On the first day, we picked 4 staffers with an 8 at the end of their employee ID number: 
.
Then the Hobonichi Techo development and production staff joined the discussion. This included 
.
A member of the Tobichi Team. In charge of event planning and administration. She is always on the go, circling between the Hobonichi office, Tobichi Tokyo and Tobichi Kyoto. Her job is primarily on site rather than at her office desk.
She uses the 2015 Chambray Red cover with an A5 Cousin Avec.
I just treat my techo like a dated notebook. My notes are all quickly scribbled in, so it’s pretty messy. There’s always a lot happening at Tobichi, so I mark my “current task” with a sticky note so it doesn’t get lost.
I store sticky notes from my colleagues in the inside cover. It makes me happy to have this collection of notes from people. The Zippers series is a must-have for me, since I always find myself suddenly needing rubber bands, notepads, etc. when I’m at Tobichi.
A member of the Techo team. She is in charge of web page creation for the Hobonichi Techo. She oversees the schedule of all moving parts and contributors of the Hobonichi Techo’s store pages and content pages.
She uses the Planner in the 2018 leather Navy cover.
I leave it at work and use it as my work techo where I list my to-do items. I used to use a notebook and a techo simultaneously, but this year I did away with the notebook and wrote everything in the techo, so I could better keep track of my notes. I write my meeting memos on the daily pages, but sometimes they overflow onto the next page. When this happens, I just use the weekend pages to get myself back on track for the next week. People have suggested that I switch to the Cousin book, since I have trouble fitting my notes, but I just like the way the A6 size feels in my hands.
I mark crucial dates and notes with sticky notes so I can find them right away when reviewing them so often.
A member of the Joys of Life event planning team. She designs the booths and arranges the layout for the entire event.She is the leader of the team during the event and a full-time mother of 2.
She uses Cousin Avec with the 2018 mermaid cover.
I copy the team’s schedule into the monthly pages. The ones with sticky notes are the products that I’m in charge of. The Hobonichi Translucent Sticky Notes come in handy for that. I also write each day’s schedule into the weekly pages. I prefer to handwrite schedules each morning at work rather than track them on the computer so that I can organize my thoughts and commit more to memory.
I use the daily pages to expand to-do lists into more detail and keep notes during meetings. The red numbers 1, 2, and 3 link the schedule on the left to the to-do entries in the page to show what corresponds to what. This is my own invention so I can remember exactly what each item is about.
One more thing: I highly recommend writing the names of restaurants and shops you’re interested in at the beginning of the month pages. My desk was next to 
in the latest seating arrangement, so he told me all about the great restaurants he knows about, and now I’ve got a nice list. I can also find it quickly without having to look for it in my book.
A member of the Reading Content Team. She’s involved with multiple large-scale projects at all times, including interviews, written articles, live reporting, events, products, and books.
She uses the Original Avec with the 2016 Tower of the Sun cover and a Cousin Avec book without a cover.
I fill my techo cover pockets with my driver’s license, health insurance card, credit cards, and business cards. What, don’t you? I carry my techo everywhere so it’s super useful and I don’t have to deal with an overloaded wallet.
I write my tasks in the daily pages. First I write out everything I need to do that day, starting at the check marks at the top of the page. Then I use the left-hand side of the Secret Line to write out what I should be doing at what time. I really rely on Frixion erasable pens so I can make edits when plans change at the last minute. I like writing with a 0.38 mm pen tip, but the body is too thin to fit nicely into the cover’s pen holders. So I bought a thicker pen body and filled it with the other pen’s 0.38 mm nibs.
I only use the Cousin for work. I consolidate information about a single project onto a single page instead of following the dates, and just use the book in order. I write the title of the project nice and big so it’s obvious where I wrote about each project.
After the meeting...
- I’m so impressed by how organized everyone’s task lists are! Mine is pretty much just a memo pad. [Laughs] I’d like to try some of these techniques myself.
- Since you spend more time at Tobichi than your desk, it makes sense that you take a lot of quick notes. It’s impressive to see that you’ve always got your rubber bands and cards at the ready in your techo cover. Looks perfect for when you’re at the shop!
- It was so interesting to see each person’s unique methods for choosing their covers and using their techos. For example, I saw that Marutani had written other people’s schedule into her techo.
- Yes, it’s all in here — so I won’t be able to work if my techo goes missing!
- Everyone really uses the techo in their own way; before today I never realized how differently I used it than others. Between the informational pages, the yearly calendar, and all the other features in the techo, you naturally think about how to best use each section.
- Sometimes when I’m reading the daily quotes, it seems to echo my thoughts or shed some new light on my day. I love that.
- That thing you said about committing things to memory, Mitsui, was spot on. Looking at something in the pages of the techo is different from looking at something on a computer screen. And that’s such a great idea to keep restaurants of interest in the Remember This page at the start of the month.
- I’ve only ever had glances of my colleagues using their techos, so it was insightful and fun to talk about it in depth. Let’s do it again!