Scott Cheatham’s Weblog

My New Levenger Steno Pad

For years I used a stenographer’s notepad in my work as a radio news reporter.  The 6 x 9 inch size made them easier to handle than a standard size notepad.  The top spiral was also nice for a lefthander since I no longer had to fight with a left-bound spiral and the flip top made them easy to access.  The steno pad has been my pad of choice when I was a layman taking sermon notes, and even today when I travel, I enjoy the ease of slipping one in my messenger bag.

Since switching my note taking supplies over to the “Circa” system by Levenger, I’ve thought about designing my own steno pad and just buying the discs.  The ease at which Circa can be used to move notes around, add in notes from other notebooks or index cards, and archive notes in an order of my choosing made it ideal for my work.  For a long time, there were no steno size notebooks to use with this great system but now, Levenger has answered the pleas of those of us who asked for this.  At right you can see the new Levenger Steno pad, available from their online store.

I finally ordered one of these this month and couldn’t be more pleased with it.  The notebook comes with 50 high grade sheets of steno ruled paper, four plastic tabbed dividers so you can organize your work (something I never had with a spiral bound steno book), and the standard quality translucent cover that comes with Levenger’s basic Circa products.  The inside pages are exactly 6 x 9 like a standard steno pad but the bonus is that I can now remove and re-add pages as I take notes and organize them for later processing.  The notebook fits inside my Levenger Saddlebag Sling I purchased earlier this year and goes nicely with my Bible, my Sony Reader eBook, and my Hipster PDA.

Quality notebooks are hard to find anymore.  Most are made of cheap paper that doesn’t respond well to a good graphite pencil or quality pen ink.  Lower quality spirals tend to bend, misshape, and unwind easily catching inside your bag or briefcase, and they don’t look very professional either.  The Levenger Stenographer’s Notebook has a quality about it that makes it nice to take out when you’re in a meeting, in church, or even in the park brainstorming.  When you’re done with your notes, they can be easily transferred to another Circa book or archived for later use.  Your Circa notebook is always “fresh” and current when you have the ability to move things around almost effortlessly like you can with this system.

A little more than a year or so ago, I took the plunge and invested in a quality Circa desk punch so I could archive all of my notes that needed saving into notebooks and I’ve never regretted it.  My sermons and associated bible studies are all neatly preserved in Circa notebooks that I’ve constructed using this system.  Clutter is reduced and efficiency maximized when you can rearrange things.  I recommend the Circa system in general and this notebook in particular to any who would like to give it a shot.  If you are already into Circa, then this notebook will make a nice addition to your collection.