3 Things I Love About Discbound Notebooks & Planners
I still have my very first discbound notebook. It’s junior size, Arc brand (from Staples) with a solid red, woodgrain textured cover. I bought it after hearing a fellow business-owning friend rave about hers. The idea of a notebook with moveable pages that “snap” into their binding purely because of a strategically-designed, edge-aligned hole punch intrigued me, and I had to try one for myself. That red notebook served as my time-keeping calendar for my (then) full-time job, and I fell in looooooove.
Admittedly I was skeptical at first. I wondered how a notebook not permanently bound to its spine (i.e. no staples, wire or spiral binding, etc.) would hold up. Is it durable enough to survive in my purse or work bag? How often can I move pages before they bend beyond usability? Are they more cost-effective than traditional planners? Will I use it enough to get my money’s worth out of it? So many questions.
Today I own five discbound notebooks and planners, and only through sheer willpower do I own so few. (Haha!) The little red notebook is now my address book (yes, I still keep a printed one!), my Christmas card mailing list. My newest one is a dark brown, Circa brand, genuine leather, plaid twill-lined notebook embossed with my initials that currently holds my planner. At more of a “splurge” price point, it was a celebratory purchase for reaching a business milestone.
Six years into my discbound journey, I can’t bring myself to go back to a traditional planner. Here’s why:
FAVORITE FEATURE #1 : FLEXIBILITY!
The flexibility of a discbound notebook is the number one reason I can’t return to a traditional planner, even an undated one. I have the freedom to change layouts and systems any time! My planner primarily consists of monthly calendars and weekly planning pages. Last year I had trouble finding a weekly layout I loved and probably changed it four times. But the point is I could change it, anytime I wanted, without feeling like I wasted an entire planner. Though I try to keep 12-18 monthly calendar pages on hand at any given time, in contrast, I only print 3 months or so of weekly pages. That way if I do decide to change layouts, there’s not much paper to throw away. Plus, it keeps the thickness of my planner manageable.
I have other notebooks for other purposes, including one for my publication work. Plastic dividers (yep, you can buy those!) split this particular notebook into two sections: one for notes on work in progress, another for work complete (but not ready for the proverbial “circular file”). My main planner is the only notebook I regularly carry to client meetings, but I always have blank paper at the back to make notes during our conversations. Once I return to my office, I transfer those notes to the official client work notebook and organize them by project… something I can’t do with a traditional notepad or spiral notebook!
FAVORITE FEATURE #2 : COVER OPTIONS!
They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, and the same goes for planners. But the cover is definitely a make-or-break feature! One of my favorite things about discbound planners is the variety of cover options… and the ability to fall in love with a cover independently of the contents. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found a planner I really liked but wouldn’t buy it because I didn’t like the cover. Not a problem with discbound planners! There are several major brands to choose from (Tul, Circa, Arc, etc.), more on Amazon, and handmade cover options on Etsy. For materials, there’s leather, faux-leather, fabric, flexible plastic… even some that will wirelessly charge your phone! I personally lean toward solid, neutral colors, but there are a plethora of bright colors and prints available if that’s more your thing.
Additionally, you can customize the discs! Different size discs handle a wide range of page capacities. Color and material varieites bring your personal style to every part of your notebook. I think these tortoise shell discs by Circa are gorgeous!
FAVORITE FEATURE #3 : DURABILITY!
As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been using discbound notebooks for about six years now. At least three of my current notebooks are over 3 years old and have been carried everywhere. They’ve been to the office, client meetings, the living room couch, work retreats at the beach, outside while my kids played in the pool, my purse, the coffee shop, the front passenger seat of the car with alllllll the other things a mom needs to pack… not one notebook has fallen apart! My best advice is to not overfill your notebook. When they get full, it’s hard to flip covers around and/or put new pages in. That’s when it’s time to buy larger rings or divide the contents into more notebooks.
Only one notebook has been damaged beyond repair… by my then-3-year-old toddler. At the time, my desk was in the living room (we had just moved and were still getting settled), and while I was in another room rocking his baby brother for naptime, he picked up my planner and a ballpoint pen and proceeded to write… on the cover, on every page, on every divider. (Insert sigh of resigned defeat here.) That particular cover was teal faux leather, and even where I managed to clean off the ink, the pressure of his writing left permanent indentations. I’d admittedly had my eye on a coffee brown Tul brand cover, and took the unscheduled opportunity to change planners.
A Reason to Try DISCBOUND for Yourself
In the beginning, I used the calendars and page layouts included with each notebook. However, due to changing life seasons and frustration with the functionality (and over-design) of pre-existing layouts, over the years I’ve designed my own pages. My current setup includes monthly, weekly, and daily pages, all designed by yours truly. The combination of the three formats helps me break down bigger projects into smaller, bite-size tasks and to schedule them at a manageable pace.
After being asked numerous times, “I love that! Where can I get it?”, I took the hint and opened an online shop! Nearly all the items are digital downloads, so you can purchase only the parts you need. (There are two pre-printed notepads, also, with plans to add more pre-printed goods in the future.) My hope is that these pages help you create a planning and organization system that works for you.
While it’s not necessary to use a discbound notebook to house the items in my shop, they were designed with disc binding in mind. The margins are set to allow enough room for the edge-aligned hole punches (though they work just fine as loose pages, too). If you prefer another type of binder, by all means continue to use it! The very best planning system is one you actually use. All printable pages are available in US Letter and A4 sizes (with the obvious exception of the wall calendars), but additional popular sizes are coming in the near future. Sign up for emails to be notified when the new sizes are available!
If you need a flexible planning system…
If you’re tired of trying to fit into someone else’s planning “box”…
If you want less “design” on the page and more room for actual planning…
