PlannerCRUSH - May
We are so excited to share our latest “#PlannerCRUSH” with you! In this series we share the planning style of someone in our community that we just can’t get enough of. We are talking about saving all the IG posts, scrolling the reels feed and binge watching all the PWMs. Each time, we will feature a clue along with a few planner pics to see if you can recognize our #plannercrush? Here goes:
CLUE: a journaling journey…
ANSWER: Ria @ria_journals
Ria’s journey into the planning and journaling community began after a major life transition. In 2023, she moved from England to Germany and enrolled in intensive language courses to learn German. Wanting to document her progress and language-learning experience, she initially searched for studygram inspiration online — but one unexpected discovery changed everything.
After coming across a post from Helen Wang of TheCoffeeMonsterzCo, Ria was instantly drawn to the creativity and charm of the journaling world, especially the adorable washi tapes and thoughtful layouts. That curiosity quickly spiraled into late-night searches like “What is a Hobonichi Cousin?” and before long, a new creative hobby was born. As her confidence grew, so did her willingness to share her thoughts, experiences, and everyday life through journaling. Today, her Hobonichi Cousin serves as both a planner and a memory-keeping space — a flexible blend of practical scheduling and reflective storytelling.
As a nurse, Ria’s schedule can be unpredictable, which has shaped her unique planning style. Rather than filling every hour with detailed plans, she uses a digital calendar to organize shifts and appointments, then transfers highlights and reflections into her paper planner at the end of the day. Her pages capture not only what was planned, but also the unexpected moments that happened along the way.
For Ria, analog planning is less about productivity perfection and more about grounding herself in the present. She loves the tactile experience of fountain pens gliding across Tomoe River paper, the soft crinkle of turning pages, and the calm that comes from unplugging in an increasingly digital world.
Her favorite tools include Pilot Kaküno (F nib) and Pilot Capless fountain pens (F nib), Tombow Dual Brush Markers,Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen (both soft and hard tip), Fudmarkers and brush pens, along with washi and PET tapes that allow her creativity to flow naturally. But perhaps the most refreshing part of her approach is her mindset: she doesn’t pre-plan decorative spreads or strive for perfectly cohesive pages. Instead, she follows her mood and embraces imperfection, allowing each spread to reflect the season of life she’s in.
Ria also believes productivity doesn’t have to mean constant busyness. She values rest, intentionally schedules breaks, and rejects the idea that a “full” planner equals success. For her, even accomplishing one or two meaningful tasks in a day is enough — and that gentle, realistic philosophy is what makes her journaling style feel so authentic and inspiring.
For more inspiration, follow Ria’s journey on Instagram.