It's been years since I've kept any kind of calendar, date book, address book, or to-do list with any regularity. Gun-shy after losing data on several occasions, burned from buying into a particular company's system, products, or software, which then disappear, I lost interest in organizers and all the paraphernalia that goes with them: inserts and refills, software, templates, and accessories of all types. It's only in the last month or so that I feel ready to get back on the horse.
It was useful to read David Allen's Getting Things Done while I reflected on past experiences and researched current options. One of the most endearing things about Allen is his belief that how to use a calendar is not self-evident. It turns out that I really didn't know what to do with a calendar, how to use it, exactly, or what to put on it. If my past experience with Levenger failed me, it is because I bought their daily Agenda, a day-per-page calendar divided into hours--an excellent system for someone with daily appointments: executives, attorneys, real estate agents, sales representatives. In other words, people who have more than a monthly hair appointment and occasional birthday on their calendar.
What I did need is a place to organize all the various notes and ideas, logs and lists, sketches and brainstorming sessions I generate daily. This sounded more and more like a good old-fashioned, notebook, which have a tendency to get unwieldy. The secret to keeping a notebook functional, I realized, is regular editing, so that only the most current projects, notes, and lists, are included. Everything else can be archived for easy reference. Add address pages for frequently-used contacts and a monthly calendar to catch that hair appointment and occasional birthday, and voila: I had my perfect system. In other words, Levenger's Circa System.
Circa is basically a planner with ultimate flexibility. It differs from a binder in four key ways: the cover folds flat underneath it, so you can comfortably write on the attached pages, no matter the side or how full the planner is; the plastic-ring construction (think of a Rolodex crossed with a notebook) allows one to press in and lift out pages intact, without opening and closing the rings as you would with a traditional binder; the super-strong covers are completely translucent, so whatever is on your first page becomes that Circa's "cover" (I inserted Levenger's blue pocket divider under the translucent cover for the dreamy effect, above); and perhaps most importantly, by using the Circa punch any paper becomes "Circable," including pages as small as a couple inches. The equidistant, plastic ring construction keeps even small pages secure.
Having realized that I tend to use my planner at at home, at my desk, and thus don't really need portability--another revelation--I decided on the letter-sized product with extra-large, 1 1/2" rings for my system. I added dividers and created my own headings based on my projects and interests (To Do, Diet, Blog, Writing Projects, and Organizing Projects). I slipped the extra divider labels into a zippered pouch, and added a top-loading page-protector for temporary storage of pages that need to be punched. I finished off with address dividers and pages and a simple calendar, whose view I limited to the previous, current, and upcoming months. I bought a couple extra covers and sets of rings to create smaller, topic-specific Circa books for ideas and notes no longer current but that I want to hang onto.
A set of covers and rings costs $12; add the $58 punch to make any paper "Circable" and you needn't buy a thing again--although, of course, it's fun to do so. I bought my Circa with the idea of being able to use the super smooth, super bright ink jet printer paper Office Max offers, but admit to falling into a swoon over Levenger's expertly-designed, pre-printed inserts. But with the plethora of free templates available from such sites as Microsoft.com, diyplanner.com, and organizedhome.com, it really is quite possible to find what you need--or make your own inserts--without spending another dime, save the cost of printing them.