stationary Archives - Penguin Girl

#rhodiapaperproject weeks 5, 6, and 7

penny on December 18, 2014

What is the #rhodiapaperproject? The wonderful people at Exaclair/Rhodia are doing a paper project, it’s a chance to sample various papers without investing in an entire notebook! I subscribed to weeks 5, 6, and 7. A month ago, I wrote about week 4. First, though, I apologize for the tablet photos with terrible lighting. It’s mid-December, I’m impatient for the solstice and longer days.

Week 5 samples included a sheet of lined Rhodia paper in sizes N° 8, (3 x 8″), N° 10 (2 x 3″), N° 16 (6 x 8″), N° 19 (8 x 12″). Why did I request this sample if I could use a ruler and cut out the shapes myself?

Lines.

It’s one thing for me to cut a rectangle out of a sheet of paper but that paper takes an entirely different view when it is lined. Yes, I know the standard spacing and could even cut up a sheet of Rhodia lined paper, but this is the way. I’m not going to discuss the paper. It’s lovely Rhodia with the beautiful violet lines we all know and love. I’m going to focus on the various sizes and how I could see using them.

The Rhodia Pad, N° 8, surprised me. I see it as useful for grocery lists or for when I brain dump tasks en mass. By folding in half, to 3×4, it interacts well with many of my existing systems. A quick vertical fold can make an easy 2 column list. While not a perfect fit, I believe it works with my A5 filofax flex, which has sadly been discontinued. This pad is also available as a 5/5 grid and with a black cover.

While I love many things tiny, I just can’t figure out when I’d use the Rhodia Pad, N° 10. It’s just too small and with just 7 lines, they’re more a hindrance than a help. This pad is also available in a 5/5 grid, but I’m not really sure how this would fit into my needs.

Yes, the size of the N° 16 Rhodia Pad is in my sweet spot, at least for paper size. One thing this project helped me clarify is which sizes are “L+M”, lined, with a margin. I’m very picky about all the rulings on my page and I find the margin rule for this sizes makes me happy that there are two other options, a 5/5 grid and “O” a blank sheet.

Finally, we are at the largest size sent for this trial, Rhodia Pad, N° 19. At this larger paper size, I find that a margin is not as intrusive, but I wish it hadn’t increased proportionally with the size of the page. When I need a paper this size, this is definitely a pad I would turn to. It is also available in the 5/5 grid and the “O” blank sheet.

Week 6 samples highlighted three different rulings of Clairefontaine bright white, 90g papers, all at the same 6×8″ size. If you follow me on instagram, you know that my current daily notebook is séyès (French) ruled. My MIL picked up this notebook for me when she was in France a few years ago, and for some reason while I was aware of this rule, this is the first time I’ve used it, and I fell in love. I don’t quite use it quite properly, but more on that in a future post. I was curious how a different brand prints it up and jumped at the chance to see the differences.

The two papers are very very similar and I like that all the lines after the red margin, are the same violet, my other cahier has the primary ruling in a bold violet and the secondary lines as a light weight teal. Now as for the other two sheets, a lined and a lined with margin … I like both. The margin is unobtrusive on the front of the sheet (I tend to use the backs differently than the front) and I like that the header is minimal. While I’m currently in love with séyès rule, I definitely see benefits to all three of these rulings.

Week 7 samples are from the Meeting books. They are available in two sizes, Compact 6½ x 8¼” and Large 9×11¾”, each with 80 pre-printed micro-perforated lined sheets that include space for Date + Notes + Action. The Classic Rhodia Meeting Book has orange or black coated and waterproof card covers and 80g paper and the Rhodia Meeting Book 90 has a black polypro cover and 90g paper.

Now, honestly, if there wasn’t a little label on the bottom of the two sheets specifying which was the 80g and which the 90g, I can’t easily tell the difference by look. I love the very faint light grey narrow rule and while I am not a fan of orange (E loves the colour, the Brooklyn kitchen featured orange cabinetry!) this is a very easy-on-the eye shade. One thing I do wish was changed was that on the reverse of the sheet, the Action area was on the left-side of the page so that I could easily fold it over for review or even to be able to tear it off to take away.

This was a fun way to be able to discover the different styles, sizes, and types of Rhodia and Clairefointaine papers. I hope I’ve helped bring some insight into some of the different products. Please let me know if you’ve found it helpful. Thank you Exaclair for creating the project!

planner status, end of January edition

penny on January 31, 2013

All too soon it’s the last day of January, time to discuss how the new planners and I are getting along.

Overall it’s going well, I’m surprised at what a difference a small formatting change can make. As I wrote in planner angst, I was nervous about the impact of those small changes.

Let’s start with task planning.

Last year, I migrated to a junior-sized hybrid circa/arc system for tasks. I like the circa planning pages but as I consider these a temporary record, refill cost is a concern. So for 2013 I opted for the Arc week/month refill.

This is a sample of the pages I used last year, immediately following a Monday morning planning session. Do you see my hack for dealing with repetitive tasks?

I use labels. I like the small return address label size. I type four lines of text in two columns per label and cut them in half to cram the most information onto each label as I can. These examples are out-dated and it was really hard to write up a sample week to scan and publish without it looking really silly.

I highlight tasks as they are completed, colour coding each day. That way I can see at a glance when tasks were completed and when something hasn’t been. I use a Zebra Mildliner Set (Mild & Fluorescent Color) with a mild grey and violet to round out the set. I purchased mine at Kinokuniya which is how I acquired the singles. I do wish I had a green instead of just the blue-green from my set, the blue and blue-green are very similar shades! The colours didn’t scan well and I did some amateur image correction so the yellow and orange would show up. Again, this is a made-up week, but it is representative on how it generally looks by Sunday evening.

For 2013 there was a long getting to know you curve for the arc format I chose. I’m still not 100% in love with it, but perhaps it will help make my week more efficient. I also have yet to print up new repetitive task labels. It’s not really bad as I do gain from rewriting tasks (more on that in a bit) but I do miss them. I also tried to not be so set-in-my-ways with the highlighter colours. After a three week trial, I decided I don’t like it. Last week I went back to my preferred rainbow order.

What are the format differences and how do they impact me?

First, the paper is wonderful. It works well with my highlighters and collection of pens (mostly the sarasa 0.4).

Changes I like: The Arc background shades alternate days. I like that more than I expected I would. I like the monthly divider tabs, not a surprise as it’s something I felt was missing from my Circa system. For the layout, I like that I can block Saturday and Sunday together as one task day, since Shabbat tasks don’t require a planner! I do have a colour for Saturdays and often tasks are coloured in if I need to check on something Saturday night. I like when there is not a lot of purple appearing for the week.

Changes I do not like: I do not care at all for the five months at a glance. I never look at it as the font is too small to see unless the planner is in front of my nose. I also haven’t figured out how to use 3 lines of notes at the bottom of each page.

However, what really bothers me is how the week is broken up across the fold. My week generally has a Monday-Thursday focus with Friday reserved for scrambling to pick up missing pieces and prepare for Shabbat.

I have felt a bit lost on Thursdays, though I’ve never gotten the hang of them in general. In an ideal world this new format would mean Thursday would become the new Friday (but without Shabbat stress) as the weekly work review day and bear the bulk of the scramble to get everything done, but that hasn’t happened yet.

I’ve not yet declared complete planner fail, but I do wish the 2013 junior sized inserts would go on extreme discount.

Now to the topic of my task rewriting habit…

Each morning over my coffee, I check in with the planner and basecamp and do a mini-review of open projects, the week, and what I need to focus on for that day. That results in an index card that looks much like this. The card often includes items that don’t make it into the more big-picture task planner. They are even more temporary than the planner, I only keep them long enough to write the next day’s list.

Does it work? For me, yes.

Is it efficient? For me, yes.

The repetitive writing brings the important things for that day to the top of my brain and allows what isn’t important to settle a little. That’s not a bad thing.

Please read Lifehacker’s article on remixing for a personalized productivity system for additional inspiration.

Finally, the big question, how is that big change in format for the desk calendar/diary record faring?

I’m still not 100% sure how I plan to fill this out. I have been writing entries in pencil (4H grade), but as that definitely didn’t scan well, I edited the image and typed up the daily entries. I used a free font based on a scan of my handwriting, so please don’t twitch too much with the bad kerning.

The biggest change is that there is no sketching of what I wore. This makes me sad but at least I’m writing the items down. Why aren’t there doodles? My plan was to work on my sketching skills, but I have a desire for this book to be perfect and I know the sketches will not be. Therefore there aren’t any and further, I’ve not been doodling much lately. I have a selection of books on sketching and doodling I’d like to look through, but the main thing is I need to get past this mind-block of needing perfection and start sketching.

Overall I am pleased with this format even with the page break on Wednesday. The oxide green is a very nice colour and it makes me happy (hah I hadn’t noticed my font colour until I edited this post).

I admit to eyeing the new 18 Month Turntable after I learned about it, but that is more curiosity than my having any real need for it. It has features that remind me of ways I’ve tracked tasks in the past and I love that it can easily be used two different directions and changed weekly if desired!

I want to end with how I use the anno section, a section that many apparently struggle with, regardless of brand. In my anno section, I record what I made for dinner. I’ve been doing this for a while with different formats. This list is typed with that font because again, I’ve not yet inked anything into this planner.

How are your calendars and planning devices faring so far this year?

that time of year: planner angst

penny on October 23, 2012

It’s the time of year with beautiful mornings when I realize there are only a few pages left in my planner and I wonder what I’m going to do in a few weeks.

Yes, I still use a paper planner. Are you surprised given my work? I do not advocate using a tool just because it exists or everyone else uses it. I look for solutions that are the best fit for the needs of the individual. I’ve tried to be digital only. It doesn’t work for me.

I use a hybrid system of a paper calendar for appointments/records, a separate planner for tasks, an electronic calendar for reoccurring appointments and shared needs, and various work logs/journals. With the exception of the work logs, most of the time the planner lives on my office desk.

For the past few years, I’ve used the large moleskine weekly with notes. This year, my radical change was to purchase it in red (the only non-black colour available for 2012, I am NOT a fan of red (or yellow)) so that I could quickly differentiate it from the other moleskines in my bag and on my desk.

It works, but my needs changed this year, I find myself recording more per day.

I’m not ready to go to a page-per-day because I like to see the week-as-a-whole. I’ve looked at many different vendors (this is a good list) and have come to what I believe is the right decision. I’ll try it. If it fails, I’ll try something else in February (and probably snag a good discount sale while I’m at it).

I also do not want to change the size because this is the size paper I love. A5 and A5-ish is my comfort-zone. I cannot explain why, I love index cards and tabloid size too on occasion, but for my notebooks this size works for me. Yes, I miss my composition books but I do not care to make the entire planner myself.

The planner in question has become more of a desk calendar and a diary record of my day than the carry-around book of all things that it was this time last year. Yes, I still keep track of what I wear, books I’ve completed, what I made for dinner, and various appointments. I now also keep record of mum’s medical appointments and the doings of not one but two businesses. For the past few months I’ve struggled to fit everything in the space available despite my collection of super fine point pens. A few months ago I began to use a disc notebook for project and task management, therefore there isn’t as much for the moleskine’s notes page and it is generally 90% blank at the end of the week.

I plan to purchase the large weekly horizontal planner, most likely in green. It’s not perfect, there are many things I don’t like about it (I’d like Shabbat and Sunday to be the same size as the rest of the week), but I hope it is a gradual change (since I’m staying with the same company) and not a radical departure from a format I’ve been using for years. I plan to continue to manage my tasks in the disc notebook, most likely using this refill. I’ll try to post more on how I handle tasks soon. I’ve tried a lot of systems. I’ve found this works for me.

Do you use a hybrid system? Do you have a calendar format you adore above all else? Why?

Do you know where your addresses are? Mine are (surprise) in a hybrid system, I record home addresses, phone numbers, birthdays, family info and things in an address book and keep emails with email. We had a database of addresses, but it’s now seven years out-of-date (oops?).

usuzumi love

penny on December 18, 2009

My love of grey, especially grey ink is known.

My love of Pilot Hi-Tec-C pens is mostly known. I first discovered this pen in Prague in the summer of 2001. I’m very thankful that it’s now much easier to find this pen here in the States. I love how it writes whether in the 0.25mm, 0.3, 0.4, or even my (gasp) preferred tip of 0.5mm.

I’ve eyed the special Pilot colours off and on for a while. I told myself that if I was a bit restrained with the pen and paper acquisitions I could purchase a grey Hi-Tec-C when I next saw it. At Kinokuniya the other day, I saw one. I grabbed it and quickly went upstairs to pay. It is also available from Jet Pens for $3.

I am in love.