Notebook with 3x5 Showcase
I'd like to see a portfolio that allows me to record meeting notes in an archival format, along with a showcase for 3x5 cards. Generally, these two types of personalities don't mix! There are those who take all of their notes on 3x5s + those who use moleskines.
Levenger comes quite close to the solution. Their 3x5 Action Folio (http://tinyurl.com/ygkamv) gives you a pretty nice showcase allowing you to see many 3x5s at once; moreover, there's room for their transparent Circa notebook -- but ONLY in Letter Size. If you're looking for a smaller portfolio, you need to settle for a pad of paper. If you go the Circa route, there are a number of binders that hold smaller notebooks, but they have few if any slits for notes, much less to showcase 3x5s.
Has anyone seen anything that might do the trick, or is this a DIY solution?
FHB
What size do you want ?
Would any of the bound index card solutions presented herein satisfy your need ? Like a Mead RingDex ?
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"I think the surest sign that there is intelligent life out there in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us." (Calvin and Hobbes/Bill Waterson)
Lacks the visual 'showcasing' that Levenger offers
What's nice about the Levenger product is that you can view a bunch (6 or 8) of 3x5s at once. I tend to work visually, so it helps to see them, rather than stack them so you'd need to flip through them.
- FHB
What size, please ?
I understand what you are saying, but until I know what size planner you want to use, I cannot make any practical suggestions.
Are we talking about something in a Classic/A5 size ?
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"I think the surest sign that there is intelligent life out there in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us." (Calvin and Hobbes/Bill Waterson)
Size: A5 would be ideal
I think that the classic A5 size (148x210) would be ideal.
Levengers is using 6.25x 8.5 for their 'junior' size, and that would work as well. I'm pretty flexible as anything in this range would work.
- FHB
OK, Now I'm serious(ly in need of help)
I've been waiting quite a while to satisfy this need of mine for a combined Circa system and a 3x5 display. Thus, I recently had the opportunity to visit a Levenger store and look at the binders in person. I really like many of Levenger's binders -- EXCEPT for those in the Circa series! It's ironic that it seems there's been more effort put into the touch and feel for their generic binders, but those that showcase the unique Circa system feel 'generic', so to speak.
I really liked the Junior Softolio, for instance. Tried as I did (with the great help of a clerk), there's no way to force a Circa system into that binder: Circa is a good half inch wider.
I know that Ryan has said that Levenger is redesigning the smaller Circa folios to also hold 3x5s, but today they don't. While I'm looking forward to seeing this solution, I guess I'll need to look at another company's products, and would appreciate anyone's suggestions.
Here are my criteria:
a) a binder that will hold a 3/4" circa system
b) pockets on the inside cover that will allow 4 or 6 3x5" cards to be seen at once
c) something like a classic or junior size, and is slender or just not too bulky
That's it, just three criteria I foolishly believe will produce the ideal binder :-) Maybe it drive my productivity way up -- we'll just have to wait and see.
But if you've got any ideas as to products I should consider, I'd be most appreciative.
Thanks,
Frank
I use Levenger's junior
I use Levenger's junior action folio the way you describe. I have the back cover of the circa notebook adhered to the back of the folio (removable adhesive, that thus far does not seem to be hurting the leather after a few weeks - I keep checking) since it can't go in the slot. With 3/4 inch rings and lots of pages, page dividers, the new slash pocket, and zip pockets, it obviously does't lie entirely closed on its own, but the front cover does stay folded over and closes within a few inches. Works perfectly for me, as it sits on my desk all day and I just flip it open when needed (probably a hundred times a day - so the cover not completely closing actually makes that easier).
I was using the back of the included pad to hold the circa in place (before I could commit to adhering the circa to the leather), but I like to take the pad out to work on it, and the circa and pad were shifting around together, so this is the setup I now use. All Levenger needs to do to make this perfect is position the slot so that the circa can just slide in, and probably make the spine a little larger since I assume most people would prefer it lie entirely flat. I received a survey from Levenger a few weeks ago asking what I would change about it, and one option was a circa instead of the notepad, so it sounds like they're considering something (I prefer having both - seems like they could design it that way, since the pad takes up so little room). Interestingly, I noticed that the junior action folio is now $88, about $10 more than I paid for it a few months ago.
Keith
Action Folio -> Jr. Circa
Keith,
I can't think of a more convincing argument for the demand for this function in future Jr. Action Folios. If customers are hacking the notebook with adhesive, we should be doing something different. ;)
Thanks,
Ryan
Keith, Thanks for your
Keith,
Thanks for your helpful description. I too understand the approach you took to putting tape in your new folio! While in the Levenger store, I was actually looking at using an X-Acto blade to slice the leather, and create a slit for the Circa -- but I couldn't bring myself to take the risk :-)
I think I'm going to take your lead, purchase the Junior Action Folio, and attach a Circa into it. It's the best compromise available today - short of going to a bookbinder and having a custom planner made (something I've considered). Given that it lies flat, that's really my greatest need -- to be able to take notes while sitting at my desk is nearly as important as having a portable planner that makes it easy to write on when I'm visiting clients in the field.
On the pricing, it does seem that Levenger always gets more expensive; while it's one of the nicest kits out there, it's also getting pricey. But then, if it works for you, you'll more than make up for the extra dollars in productivity (or so I tell myself). I purchased the 3x5 bleachers a few weeks back, and I think it's a remarkably ingenious tool well worth the cost (and that's despite a blemish it had in the stain).
One of the things I would like to see Levenger pursue are other materials than leather: there really are some beautiful man-made materials out there that can be every bit as elegant as leather.
thanks for your comments,
- Frank
Frank, I thought about
Frank,
I thought about cutting a slit, but also couldn't bring myself to do that. I'm actually using small velcro pads that adhere to the leather and then to the circa, only because I found them in a drawer, and after testing they removed from the leather w/o damage. 3M makes some removable adhesive that lets you put up hooks and take them down w/o any damage to the wall, I'd probably try that if I was going out to buy something just for this purpose.
I'm an attorney, and have tried many, many options to stay organized, and this action folio, coupled with the junior leather circa notebook and the new leather index card pda that Levenger just started selling (I bought one the day after they hit the web site and paid for rush delivery) seem to (finally) be a perfect combination for me to stay organized (I use the index card pda for daily to-dos and phone call notes, the circa leather notebook for notes on client matters, and the action folio for everything else, including where my daily index cards w/notes get stashed). In any event, if the action folio modification I described will give you something that meets your needs, as it does for me, then it's definitely worth the cost and effort.
Keith
So, help me to understand?
Keith,
It sounds like we're both looking for that silver bullet in planning and organization. It sounds like you might be a step ahead of me, so I'd appreciate your advice.
From your note, it sounds like you're using 3 different notebooks/planners? Is that right?
Years ago, I used to carry a briefcase, and carrying multiple planners might have worked fine. However, I'm convinced that I'd lose them quickly if I had to carry as many today. Moreover, if I weren't carrying all 3 all of the time, I'm certain that I'd need some information that was in the notebook I'd left behind. So, how do you do it?
More prosaically, how do you carry 3? As an attorney, do you always wear a suit coat? In this case, it makes sense to carry the index card PDA, as it would fit nicely into a breast pocket for a suit coat. But in my own situation, I wear a coat just a couple of times a week: it strikes me that I'd be better off if I integrated the index cards into my planner, so I could carry just one binder.
Circa seems to me to be a good compromise on the note-taking side of things. I could generally keep it thin, just 20 pages or so, cycling notes out of the binder and into a notebook at the office. The index cards can't be beat for facts and for remembering things: I'd thought that I would keep these in the front of the binder, again cycling them out as the information lost some of it's urgency. Needless to say, I'd like to hear how you're handling all of this.
- Frank
Frank, I mainly carry the
Frank,
I mainly carry the three to and from my office in my briefcase, and don't always bring the junior circa leather notebook home. I have a regular office and home office, and at each I keep a Levenger junior freeleaf clipboard (I don’t think they sell the junior size any longer) stocked with circa junior paper by the phone, and then move those notes to the circa leather notebook to file them.
Before using circa, my biggest problem was having endless yellow notepads filled with notes on all sorts of projects, requiring me to dismember them at some point, and then manually match all the pages for any given matter. So circa's been a huge help, as I now have an immediate place to put notes pertaining to a particular matter with all other notes on that same matter. So, the junior leather notebook houses all my substantive client notes, and for clients that end up with too many pages, I just make them their own notebook with plastic covers.
The action folio and circa pda are both used for action items - I use the latter for my daily checklist and notes from quick phone calls, and I keep detailed notes on my docket and all client and personal action items in the junior circa notebook that I've put in the action folio. I also keep zip and stash pockets in there, so that I have dedicated place for all the loose things I inevitably collect throughout the day (random stickies that I still can't get away from entirely, index cards, messages from my assistant, etc.), which I can sort through later but at least know where to find them. I use the front pockets of the action folio for index cards that I need to keep longer term but that don't necessarily belong in one of the circa notebooks.
When I go on the road, I typically just take the action folio stocked with extra circa pages and index cards (and any notes from my leather circa notebook that I need with me), and then I just move stuff around when I get back to the office (along the lines of what you stated). I was using my pocket briefcase to hold the index cards w/my daily to-do lists, but the new circa pda is great and works better for that purpose, since I can quickly flip to another day in the future where I want to write down a call to make on that day, flip back a day or two and see what I didn't get done, etc. If I'm just going to lunch w/someone, I bring the pocket briefcase, and just file the index cards later, and I also have Levenger's swiftnotes that I carry whenever I'm running around with the family on the weekend (I know - way too much Levenger gear). In any event, using multiple notebooks is the best system for me, but it only works because I'm able to move the pages and cards around quickly and easily. Hope this is of some help.
Keith
Levenger and 3X5
If you use a junior size Circa Notebook, could you punch the 3X5 notecards on the left margin - so they sit in the notebook landscape. I guess the problems would be that you could only showcase two on a page... Not sure if that made any sense!
I agree about the Action Folio at Levenger. I wish they made the Junior size action folio so you could use the Circa notebook. Maybe we need to submit this concern to Levenger?
nay nay
Jr. Action Folio
Consider it submitted. (The fact that the Ltr holds a circa notebook but the Jr doesn't always bugged me too.)
Rasmussen, Any hope for
Rasmussen,
Any hope for seeing this solution from Levenger anytime soon? I have my dream journal in mind to help me accomplish what's ahead of me in 2007!
- FHB
3x5 Action Folio Jr - 3x5 Docket Letter
FHB,
I'm sorry, but we won't have the revision for several months. I'll experiment with some materials to construct a temporary fix. If I come up with something, I'll post it here and on flickr.
In a couple of weeks, we will have some new 3x5 dock-it pages for the letter-sized circa. They will arrange index cards like the action folio interior cover, but as a perforated page insert.
Share a drawing of your dream journal with everyone! That's the kind of stuff that excites a merchandise team, and also should spark several other ideas from the community.
Thanks,
Ryan
3x5 + Circa = Bliss
Ryan Rasmussen said:
Hey, I totally want this for the Compact size. I realize we'd only be able to stack 4 or 5 cards, but I still want it. I've been trying to figure out how to make one of these!
-Sarah
Dockit for 3x5 + circa
I saw the Pocket Dock-It. Couple things - first, I was hoping it would be set up to stagger the cards so that you can see maybe 1/2" of the top of each one. Nevertheless, my question is, do you think one could take this letter sized page and slice it down to Junior or Compact size?
-Sarah
couldn't agree more!
Sarah,
I'd love to find some way to store 3x5s within a smaller Circa's. Ideally, I'd like to see staggered pockets that allow me to see 4 or more 3x5s -- perhaps on the inside cover of a Junior Circa; I could imagine a similar solution for the Compact Circa.
fhb
Here's a possibility
This
I wanted to try it out and their minimum order required me to buy 3 of them. You want one ? I'll sell it to you for my cost plus postage.
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"I think the surest sign that there is intelligent life out there in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us." (Calvin and Hobbes/Bill Waterson)
Jr. action folio
I have a junior circa in the junior action folio. If you slide the circa's plastic back into the folio's pocket, the rings prevent the folio from closing, so I slide it behind the pad instead (and put a piece of double stick tape on the last page of the pad to secure it to the circa) and the folio closes almost all the way.
House of Cards...
http://www.diyplanner.com/node/1459
http://www.diyplanner.com/node/872
http://www.diyplanner.com/node/780 Especially this reply:
http://www.diyplanner.com/node/780#comment-22322
BTW Welcome to D*I*Y :)
further suggestions?
Sardonios,
Thanks for your suggestions! It's amazing how many choices are out there. More amazing is how choosy some of us can be! I suppose that's what DIY Planner is about...
The folio that come closest to what I'm looking for is the Renaissance one, but it looks a bit bulky and over the top (gaudy) in terms of design. Does anyone have experience with Renaissance? Would anyone know of other alternatives that might hold a Circa notebook and multiple, staggered 3x5s? Another hope: that it open completely, and life flat on a desk. Something on the order of 5"x8" would do great.
Thanks for any and all suggestions!
- Frank
Not sure if this is what you
Not sure if this is what you mean, but go to www.scanplan.com for a nice 3X5 format. My homemade solution was to take a small cookbook that holds 3X5's. It's one of those little booklets made of clear plastic with a corny cover on the inside. I removed the corny cover and replaced it with some nice handmade paper and decorated it to suit my own tastes. Inside I have various 3x5 cards for holding vital info and blank ones for adding more info. It's compact and portable and very customized. The whole thing fits easily into purse or bag. I made my own scanplan holder by going to the local discount place and getting a small 3X5 photo album. It's very nice with a black satiny cover and the pages flip. I put 3X5 cards with my teaching notes in it and I love it. I condensed a very large 8X11 3" binder down to this size and it is so much easier to carry! I just boiled the content down to topic headings and reminders since I know the subject matter by heart now. During a class I simply refer to the pages occasionally and flip through at the end to make sure I didn't forget anything.
scanplan closure
Sadly, scanplan has closed down, but a website is still maintained until all the stock has sold. There are some good organisational tips on the site, might be worth saving to disc (I have saved some) whilst the site is still up.
I know this is an old thread
However, I was wondering if anyone finally settled on a solution? I have a junior notebook and would love it if the action folio (junior) would hold a circa junior. The levenger support folks were not spectacularly helpful as the best they could say is: um maybe, why don't you buy it, and we'll be happy to accept a return if it doesn't work.
One possible work around that i've been looking at is getting a hold of some of those corner pieces that you buy for photoalbum/scrapbooking and attaching those to the back of front cover. that way every morning i can detach the cards from my binder (they are punched) and set them up and stand up my notebook. (if this works, i'll post pics)
Anyhow, any help would be great. I need a easy way to see my stuff rather than constantly flipping thru the binder.
I use this
card holder hack
my artwork | my blog
Rediculously simple
I wanted more cards than Sara's hack allows so I tried putting several slits in a piece of card stock and stacking them horiztonally. It could use some upgrading but its working out pretty well so far.
Junior action folio
I'm not sure if you're still looking or not, your post being a couple of months old, but if you are, it looks to me from the pictures like the levenger 3x5 action folio junior would take a junior circa notebook, although perhaps not at the same time as the pen holder. It's hard to tell.
You might want to also take a look at what the renaissance art folks have to offer. They do several different varieties of index card/notebook cases - maybe one of those would suit you. I currently have the large moleskine version on the way. When it arrives I'll see how well it fits a junior circa notebook and let you know.
Edit: It's arrived. I tried fitting a junior circa notebook in, and it wouldn't. They say they will try to accomodate any requests though, so if this interests you, it might be worth asking.
stamp album pages?
Many stamp collectors use albums called stockbooks which have several very narrow clear horizontal pockets on each page. I've mostly only seen bound albums, but I imagine they make looseleaf pages as well, probably in an A5 size or close to it. There's a woman who markets a coupon organizer that uses the same idea.
Just one or two of these pages could be hinged together to make a portfolio that would stand on a desk, or sit upright on a tabletop easel.
What about business card size cards?
That is, using cards that size instead of 3"x5"? Then you have the flexibility of using business card pages, biz card folios, and the same size cards as used in the Levenger Wallet Writer and MicroPDA. And Levenger has a business card page for Circa notebooks.
Circa Business Card Holder
Price: $8
Item:ADS4210
Compact $5
Junior $6
Letter $8
Walter
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The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.
B. Banzai?