Update on the ABP2

My planning has settled back into pretty much where I was several years ago: a set of goals to projects to next actions for my different life areas. The next actions then get transferred to a week plus notes diary, with day-to-day planning being done on a day per page diary.

Aeons ago (see here for the initial review and here for an update about its flattability), I bought a Quo Vadis ABP2 day per page diary, to use for my day planning (as a more up-market version of the reporter's notebook I had been using for the task through the latter part of 2015).
In case you haven't clicked back to see the earlier posts, this is the layout inside:

Even at the start I had some reservations about the line spacing (3.5mm!) and those reservations haven't disappeared. When I started January, I thought I would give the ABP2 at least a month and see how I got on, using it for planning the day.

It's actually worked out better than I thought it would, but is far from good. I've been using the RHS to write out my daily list of stuff to do, plus as a scratch pad to jot things down if needed. I'm using every other line and so far, haven't run out of space.The LHS was supposed to be used for time-boxing and I have used it for that, but it only works if I only have one thing to do in any hour and preferably have several hours in which to do only one thing! If I had a series of half-hour long things to do or half-hour appointments, it would drive me insane with the spacing.

Most days have got stuff I can't show you without redacting lots, but here's a day I can share:

It works, but only because the tasks I have for the day can be squeezed into the spaces. There's a lot of wasted space across the top of the page, with the multiple languages. There's also more wasted space at the top of the LHS because I don't start on tasks much before 8.30 in the morning and there's wasted space at the bottom of the LHS as I've usually finished my tasks by 6pm. I've noted TV to watch in the later timed spaces, but even then, that's not great as the spaces finish at 9.30pm and there may be more than one thing on at any time (and I need to record one of them). I'm not using the bottom section other than to remind myself what I'm making for dinner (but that could as easily go in the space on the RHS and give me more space for time-boxing on the left, were it not all so pre-printed and inflexible).
The amount I'm generally using on a daily basis is about 6.5cm, out of the height of the LHS of 11cm, or the height including the space at the bottom of ~13cm. Just half of the space there. In the reporter's notebooks, I used 18cm for the day, so I'm down to about a third of what I was using.

At the moment, most of my days have big, chunky things to do and I can block off several hours for each task, which is making it bearable. If I had a lot of smaller appointments or tasks, I would have to use another piece of paper to plan out my day.

Overall:
I wouldn't buy this again. There's a larger version of it (ABP1) which might have been better, but that's not easily available in the UK and to be honest, the reporter's notebook worked so much better than this! I had much more space to time-box in, the RHS had space to note all my tasks and use as a scratch pad, the paper quality was marginally better and they were much cheaper! I also felt fine about tearing out the pages I'd used and tossing them at the end of the week when I did my weekly reviews, whereas the ABP2 is bound. (I'll toss it at the end of the year).

I may be back to a reporter's notebook if my days stop having a few big tasks per day and start having lots of small tasks to plan.

Page per Day Challenge #3

I wrote here about winning one of the day per page diaries for the Quo Vadis Challenge and the wrote here about my first foray into using the diary. Now we're a bit further in, how's it going? Am I still using it? Or have I already failed the challenge?

Well, I'd put it down as a hit and a miss!

Yes, I am still using it every day (though in all honesty, sometimes I'm writing it up the following day). I'm still doing what I set out to do - a quote, the weather, a summary of the day, what I'm currently reading, and some tracking. I had to move away from fountain pens as everything bled through like crazy, so now it's all being written in biro or Staedtler triplus fine-liners (that I got free from Cult Pens).

This is about the dullest day to show you (so I don't have to redact anything!):

I'm outlining what I've done over the day in the top boxes (around the date). The space below that is used to record the weather. I have a quote in every day and then a quick summary of the day. This day got a sticker but they often don't!
There's some tracking at the bottom, and a note of what I'm reading. I'm keeping a list of books read at the back of the diary (using the pages intended for addresses).

I've added a bookmark with a Celtic dragon charm on it, taped to the spine:

So, that's the hit part... what's the miss?

I miss being able to journal to process things. I get that this is a diary to record highlights and I'm generally doing that (though some days are better than others), but I've often used a diary/journal to empty my head and process things, or just to write in more detail about something. So, as well as the little Exacompta Forum shown here, I'm using a Nanami Seven Seas Writer (given to me by a dear friend). As I am in the Exacompta Forum, I'm writing in it in two columns. Unlike the Forum, I'm not writing every day - just when I have something I want to write about. Unlike previous journalling, I'm also sticking a few things in (the Russian stamps from my TN for example), though not much, it must be said. I'm going to try and do more of that and make it more visual in general.

What I'm writing in the Seven Seas journal is too personal or private to be able to show you very much. Here's about the only page I'm prepared to share (mostly because it's covered in stamps!):

So, a hit because I'm managing the Page per Day Challenge, but a miss because I'm overflowing into another journal and doing several pages some days.

How's everyone else doing the Challenge getting on?

Page per Day Challenge #2

Best laid plans and all that...

After spending a long time thinking about what I wanted to record each day as a snapshot of my day, I had decided that I would note

• the date
• the day of the week
• the weather
• a quote for the day
• a summary of the day
• some tracking (meditation, physio, exercise)
• what I'm currently reading

I used a stencil to mark the date and month and colouring pencils to record the weather and temperature. The quotes throughout the year I had intended to be in Diamine Night Sky - a black ink with a silver shimmer. The rest of the entries would be in fountain pen with no colour especially in mind, just whatever was in my two finest nibbed pens.

My word, the paper doesn't cope with pens! The stencilling was done in a Pilot hi-tecpoint 0.5 rollerball. That bled through to the other side. The quote bled through horrendously. The summary of the day (a bit blanked out for privacy in the picture) bled through and even the very fine Platinum 0.2mm Preppy bled through.

Day 1. Some bits blanked out for privacy

The reverse! Aaaghh!!!
LOOK at that bleed through!!

This needs a whole rethink about what inks to use. Bleeding through to the page of dialling codes is one thing... bleeding through onto pages I want to be able to read is another thing entirely. It looks horribly like I'm going to have to use BIRO in this.

Aaaaghhhhhh!

Quo Vadis Forum Journal/Page per Day Challenge #1

Recently, Quo Vadis ran a raffle to win one of three of their diaries (Journal 21, Notor or undated daily), in which to do the Page Per Day Challenge. You can see the blog posts about the challenge on the Quo Vadis page here.

I entered, and asked for the undated version because I liked the layout of it more than I did the others and I'm glad that I did indeed receive one of the undated daily versions. Free stationery is of course, free stationery, but I wouldn't have been happy to get the Notor and would probably have emailed back and asked them to give it to someone else if they'd said I'd won one. The Journal 21 would have been okay, but I genuinely did want the undated daily!

It arrived yesterday thankfully, as I was worried that the New Year would start before the diary had arrived. Here it is, still in the shrink-wrapping:

Exacompta Forum Journal

And here it is unwrapped - front...

Exacompta Forum Journal front (with label)

...and back...

Exacompta Forum Journal back (with label)

The size of it is great! It's 5" x 7" which is big enough to write a reasonable amount, but small enough that I will have to think about what to record.

Inside:
First up is a title page which just says Forum with the branding at the bottom right:

First page

After that there is a page for putting personal details and the first of a few information pages:

Personal information; weights and measures

There is then a double spread of dialling codes for places in the USA:

Followed by a map of the USA and dialling codes for countries around the world:

After that the diary starts. I haven't dated it yet, but I think there could be 366 diary pages... and 2016 is a Leap Year.

Right at the back is a page for travel expenses and then a few pages to record addresses and phone numbers etc.

Page layout:
I liked this diary for journalling because there is a space at the top to record any events/appointments, but the rest of the day is free and simply lined paper. The other two on offer - the Journal 21 and the Notor - had more detailed layouts. The Journal 21 has a space at the top of the page with a mini diary tucked to one side and the rest of the page has timed slots. The Notor has a very busy layout with blocks of colour that hurt my eyes. Enough said.

Nice, straightforward layout

The paper is 64 gsm, acid and chlorine-free. I'll see how well it behaves with fountain pen. I really hope it will be okay. The Quo Vadis ABP2 isn't bad but there is some show-through with some pens.

The bottom corner of the page can be torn off to mark your progress through the book, which is good, because there is no ribbon marker. I will possibly add a ribbon marker to it, not least because I have some lovely charms that I want to use!

The cover is simple kraft card with a leather effect that reminds me of the Clairefontaine Age Bag notebooks. Unlike the other two diaries in the giveaway, there was no cover included as well as the diary, but that's fine - I like the plain kraft one (I threw away the one that came with the ABP2 as it was so horrible but if I hadn't, it would have fitted it I think).

It has sewn binding which means that it should lie flat. That said, the ABP2 has sewn binding but only lay flat after I broke its spine in several places. Initial opening of this indicates it lies a bit flatter than the ABP2 but not flat-as-a-bat.

Overall, I think it's a great little day per page diary. I'm struggling to find stockists for this, including on the Quo Vadis site (but maybe I'm looking in the wrong places). If anyone knows where it can be bought, let me know in the comments? Thanks!

I shall be doing updates on how my journalling goes, as part of the Page per Day Challenge, so please do come back and see how I get on. Is anyone else taking part? Let me know and I can do a regular round-up of posts, if people want.

Quo Vadis ABP 2 - update

It lies flat!

It lies flat!!

Look away now if you like your stuff pristine...





Okay. It was a bit resistant and so I broke its spine in a few several places and now it lies flat just fine.
:-)

However, it now looks like this:

A bit battered

Major spinal injuries!

Less pretty; more useful though

But, it lies flat!

So, for those of you who like the thought of the ABP 2 but wanted it to lie flat (and don't mind beating it into submission), then rest assured, it will lie flat!

I started near the start of the diary, opening it out (hideous cover removed) and flattening out the pages, then I decided that the best solution would be to go to the middle and work outwards. I found the middle of the book and then bent it completely back on itself so that the two covers were touching. This (naturally) broke its spine (something I would hate to do on most books!!). I then worked my way out, section by section, re-breaking the spine at each junction between sets of pages and again at the mid-point of each block of pages.

I realise this is quite brutal, but my stationery has to work for me! I didn't buy it to look at! I bought it so it would work! This wasn't going to work if it wouldn't lie flat. I don't care that it looks a bit really quite battered. It's not going to be out and about with me as it's my daily planner and will sit on my desk.

Has anyone else brutalised some stationery to make it work for them?

Quo Vadis ABP 2 - review

[Sorry for the lack of posts - a family crisis pulled me away from pretty much everything! All is well now though!]

Quo vadis ABP 2 diary

Today's review is of the Quo Vadis ABP 2 daily diary for 2016. I bought this to use as a better quality version of the reporter's notebook that I've been using as my day-planner! In the reporter's notebook, I've drawn a line down the middle of the page, added times to the LHS and then used the LHS to time-box activities and the RHS for to do lists, notes and so on. This has been working brilliantly (except on weeks when family crises occur and throw all my planning out the window...), but I thought I would try a 'proper' daily diary with a similar layout for next year.

Enter the Quo Vadis ABP 2.

I ordered mine from Bureau Direct (no affiliation, just a long-term, happy customer) and asked for the black cover. It arrived (as ever from Bureau Direct) well packed and very promptly. Click on any picture to enlarge.

First impressions:
1. It comes with a vinyl cover in a 'pebbled leather' effect. That's hideous and I'm going to be removing it. I may put the diary in another slip cover, but I may just leave it coverless. It isn't a diary that will be going out and about with me, it will just sit on my desk. If I feel really inspired, I will re-cover it.

Pretty hideous cover

With vinyl cover removed

2. It probably won't lie flat without some brutal treatment. Which is fine as I have been known to be brutal with things to make them lie flat! It's disappointing in many ways though as I think it might annoy me. The alternative (if it really won't lie flat) will be dismember it and put it in a ring-binder.

3. The line spacing is tiny! We're talking 3.5mm line spacing!

Seriously narrow line spacing!

4. Apart from the line-spacing, the layout is great! It has timed slots down the LHS which I can use for time-boxing and space on the RHS for notes, to-do lists etc. There is also space at the bottom for other jottings (and sadly, one of those daft little calendars that are neither use nor ornament, but hey ho).

5. There are tear-off corners so you can flip to the right day without needing a bookmark.

6. There is a plethora of languages on each page which makes it a bit busy

7. There are maps and other information pages. I will probably use the address pages as space to write my monthly goals (or ignore them altogether...). The maps I might colour in if I'm bored. I never really need most of the extra pages in a diary to be honest! I know others love them though.

Front page

Info page

Holiday dates (to fill in)
2016 calendar

What a double spread looks like
(Saturday and Sunday get a page each)

2017 calendar
First of several maps

More maps

Address pages

List of Public Holidays for 2016
(plus signs of my brutality, making it open flat!)

I haven't done any pen tests on it yet - I'll post again when I have.

Does anyone else use this format? How have you found it?