ARC Planner: Ideas by Connie Rawlins

I have been using ARC planners for several years now, and I love them!  They can be used in so many ways.  Just check out some of the previous posts on ARC planners here at the Cre8ive Klatch.  Lori Whether you're using your planner as personal or for a business, I want to suggest that you add your goals to the front.

Intentions are very powerful things.  It may sound elementary to say this, but to reach your goals, you have to define your goals.  And the ARC planner is the perfect place to document your goals.

Best way to define your goals is to write (or draw) them.  Vague goals, such as "make more money" are almost useless.  The more detailed the goals, the greater the likelihood of achieving them.  This doesn't have to be a long dissertation of where you want to be in five years -- although that might be nice.  List a few defined short term goals and a few long term goals.  The more detailed the better.

This is a page from my e-course "Counting Abundance" and you can download a copy here. That's the wonderful thing about the ARC system -- punch and add to your ARC planner.

If you're more visual, you might want to do a "vision board".  Here's mine from a couple years ago.

By putting your goals (written or drawn) in the front of our ARC planner, then that's what you see each time you open it.  The ARC planner even has some slots on the inside of the front cover.  Perfect for an inspiration card.

Wishing you the best in reaching your goals!

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Arc Planner: Another Idea by Susan Walls

The first few days of January always make me want to clean up for the new year. Try to start with as much of a clean slate as I can muster. Drawers need cleaning, kids clothing needs culling, floors need deep cleaning, and the mind needs to sweep itself clean for 2015.

Being that I love to cook I collect recipes, and cookbooks, from all over the place. Clippings and page ripping are all a part of collecting but where do they go so you can refer to them? Yep...you guessed it. They go everywhere. Frankly I'm sick of it. I recently opened a cabinet and recipe clippings fell like confetti to the ground. 

My solution? An Arc planner, washi tape, and a couple hours of time. (okay, maybe longer...)

          

I love this disc system!!

First I threw out recipes I KNEW I would never use. Since I'm eating vegan most of the time I knew that anything meat centered or something I couldn't easily manipulate into a vegetarian or a vegan meal was out. Second anything that seemed too complicated...no time for those.

      

With that done I fancied up the blank pages with Washi taped edges. Not only do I like that it makes the book more colorful but it makes the edges thicker and easier to turn.

         

Then I could use the Washi tape to tape in the clippings or use my Arc punch to add magazine pages directly into the book.

          

Also imperative for a book you'll use for cooking is that the pages are covered in something that you can clean or wipe off. My solution was to punch Arc holes into plastic cover pages that I already had on hand. I've also kept a large Ziploc bag with my cookbooks so I could slide it over the page I was using...or you could run a piece of plastic wrap over your book or page. Sometimes there isn't anything handy so my pages are marked with years of splatter from using the favorites over and over. Oh well...

          

Now I'm not going to lie and say this didn't take me some time. It did. But the results are a great book full of recipes I will try to use plus they are all in one place! It feels like it's ready for another year! A New year!

       To share your Arc planner please come by and join the conversation in our Facebook group:

Cre8ive Klatch

Other places you can find Susan:

My website

My blog

My Etsy Shop for Jewelry

My Etsy Shop for art Supplies

Instagram/Twitter @susanmwb

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Google+SusanWallsBeverly

Using our Arc Notebooks Cre8ively by Lori Leissner

Cindy Lantier gave us all an introduction to the Arc Customizable Notebook System from Staples last week and how she's using it as her planner.  Several of us in the Cre8ive Klatch have discovered the loveliness that is the Arc Notebook System, myself included.  I've written a longer post on my blog LeissnerArt.com about all the ways I'm using it.  But I thought I would share a snippet here about one little powerful page I've added to help me with Reclaiming myself.

As I was researching the Arc System as a planner, I found an image on Pinterest for using grid paper to easily and visually track weight loss.  Each outlined square is a pound you are working to get rid of.  As you shed the pounds, you color in the squares.  I thought it was a genius idea and wanted to replicate it for my planner.

I added a few other things I'd like to track for the year. Since I'm eating the Whole30 way, I'll only be weighing once a month.  I'll also be wearing my fitbit, so I want to track my steps for each month.  Finally, I'll measure my waist every month since it's not all about weight.  

In fact, for me, it's less about weight than about health and fitness of which weight is a small, but motivating component.  So, coloring in those little squares will be a fun way to keep moving in the right direction.

I know it's trite to start a program at the beginning of the year.  I'm cool with that.  Health is a life long endeavor.  I can start sometime in a random month like March or I can restart on January 1.  Either way, I'm ahead of everyone who isn't trying.

Check out more about how I'm using my Arc Customizable Notebook System here.  If you make a grid planner, please share in our group on FB at Cre8iveKlatch.  We'd love to see!

Please visit me on the web at:

My website:  LeissnerArt.com 
My Facebook Page:   LeissnerArt
My Etsy Shop:  LeissnerArt on Etsy
My Instagram:  @LeissnerArt  
My Twitter:  @LeissnerArt

A Peek Into My 2015 Arc Planner: An Introduction By Cindy Jones Lantier

Today begins our introduction to the Arc Planner System, how some of us ventured into it, and a peek into how customizable it is.

We are thrilled to welcome Cindy Jones Lantier as our guest today! She kind of got roped into the Arc Planner by some of us that are (overly) passionate about it. 

Please give her a warm welcome!

I think I'm in love.

Not with the hot new guy at work (I work from home; sadly, there is no hot new guy at work!). Not with my favorite television hunk (Jim Caviezel)  or even the new baby in the family.

I think I'm in love with my planner!

Like many people who strive to create order out of chaos, I've spent years wanting the perfect planner. I don't just want a date book, but I also want a way to record my thoughts and ideas and to document my days. I long ago realized that a typical store bought planner wasn't going to work for me, so I bought a Day Runner. Then a Franklin Covey. Then I tried putting together my own in a three-ring binder -- but I spent more time applying hole re-enforcers than I actually spent using my homemade planner!

In mid-November, I began my search anew for the perfect system. Because I am both an artist and a Personal Empowerment Coach, I need a system that has a lot of flexibility. I ran across a mention of the "ARC Customizable System" by Staples. Being attracted to the word "customizable" I headed to staples.com to see what the fuss was all about. As with many online stores, you have to already know what you want. There were plenty of products for the ARC System, but there was no real information about it. Certainly there was no glowing sales talk convincing me I needed this!

Little by little, I began to see talk of this system in some of the groups I'm in on Facebook. Finally, I just asked one group "What's the big deal? Convince me I need one." People responded with descriptions of their ARC notebooks. I asked for more detail: What exactly do you put in your ARC? You see, there were so many possibilities that my mind was frozen. I just couldn't see the potential.

Then I saw a video. And another. And another. I basically spent an entire sleepless night watching videos about the ARC, and then I knew I had to have one. Or two. (Or three!)

I finally understood the beauty of the disc system. The specially punched paper hugs the discs so that it stays in the notebook securely without pinching my fingers, as three ring binders inevitably do, and there's no worry about the rings becoming misaligned. It is very easy to rearrange pages and sections. The ARC notebooks come with small discs that hold about 60 pages; the 1.5" rings (sold separately) hold about 200 pages.

The discs are cool, but the main love goes to how personalizable the system is. If you buy the punch, you can put anything in your ARC. I have some lined ARC paper (it came with the cover) that I'm using for my bullet journal and longer notes. Then I have the EPICDAY tear sheet that helps me plan my days from a business perspective. Following that is the first quarter of the Passion Planner PDF. I love this as a calendaring system! There is plenty of space to write appointments, as well as space to help me keep up with a weekly/daily focus, good things that happen, and space for note a brainstorming. My ARC ends with my goals for the first quarter of 2015, as well as a rough outline of how I'll accomplish those goals, and broad stroke goals/dreams for the next three years. I'll be adding in sheets for blog and podcast planning as soon as I get them printed (I also need some section dividers, but Staples isn't handy).

My planner is full, so another ARC notebook is in my future. I want one to keep a few ebooks in. I'm eager to work through Your Best Year 2015, but it just won't fit in the ARC I have. I also have a blogging handbook that I want to keep in that same ARC for reference. And I have a tiny ARC in my purse to keep track of ideas and notes that I want to transfer to my big journal, since I don't plan on carrying it with me all the time.

I know a lot of you are also in search of the perfect planner. I'd suggest that you investigate the ARC Customizable System. There are tons of free printables around the internet to help you organize and document your life. There are also lots of printables available on Etsy (just search for ARC) for (mostly) reasonable fees. 

Stop by the Cre8ive Klatch Facebook Group and let us know how you organize the chaos in your life!

Also check back here for more information about the Arc Planner System. It has so many uses we've all gone crazy with it! Come back on January 5th when Lori Leissner of Leissnerart will show you hers!!

Cindy is a mixed media artist and life coach who can be found at the following links:

Cindy's Website/Blog

Empowerment Coaching Facebook page

Cindy's wonderful Podcasts