My issue with 2 notebooks: I’d lose track of one of the notebooks. I also didn’t want to carry two extra notebooks around, even if I would be leaving them at home most of the time. And even if I did bring a notebook out, what were the chances that I’d bring both?

I could abandon notebooks entirely and use a binder.

I could create my own layouts and move pages around. If I went over a page, I could easily add another one with no issue.

However, I was never a binder girl. I hated them in school, and I abandoned them as quickly as I could — I’ve always thought they were too bulky for me regardless of size. If I were open to binders, I would’ve gotten one for my STICKII Club subscription since those come with an insert, but I always took the stickers out and the inserts were given to friends who would use the inserts for their own stickers.

I also just preferred to compile them into my dedicated pocket organizer because I pause my subscription once I start going over the halfway point so it’s a signal for me to stop buying and start using more. Much easier to keep track and more compact for me.

(Though since this post was initially drafted, I did get the 2025 STICKII Cute Advent Calendar, so theoretically I could go back to this option since the binder is reusable. But then we’re back to square one, because it’s an A6 size. I guess my stickers could use a little more organizing.)

I could use my discbound notebook.

I got a punch back in college when the discbound system was slightly cheaper and to compile my college notes and such, but since I graduated I never really used it, and I haven’t had the heart to get rid of the punch (I also think it’s wasteful to throw away a perfectly usable punch). It’s less bulky than a binder, and I could create my own layouts, plus I can put that punch to use finally.

As much as I like the discbound system, though, I wasn’t a fan of going through and replacing the discs for a bigger one when needed.

While I was leaning on using my discbound notebook or giving up and deciding to go through with two notebooks, I decided to search for additional five year diaries, but this time, I searched for sizes in addition. My original search was just for five year diaries and didn’t include sizes in the keyword, which is probably why I never got anything beyond the smaller sizes I was getting across the board.

There were two that I came across that I considered: Hobonichi and Sterling Ink.

Hobonichi

Hobonichi is best known for their planner lineup that gets revealed throughout August. They have various sizes like the A6 (original), Cousin, Weeks, etc. They have a Five Year as well, which comes with a slipcase, and I really like that they have an additional page for spillover on each day.

They’re also super expensive: the A6 is a whopping $61 with the A5 at $81. Of course, this includes tariffs as well, but I personally don’t want to spend nearly a hundred for the Hobonichi Five Year Techo, and we’re not including the cover for it, or the shipping (though JetPens has free shipping at $35, so that was not my top concern) which would very much increase the price by a lot. For a Five Year Diary, though, it isn’t entirely bad since getting my own notebooks and setting up my own layouts maths out to just about the same amount or more. However, it wasn’t exactly in my budget and while I was open to forking out that amount, I was also sure there would be alternatives out there that would be more friendlier to my budget.

Balking at the Hobonichi prices, I decided to go on a hunt for Tomoe River paper notebooks, which I noticed Hobonichi uses, because I’d rather make my own layouts and spend less. But I was interested in the paper, which was super thin! Maybe I’d find something out there if I searched for Tomoe River paper notebooks that were 400 pages?

Sterling Ink

I found a few notebooks: one of them was Create with Pen, and I really liked the cover design. Most of what Create with Pen has available is pocket sized, though. However, that search led me to Odyssey notebooks, which I hated the design for* plus free shipping was $149 (I definitely did not need that much in notebooks), and that search led me to Sterling Ink. What a strange rabbit hole I ended up in.(But I was kind of desperate for answers to the universe, and I’m no stranger to poking at alternative holes if it gets me answers. Unfortunately, I also end up in additional rabbit holes, so I learned way too much about Tomoe River paper in the process.)

*Something that requires this much of a commitment needs to bring me joy.

Sterling Ink has their common planner, which is pretty similar to Hobonichi – for each product Hobonichi has, Sterling Ink has something equivalent. They also use the same type of paper Hobonichi uses: 52gsm Tomoe River.

In addition to their Common Planner line, they offer undated planners, looseleaf inserts, notebooks, and bingo: a five year diary, in B6 and A5 sizes. And it didn’t make me want to balk at the prices, and so that option was still something I considered. However, we were talking about 500+ page notebooks, so I was also aware that they would be more expensive than a composition notebook.

All that being said, I really liked the layouts of Sterling Ink, but I especially liked how their five years were completely undated. Each day had a dedicated page sectioned off into five, but you could cross into the next year’s section if needed and the next year could be shorter. There’s also 120 pages for spillover, so if it were really needed, I could dedicate additional space, or I could use the additional pages for something else like a wrap-up/reflection for the year.

The only thing I disliked was the lack of hardcover options at the time, which I prefer with my notebooks since they’re more durable. And for something that requires as long as a commitment of five years, durability was very important for me even if I would rarely be carrying it around.

Back to the Options

Sterling Ink was out of stock of the A5 Five Year Diary, but they did have their B6 one and they had regular A5 notebooks, so I was back to two options: getting an A5 notebook and creating my own layout, or going with their B6.

With an A5, I’d have the flexibility to create my own layouts. I’d have more color options (I really like their mulberry one) to choose from, and I could save more money if I was willing to dedicate the time to create those layouts. While I’m no stranger to creating journal pages ahead of time – I already do this for my regular journal – I also haven’t used a Five Year beyond the A6 one I got, so I didn’t know what layout I wanted.

I did like the idea of getting the chance to use different lettering for each of the days or different colors, though, and it would be the perfect opportunity for me to use my markers and add some personality.

With the B6, I’d have it pre-printed while I still retained a lot of flexibility. I didn’t have as many color options, and I knew from personal experience with using a B6 planner that it would be lighter and more portable while also giving me a decent amount of space. But was it enough space?*

*During this search, I pondered joining the Hobonichi bandwagon but getting the Common Planner instead. Except, I really hate the thought of my planners and journals in one place.

The B6 regular notebook was out of stock, so the cost between the A5 notebook and the B6 Five Year Diary was about the same. Shipping cost was not a concern for me here, since Sterling Ink offered free shipping within the US at $35 and I would be getting free shipping regardless of the size.

So, really, what it came down to was: how portable did I want it to be/how much weight did I want to carry (because I carry other notebooks with me) and how much time did I want to spend creating the layouts if any?

Choosing a Size

After a lot of internal deliberation, bugging my friends on their experiences with Tomoe River paper and notebook sizes in general, I decided to go with a B6.

While I’d very happily take an A5 if it was available (I can fill any empty spots with stickers or washi tape), I didn’t want to create my own layout (and didn’t know what layout), and I’d like some portability. B6 isn’t too much smaller than A5 in writing space, so I think I’ll be okay in the long run; I just need to be more mindful of how much space I’m taking up each year, which I would have to do anyway with an A5. I also wouldn’t lose out on room to personalize the notebook, even though I may lose out on room sometimes (it just wouldn’t be as common an occurrence as it was with the One Line a Day ones).

Getting the Larger Five Year Diary + First Impressions

Knowing what size I wanted to get, my next step was figuring out when I wanted to start. This was around the last week of August, so I had two options: starting on my 28th birthday or waiting until new year’s.

I ended up choosing my birthday since there’s something more significant than waiting for the new year. I’d also risk forgetting the notebook, since I wanted to get it early enough that I was avoiding the holiday rush and of course, the launch of the Common Planner.

That worked out for me, though, since the five years went out of stock during that time, and I wouldn’t know exactly when there would be a restock so I’d probably end up running into holiday rush. Getting it early gave me some time to figure out what I wanted to track over the years and other ideas if I got bored with the original plan.

My first impression of the book is that it’s actually pretty sturdy — maybe it’ll last all five years and beyond despite my slight dislike for soft covers. Although they added on a hardcover option with their most recent restock that happened around Halloween — let’s just say I was a little mad because if I waited, then I could’ve gotten a hardcover. I think I might have also texted a friend, too, going, “but what if they decide to get a hardcover version soon? 😩” But then I wouldn’t be able to start on my 28th birthday like I ultimately wanted to.

It also looks like it’s a linen cover, too, which while hardcover is really nice, stickers don’t tend to stay on as well in my experience*. I would’ve happily sacrificed putting stickers though had the hardcover version been available at the time I got it, if I want to be honest. But it’s not an absolute deal breaker for me.

*I don’t have the new Five Year Diary, so I could be wrong and it is made to take stickers! This statement is very generic.

I wasn’t surprised by the thinness of the paper since I got one of those notebooks from Daiso to test out my pens and whatnot to set my expectations regarding Tomoe River (and so I’m not getting any surprises later on). I am, however, probably going to dislike the chunk that it’ll become since I’m using stickers and washi tape with my daily entries (not everyday though). I’m using some days of the week stickers I got from Ellen’s Journals on Etsy while I was waiting for the washi tape to arrive from a different store and there’s already a slight chunk. 😭 Despite not being the biggest fan, though, it’s not a deal breaker for me since 1) I expected it to happen, 2) I’ll just learn to vary up the positions so it doesn’t get really bad and 3) my normal journal with 160gsm paper also does this — it’s just not as obvious due to the thicker paper. I mostly wanted a bigger size for the five years and everything being in one notebook along with portability.

Let’s talk!

I wrote this during my hiatus while working on the rebrand, and I’m honestly proud of myself for not locking this up in the dungeon for many years like I do with a lot of drafts. I thought about getting into my setup too, but I think I’ll save that for a future post (maybe for 2025 journaling setup at the end of the year or a few months from now when I’ve had the Five Year Diary for a couple months)!

In the meantime, let me know your experiences of keeping a five year diary/memory book if you have any!