Pocket Notepad Planner With Perpetual Calendar

Three-inch by five-inch notepads are widely available at stationary stores and other stores. All the ones that I have seen are bound on the three-inch edge by wire coil binding or wire-O-binding and have only one page type, which is lines spaced about a quarter inch apart. Sheets can be torn out, but sheets cannot be added. I always carry one in my shirt pocket. By the time all the pages are full, my notepad has shopping lists and other notes of a temporary nature, addresses and phone numbers that should be saved, and dates of appointments. With no dividers in the notepad, all these different types of notes get entered in consecutive order. Information that I do not want to lose is often on the same sheet as information that was of interest for only a few hours or days. The notepad described in this Instructable has the following features that greatly enhance the usefulness of the common shirt pocket size notepad:

1. It is divided into sections to provide a section for temporary notes, a section for notes to keep and an undated planner for appointments.
2. Sheets can be easily added and removed.
3. It has a built-in standalone perpetual calendar that can display any month in standard calendar format over a timespan of 50 years.
4. It has a table that has the date of Easter Sunday for 50 years.

The inspiration for this Instructable is my book “Practical Perpetual Calendars – Innovative, Convenient and Green” by James R. Saltvold, 2017. A pdf copy of it can be viewed at https://archive.org/details/9781532021367PdfOfBook . My book describes the unique concepts that I have developed for making standalone perpetual calendars, and suggests applications for these concepts. One suggested application (see pages 71 to 73) is pocket planner/notepad combination. This Instructable shows how the concepts in my book can be incorporated in an easy to make three-inch by five-inch shirt pocket size notepad that is also a planner and a calendar.

Materials

Quantity and Description

2 sheets of 8.5 x 11-inch 60 lb cardstock (Note 1)

6 sheets of 8.5 x 11-inch reused 20 lb paper that has been written on one side (or 3 new sheets)

5 sheets of 8.5 x 11-inch 20 lb new white paper (or 10 sheets written on one side) Note 2

3 sheets of 9" x 12" self-adhesive laminating sheets, Avery 75293 or equivalent Note 3

3 inches of 0.5-inch-wide double-sided tape

3 15 mm loose leaf rings Note 4

Notes

1. The thickest cardstock that can be printed with most home laser or inkjet printers is 60 lb. When this cardstock is covered on each side with self-adhesive laminate, it makes stiff and durable covers and dividers for a notepad. An alternative to laminating is to have a printshop print the covers and dividers on 80 lb cardstock such as Hammermill HAM120023 Color Copy Digital Cover Paper. For more information on cardstock, see https://finecardstock.com/topic/cardstock-weight-guide/ .
2. The quantities of paper that has been written on one side and new paper are based on reused paper being used for temporary notes and new paper being used for the planner and the notes to keep.
3. There are 10 sheets in a package. Avery also manufactures 73603 which is equivalent.
4. The rings I used were Sowaka brand. They measure 15 mm in inner diameter, 19 mm in outer diameter, and 2 mm in wire diameter. Minimum package size is 50. Many similar rings are available on Amazon.

Tools

Computer with laser or inkjet printer

Scissors

Utility knife

Metal straight edge

One-hole hand paper punch

There are the following pdf files:

1. Contents: This file shows a small image of each cover, divider, note sheet and planner sheet in the order they are in the notepad/planner. When an item has two sides that are different, each side is shown.
2. Covers and Dividers: This file has the front and back covers and the dividers.
3. Note Sheets: Each 8.5 by 11-inch sheet of paper produces four 3-inch by 5-inch note sheets. On new paper, pages 1 and 2 are printed double sided. On reused paper, page 1 is printed single sided and page 2 is not printed.
4. Planner Sheets: Each 8.5 by 11-inch sheet of paper produces four 3-inch by 5-inch planner sheets. Page 1 in the file has lines numbered 1 to 16. Page 2 in the file has lines numbered 17 to 31. On new paper, pages 1 and 2 are printed double sided. On reused paper, pages 1 and 2 are printed single sided.
5. Perpetual Calendar: A 50-year perpetual calendar that covers the years 2000 to 2050.
6. How to Make the Sheets: Notes on how to use Excel to make the above sheets.

The covers and dividers are printed double-sided on 60 lb cardstock. They are 3 x 5.2 inches, whereas the planner and note sheets are 3 x 5 inches. If your printer can print double-sided, do not use this feature as 60 lb cardstock will jam when it is pushed back to print the second side. Instead, print single-sided and manually flip the cardstock to print the second side. The pdf to print is “Covers and Dividers”.

After printing both sides, cover each side with a self-adhesive laminating sheet. The easiest way to do this is to peel the backing off a self-adhesive laminating sheet and lay it sticky side up on a table. Then lay the cardstock on the sheet to cover one side. The laminating sheet is larger than 8.5 x 11 inches and the excess laminate has to be trimmed off at least one edge before the second side of the cardstock is covered. This is necessary to enable laying the cardstock onto the laminate. Cut out the two covers and two dividers after the laminating sheet has been applied. I used a scissors.

To finish the covers and dividers, punch three holes in each for three loose-leaf rings. I made my NOTEPAD/PLANNER with two loose-leaf rings. After using it for a few weeks, I found that the first few pages have torn away from the ring on the righthand side. Therefore, I recommend using three rings.

The back cover has a stand-alone perpetual calendar on the inside face. Print the pdf “Perpetual Calendar” on a sheet of 60 lb cardstock. As the base of the perpetual calendar is printed on the inside of the back cover, part #2 is not used. Cover part #1 and part #3 on the printed side with self-adhesive laminating sheet. Only part of a sheet is required.

Cut out parts #1 and #3. Use a utility knife and a straight edge to cut out the parts. A metal straight edge is preferred. Plastic will work, but it is more easily damaged if the utility knife slips. Put an old magazine under the cardstock before cutting. Self-healing cutting mats are available, but I have found that an old magazine works quite well.

Thread part #3 into part #1. Attach the ends of part #3 to the inside of the back cover using double-sided tape on the back side of part #3. As the inside of the back cover is covered with laminate, glue cannot be used. If double-sided tape is not available, single-sided tape can be used on the top side of part #3. The tape will be exposed, which results in a less pleasing appearance than with double-side tape which is hidden.

These instructions are based on the following assumptions:

1. For temporary notes, a total of 24 surfaces with dimensions 3 x 5 inches are wanted.
2. Reused sheets that have been written on one side will be used for temporary notes.

Each new sheet will produce four surfaces with dimensions 3 x 5 inches. Therefore, six sheets are required. Print page 1 of the pdf file “Note Sheets” on the blank sides of six sheets. Cut out the 3 x 5 sheets and punch three holes in each sheet. I used a scissors.

These instructions are based on the following assumptions:

1. For notes to keep, a total of 16 surfaces with dimensions 3 x 5 inches are wanted
2. New sheets will be used for notes to keep

Each new sheet will produce eight surfaces with dimensions 3 x 5 inches. Therefore, two sheets are required. Print pages 1 and 2 of the pdf file “Note Sheets” double-sided on the new sheets. Cut out the 3 x 5 sheets and punch three holes in each sheet. I used a scissors.

These instructions are based on the following assumptions:

1. There will be 12 double-sided sheets to cover a full year
2. New sheets will be used

Each new sheet will produce four double-sided month sheets. Therefore, three sheets are required. Print pages 1 and 2 of the pdf file “Planner Sheets” double-sided on the new sheets. Cut out the 3 x 5 sheets and punch three holes in each sheet. I used a scissors. The planner sheets have one line per day, which is a little limited, although no more limited than boxes on a calendar sheet that shows one month.

As shown in the “Contents” pdf, the NOTEPAD/PLANNER consists of the following items from front to back:

1. Front cover
2. 24 sheets made from reused paper for temporary notes
3. The divider between temporary notes and notes to keep
4. 8 sheets made from new paper for notes to keep
5. 12 planner sheets
6. Planner cover which has planner instructions
7. Back cover

The planner sheets are is accessed by flipping the NOTEPAD/PLANNER over and using the back cover as the cover for the planner. Therefore, a divider is not needed between the notes to keep and the planner sheets. The planner sheets are put in with the side that has 1 to 16 facing the back cover. Having the planner sheets arranged this way enables accessing them without looking for a divider. An alternate arrangement is to have the side that has 1 to 16 face the front cover and have the planner cover sheet as a divider between the notes to keep and the planner sheets.

To assemble the NOTEPAD/PLANNER, open the looseleaf rings and put the covers, dividers and sheets on the rings in the order listed above. Close the rings after all the items have been placed on them.