the zeitgeist of zoe

What I actually raided was the Arc (as in, M by Staples Arc) section of my local office supply store.

It all started innocently enough, last weekend when I was out shopping with a girlfriend. We poked into Staples for a look -see and I noticed a prominent display of Arc disc bound notebooks and planners. Immediately, I nabbed an el cheapo hot pink plastic cover and a few inserts to take home and play with, and maybe post a review of.

You know…for the sake of the blog.

But then I panicked and put everything back. Don’t I have enough planner stuff already? Do I seriously need more? Of course not. Back away from the Arc.

Then I Tweeted about somehow only now discovering disc bound notebooks & planners and was astounded at the response. It seems that many of you knew about, have used, still use and love disc bound notebooks.  Huh.

Over the next few days, I found myself watching YouTube videos of how people use disc bound planning systems and Googling the different options. While I really liked the concept, I found some of the Arc stuff cheap looking, especially those black plastic discs.

Then I found out about Levenger Circa. Like Arc on ‘roids, they have high quality metal or resin discs, premium leather covers and uber high quality, fountain pen friendly paper.

Oh god…………..

I decided to go back to Staples and pick up what I had initially walked away from and play around with it to see if I’d seriously consider  moving away from my current (and working fine) Filofax Domino A5 system BEFORE taking the plunge into Levenger Circa. Who’s a good girl? I am.

Pictures are coming, promise. But long story short, I’m switching. And here’s why:

One of my biggest planner vexations over the years, has been how to adapt it to the almost constantly changing nature of my life. Just when I get all my ducks in a nice row, something major erupts. A cross country move, having to schedule caring for a terminally ill mother, a new job, night classes, utter and complete re-structuring of a current job. You get the idea. It seems I’m happily doodling to fill in empty space on weekly refills  in a Compact one month and wondering if 1 day per page is going to be enough in an A5 the next.

Because each of the planner systems I have previously used have various ring spacing/configuration for each size binder, that meant a lot of switching around and (cue scary music) purchasing new appropriately sized inserts and doing the dreaded re-copying ritual. It made tweaking my planner to work with my new circumstances almost as stressful as the life changes themselves.

But with these disc bound systems, there is essentially one hole configuration  for every single size cover. Same spacing. So you could conceivably put any size insert into any size cover.

Did you hear that? That was angels singing.

I cannot believe I am just finding out about these now, at 47 years old, a mere 15 days before the Mayan Apocalypse.

Figures.

Anyway, the second beef I’ve had with ring bound planners is the freaking rings themselves. I like big rings (and I cannot lie…hehehe!) so that I can load up my book and carry plenty of other stuff along with several months worth of calendar pages. Thing is, those fat rings make it terrible to write on the left hand pages because they get in the way of your hand (if you’re a righty, which I am). Smaller rings, such as in a Compact or Slimline make for easy peasy writing, but you can’t carry much.

The cool thing about the disc systems is that they can fold over on themselves, like a traditional spiral bound notebook, only you can still add, remove and rearrange pages easily and at will.

Thirdly there are the long standing issues I’ve had (and bitched about incessantly) with paper quality, the provision for tabbed months, and having no Filofax/FC retailers anywhere near me so that I have to order stuff sight unseen and take my chances that I’ll like it.

All three are solved with the disc system.

I can simply put any size refill into my Arc, because every size has the same hole configuration so no re-copying needed. I can have freaking huge discs and carry around a veritable encyclopedia of a book, and still easily write on every inch of both pages, because I can fold it over on itself…or I can pop in some small rings and put my system on a diet when necessary too.

And happily, Arc refills are great quality, readily available at a retailer near me and incorporate tabbed freaking months.

Seriously Filofax…if Staples can do it…come ON.

But I digress.

Oh, and did I mention both the covers and the refills cost a fraction of what a traditional ring bound planner system would run you?

My plastic cover was $7.99. I know right?!  An Arc leather cover will run you $14.99.  Leather. Okay, its anywhere from $59 – $109 for a Junior size leather in Levenger, but still. You only have to buy ONE cover. Ever. For all your future, as of yet unforeseen planning needs. Unless of course you want more colors : )

AND…and…you can buy the covers separately and customize the inserts you want, rather than paying an arm and a leg for included inserts that you won’t even use.  Love that too.

Okay, I know what you’re thinking. Pictures.

Here is my Arc book

Looks a lot like my Deep Pink Domino doesn’t it?

This whole thing…the plastic cover, colorful tabs, and all of the inserts cost me $32 (okay, $31.94. I rounded up, so shoot me). The Monthly/Weekly Calendar was the most expensive item…at $11.99 for an annual pack. On great paper. With Monthly tabs.  Yeah.

The book came standard with 3/4″ black plastic discs, but I found them too small for my needs so I picked up a 1″ set for $1.99. They had 1 1/2″ and 2″ discs as well. The 2″ set will run you an additional dollar.

You can see how easy and inexpensive it would be to keep an array of discs for all your planner size needs!

Yesterday, Arc planner in tow, I had to go back to Staples for work. You know damn well that I  cruised around to see if there was anything else I wanted. Interestingly, when I went back to the Martha Stewart section for more sticky balloons, I noticed that on the other side of the display, she has her own set of disc bound notebooks.

I picked up a black plastic one more sturdy than the Arc ones (and also more expensive at $17.99 but the plastic was much thicker- the Arcs will bend – this one would not, but it was still thin and laid flat when folded back). The ONLY reason I got it was because it had a pen loop inside the back cover as well as an elastic strap closure like Moleskine’s have. I also picked up a set of her metallic (looking, they are still plastic) discs in 1 1/4″ diameter. You’ll see why in a minute.

Jazzier, no?

Here is a close up of those Martha Stewart discs.

And here is the back. It is still plastic, but it gives added stability for writing if I have the book on my lap or something. I thought it made a practical addition.

Now here it is compared to my beloved A5 Deep Pink Domino:

As you can see, they are practically the same size. Remarkably, the inserts are entirely cross-compatible too (they just need re-punching with the Arc punch, but that does not affect the Filofax holes at all) so you can move them back and forth if you so desire. I did.  More on that in a bit.

Remember those Martha Stewart discs I mentioned before? Well, I elected to put the same diameter discs in my Arc as I had in the Domino (1 1/4″ or 30 mm) to compare apples to apples.  I can fit the exact same amount of insert pages in the Arc as I can the A5 Domino.

The difference is that I can make the Arc skinnier or fatter at will just by changing out the discs. Cover & inserts stay the same. And I can fold it over on itself no matter what size discs I choose. Win!

All of you jonesing for an A5 Compact…just sayin’.

Notice that the whole Arc book is about A5 page size. True, the A5 binder itself is larger, but you can see that the inserts are not.

Here are some shots of the interior:

I put in some colorful tabs (they come in a set of 5 and are also available in black if you prefer something more professional) and that awesome sticky flag page marker to give easy access to the calendar part. These are the mylar kind that you can’t really write on, but they are still cool for, well, flagging. I may even pry them off and use my paper sticky flags on it. We’ll see.

These are the weekly sheets. The calendar pack comes with both monthly (tabbed) and weekly. For $11.99. Did I mention that?  I also put an Arc Task Pad (very similar to Day Timer’s Hot Lists, but larger and not sticky. They go in the holes and can easily be moved around) as a Page Marker in between to serve as a running To Do list.

Here is the creme de la creme…

You can fold it back on itself for easy, comfortable writing. This photo was taken before I put in the Martha Stewart rings, but no matter the size of the rings, they still fold back and the rings don’t interfere with full use of page real estate.

Now, since I also picked up the punch ($39.99 one time, for one universal punch that will cover you no matter what size your book is and is so well built you could brain a home invader with it) I was able to move the rest of the year’s Filofax A5 inserts into it so I can use it now. Because face it, with something so awesome, who wants to wait for the New Year? Certainly not “No Patience Zoe”.

 Arc does not make a 1PPD calendar option (neither does Martha Stewart), but Levenger does. Today I ordered up a set of January – March daily pages for 2013. I love that you can order them quarterly. That way, you can start your system whenever you want; calendar year, academic, whatevsies. Or, you can just spring for the entire year. Your choice.

Since the inside back of the pink cover was equally as nondescript as the front (and lacked a pen loop) I popped the Martha Stewart back onto my book in a jiffy and, voila, pen loop!

 No, it doesn’t match…but for the pen loop (it’s plastic with an elastic section, just as we are accustomed to on some Filofax and FC models) and the Moleskine-esque elastic closure, it’s totally worth not matching.

I love this thing so much I don’t even care that it doesn’t match. Deal with that OCD!

If I’m still feein’ the mojo one week from today, I’m going to order myself  a nice Levenger one (with an assortment of metal discs) for ______________{ insert holiday or celestial event of your choice here}.

In the mean time, thanks for reading about my foray into the world of disc bound planners. If you’re good boys and girls…and I do end up with a Levenger, I might even do a video detailing my set up and day to day use for you : )