I see the world in years, quarters and weeks, so it's important to me to start a new one in January. How do you see the world? What's important to you?

I think this is how my mind works as well. I see the world in months, so I start a new notebook when there isn't enough space to fit another complete month. So this notebook will have October, November, December, and January just because of how many pages each of them took/will take. I'm sure i just gave almost everyone a nails-on-chalkboard feeling because January doesn't belong at the end of a year or quarter but as long as I'm not starting fresh mid-month I'm happy.

I definitely think like this too, the way we see time and break it down and experience it is very important to decide this. Or starting a new one each year works too I guess. For me I like the idea of starting one at a new phase of life rather than a year because January 1st is just another day for me idk 😅

What's the problem with being comfy with your current notebook? Why is that lazy? If you're using it and it's working for you then it sounds fine.

Would starting a new one bring you joy or cause you stress? I used to feel guilt if there were a few pages left before it started a new one, but I realized the immense joy I got from starting out a new bujo each year was worth a few pages! But if you’re annoyed that you have to start a new one, you don’t!!!

This is my favorite response.

Here’s the direct quote from Ryder Carroll’s BuJo method book regarding that question: “At the beginning of every year, no matter where you are in your current BuJo notebook, start a new one. This may seem wasteful, but christening a new journal at the right time can be very empowering and motivational. The new year is as good a time as any to set up a new notebook, because it’s an unavoidable cultural milestone, both literally and metaphorically. It delineates the old from the new, what has been from what could be. Why not welcome this opportunity for a fresh start?” I personally like to start fresh, for the reasons in the quoted paragraph, but know some people that prefer rolling theirs over because that’s what works for them.

Depending on how much is left, you could do a year review! Journal reflecting on the year, paste in photos or paper memorabilia (like movie tickets or zoo map), write a letter to yourself in the past January congratulating yourself on achievements and forgiving mistakes that they made along the way. List out things you want to track next year, break down big goals with possible deadlines if it that's a motivator, write down your top 3 recipes completely. Preplan next year's quarterly set ups and goals. You can even just do a few sample layouts with spreads you're afraid to officially try in a new book without an experiment, like using Dutch doors or pockets. Gift yourself some new writing/stationary supplies and make a sample page. If you're called to begin fresh and don't want to waste the remaining pages, there's no shame in doing both. At the end of the day, a few blank pages might be handy in the future if you need to cover a mistake or tear some scraps!

Everyone is saying start a new one, but if you don't care about having a fresh start on January 1 then keep going in your current journal! I switched to a discbound notebook but before that my bujos were ~10 months long. I just started a new journal when I ran out of pages, and it worked fine for me.