So Glad a Blank Page Isn't Intimidating

We all know that stationery is beautiful, yes? 
And that having specific notebooks for specific things is important.
And that having special pens for these specific notebooks is also important.

Okay, let's pretend that's not a silly thing - because in reality, it is.

However, I can affirm that having colorful notes, that you enjoy looking at, in a notebook you enjoy using, is going to make it that much easier to stick with the note-taking-and-referencing process.
That's why so many people spend so much time on their planners - the draw to use the planner has to be there, or else it won't be useful!

And, is the case for me, in any of my paper works.

In this case, it's notes for some learnin' I'm doing. Stuff that I've tried again and again...and again...and have never gotten very far with.
I got bored with it; I would forget (or procrastinate) a day or two and not come back to it for a week and be entirely lost as to what I was doing. I got tired of being stuck; would move on before entirely understanding what was going on.

So, to stay with it this time...pretty notebooks and nice pens. 
It makes sense, yeah?

In the past, I've used plain binders and looseleaf lined paper...pencil, blue and black pen. Because it was easy, readily available, and didn't seem important.
Except that obviously was a wrong assumption.

And while the notes were alright before, there was obviously something missing with them, as I wasn't able to successfully come back to the project at a later date and understand what was going on.
Now, I can tell you that part of that problem is that I was moving forward before fully grasping what I was learning at the time, but I can also say that a part of the problem was that the notes just weren't...it was hard to find things, it was hard to want to look at them.

So, new notebooks were acquired.
Actually, this is trying out a whole new system, really, not just one new notebook.

It's the Arc by Staples. You get a notebook with tiny 3/4inch rings, a cover (I chose a poly one over a leather one, because money logic), and 60 lined pages.

The rest of the stuff I picked up is below - more lined pages, 1 inch rings (which I have already switched over to), and project planning pages.

A cross between a binder and a spiral notebook.
Believe you me, I've been intrigued for almost a year now.
There aren't a ton of people that I've found that use these notebooks, but those that do love them (Merrit from Label Me Merrit uses this style, for example).

I've heard it called a discbound system, which is discs instead of binder rings, and a funny punch instead of a regular hole punch (so the name makes perfect sense).
And instead of buying the punch (which is 40$), I just bought some spare paper for now - the refills I picked up were less than 4$ a piece, and since I'm not sure how long I'll be "sticking with" it, this made the most sense.

And even though I only have had it for a few days, I'm loving it. While the pages don't stay in 100% of the time, that's more of a user error deal, and more about getting used to using the system than anything.
I'm also planning on getting some other accessories soon, like dividers and poly-pockets.

It's bright pink (well, more of a vibrant berry color, if we're being picky) and takes up as much space on my desk as a piece of paper (and deskspace is a huge issue for me, so this a plus!), and yet is better than a spiral notebook in that the pages can be rearranged - which has already come in handy!

Also, can we just take a minute to talk about the paper quality? Because it is fabulous. It's heavy and so smooth. Not in a Hobonichi paper way, but so much more than you would expect from anything you could get from Staples (sorry guys, but come on, Staples is, well, Staples).
I'm using .3 Coleto refills with this paper and it glides like butter on it. Which just makes taking lots of notes that much more enjoyable!

While at this point, I cannot give a full "review" of the Arc system, I can say that it's been fun to mess around with, and have already moved to using one of the project planner pages, and have had to move things about, and rearrange...and I quite enjoy it.
Sure, I have to be gentle, to not rip out the pages from the discs, but it's not a notebook that will get flailed about or anything like that, so I am not worried. Also, I have read that having the poly dividers in the notebook will help keep the pages in more - another reason I "need" them.
And sure, it is basically a really expensive spiral notebook. Except it's not - and it's so much better.

~Havok

P.S. I finally got to buy a Coleto in person, as I found there is a Kinokuniya near where I live...which happens to be in the Asian market near where I live...that happens to be literally right across the street from where I used to work. I could have been having deliciously amazing pens for years, darnit!