Free For All Friday No. 56

Well two weeks to go.... I hope you have got your Filofax orders in in plenty of time to Santa... otherwise you might have a sad time opening your presents on the 25th...

I'm not a big fan of December, not because of Christmas, it's just that in my industry people are dashing around like headless chickens trying to get a months work done in just over 3 weeks. It does lead to some interesting times!

But I'm not one of the headless chickens... ah you see my secret weapon, my Filofax has it all under control. Technically my workplace closes for a few days over the holiday, but in reality some one could get called in, myself included. So it is wise to have everything in hand. Contacts up to date, notes of my teams where abouts over the holiday in case I have to call on someone.

So how are your plans coming together for the festive season?

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Busy Times & Creating Personal Size Pages

You can be forgiven if you think all we are posting about this week is to help you spend money!! I guess like me the others are busy as well.

Last week I had a week in France and I'm not sure where this week has gone to, the days are whizzing by, anyway time to play catch up...

Creating Personal Size Filofax Pages.

As you will know it's easy to create A4/A5 size pages, it's the one reason I graduated to that size a few years ago.

However creating Personal sizes isn't quite so easy. So here is a quick guide. Create a new template in Word or OpenOffice Write and then make an A4 landscape page.

Add a 3 cell table in a single row, and size each cell to the size of a personal page which is 95 mm wide by 171 mm tall..Also make the borders as thin as possible and with a dotted line - - - - - you only need to use these lines as a guide to cut out your pages.

In each cell make the cell margins at least 18mm on the left and say 5 mm on the top, bottom and right hand side. I've found that you need a 18-20 mm left hand margin to allow for punching the holes.

Now you can either create your own details within the template, or resize some of mine to suit. Most of them follow a similar pattern though and shouldn't be difficult to modify to suit. I also use tables so they are easy to resize and then copy and paste in to the template.

Then all you need to do is print off the pages and trim the pages to size and punch them. You might need to experiment with your designs, but that is part of the fun in creating your own and they only cost pennies/cents.

Filofax actually sell computer paper in A4 size that is already perforated in Personal size, this is easier to use in some respects, but you just have to line up your template to print on this paper.






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Filofax US big sale

Hey US Filofaxers, you're not left out of the big savings! You can get 30% off select organizers at FilofaxUSA. And as if that weren't savings enough, you can get free shipping on orders over $55! So if you were thinking of giving or getting Filofax, now's the time!

If you need some inspiration, check out the gorgeous Raspberry Pocket Organizer gift set complete with pen, 2010 diary insert and gift box. And maybe get one for someone as a gift, too! ;D

Happy Shopping!

Magic Monday...

So if you missed out last weekend. This coming Monday is Magic Monday.. 20% off Filofax organisers.

Click on the image below and between 9am and Midnight (UK time) on Monday 14th December you will get 20% off your purchase by entering the code XMASMM at the checkout.

So if you have been putting off that purchase and you are kicking your self for missing out on 20% off last weekend... you have another chance and your order will arrive before Christmas (in UK)

Filofax maps

Steve and Nicola's exchange re: maps got me thinking about how I use maps in my Filofaxes. My opinion is, the more maps the better! I always seem to find myself needing a map.

In my very first pre-Filofax planner (a personal size Cambridge) I photocopied a map of the big island of Hawaii, where I was about to move, and poked holes along the edge with a sharp pencil to put it onto the rings. This is a technique I still use, actually, for maps that Filofax doesn't carry. In my A5 Finsbury I have a map of Albania that I copied out of my guide book, for general road trips planning. Also in my A5 Fins I have an A5 Filofax world map and the A5 size British Islands maps (which I bought from the Filofax UK website), which are very useful when I grab my Filo to look up a location. My A5 lives by my computer so it's always handy.

In my Scotland Filofax I have as many maps as possible. World map (actually I keep a world map in almost every Filofax I own), British Islands. I also have the Filofax maps of London (which consists of 3 maps that together comprise most of central London, with street names on the back) because I usually spend a day in London on my way up to Scotland. I also have the London rail systems and Underground map, which is very handy. I also have a map that has Edinburgh on one side and Glasgow on the other, that I cut out of the free Letts Scotland diary that came in The Scotsman newspaper in January. I sliced the page out of the diary, put some tape on the edge, poked some holes and into the Filo it went! Very handy.

In my black Buckingham I store my US maps for when I go back to visit family and friends. I have a US road map (which in the personal size is so tiny it couldn't really get you anywhere, it really just gives you an idea of which highway would be better to get you across the state or the country) and a US times zones and area codes map. I also have a Washington DC street map, which I used all the time when I lived in DC. I usually go through DC whenever I go back to the US so it's convenient to have it in my Filo.

In my Deco, which is now my everyday notes/ lists/ addresses/ everything except my planner book, I keep a world map and my ancient Europe map (which is so old it still has Yugoslavia!). The people I know travel a lot, and to places all around the world, so usually during the course of a conversation I need to look at a map to see exactly where they are talking about. I have learned more geography this way than I ever learned in school!

The problem with Filofax maps is, there just aren't enough of them. As Nicola discovered, there aren't enough of the city maps. (And actually I'm shocked that they don't have Toronto! But sure enough, they don't.) I understand that Filofax only carries maps that they believe will sell well. And I know in this day and age it's maybe a little archaic to use paper maps at all (although after hearing some people's GPS navigation stories, I don't trust those things at all!!). But being a paper-person, and a maps-person, I do wish they had more maps available.

Do you use maps in your Filofax(es)? Which maps do you wish Filofax had available?

Filofoax UK - 20% off this weekend only

Free For All Friday No. 55

December is in full swing and the pace seems to get more and more rapid every day. I am currently swamped with various things, not least of which is getting ready for our trip to Scotland over Christmas and New Year's. I'll be bringing along my Scotland Filofax (personal size Domino, in Grape) containing my tabbed sections of regions and cities, maps, my growing list of contacts, and records of places we have stayed and other details. It becomes more useful with each trip.

Do you have any travel plans for the holidays? How is your Filofax helping you prepare for this busy time of year?

Happy planning!

Price reduction on Filofax Special Edition

Is it too early to treat yourself to a present to yourself for all your hard work this year? Get noticed with this Special Edition Filofax, now with £58 off the normal retail price in UK

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Huge discount on Dodo Pad A5 Filofax 2010 diary inserts!

For all of you users of an A5 Filofax, here is a planner/ diary insert that is different from the same old straight-laced Filofax refill. The Dodo Pad diary is a bit of a cult and is now in its 44th year, available for the first time for 2010 as an A5 Filofax insert! The last few are available at a huge discount, 55% off! Just enter promotional code 09FX at checkout to receive your discount.

You can see more about the Dodo Pad Filofax 2010 insert at http://www.dodopad.com/dodofax/dodofax.html and click on http://www.dodopad.com/acatalog/Diaries_Calendars__.html#aDPFX10 to order.

Supplies at this discounted price are limited and when they're gone, they're gone!

Regular prices and discount prices are listed below. Prices shown here INCLUDE order handling, tax and shipping:

Shipping in the UK regular price: £14.45, discount price only £5.95

Shipping to Europe regular price: £16.69, discount price £8.19

Shipping to USA and Rest of World regular price: £18.85, discount price £9.34

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Dodo Pad products, let me initiate you. They have been a fixture in UK households for the last 44 years and counting, and are only just starting to become popular in the US. The original Dodo Pad diary has a weekly grid format for keeping track of each person in the family, or for appointments and tasks, or different types of billable time at work, or endless other uses. Every week on the calendar there is a notable date or anniversary, artwork, and some kind of funny quote, riddle, or something interesting, with plenty of space for notes, lists and doodles. Each week is different and it's fun to see what is coming up next.

The thing I like about Dodo Pad products is that they are funny and clever and keep your life organized, but at the same time remind you not to take it too seriously. So check out their website and get some great discounts!

See more photos on my Flickr set:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41064231@N08/sets/72157622789643031/

Free shipping Filofax USA

Hey all you Americans, you're in luck! You can get free shipping with any organizer purchase on the Filofax USA website from now until Dec. 4. Just enter CYBER in the discount code space at checkout.

Happy shopping!

The Perfect Size?

Is there such a thing as the perfect size organiser? Or is it always a compromise, too big and it becomes a problem to carry around, too small and it's too small to write in or you can't store as much as you like.

The slimline organisers in personal and pocket size (not available in all markets) are a near perfect solution to the too big/too small compromise.

The A5 as we know is perfect solution for the office/home office. It has ample capacity and acres of space to write in, although the A4 goes even bigger, but I realise that size isn't sold in the US.

The personal is the 'original' size, it is the middle of the road when it comes to size, and it is obviously very popular, but unless you go for a slimline I find it's not so easy to carry in a jacket pocket, so like the A5 it's best suited for your briefcase or hand bag.

The pocket is as its name says suitable for most pockets I've used one quite extensively in the last couple of years. Great for capturing notes, to-do lists, appointments etc.

The mini, I have to be honest I've never tried one of these size organisers, they seem to be too small for my requirements, but I would be interested to hear from Filofax mini users...

Our what size dilemma might be helped if the pages could be interchanged between different size organisers a little easier. As you might have discovered if you try to swap pages between different size organisers some work some don't. I have noticed that some of the pages sold by Filofax have four slotted holes and two circular holes. On a pocket size organiser, this allows a page to be slotted in to an A5 or personal size organisers. personal pages will fit in to an A5 by folding one of the corners or by simply cutting a small diagonal off the corner on the ring side of the page.

So what size would you choose if you had the decision to make a whole new size of organiser?
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