Taking the time to set up a new ring binder organizer, such as a Filofax, is key for keeping track of appointments, accomplishing daily tasks, setting goals, making monthly budgets, and more.
So you’re ready for an upgrade? If you made it thru the beginner phase (covered in this blogpost) and realized your priorities exceeded the limits of a simple bound planner (covered in this b…
Expand your Circa® Notebook, or create a new one, with Circa Discs. Unlike the rings in an ordinary three-ring binder, you don't have to snap these Circa Discs open and shut. They're sturdy plastic discs that you press your paper around so you can remove and rearrange pages with ease. That's the magic of Circa. Use these black discs to expand your current notebook or create a brand new one. In 1/4", 1/2", 3/4", 1", 1 1/2", 2" and 3" sizes.
I had a great aunt who lived in a historic looking brownstone in the heart of Albany, NY. She was eccentric and confused— both a hermit and a hoarder. There was a narrow goat path through the middl…
Regular readers know that my freelance writing business is completely "on the rings." From creation to disposal, almost every printed document I work with ends up in a Rollabind or Circa notebook. I have Circa notebooks for administrative documents, project files, and permanent archives. For admin files, I use punched poly folders. For project files, I use Jotz Refillable Notebooks. But for the permanent records -- as defined in my PaperJamming schedules -- I decided to do something different. I transferred permanent records to their own Rollabind notebooks once they were no longer needed in the admin or project folders, which I stored in plastic file boxes. While this method worked fine, it lacked a certain elegance -- that sense of modular panache which Rollabind and Circa users have come to expect from these systems. What I wanted, in other words, was a Circa-fied approach to hanging folders. I was talking this over with the ever-resourceful ygor of D*I*Y Planner -- your one-stop
Daniele Evans
Sturdy Circa® tab dividers—for sorting projects, notes and more. Organize your Circa notebook the way that works best for you with the tab dividers that add a soft touch to your notetaking. As always with Circa, these modern Circa-punched notebook dividers are easy to remove or rearrange. The set of 8 comes in 4 different colors—two each in Clear, Soft Coral, Shadow and Pale Pink—so you can divide and sort your notebook your way.
My Life Binder is a map of my life and when I open it, I'm able to "point" and say, "I am here." I created this out of the need to have something that gives me a tangible way to measure my progress from Point A (where I am now) to Point B (where I want to be) in all the different aread of my life and all in one organised place. I didn't want a million notebooks, sticky notes, pieces of paper, apps, google docs, etc. I wanted something simple, creative, and pretty that I would enjoy using. Et voila! The Life Binder was born. Don't wait to make your own and don't stop working on it. As long as you're improving and changing, your Life Binder should be improving and changing along with you. It's really a reflection of my life. I feel like when I am spending time working on my Life Binder, I am really working on my life. You improve what you measure. You expand what you focus on. FEATURES - 26 insanely useful printables - black and white, ink friendly design - digital download - prints out on 8.5 by 11" // A4 PROJECT PLANNER Every time you complete a project, you up-level your life. - Name your project. - Write out the summary. - Identify the 4 main steps. - Break it down into small steps. - Connect with your motivation: write out how the completion of your project will improve your life/career. MIND MAP Mind-mapping helps you work with the way your brain likes to think. Get to clarity faster through mind-mapping. - Mind map your project, day, goal, idea, life, etc. DEFINE YOUR KEY HABITS The achievement of any goal - huge or small - comes down to the practice of a few key habits. If you can master those habits, you can master your life. - Write in your 5 most important goals - Identify the habits that further the achievement of each goal for example: Goal: Lose 10 pounds Habits: Drink 8 cups of water, exercise for 30 minutes, drink a smoothie for breakfast - Out of all the habits you came up with, identify your "Daily Dozen" - the 12 habits that are most important for you to work on every day. DAILY DOZEN HABIT TRACKER Your success requires that you keep track of your progress. Use this weekly printable to track your progress, review it, and improve it. - List your "Daily Dozen" habits and track your progress for one week. - At the end of the week, you'll be able to see what habits need more attention. - Write out what worked, what didn't work, and how you're going to improve. TRAVEL PLANNER If you can take the lack of clarity out of planning your next trip, you can go on more adventures sooner. - Identify all your expenses and know how much your trip will cost. - Calculate how much money you will have to save every month to pay for your trip. - Brainstorm on what you're going to see, do, taste, and where you want to go. - Fill in the "Make It Happen Manifesto" to put some emotional commitment behind your plan. MY BUDGET With a budget, you tell your money what to do, where to go, and how to serve you - instead of the other way around. - Record multiple streams of income. - List out your monthly expenses: rent, groceries, utilities, etc. - Know whether or not you stuck to your budget and be able to see at a glance how you can do better next month. INCOME TRACKER What you focus on, expands. The first step to expanding your income is setting your intention for how much money you want to make and keeping track of every penny that comes into your life. - Set your goal/intention for how much money you want to make for the month. - Keep track of every penny and watch your income grow. EXPENSE TRACKER Know where your money is going and practice the millionaire habit of living within your means. - Write in your budget amount for the month. - Whenever you spend money, write it in and check off whether it was a "need" or a "want" in order to build more awareness around your spending habits. - At the end of the month, examine if your "needs" and "wants" - do you need to manage yourself better? BILL PAYMENT CHECKLIST Never waste money or energy on a late payment again. - List out all your monthly bills: rent, utilities, car payment, etc. - Write in their amounts and due dates. - Check them off as you pay them. MY MONEY OPPORTUNITIES Your mind is for coming up with ideas, not for storing them. - David Allen - List out every money-making idea or opportunity that comes to mind. - Pick the ones that you want to work on now and start generating some income! - Whenever you feel stressed out over lack of money, return to this list and do something about it! - Keep financial stress out of your life and do something to expand your income every month. MONTH AT A GLANCE Start and finish every month strong with this one page overview of your goals, your progress, and your plan to improve as you move into the next month. - Identify your top 3 goals. - Write in your To-Do items. Write in your income goal and your savings goal. - List out any important appointments and events. - List out the bills you need to pay and when they are due. - At the end of the month, complete a review of what worked, what didn't work, and what you need to do more of and less of. WEEK AT A GLANCE Before you can plan a productive day, you need to set your goals, tasks, and schedule for the week. - Identify your top 3 goals for the week. Make sure they help further your top 3 goals for the month. - List out your To-Do list for the week. Make sure your To-Do's are helping you achieve your weekly goals. - Schedule in your events and appointments, and be sure to schedule in all of your To-Do's as well. What gets scheduled gets done. WEEKLY GOAL SETTING & REVIEW Discover the key to insane focus and productivity by setting goals and reviewing your progress on a weekly basis. This will improve your momentum and performance so much! - At the beginning of the week, identify your top 3 goals. Make sure your goals are big enough to stretch you and small enough to actually get done that week. - Write in the steps you need to take in order to accomplish your goals. - At the end of the week, review your progress: what worked, what didn't work, do more, do less, wins/gratitude, lesson moving forward. - Use the answers in your review to make an even stronger game plan for the following week. MY GOALS The first step to living the life of your dreams is knowing what exactly that looks like. - Write out your goals in every area of your life: lifestyle, financial, career, relationships, self-care, adventure, spirituality, new skills, and health. MY GOALS Allow yourself to dream more, want more, have more, do more by filling out the prompts on this printable. - Answer the prompts: what do you want to become, create, organise, simplify, etc? - This printable simplifies the goal setting process. MONTHLY PROGRESS TRACKER Don't let your goals fade away. Keep them all in front of you and measure your attention to them on a monthly basis with this printable. - List out all your goals. - Write in when you want to start and complete each goal. - Every month, have a quick "check-in" with yourself and ask yourself if you are satisfied with your progress so far. If you are, add a check mark to the goal. If you're not satisfied, then now you know that something has to change. BLOG POST PLANNER Make sure that every blog post you write is working hard and well to serve you and your audience. - Identify the title, publish date, and category. - Brainstorm and outline your idea. - Come up with the key points you want to highlight. - Make note of any photographs, links and affiliates you need to add. - Identify your "Call to Action" (very important) - Identify your overall purpose for your post. - Check off the "Workflow" as you progress through it. - Write in any To Do items - Write in any feedback and notes for your next post. - Promote on social media. MY WEEKLY ROUTINE There are tasks in your life and career that need to be completed on a weekly basis. For example, every week you know you need to do your laundry, write a blog post, update your accounting, spend time on marketing, etc. Instead of letting these tasks "attack" you as emergencies, identify when exactly in the week you are going to pay attention to each one. This will also help you plan your week and day more quickly and efficiently. - Identify the different areas of your life. For example: Home, Blog, Family, etc. - Write in the weekly tasks that according to the life area and day of the week that if falls under. For example: Family - Friday - Take kids to soccer Blog - Wednesday - Write new post Home - Saturday - Do laundry GROCERY LIST Plan out your grocery list according to your meal plan and avoid impulse shopping and forgetting items. - Use the prompts to write up a complete grocery list: bakery, fruit, vegetables, etc. - Use the meal planner section to make sure that the food you buy will help you create the meals that you want to enjoy. HEALTH & FITNESS Watch your eating and exercise habits improve with this simple tracker. Tape this printable to your refrigerator and watch yourself make healthier choices more and more effortlessly. - Every day, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, record what foods you ate. - Fill in the little circles to track how many cups of water you drank for the day. - Record your exercise activity. - Keep you diet exciting by coming up with a new recipe you want to try and the ingredients needed (Ooo, Pinterest!). - There's even a space to jot in a quick shopping list. - Take a moment at the end of the week to write in your "Progress Reflection" - bring more mindfulness to how you are taking care of your body. BRAIN DUMP Our brains serve us best when we have a regular "spring cleaning" of all the tasks, ideas, and random thoughts that bombard us and cloud our ability to focus. Use this printable to "get it all out" whenever you feel like your brain is becoming a storage unit when it should be a lean, mean, focus machine. :) WARDROBE INVENTORY The first step to getting more control over your wardrobe and the image you want to present to the world is knowing what's in your wardrobe so that you can identify which pieces serve you best. - Take inventory of your wardrobe and write in the items according to the areas that they fall under. - List which items are your primary favourite items, secondary favourite items, and which pieces you want to donate/discard. MY IDEAL WARDROBE A balanced wardrobe is one that supports every activity of your life. Every time your lifestyle shifts, so should your wardrobe - otherwise you could find yourself more active in, say - business activities - and have nothing to wear but yoga pants! This is the reason why a person can be drowning in clothes and yet still have "nothing to wear." - List out the major activities that make up your life. - Take inventory of the clothing you have that goes under each activity. - Now, assess everything and determine what additional pieces you need to purchase in order to round out your wardrobe so that it can support your lifestyle in a more balanced way. DAY PLANNER Use this simple, streamlined day-planner when you have a day centered around appointments and getting things done on time. - On this printable, the time slots start at 6am and end at 10pm. DAY PLANNER Tell your day how you want it to go and live with more focus and intention. Your days make up your life and when you take the time to structure and organise your day, your life becomes more structured and organised as well. - Map out your schedule. - Identify your top 3 goals. - Write out your To Do list. - Record what your meals and exercise activity. - Record your income and expenses. - Write in any notes. - List what you are grateful for. DAY PLANNER Plan your day in a more fun and creative way with this printable. - Schedule in your tasks and appointment under the "hour space" that they fall under. - Use the box slots on the bottom to categorise your day into focus areas. I hope you find value in this Life Binder kit. It's amazing how even just a little bit of planning and intention can completely change your life. This system has become a "home" for my world on paper and has helped me become the CEO of my life and take 100% responsibility in everything I do. I hope it does the same for you too. :) Warmest, Michelle Rohr (the girl behind The Secret OWL Society and the Life Binder) MORE REVIEWS: EVERY Year I spend days/weeks/months searching for the right planner. Each year I'm disappointed because the one I found fails to meet my planning needs. Finally though, I found what suits me! Thank you spotted owl. I can't wait to print and tell my friends. - Lameisha The printables were exactly as I wanted, simple, elegant and will hopefully prove to be an effective tool in helping to organise my life in 2016 and work out what my priorities are. I feel that the item is competitively priced and my correspondence with the seller was very efficient and courteous. Would purchase again from SecretOwl. Thank you. - Karen Very happy with my purchase, a great investment for anyone wanting to keep track on all areas of their lives in a very useful and simplified way. Beautifully designed too! Thank you :) - Circe I love the simplicity of the design and look forward to staying organized and on track in 2016 thanks to the Life Binder. Thank you! - Katie So great, I've been looking for something like this for years! - Meridith This is perfect for getting me organized in every aspect of my business and life. Thanks so much for creating it! - Sarah I love everything that Michelle does! Without her, my business and well, life, wouldn't be where it is today! - Michelle Aesthetically stunning & the most thoughtful planner printable layout I've seen (and I've bought them all). - Anna I love this printable! Michelle makes wonderful products and it has definitely put me many steps closer to taking control of my life :) - Kaelie
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Welcome to iHN's Hopscotch at Blog, She Wrote! My topic for the 10 day series is Ten Ways to Use Ordinary Notebook Paper. Thank you for joining me. Please take a moment to subscribe, so you don't miss out- you can follow, subscribe by email or RSS feed (just look to the right!) and follow Blog, She Wrote on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest. I'd love it if you'd stay connected and visit again! Today's notebook paper topic is: Planners and Assignment books. No series on using notebook paper would be complete without another look at my simple spiral planner and the assignment books I use with my kids. I started out with a store bought college ruled spiral and now I make my own with the ProClick and some of my favorite 8.5 x 11 Staples college ruled notebook paper. The assignment books allow us to lay out the day's work for each student and it's a place for them to write down the other things they do for the day. Here's an excerpt from my first post on assignment books- "We all love the new assignment books. The kids like to see things laid out for them and I like giving them the target for the day and being able to dialogue with them about it. One of the things I like best is the simple lined paper format for each day. Once again, it's very freeing and it's been very effective so far." Click the link on the original post to read more about how we came to using this format. Of course my planner is plain notebook paper as well and I still adore it even after I made the modern edition two and a half years ago. Very early in our homeschooling I used a spiral notebook and after years of forms and organizing formats, I decided to simplify again and it's one of the best homeschooling decisions I've ever made. The link will take you to all the posts on my notebook paper planners. Some are the more recent style, but this link will take you to my first post and you'll see where I was and how I arrived at the picture above. I invite you to read it and experience the freedom of a simple planner! I mentioned a bonus post and you'll see it sometime soon. I'll place in the category here with the other notebook paper ideas. I appreciate your feedback during this Hopscotch series and I hope this series has been helpful to you. Thanks for joining me! ______________________________________________________ Please visit the other bloggers participating in iHN's Hopscotch over the next two weeks. While you are taking a look at the other Hopscotchers, check out the Pin It to Win It giveaways sponsored by Prufrock Press. ______________________________________________________
Last weekend, I came across this awesome website on Pinterest! It’s called DIY Home Sweet Home and contains tons of free pages you can download and print to create an organization binder. Many of them are specific for home use, but a bunch of them could be used for school or work use as well! ...
Last week’s post, “Guide to Notebook Systems/System Techo, Part I”, offered a brief introduction to different types of notebook systems on the market. One of those categories was the “System Techo,” a Japanese term for a notebook system built around a ringed binder. “System Techo” is not as popular
Circa® pocketed notebook dividers. Pocket dividers are a must-have for notebook organization. With double-sided pockets, they not only serve as section dividers, they also provide storage for loose sheets and note cards. This set comes with 4 different colors—one each in Clear, Soft Coral, Shadow and Pale Pink—so you can divide and sort your notebook your way. As always with Circa, these Circa-punched notebook dividers are easy to remove or rearrange.
- Taken at 8:15 PM on August 10, 2007 - cameraphone upload by ShoZu
I tell you why I the Arc customizable notebook system from Staples has replaced my old Filofax to become the perfect organiser/diary/journal for my (blogging) life.
The ScanCard System is a simple and effective system for executives who need to stay on top their busy schedules, appointments and projects.
I am loving my Arc Notebook turned planner/organizer/life saver. I love having paper and pen to write things down. Technology is OK, but there is nothing like sitting down with a paper and pen, there's so much freedom with that. I discovered Levenger. I actually stumbled on it via Pinterest. Have we discussed Pinterest yet? OMG, both are awesome! I did some net surfing about compatability, then made an order, and found out that the Levenger Circa system really does fit perfectly with my Arc system. Score for me!! I am sure that the popularity of the Arc has created demand for more options and insert styles, but until then, I am shopping some at the Levenger site. This was my first order. It is a sample kit with a few things for the classic and full sized notebooks. I thought this would be a safe way to try the stuff out, and see what I thought. It came with two sets of discs, some dividers, covers... ...and 4 different sizes of notes! I think I'm in love! With this, there was a special gift of a $40 gift certificate good for your next order. Well...OK, twist my arm! I ordered some more stuff immediately! This was my next order! I got a 300 sheet pack of colored notes pages, more top dividers, some mini note pages, and a sampler pack for a standard size book like my Arc system. They also have different sizes of discs, so I ordered some 1/4" discs! I used some of them to create a mini notebook with 3x5 index cards. This size fits PERFECTLY in my pocket at work! Now, instead of random papers with notes, I use this, then zip it out of this book and it GOES INTO MY ARC NOTEBOOK PERFECTLY! Yes, I am a planner geek, organizer nerd, and a note-taking fanatic! I admit it!! So, finally, here are some of my latest weekly pages. My Stuff and Things. This week above, I color coded the days to the to-do's. This week, I just liked this set of stickers, so I used them. Kind of pretty and girly. This was the week of the 4th of July, so I went with red, white, and blue. And this was last week, as I was beginning it. I just used some leftover random stickers from my "Happy Days" mini album! Have a great week, stay crafty and ORGANIZED my friends!
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As some of you may recall , I have re-purposed my beloved Malden as a stay-at-home binder to house all of the items I want to keep but th...
Good morning. This is my doggie, Ace, helping with this mornings tutorial and share. I have recently ordered a few things from Levenger to use in my Arc notebook that I use for my planner. OK, I also have a project Arc notebook, and a purse sized Arc notebook, and a couple of others. Yes, I'm hooked on Arc. I love them. But, they have a limited variety of planner/notebook inserts for their books. I am hoping that more start to come out. A lot of people make their inserts. However, when I saw these I knew I needed them. They had a great variety of "Apps" for your planner. They fit PERFECTLY in the Arc. So, I am adding to my planner awesomeness with these List pages, the Time Map daily inserts, the Smart Tabs, and the Doodler pages. The list pages come perforated, so you can put them in your planner, and tear out the one side to use when you go shopping. I have a shopping/coupon book that this is going into. The Time Map will come in handy for single busy days, as I am a weekly page person. The Doodler page is just that, blocks of color to go crazy with for jotting or sketching ideas. I love them! With my order I got some 2" and 1/4" discs. They work perfectly with my Arc notebook covers, dividers, etc. Arc doesn't carry bigger discs than 1 1/2", so I tried these, and they are awesome. The 1/4" ones are PERFECT for small notepads to stick in your pocket or purse. Because I spent enough money, I got their 1,2,3 punch for free. This baby is going into my organizer bag that I have posted earlier! So then, I bought one of the new Arc Notebooks with the awesome cover art pages. Then, I had an idea. Why waste the cover art when you can use it and see them all of the time as DIVIDERS!!! I took a piece of paper in the size of the cover pages. 8 3/4" tall by 6 5/16" wide. Then I divided it into four sections on what will be the "tab" side. Four sections turn out to be 2 3/16" each. I used my envelope maker by We Are Memory Keepers, thinking about the tutorial by Kathy at Paper Phenomenon that I have used here for my Craft Supply Inventory Book, I punched the top edge... ...then the first marking for the first tab... ...and I got this. Then I cut off the excess, which lines up at 3/8" by the ruler... ...And I got the tab. The teal one is the first one, I just sliced off the edges accordingly to make the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th tabs! I think this will be my Arc Bill Planning Notebook. I need a new one for 2014. I think this will work. I am so excited to be able to use all of the tabs! It turned out quite lovely, and I think it will work beautifully! Stay crafty, and organized, my friends!
