Posted May 12, 2010 by Karen Doherty
in Editorial, Planning Tips | 1 comment »
“I purchased a Trinote planner,” a QV customer wrote, “and for the most part, I am happy; however, it does not have a month-at-a-glance. I like the space for notes after each day, and I like the hours through 9:00 pm. I am a psychotherapist and need the daily hours to list all my appointments; however, I also use my planner for meetings, case consultations, and for personal use, so a monthly calendar would be nice to have as well. What would you suggest for a refill? I hate to throw this one out but it really does not provide all that I need.” 
Unfortunately for this Trinote user, we do not have any plans to add monthly pages. It will make the book too large for the refillable cover; and make it more expensive as well because of extra pages and printing.
As a stopgap measure I would suggest that she either get a Monthly 4 refill–which is the same size as the Trinote–and stick it between the back cover and the book and hold it inside with an elastic band. I would be happy to send her one of our new bookmarks to keep it in place.
Another possibility would be to buy a pocket-size Visoplan or Exaplan refill and tuck them in an inside cover flap. I have done that myself when I needed a monthly overview to back up my weekly planner.
My suggestion for 2011 would be to purchase a Visual or Space 24 instead of a Trinote, or, sad to say, find another brand that better meets your needs. The Visual and the Space 24 both have built in monthly planning pages.
Your suggestions for Quo Vadis and any other DIY solutions would be welcome.
Posted October 27, 2009 by Karen Doherty
in Pens, Paper & People | 10 comments »
I’m changing my planner for 2010. For the past several years I have used Space 24 and loved it. I had a full page to write down everything I needed to do that week for work and home: people to call, dry cleaning reminders, scribbled notes for books to buy, my noon class on Wednesdays, projects to work on, mailings, and all the other memoranda of my life. As usual, I would get done about half of what I planned to do, so I’d erase various notes and distribute them over the next week or two. The paper is strong enough to hold up to lots of erasing.
This year, Quo Vadis introduced Equology – a planner line made with recycled paper. As a former staff member and volunteer with the Sierra Club, and a committed environmentalist, I had a real dilemma on my hands: stay with Space 24 or go over to Equology.
I hasten to add the Clairefontaine paper used for Space 24 is made with strict environmental standards. The mill manufactures much of its own energy, all the pulp and wood by-products come from FSC and PEFC certified forests — none from old growth forests — and the water is cleaner when it leaves the mill then when it arrives. So clean, in fact, people can fish, swim and boat downstream within sight of the plant. With a background in Sierra Club fights in Alaska over logging practices and pulp mill pollution, that is pretty impressive.
But, recycled paper is recycled paper. I made the decision to give Equology a try for a year.
Then, I couldn’t find a format that would exactly meet my need for a notes page. Continue reading »
