DIY Planner - Story - Comments

Ah, okay. Maybe I'll give

SusanBeth — Sun, 5 Feb 2012 13:32:11 -0500

Ah, okay. Maybe I'll give it a try, after I burn off the 21 G-2s I have on hand. (Great back to school sale booty.)

BTW -- how much did FC refill cost?

I find the refill to write

jordanjm — Sun, 5 Feb 2012 02:55:03 -0500

I find the refill to write better than the G2. It is smoother when it writes, and the ink starts to flow faster as well. This is a way to get an honestly better pen without buying the outer casing too.

Why do you want to do this?

SusanBeth — Thu, 2 Feb 2012 10:31:58 -0500

Is the ink better/smoother/whatever than the regular Pilot refill?

Or is it just a way to avoid paying for the more expensive outer casing?

Still looking for help?

PirateFoxy — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:53:44 -0500

I'm not sure how much I could come up with to write about since I don't have bottomless pockets for buying products to review, but I do have rather a lot of spare time at the moment, and this site has been very helpful to me in putting together various planning solutions over the years, so I'd be willing to take a crack at helping produce some content for the site.

It would be nice to have someone to brainstorm some ideas with, though, as while I could certainly write up what I use now, it'd be really stretching that to make it last more than an article or two. :)

Drupal

zenphp — Sat, 7 Jan 2012 13:33:30 -0500

I'm a Drupal developer who would like to help you get this site up to date.

I'm a little tight on time in my schedule for a bit, but if you haven't had any other offers by the beginning of March, touch base with me and we can work something out.

Regards!

Available in UK

reepicheep — Thu, 5 Jan 2012 08:47:53 -0500

Last time someone mentioned this Staples' range it wasn't available in the UK. I asked their local operation an they said there was no intention of bringing it over here. Well it seems they have had a change of mind because their web site is now showing elements of the range as available. (I happened to be visiting a client earlier today whose offices are close to a Staples shop but there were no Arc items for sale.) Available in A4 and A5 size covers with paper.

As to the "cons" being punch your own paper is that really a con? Those of us with Rollabind punches do this all the time anyway. Buying pre-punched paper from Staples is a con.

I agree with your 6/10

hjfutch — Mon, 2 Jan 2012 12:00:12 -0500

I agree with your 6/10 rating on the overall quality of the notebook. However, I was lucky enough to get in on the clearance at Waldenbooks closing sale. I purchased 50 of the pocket sized notebooks in various configurations for $1.00 each. I think I'll probably have enough notebooks to last the few remaining years of my life. My only real "con" is that my Levenger cobalt ink tends to bleed slightly through the page .

Happy New Year

magentalizarin — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 17:56:35 -0500

I still visit this site and love the user submitted forms as well as the original system. I have also enjoyed the articles over the years as they have introduced me to other ideas and things to try. I would hate for it to disappear. Much as I try to go digital, I cannot get over using paper to do my planning. Even when working at the computer I jot notes down in a notebook to refer back to later. With paper, I don't worry about having a power source or a charged battery or wifi. I just cannot give up paper no matter how hard some of my friends tease me about it not going totally digital. I hope to see the site continue and blossom again.

Arc from Staples

dougnkat — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 13:52:55 -0500

I agree 100% with your comments about the Arc from Staples. It is easy to use, pricing will fit my pocket book, and Staples is everywhere especially the internet. I personall went with the Jr size in the leather. I am even able to use my left over Rolo paper in it. The pages are an 1/8th of an inch shorter both on the top and the bottom, however they fit nicely. I have transerfered just about all my personal daily and financals to it and will soon transfer my school notes to it. It fits in my purse and I can easily retreive my gas card from the front of the book without having to withdraw it from my purse. If there was a wallet accessory I would be able to leave my current wallet at home. Maybe I will work something up.

Incredibly affordable

JabberWokky — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 04:18:31 -0500

The ease of finding the Arc system versus the amount of discussion is simply because it is new. Staples has really set a new standard for price and quality with the Arc line, which appears to be true across all of their affordable but higher quality "M" branding. I have the Circa punch, which was (if I remember right) around $80. The Staples one is $35 and has a lever action making it superior in daily use, although the beefy steel of the Circa punch still has a "can survive the apocalypse" feel.

The letter size leather covers for Circa are $100, while I picked up a nice, wonderful smelling set at Staples for a mere $20. It was wonderful: I moved over everything from my plastic cover and replaced the discs for larger ones (which ran a couple dollars). I am now tracking my publication schedule for 2012 in a binder that appeals to the senses and costs less than the plastic one from Levenger.

I carry a Moleskine daily journal for quickly jotting thoughts in a chronological stream. My disc notebooks (I use two) are my compiled project notes and status. They compliment each other nicely.

Loose Elastic

jordanjm — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 02:04:37 -0500

I find that the elastic is still strong enough to hold the book together. I do find that it slips off the book more than I would like.

Sounds like fun

Katrina — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:23:49 -0500

This would be good for invitations too

Elastic and extra contents

Katrina — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:22:11 -0500

Good review!

Is the elastic very loose? Would it be good for holding the journal shut if it had loose papers etc kept inside it?

still alive!

supenguin — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 22:37:41 -0500

Doug,
Glad to hear you're still alive and want to see new life breathed into the site. One thing that catches my attention is it seems like many of the people commenting on this post have been around for a while (almost 5 1/2 years for me!) so it would be really interesting doing a serious of mini-articles from long-time members hearing about what they are doing now for their productivity planner systems.

This seems especially timely with the new year rolling around. Short version of my system right now: Levenger Circa Master Zip Folio notebook with a kind of mashup of Staples Arc Calendar pages, Levenger Dividers, Address Book pages, and zip pockets, and Rollabind refill pages. I also have an iPod Touch with TaskPaper for todo list and MacJournal for notes. I always seem to mess around with different apps and systems but I do keep coming back to some combo of Levenger/Rollabind and whatever is the simplest set of apps for iOS and MacOS/X that serve my needs.

Unrelated note - if you want to look at getting Drupal updated on this site, I've run into a couple Drupal developers on the Fountain Pen Network. I'll have to see if they are still around and if they'd be willing to help. Unfortunately I'm lacking Drupal experience and time to be of much help.

-Kenny

Thank you for giving us an update. :)

Anne-Sophie — Sun, 4 Dec 2011 04:10:19 -0500

Doug, the site layout, colors and setup are perfect.

Many older sites are dated and newer ones are too "blogish", yours is really great, there is no need to change anything.

I believe most people can relate to your situation, life evolves and responsibilities grow.

I second everything you said about Ygor, he is truly wonderful and the force behind this website.

I really love this site and have written about organizing/planning systems and stationery items. However, no matter how hard I have tried to be cool and objective, I can't. I have strong likes and dislikes when it comes to the subject at hand.

Following Ygor suggestion, I wrote the Avery binder dividers revue, I hope the long and opinionated post was written in a manner compatible with the site.
I would love to write more reviews of organizing/planning items and methods. :)

D*I*Y Planner - Story - Comments