07 December 2010

What format or size for 2011?

Yes folks it's that time of year to make up your mind about what size to use or format to use next year.  We got a 'plea for help' today on this topic from one of our 'established readers'... they said:
Is it just me or as the New Year approaches, am I the only person madly deciding between 2 or 3 different Filos and/or the insert format?  
Do I go large with the A5 and by mid-January I am cursing myself for having to carry something that large and bulky around all year, or do I go lean with the personal and then lament that I don't have something big enough to write all of my thoughts/dreams/personal notes on etc? 
My first and foremost New Year's Resolution is to stick with ONE planner and ONE format the whole entire year. 
Or, as another blogger/friend and I discussed via email recently, do I run 2 systems?:  The A5 for the "mother ship" of planners that is kept at home or the office and the personal for "with me all the time/in my bag/etc" planner?  Maybe I need to start my own blog about this?
What is everyone else doing for 2011?!?!
I've edited their quote slightly to preserve their privacy, but I'm sure this person isn't the only one to be going through this angst at the moment, reflecting on how their current format has faired so far this year.

I have been there myself, I started off 2006 in one format only to discover to my cost that I was not using the right diary format for my needs at the time.  This year I also swapped in September in to a format that better suited my needs.

How do you decide what size/format to use? Share your thoughts in the comments please.......

20 comments:

  1. I have the same resolution, 1 planner and 1 system for 2011. So what have I gone with? This :-

    Day Timer Flavia day per page

    Day Timer Flavia month on 2 pages (for a challenge I am doing!)

    Then on my iTouch I have Cal Week which is a weekly view of what I am upto!

    All housed (except the iTouch of course!) in my Metropol Raspberry Personal size!

    If I manage that system for the whole of 2011 I shall buy myself a Leather Personal Filofax of my choice!

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  2. No solution here but just to put my 2 cents in, I am absolutely freaking the hell out trying to decide what planner to use for 2011. So anyone else experiencing Planner Angst, you are definitely not alone!!

    I would love to hear what everyone else is using. Especially people who are busy with multiple things going on in your life (work, personal/ family, home, goals, health and fitness, etc.)! How do you keep it all straight??

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  3. I lead a absolutely crazy work life. The company I work for has us using Blackberrys and Outlook. But I decided to go with a "personal" Scanda with a week on 2 pages and a lined blank page applied in the middle of each week for tasks and notes. I use my Blackberry a ton but I need something to "write" in. And like I said before a big part of my issues is carrying it so the "single" laptop bag and enough room for my Filo is just enough.

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  4. Pleased to report that I am making NO CHANGES WHATSOEVER to my set up for 2011 (the capitals show how excited I am about this!) from my personal Finsbury, week on two pages and day per page combination (see my guest post a while back for details). Its simple, it works, and I love it. My Finsbury has reached that wonderful 'broken-in' stage - the leather has suddenly become all flexible and malleable, gorgeous.

    I think resolving to stick with one format is the best start to your search, though I know what we are all like and I bet none of us finish 2011 how we start it!

    Jess xxx

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  5. I made the switch from A5 to Personal at the end of September, and I'm definitely gonna stay with that. I did love the huge amount of space in the A5, but portability turns out to be as important as writing space. And the A5 was really not portable at all.

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  6. Jotje I'd love to know how you cope with the limited writing space in the Personal size. Do you use your diary for work, personal and home?

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  7. Guest Post from Jotje coming up tomorrow with pictures of her Personal... so you will see how she has organised her Filofax etc....

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  8. Good luck to everyone trying to stick to one format. I always managed this before I found out about moleskinere and philofaxy and all other planner/notebook blogs. Next year I am going to try again, with a quo vadis space 24 instead of a filofax. It started this week and so far it works, but yes it is only three days in the week yet.
    Paulien

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  9. I absolutely LOVE that we all go nuts over this! It may not help anything, but at least we all know we're not alone.

    Same dilemma, same resolution, as of yet no solution.

    I will probably at the very least keep on keepin' on with my Personal Filo with a DT week on 2 pages set up (the binder changes with mood or fashion but the format always stays the same), but I would also like to try an A5 size to capture literally everything in my planning world, AND a Pocket size, perhaps as a wallet and just for jotting (and leave the planning for the bigger boys).

    But the bottom line is...I don't know.

    **sigh**

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  10. I am stil undecided about what I'm going to use. I have a monthly Moleskine which I'm planning to use for school/homework. Then my personal and A5 filo's, I think I'm using the personal for my carry around filo and the A5 for home/to do planner.

    I made a promise when i bought my first filo that I would use this system for a whole year and I can see flaws in this system already, as I've never been the one planner a year girl.

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  11. I'll stick with my Pocket Filofax(es) and one week on two pages. Also, I always use two vertical year planners: the current year for a general overview, and the next year for jotting down any future plans/appointments/important things to remember in the coming year.

    Like Yvotchka, I change binders from time to time but the format stays the same. I switched from Personal to Pocket in the middle of 2008 and am really happy with it. Personal-sized binders seem so bulky to me nowadays ... ;-)

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  12. Oh, but isn't this fun!!!

    I am gong to use the 2PPD Day Timer for the next year. I used their spiral bound 1 month books in the late 70's early 80's before switching to Filofax. I liked the format, but wanted the loose leaf flexibility, plus I loved the binders. This way I will have more room, and I love the monthly tabs in the personal.

    I also use a Filofax Pocket for a medical record. This is a week on two pages. It also contains my commonplace book, so when I go to the Dr. I always have something interesting to read. Nothing worse than a waiting room with nothing to read but "Vogue"!

    I ordered some storage binders/sleeves from Franklin Covey in the compact size which fit the Filofax personal sheets. The Filofax post binders for archival use drive me nuts. These are ring binders, so additions and removal for copying is easy. Don't know about quality, but they are economical.

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  13. So excited to read that there are others like me who get excited about the change of the year... as it is an opportunity to update their diaries!!!

    I have just changed from an A5 to a personal (A5 was NOT portable and was driving me crazy). Have a personal malden which I LOVE. From 1st Jan I am using the week per 2 pages but the HORIZONTAL version (which I have never used before but am loving the look of now I am starting to write on the pages).

    My filofax has every-thing (work, travel, study, family, social in). Use Outlook at work (but also keep in my filofax)... NEED TO WRITE THINGS DOWN!

    Happy shopping, transferring and writing...

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  14. I'm using my brand new pocket finsbury as my purse/planner for the year, with my personal cherry holding all my notes, financial and uni info, etc

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  15. sticking with the pocket week on two pages! works brilliantly for me. i would give personal a try if i had a personal binder, but frankly i'd probably only use the extra space for doodling in. or just write bigger.

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  16. I always keep my slimline Adelphi in my handbag (week per page), it suits my needs perfectly, but I couldn't do anything without my A5 Graphic zip for work, althought I usually leave it there, (too heavy to carry home every day!)locked in a drawer. In case I don't have it with me and have an idea about a project etc, I just make a rough sketch in my slimline and transfer it to my A5 when I go to work.

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  17. I will always use my A5 as my home/work crossover. I then will use my BRAND NEW Chameleon for my project writing work and my Yellow Hearts for my studying. I have a blog post coming up on Friday detailing all of this.

    I am loving the new diary format available - week-per-page plus notes. I've been waiting for something like this for ages and will be using this format across all diaries

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  18. Well, I am hoping to just keep it to two. I know, I know,,,,,I can't decide on one and I'm telling myself that it's an experiment to determine which I really find and use the most. I am looking at going with my A5 chocolate brown classic and my personal Finchley jade. The A5 will be kept at home as "mother ship" planner and the personal finchley will be with me at all times; a satellite Filo if you will. But, my goal is to keep these 2 and ONLY these two with the week on 2 pages format. I love the extra writing space of the day per page, but I tend to get all jumbled and not know where one week ends and the new begins. Maybe there is hope for me in 2011 after all!

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  19. Sticking with one week on two pages. Just recently bought a pocket Metropol, but don't like it that much. This year I have used a mini Finsbury which I looove, but unfortunately it is too small for my needs. Maybe I will buy a pocket Finsbury on ebay...

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  20. I am keeping my Filo the same for 2011, at least that's the plan for now. Month on two pages, week on two pages, and Day Planner sheets for each individual day.
    I do have an A5 that stays at home, but it holds just household information. I tried using a personal as the mother ship and a slimline for an on-the-go binder. It didn't work for me. It was too confusing to remember what was where, what I might need for the next day and therefore what I had to transfer from one binder to the other. I went back to the personal, and once I got my hands on the Malden, never looked back.
    We'll see what I'm saying in the middle of 2011...

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