26 September 2014

Free For All Friday No. 306

September seems to have gone past very quickly, the weather here is starting to rapidly cool down as we go in to Autumn.

I've managed to get all of my diary inserts printed off for 2015 and ready for the new year.

Are you ready for the new year yet?

And as it is Friday of course feel free to discuss anything Filofax related.

14 comments:

  1. 2014 has been my first full year pretty much using a filofax A5 purple Malden. Given I spend time on construction sites, running to see clients then onto design and PCG meetings etc I find I juggle my filofax, iPhone and money all at the same annoying time. Having just seen your review Steve of the Nappa, I might look into a zippered A5 model. Do any of you have a favourite model?

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    1. Hi Sandy. I've used a couple, in some rough places, so these are just my personal experience. Ones to avoid: A5 Cuban Zip, for only one reason. It will never, ever, not ever, lay flat. You could add gym weights to it for a lifetime, but it will still curl back up and try to close itself. It makes it impossible to use in meetings, at a desk, or when you're standing on a site, trying to look at info. Apart from that one flaw, its made of beautiful leather, and the outside document sleeve pocket is great for adding folded A4 sheets quickly, without having to open the zip. I'd also avoid the Finsbury Zip. I had one in brown. All the bobbles wore off around the clasp, and within three months, there were no bobbles left on the clasp either. Admittedly, I was using it in a very hot country, but construction sites, I'd say that is just as punishing. Holborn Zip - lovely leather, but not for wet or muddy places, as the leather is more absorbent than some others. My favourite, and my personal recommendation, would be an A5 Durham Zip. nYou can still find them on eBay. Leather is great quality, it doesn't absorb moisture, it lies flat (mine does, anyway), it has a really useful layout inside, and it has the all-important outside sleeve pocket for adding documents to on the go. Plus it looks professional. I've only ever seen them in black. I've kept mine, even though I am currently using a Personal size, but that is because I changed jobs. If I ever go back to a roel where I am managing programmes or projects, I'd move back to A5 and carry the Durham. I couldn't get by with Gantt charts at A4 size in a Personal, so an A5 would be my choice for that kind of role. Hope that helps. Let me know if you have questions on the Durham.

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    2. Paul B, you rock. Thanks for such a detailed reply. Much appreciated and I am off to ebay now to look for a Durham Zip :-) I will def need a A5 as I manage my personal and work life in one planner :-)

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  2. I'm getting ready for 2015! I've just bought the 2015 A5 year to view pull out spread from Filofax. I was buying a Flex (A5 purple Smooth) with the 20% off deal (WEEKEND20, ends tonight at midnight GMT time) and needed something to take me over the £30 threshold for free shipping. This insert is one of the only ones I can't make myself as I don't have paper wide enough. Everything else I either make myself, print off for free online (e.g. Steve and Ray's inserts), or buy online and print out- I have DIY Fish's monthly spreads lasting up until mid-2015!
    I'm not sure what I'll be using for weeklies next year, but they will probably be in my Midori instead of my Filofax. If I go back to using my personal sized Filofax next year (Autumn-Winter time) if I get to start a new uni course I'll probably go back to DPP inserts, but I won't be buying them as I'll be starting them mid-year, so I'll either use some of the millions of sheets of personal paper I have, or if I need structured times etc on the page, I'll print them from Steve and Ray or maybe print some with the Chronodex on!
    I like leaving things optional so I can decide nearer the time, so that if I change my mind or my circumstances change I won't have wasted my money by buying the wrong thing 3 months early!

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  3. I've got my Wo2P with lines for 2015, plus a year planner for 2016, so I'm sorted.

    in fact I'll probably have to put the new inserts in very soon as stuff for next year seems to be building up, and the 2015 year planner is looking a bit overcrowded!

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  4. It's taken me a while to get my new Academic Year Diary printed off. Is it just me, or the law of whatsit, that once I have got the the end of that chore, I see a diary format which would work somewhat better!?? And no I'm not changing any formats until next year now!! Grrr!!!

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  5. I can't decide if I want to be a Personal or an A5 girl...

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  6. Hi All, I haven't been on for months due to the usual life challenges. Last week I went to look at the US Filofax to see what was new, and noticed no more Lizards, Alligators, and Ostrich filos. I understand the Alligator (far too expensive). Lucky that my boyfriend bought me a Red Personal Lizard ("Lady Grantham" due to actress Elizabeth McGovern favoring bright red lipstick - yes, I know it's "Countess" not "Lady"), but still, that Ostrich was like an elusive companion that would eventually find its way home to me! Where are they? eBay? ugh! I want to cry!

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  7. I have decided to go with an original sized TMI system with their old design of inserts for as long as they last, thank you David for your help with these. By then I will know how my system works for me and I can design pages to suit my needs.
    I have experimented with a couple of simply designed forms but as the Original TMI paper size is 11 x 18 cms, I had trouble printing on my HP Envy (stupid name) from the iPad on TMI's Original plain punched sheets. My printer keeps saying "Paper Mismatch" and spits the paper out! I transferred to the laptop and found it better for designing the forms but how to fool the Printer into accepting small sheets of paper. I asked it to print and in the scale section it suggested an envelope size, ahaa! DLs are 11cms deep, so I created a TMI template using an Envelope template In portrait format but with the margins to suit - left is top, right is bottom, etc., a large bottom margin of 4.5cms was needed.
    Does anyone know of a less complicated method of designing and printing TMI forms??

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    1. I still print pages for my Time Manager Compact (I switch between this and my Holborn Slimline - the latter is slightly smaller and lighter but Time Manager binders are in a different league compared with Filofax!). I set printing to 13cmx18cm paper size with margins of 0.6/ 3.0/ 1.2 and 1.0cm . Gutter 0cm. Can't remember how I came up with these figures (probably experimentation!) but it has worked for me for several years!

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    2. Thanks Tim, I agree that the TMI binders are a cut above and I liked the D ring mechanism too. I loved their system, it was so efficient and that's why I'm trying to reinstate it in my organiser.

      I also resorted to the trial and error method of printer set up. Although it works well for me, using envelope settings sounds so ridiculous that I thought there should be some other more sensible way.

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  8. I have my week on two pages and my month on two pages for 2015. Also have the vertical calendars for 2015 and 2016, which I think are genius. I only have the verticals in my pocket for now, and find them incredibly helpful. Would also like to say THANK YOU for this community; it's a constant source of knowledge and enjoyment for me.

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  9. I will use personal size week on two pages in my Franklin Covey pocket binder. I punched three new holes on the bottom half of the pages, trimmed a little off the bottom of the pages, and left the width alone. They fit in my binder. I also cut the holes off a Dayrunner pocket pouch and punched holes on each piece of plastic separately. Then I placed washi tape on the left side and just had to punch through the tape. I will use a Franklin Covey pocket month insert and pocket address tabs. There is a width difference between the pocket and personal pages. After using a Filofax compact Luxe, I switched to this binder because it is a little smaller in size, has slightly larger rings, and can fit personal size pages with some punching.

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  10. I'm still deciding on inserts. I'm in my A5 full time now and have been using the vertical Wo2P, but I don't like how dark the lines are and my weeks end up looking really cluttered for some reason. Although I like the vertical format, I feel like I had more room in the horizontal format. Then again I didn't have time slots. I'm thinking about trying out one of the time management styles. I know I have an A5 and can so easily print one, but it seems like too much work for me.

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