Get Everything Done

Hi Folks,

I am currently using a standard, college-ruled, spiral-bound notebook for AF. A colleague of mine has a Circa notebook from Levenger and it looks really nice. Does anyone here use such a "fancy" notebook for AF? Is it worth the extra cost? What are the advantages?

Thanks,
-David

the main advantage is that the loose leaves offer endless possibilities for tweaking : design a new method, clean up your circa (or atoma), do it three days , bis repetita

And the main disadvantage is "...that the loose leaves offer endless possibilities for tweaking : design a new method..."

Sorry, couldn't resist. It is true though that since I've left the digital world for an AF notebook (I use a Mead composition notebook) I am more productive because I do have the options to spend time tweaking the way I once did.

I must say that the versatility and the high quality paper are a pull to me. To say nothing of the nice notebooks! I think I will give this a try.

-David

I use a Circa and I love it. I chose it because I can remove completed pages to keep things simplified and I also have a couple dividers in place to house a separate errands list and project notes. I love the removable pages option to keep the notebook nice and neat. I really haven't spent any time tweaking since I set it up two months ago.

I also have been using a Circa (letter size with the large rings) notebook since March 13th and I love it. I use the tabbed dividers along the right edge to separate Home Tasks, Home Dismissed (being able to move these pages out of your normal active tasks list is convenient -- less flipping/scanning), and Home Lists (frequently-used checklists, shopping lists, agenda lists, wish list, etc), and duplicate Work versions of the same.

This setup allows me to always have my Home and Work notebooks with me at all times, but they are functionally separate. I use the top-edge tab dividers to mark my active page and last open page (where I add new tasks) for both home and work, which makes it really easy to flip open to exactly the right page, for whatever purpose I am opening the book at that time. The tab dividers are durable and really easy to move between the pages.

Being able to remove completed pages, move dismissed pages to a different section (to get them out of mind until Review Dismissed Tasks comes up), and add new pages only when needed (I keep extras in the back of the book, which means less paper flipping when I'm switching between home and work lists) keeps the notebook lean and efficient. There is no hunting for pages, no risk of a bookmark falling out, etc.

I am using the clear plastic covers...I think the leather bound ones (besides being obscenely expensive) would prevent me from wrapping the front cover to the back in order to save desk space while it's open. I am a fountain pen user, and the paper is a lot nicer to write on than regular notebooks.

I love it too because you can take the used pages out and that keeps it light and thin. I use the junior size and think it was totally worth it.

I am just starting to use an Atoma for papers that would form part of my project management system. The worrying thing about AF is that it is converting to to paper for non-AF use as well!! I anticipate switching to Atoma once I complete my current notebook (although I still have a long way to go!)

The Circa is great. The paper is so expensive that I decided it was worth buying the also-expensive punch they sell and making my own. Having the punch means that ANY paper item can go into the notebook--business cards, or index cards, or pages from a magazine.

Like Christine, AF got me going with paper again, and I'm finding myself using paper much more--even for writing, of all things!

I also use Circa (junior size) for my AF and I really like it. The paper which came with it (and it IS nice having a higher quality paper) is, I think "cornell" style ... in the blank column on the left is where I put the date I completed an item. I also really like the flexibility of putting in an index card or mind map or tabs (or whatever,) by using the Circa punch. Would definitely recommend the punch. I just use the plastic cover (the fancier covers I would love to have but not in the budget right now) which works fine. I think Levenger offers the sample pack ($40 value) but which also comes with a $40 gift card? It's the "Circa Simply Irresistible Sampling Kit" ... you might want to check that out. (more focused on the letter size, though. ) In general I love the circa system (for its high quality flexibility, ease/pleasure of use) and wish I could afford more Levenger products!

Hm. I've always liked my Circa for that punch & add capability. Maybe I'll give it a try once my current Moleskine is full -- which is happening a lot more quickly than with any previous system, given the number of items I'm completing.

If there is a Levenger store near you, they'll give you a free junior (5.5 x 8.5") Circa notebook with the plastic cover -- and a bunch of sample pages.

http://www.levenger.com/AboutLevenger/WhatsInStore.asp

I tried using the cheap Staples version & the paper kept tearing etc. So, I bit the bullet today & bought a junior size with the tabs so that I can have my home, work & items to buy in the same book.

I'm just getting started with AF, but I use a Circa notebook for work and I love it! I do a lot of my work out in the community and my Circa allows me to carry around a combination of just what I need (a couple months of calender pages, phone log, AF, etc). And then I have notebooks in my office that I can use to file pages once they are complete and I don't need to have them with me anymore. I bought a punch which lets me punch covers out of manila file folders, or to buy regular binder dividers and punch them to fit my Circa. And extra discs are fairly inexpensive. Rollabind also has Circa-type products, so I usually get the discs from there for cheaper.

I have found extra disks for the Circa on eBay for very cheap. It's nice to have a big bag of them for any project that comes along.

David,
I have used the Circa system for several years and have used the 8.5x11 for AF since day 1 of the AF beta. I do love these notebooks but you will encounter overhead creep; The disks,the disk color,the disk size, do I create an archive or make it bigger, leather covers are nice,I'll try one of those,etc. The desk punch makes the system very versitile. Get it My biggest issue is with the quality of the Levenger paper and while it is merely good paper it does not eqal the price paid. The paper is also not fountain pen friendly. I now use my punch and make my own paper. My current favorite is Rhodia ruled 90g. I have also picked up a ream of 28lbs.HP plain paper and printed my own ruled lines or using templates for ruled and grids found online. Doane has a surprisingly useful template with lines and grid. See what I mean about overhead creep.

Hi Stark,

Face it, you are just a "tool junkie". Come join the club ... we have nice blazers ;-)

Mike,
Been a member of the club for years - way back when Brookstone was actually a hardware mail order company for "hard to find tools" not massage chairs. Now, this recovering high-tech "tool-junkie's" current heroin(e) is the quest for the perfect writing notebook and ink pen. Circa is great but not nirvana. (let's see if He shows up here...)

I loves me my Circa! It seems expensive at first, but that's just upfront costs. Get a sampler pack and the punch (the real one, not that dinky travel one) and you'll be out close to a hundred bucks but that's about all you'll have to buy. You don't have to buy their paper--just get heavy weight printer paper and go to this site to print out whatever format of lines you wish: http://www.printablepaper.net/

Use it as long as I have and it's cheaper than a drawer full of Moleskines!

I like that I can punch and add anything, that I can pull out used up pages so I'm not carrying that stuff around. I have pocketed dividers and keep three sections: work, home, journal/other lists. I can print out my monthly Google calendar, punch it and keep it up front. I also did buy some of those address cards from levenger and keep a few essential phone numbers in the back. I also like changing up the cover every once in a while--something arty from a magazine slipped in under the translucent covers.

Love, love, love it.

Stark,

Tried any fountain pens so far?

I bought a Lamy Safari recently which is quite a good 'workhorse' pen for everyday use.

Also I find writing in spiral pads easier with FPs, as they need no pressure so writing near the spiral isn't a problem.

Smiley, Stark,

I don't use a fountain pen (my handwriting does not justify the quality) but when I write with a G2 (or any more ink like pen) I'm getting this annoying problem. Unless it is a flat pad the paper seems to "spring" and cause the pen to make "trails". IOW, there is something about almost every notebook I write in that causes the paper to want to spring up after I've written a letter. Any thoughts?

smileypete, (and Mike, Secretary of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Tool Geeks)

Love the Lamy's. Favorite of the Lamy is the Vista $30 with the converter so I can geek-out on different brands, colors, and qualities of bottled ink. Also, if like me, you'd like to join me in helping pull the planet out of this financial depression, you can run out and get yourself my two newest, favorite FP: Sailor 1911, and Pelikan m600. Then, to maximize the geek toke, you'll send these pens off to a guy in New Hampshire who will calibrate the nib to your exact writing style. (His name is Richard Binder at richardspensdotcom, and if you have him do the calibration you will then have a "binderized" model.) You can learn about this and a whole lot more at the opium den of pen geekdom, fountainpennetworkdotcom.

Secretary Mike,
I've used Pilot G2's for years and never encountered the levitating paper problem you describe. If I had to guess, it may not be the pen so much as the paper quality or (ready Watson) ... the humidity. If you live in Georgia, I'm certain it's the relative humidity. If you live in Phoenix or LA or any other waterless desert, it's your clammy breath. And if that's the case, the remedy is simple; stop breathing when you write. If I haven't solved your springing problem, and I can't imagine I haven't, I'd refer you to the same opium den as above. Post your issue there and you will get such an aroused swarm of over-diploma'd pen and paper geeks responding it will make any discussion on GED about SMART goals and meditation seem like a dead discussion board. Godspeed.

Stark,

You are a very funny guy!!! ROTFLMAO.

Mike

I used G2s also before FPs. If you like fat pens the 'Dr Grip Gel' is worth a look.

Anyway for springy paper a loop of elastic should help hold the pages together.

I use a folded sheet of paper wrapped around the page I'm writing on to stop it getting greasy - a tad obsessive perhaps ;-), but may also help keep pages together.

Smiley,

>>> I used G2s also before FPs. If you like fat pens the 'Dr Grip Gel' is worth a look. <<<

Will do. Right now I'm back to Zebra F-301 (fine point ball point).

>>> Anyway for springy paper a loop of elastic should help hold the pages together. <<<

Another good idea.

>>> I use a folded sheet of paper wrapped around the page I'm writing on to stop it getting greasy - a tad obsessive perhaps ;-), but may also help keep pages together. <<<

Well, if you want a good looking end result, I would not consider it obsessive. Nothing is more annoying than having the pen skip over the page as it skates across grease.

I agree with the sheet of paper under the writing hand, though I let it slide freely over the page. Sticking to my sweaty paw.

Only really needed for liquid ink, I find.

Resting the hand on the paper helps deal with springing as well, though I've never found this a major problem.

I got very excited by this thread. Levenger Circa notebooks sound perfect for the dedicated AF'er who wants a smart notebook with flexibility.

Sadly, it's not to be for UK based people, I think. Levenger dont operate in the UK from what I can tell, and and the shipping costs from the US are exorbitant.

If anyone in the UK can recommend a viable equivalent, I'm all ears / eyes (or whatever is appropriate re discussion forum posts)

But failing that, I'll just have to stick to my Tesco A5 notepad and bic biro...

The original Belgian Atoma system can be obtained here and is pretty much identical.

WH Smith do a cheap version.

Apart from Circa not available here I see Atoma, Adoc (adocsystem) and recently even Clairefontaine (the rings look Circa like) offering similar systems. But if I have an old Adoc punch, also usable with Atoma; only Circa seem to offer punches now.

The other thing about Levenger, despite the raves everyone gives the place, is that the service is possibly the worst I've EVER encountered.

I tried to order the $40 test kit (with the $40 gift card) and then I spotted something I thought might make a nice gift and so my checkout for the two items was about $56. I had to do all of that account, address, credit card, (no, I don't want your SPAM, thank you) stuff. Then, when I finally clicked "checkout" the fun started. They first told me to call for availability.

Well, I don't know about anyone else, but if I really wanted to talk with someone in Pakistan I'd have called to start with. I use the web just exactly to avoid that torture. The next thing was that they rejected my credit card. The one I use every day. The one I used later that day elsewhere with no problem. (No, I did not mistype, I use autofill.)

So I gave up and canceled it all. Next I found a charge on my card for $56. After FOUR emails (to all of the email addresses they list) a week later the charge vanished ... with no response to any of my emails!

Now how did they charge my card if it was, according to them, invalid? One of life's great mysteries. As to Levenger, my wife has orders to shoot me if I even think of doing business with them again. (Of course, if past is prologue I don't expect she will pay much attention to my "order". ;-)

Just goes to show, you can have hundreds of people singing the praises of a company and they will still treat you like crap. Buyer beware!

In a way, I'm lucky. That stuff is so over priced that it is best to steer clear in any case. It looks like a good idea, but I did run into reviews where people complained that the paper came loose after repeated flipping around.

I use a much fancier notebook, something I ordered from http://www.x47.com. Is it worth it? It is to me, because I know that I tend to use something more, and better, if I like the way it's designed, and the design of these is the best I think I've ever seen. (If you like the idea, they sell something cheaper called the X17, at http://www.x17.com, which is also nice...)

I like that I can customize it with the kinds if inserts I want, and I really like that it fits into the back pocket of a pair of jeans--that all by itself makes it fifty times more likely to be used consistently...

I tried Circa products, but you lose writing area from the holes for the rings, and the "floppiness" of the binding didn't do much for me. For what it's worth, I've bought a bunch of stuff from Levenger's and haven't encountered problems with their service--I'm a huge fan of their "pocket briefcase" and 3x5 card stuff...

Sorry to hear about your experience with Levenger, Mike. I haven't had any problems, but I hope they took care of you. They've often added little freebies in with my orders like extra paper or something. The paper doesn't come loose from flipping pages, only from repeated removal and insertion of pages (which I don't do terribly often). That said you should either use their high-quality paper or do what I do and buy heavier weight printer paper. Well, not you exactly, as you've given up on them but people still interested.

Lefty, you can reinforce the covers with stronger inserts in the front or back or upgrade to a nicer (but of course, more expensive) Levenger cover.

One of the things I like about this kind of notebook is that I'm never afraid to just messily jot something down on the facing page, knowing that I can always pull it out or move it around if it gets in the way of my AF list and still keep everything neat. I can also pull out old AF pages so I'm not carrying around a pile of used up pages.

Lefty, I love Circa - but I just came across the X47 site - very impressive! Where can you order them though if you live in the US? Thanks, Claudia

Jim,
Just curious as to what size Levenger Circa notebook you are using. I have both the ltr and jr size foldover and I can't seem to decide on which I like best! I write big so the ltr size works, but I love the smaller jr size due to it's compactness.
Thanks

Lefty, the X47 stuff is great! I tried the x17 site also, but found that the correct link is www.x17.de (instead of com).

Mitch,

I also have the letter and jr. sizes, but use the jr. for AF, lists, contacts and journaling. I use the letter sixe for graduate work now, divided by class, and plan to use it as my work AF/agenda when I become a school librarian.

Jim

Thank you Jim!