Action Day Notebooks

[wednesday_mac]

So I just discovered that Franklin Covey is selling Action Day notebooks that are obviously based on the medium-sized, lined Moleskines (but with nifty specialized headers printed throughout for ideas, knowledge, problem solving and meetings).

 

Has anyone here used them? How is the paper? They're as pricey as the Moleskine which is why I ask.

 

Action Day Site

 

I have no affiliation with either Franklin Covey or Action Day. I am a maybe purchaser.

[gthurman]

So I just discovered that Franklin Covey is selling Action Day notebooks that are obviously based on the medium-sized, lined Moleskines (but with nifty specialized headers printed throughout for ideas, knowledge, problem solving and meetings).

 

Has anyone here used them? How is the paper? They're as pricey as the Moleskine which is why I ask.

 

Action Day Site

 

I have no affiliation with either Franklin Covey or Action Day. I am a maybe purchaser.

The format of these intrigued me enough that I ordered one of each today. Now I'm awaiting delivery to get an idea of what they're like up close.

[MicheleB]

The format of these intrigued me enough that I ordered one of each today. Now I'm awaiting delivery to get an idea of what they're like up close.

 

Which one did you order? I admit the web site was awkward and turned me off a little. Let us know.

[gthurman]

Which one did you order? I admit the web site was awkward and turned me off a little. Let us know.

I was gullible. I purchased one copy of each of the four thru FranklinCovey. They're doing 20% off/free shipping on orders over $75, so it kind of made it worth my while to splurge a bit.

[gthurman]

...and here I sit, one week later, still awaiting delivery of these fabled notebooks. Stay tuned, folks...

[gthurman]

I spoke too soon. A package arrived late this afternoon with one copy each of the different Action Day notebooks:

 

• Idea Notebook
  
• Knowledge Notebook
  
• Meeting Notebook
  
• Problem Solving Notebook
  

You can tell the books apart by some subtle color-coding:

 

• A yellow wrapper band, bookmark ribbon, and letter "I" on the spine and cover of the Idea Notebook.
  
• A green wrapper band, bookmark ribbon, and letter "K" on the spine and cover of the Knowledge Notebook.
  
• A blue wrapper band, bookmark ribbon, and letter "M" on the spine and cover of the Meeting Notebook.
  
• A purple wrapper band, bookmark ribbon, and letter "P" on the spine and cover of the Problem Solving Notebook.
  

What's the difference between the books?

 

• The Idea Notebook is essentially a blank journal with topic/date headings on the top of each page for writing down (what else) ideas.
  
• The Knowledge Notebook is presented as a book for capturing key ideas from seminars, books, web sites, articles, etc. One page is devoted to "knowledge," while the facing page has headings for "start doing," "stop doing," and "continue doing."
  
• The Meeting Notebook is noting notes on one pages, with headings on the facing page for questions/ideas and conclusions/actions from meetings.
  
• The Problem Solving Notebook formatted to work through a problem by identifying it, brainstorming solutions, and taking actions.
  

The notebooks are very much Moleskine clones in appearance--black covers, ribbon markers, sewn bindings, elastic strap, "Action Day" stamped on the lower back cover. One notable difference is the lack of an inside back cover accordion pocket. The front of each notebook has a page explaining the format of the pages and how to use it. All odd-numbered pages are numbered (the templates are essentially in a two-page layout). The first four pages of each notebook are index pages with pre-numbered entries for each two pages of the entire book.

 

The bindings are tight and don't lie flat on opening. I suspect they will need some work to break in and may never completely lie flat.

 

The paper is only described as "acid free." I don't have a wide variety of inks on hand, but I did do a few quick writing tests:

 

• A Sheaffer Legacy w/ medium nib with black Parker Qwink.
  
• A Parker Duofold w/ Extra Fine nib with Parker Qwink
  
• A Lamy Safari w/ a fine nib with Levenger blue ink
  
• A Uniball Signo 207 rollerball (0.7 mm) with blue ink.
  

All wrote without noticeable feathering, but there was some bleed-through with the fountain pens: moderate feathering with the medium nib and mild feathering with the fine & extra fine nibs. All had some level of "ghosting" on the back page, with the rollerball being least noticeable. It will probably work ok with a fountain pen with a fine/extra fine nib, and even better with a rollerball.

 

Overall, I'd give them an "average" grade for fountain pen users. The templates/formats intrigue me and I'm anticipating giving them a workout to see if using these books on a regular basis makes sense to me. The paper could be better, but is serviceable.

[larryinpa]

Older post, I know; but being the begining of the year and needing a planner, off to Staples I went. I picked up an Action Day planner with a red label called "Results Planner". I prefer smaller formats, so I purchased the 5 1/2" x 8" version. This format is not hard bound but is spiral bound which lies flat. It also has a hard cover which I like.

 

As others mentioned, they're interesting formats. My book has the following sections:

-Diary section (really a weekly calendar)

-Tasks to execute

-Goals and projects

-Projects delegated

+ 35 pages for note-taking. These are lined pages.

 

It also has several pages on goal setting, the power of attitude:) and being the person you want to be. No comment

 

This is a calendar, so it's dated for the year (which I needed)

 

The paper is a shade ligher than Moleskine, though I would have preferred white. Still not bad though. I did a quick test using a Sheaffer 330 (fine nib) and Noodlers Sequoia Green ink. There is some level of ghosting on the back of the page, but not so significant as to not being able to write on the back page. There's no feathering that I can see and really couldn't make the ink bleed through the page, even after making very, very slow pen strokes (this does make the ghosting more pronounced).

 

The paper is not of a qualtiy like Clairefontaine but better than Moleskine. I've been using Moleskine with the above pen/ink combo and there is a lot of bleedthrough.

 

Time will tell if the format is productive, but so far my impression is positive. $18 US.

Edited January 5, 2011 by larryinpa