D*I*Y Planner

The first time Doug posted an article on fountain pens, I felt a familiar urge creep up my back. It entered my "office supply junkie" nerve and made me drool. Fountain pens are the ultimate in writing shiny. A delicate balance of elegance and environmental reuse. I recall dabbling with cartridge-style calligraphy pens back in high school and how fun it was to write with them. Thanks to Doug's article, I knew that I wanted to give them a second chance. So a few months ago, I decided to hop onto the enabler bandwagon. I started researching fountain pens and what types would work for me. At this point, you're probably wondering why I said research. You'd think I'd have just gone and ordered the best looking pen right away. However, I'm a left-hander, a southpaw, and not all fountain pens work for us. Therefore, I've written this for those left handers out there who want to give fountain pens a shot. This article sums up what I know and have experimented with.

Fountain pens are not created equally for both right and left-handers. Fountain pens work different than modern pens; they are made to drip ink across a piece of paper when a hand pulls the nib across the page. Whereas a right-hander pulls a pen across the page, lefties drag the pen as our hand moves rapidly across and occasionally into the paper (depending on how hard one presses the pen on the paper). Dragging a pen makes the ink skip out so not all the letters get formed correctly. It can also gunk up the tip of the nib with tiny paper fibers because we have scratched the pen's nib deep into the paper itself. So, not only must the pen we use be a bit more rugged but it also needs to be designed to allow the ink to flow smoothly when the nib drags across the paper. Many manufacturers make special left-handed nibs, often referred to as oblique nibs, that are like a right-hander's pen but offset so that we can write with them. However, the most popular solution I've seen is to get a pen that contains a small rounded ball on the end of the nib. This ball allows the pen to flow when writing at any angle and solves the issue of malformed characters when writing with a standard fountain pen.

Last month, I was reading an article about Daniel Pink and how he went to Japan to study the art and culture surrounding Japanese comics, otherwise known as manga. He was interested in the format's popularity; this was a book format that people of all ages enjoyed reading. He studied the culture and the form to see how it could be applied to other disciplines successfully. The Adventures of Johnny Bunko is the result of that study. This introductory guide on life design and career planning in today's modern workplace uses the manga format to weave a story about a man who learns more about life and work in six easy lessons. It's a fast read, filled with entertaining scenarios, and some short but powerful ideas on how to get ahead in your career.

The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need author: Daniel H. Pink asin: 1594482918

I have a big announcement for all our members here at DIYPlanner.com. Renaissance Art, makers of the wonderful leather cases, have announced their latest creation as being ready for purchase: Circa Covers and Bags. These wonderful hand-crafted leather cases are semi-customizable and available for use with your Classic and Letter sized notebooks.

There are many different styles of closures to choose from and each can be outfitted with a customized variety of pockets to match your lifestyle. But that's not all...

For those of us who are constantly on the go, Renaissance Art came up with the perfect modular Circa bag system. This modular system allows you to carry all your gear and a Classic or Letter sized notebook in one complete package. This shoulder-sling bag comes with a cozy main component that holds your wallet, pens, CircaPDA, tarot deck, Moleskine, or whatever else you "just have to have" while being out and about. It comes with a separate and detachable leather journal case that you can slip your Circa notebook into. The journal component then clips onto the back side of the sling bag. I've been carrying around one of these bags for about 2 months now and I can say that it's one of the most unique and innovative bags around. It's an absolute joy to use. I'm able to carry everything I need for journaling in the main pocket and then have the journal right there, ready for me to write into when I have a few spare moments.

Go here to view the full product lineup and start customizing a case or bag of your own.

Starting 7/MAY/08 and going through 11/MAY/08, Arthur (owner of Renaissance Art) is graciously giving all DIYP members a 10% off discount off all core Circa products. Use the code DIYP1 when checking out to receive your discount. This includes the covers, modular covers and modular bags--14 new products in all. The offer does not include any of the additional options which may increase the price of the core cover or bag.(Hint: Due to a little glitch in their system, if you order a complete Modular Circa System and get only one shoulder strap, it works out that you get a little larger discount).

Memory is something we deal with every moment of the day, even when it seems like we’re not actively using it. Right now, I’m using my memory of the keyboard to type the words I’m writing. My brain focuses on the content, but while I’m doing that, I’m also remembering what keys to hit in order to make words appear on the screen in front of me. Of course, while I type, I'm not recalling how to type on a conscious level. It's a part of my implicit memory. Today I'm going to talk about memory recall and how you can use the two types of memory to help yourself stay organized.

Memory plays a big role in our life. It allows us to remember skills that we’ve learned, or retrieve information that is stored in the brain, or recall a precious moment that occurred in the past. Memory also organizes information so that when we retrieve it, we can apply that information in the proper context and use it in the current activity we are involved in. In general, we use short term memory to recall information we’ve learned very recently. Long term memory is used to recall information that we’ve learned anytime in the recent past to childhood. In neuroscience, there are some fascinating studies about the types of memory we have access to as well as how memory contributes to the sense of self a person has.

This article, was originally a sub-section of last week's article on Fabric Art Journals. However, I ended up having a lot to say about that (go figure, seeing I'm not an fabric artist) and the thoughts about planning seemed to interfere with the goals of introducing you all to fabric art journals. Therefore, this week we'll take a look at how fabric and fiber artists plan their projects.

Now I know that if I don't write my long-term artistic projects down somewhere and keep them together in my Project Folder system, then when it comes time to "create" I get lost and spend more time looking for all the items I want to use rather than spending that precious free time making art. And that's just from a purely paper-artist standpoint. Fabric artists need to keep their projects in line. Is there an organizational methodology that could work for knitters? What does a knitter who always has a rotation of 3-4 projects going on at one time do to keep all their projects in line? Read on to find out more.

Each morning, before I start my day, before I even look at my planner or eat my breakfast, I meditate. I sit down in a quiet room and stretch my body. Then I regulate my breathing as I take it through a series of breathing exercises. These help to ground and prepare me for my day. Finally, I perform one final meditation exercise to organize my mind for the day ahead. This is similar to hypnosis. Whereas the usual definition of meditation is to empty one's mind, I use this one to vent the mind. Venting basically means getting rid of extraneous information, while also organizing the information I do need for the day ahead.

This article explores how I meditate and how it can help you focus and prepare yourself for your day. Think of it as another tool you can use to help organize yourself and get ready for your day.

Sorry I've been away a while, folks, but sometimes my work takes me places that just aren't accessible to the Net. Thanks to Innowen, as usual, for her tireless leadership (and great articles, as usual!) while I was away.

So, I came face-to-face with a small herd of wood bison last week. These are truly wild, shaggy creatures nearly the size of a small SUV --I'm told they're the largest land animal in North America-- and quite capable of running up to 50 mph. And right now, at the end of the lean season, they can be downright ornery and rather dangerous as they roam through the sub-Arctic Northwest Territories wilderness in search of patches of frozen, dried-up grasses. I did manage to sneak up within 20 or 30 feet of them and take a goodly number of photographs before my fingers went numb with the cold and I lost the ability to manual focus. When the alpha male began to feign charges, I figured it was a good time to leave.

Here's yet another shout-out for Noodler's Polar Black fountain pen ink. Yes, it does work in extreme cold, and I've used it in -50C temperatures. As soon as I got back to the vehicle, I wrote up my notes using a still-frigid Moleskine and Polar Black in my red Lamy Safari. (Red, because it inspires warmth....)

On a vaguely semi-related note, does anybody else think the main character of Into the Wild should have spent less time reading Thoreau and more time reading nature books, and perhaps even buying a map and compass? Sheesh. An excellent film, but ultimately a very frustrating one for me to watch.

While I'm not a fabric person, per se, I can and do appreciate those who have a penchant for fabric based arts. These artists knit, quilt, sew or do needlepoint and come up with fabulous ways to make clothing and art. If you're an artist of this category, then you'll love what I'm going to talk about today. This is the one you've been waiting for. Today, I'm going to explore fabric art journals. This creative art form allows you to take all those left over scraps of fiber and fabric and use them for other purposes. I'll tell you what I know about this technique and give you some ideas on how you can go about creating one of your own. I've even got a few ideas for sample projects that you can undertake on your own. At the end of this article there's a small list of resources that you can turn to if you want to tap into this new art form. Please be kind, I'm no expert on this subject, as I don't delve into the fiber arts. But it does fascinate me and I love seeing what my fiber arts friends produce.

Art journaling, or the craft of recording your thoughts and feelings and events using images, is something I constantly talk about here on D*I*Y Planner. Fabric Art Journals is an extension of this concept. These journals are created using fabric pages and sometimes bound by fabric. Artists write in their journals either by with fabric words or painted words. It's a fascinating new way of journaling that lets anyone, who prefers fabric arts to paper, in on the scene. I've seen a lot of really nifty journals out there that combine elements of traditional quilting, felting, and custom needlepoint together to weave a personal and unique book. Some of the journals don't even take the form of a traditional book. I've seen artists who create their "books" by using wall hangings or pillows that tell specific moments, like the birth of their child or marriage. Anything goes when you get around to making a fabric journal.

Fabric Art Workshop: Exploring Techniques & Materials for Fabric Artists and Quilters author: Susan Stein asin: 158923328X

Fabric Art Journals: Making, Sewing, and Embellishing Journals from Cloth and Fibers (Quarry Book) author: Pam Sussman asin: 1592531962

On Monday, I attended a free teleconference offered on marketing small businesses by Veronika Noize. She taught us how the questions we ask can provide us some structure throughout the day. I really liked this idea because it helps me avoid distractions such as T.V., email, etc. An example question she offered us was, “What is the highest and best use of my time today?"

The above question, however, is just a start. Some other good questions include, “What do I want to accomplish today?”, or “When will I get a specific task done today?”, or “What is motivating me to work on my business, career, school, etc. today?” These are just a few potential questions that can be used to help organize your thoughts when you plan your day out in your planner.