When I converted my freelance business files to a combination of Rollabind and Levenger’s Circa four years ago, I decided to store my Jotz notebooks disc-down in my filing cabinet, identified by their color-coded finger rings. When it came time to convert my inactive records to Circa, I opted for a hanging folder hack, identified by ordinary hanging-folder tabs.
But what if you store Circa notebooks on a bookshelf, spine out like an ordinary book? Here’s a quick and inexpensive solution that might solve your problem.
I made my quickie proof-of-concept samples out of old business cards cut in half, but you can make wider or narrower labels to suit. Just remember to leave around 1 cm on each side as a margin for the holes. I find it’s easier to punch the holes first and then bend the card-stock (paper proved to be too flimsy).
There’s a lot of room for customization here. Make the labels longer or shorter, color-code them using colored stock or markers, or stagger them up and down the spines. When you need to use the book, they are easy to snap off — you can also unhook just one side so that the tag stays attached without getting lost.
All the advantages of Circa’s modularity and all the convenience of a handy hack — what more could you want?
Dear Paul,
Many thanks for sharing your fine ideas on how to enhance Circa. I invite you to post a review on our site under Circa notebooks. You can post photos as well, and a URL to your longer reviews. I appreciate your creativity and your business at Levenger.
Steve Leveen, Founder, CEO
Steve,
Thanks for your comment. It’s an honor to be noticed by “Mister Circa” himself! I’ll be happy to post a review on the Levenger site, and thanks for allowing me to link to mine. I hope my DIY ideas will be useful to other Circa-philes.
Regards,
Paul
Thanks for this information. I love using my Circa notebooks and have one for each of my 8 different consulting projects. I have different covers, but when they are lined up with just the spines showing, they all look the same. Of course, when I am in a hurry and want to grab the correct Circa, I find myself sorting through all of them. This solves the problem. Thanks for your clever idea. Problem solved!!!!!
Hi, Bernadette —
You’re very welcome! Good luck with it, and please feel free to let us know how they work in the field.
Cheers,
Paul
The latest Levenger catalog arrived yesterday and I was excited to see some new brand-new Circa products — especially these Circa Notebook Label Holders! (*Blush*) I’m flattered, guys . . . 😀
Not only that, but the new Clincher Disks are arguably the first real innovation on the basic design that we’ve seen since the introduction of Rollabind. Congratulations, Levenger! Looking forward to seeing what other ideas you have cooking up in your design labs. (Hanging folders, anyone?)
Hi!
I just found your blog posts about Circa/Rollabind. I have been using a Circa Junior notebook to carry in my purse so I have a month-at-a-glance, 2-page format calendar plus extra paper for notes. My schedule is fairly simple, so I don’t really need much. I love the disc concept.
For the past 3 years, I’ve ordered the calendar refill from Levenger. I decided this year to just print my own. I need help to find a printable calendar for my Junior Circa. All the ones I have found online are not in the right format.
If I want to print my own, there are many sites that sell software, but for what I want, you’d think there would be a free one somewhere.
I found a couple templates for Microsoft Word and Excel, but when I try to format them to the size I need, they go all wonky.
For the amount of time I have spent looking for this simple calendar, I think it would have been worth paying Levenger the 20-something dollars + shipping.
I would love to hear from you.
Kindest regards,
Janet