Returning home after the meet-up.

As a postscript to the meet up, on last Tuesday we returned home to France. 

This visit had also been for a family event, our eldest grand sons birthday. Therefore it was a short visit. 

The flight from Stansted to Poitiers takes about 80-90 minutes so we can get from England to our home in no time at all. 

Yesterday when we arrived at Stansted we noticed that the security checks had been changed in the last few weeks. It seems they had installed new scanning machines for people and luggage. 

As usual you had to put your hand baggage in to a tray, empty your pockets, remove belts etc, but with the new machines you don't have to remove your laptops from your bag. 

My bag went through but was pulled in to the detailed search line. The security guy was looking at the scan results and then asked me 

'Can you please tell me what is in your bag sir' 

I then went on to list the contents 

'Macbook, iPad, Kindle, Headphones, Filofax.......' 

I then saw the look of surprise on his face when I mentioned a Filofax. Clearly it was showing up a little strange on his monitor of the scanner. 

The tray with my bag was now in front of him and then he asked. 

'Can you please show me your Filofax, I remember them very well.' 

He also called over one of his colleagues who hadn't heard of a Filofax before. 

I pulled out my A5 Lockwood Zip, and unzipped it to show him the interior and the rings which had showed up on the scan....

We then chatted a bit about why I still used a Filofax and I pulled out a Philofaxy card and gave it to him. He was quite surprised and thanked me. 

I don't miss an opportunity to share the Philofaxy name!!  

Have you ever had problems going through airport security with your Filofax? 

Silent Sunday - 'Filohax' Vintage on vintage No. 8

 

Winchester 4PLF 5/4 / World War 2 magazine collectors cards

Web Finds - Saturday 17 May 2025

It is time to enjoy a few blog posts from around the internet, grab a drink and make yourself comfortable for our weekly round-up.

Here are some Philofaxy posts you might have missed this week:

1. Web Finds - Saturday 10 May 2025
2. Silent Sunday
3. Dates for your diary - Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 May
4. Free For All Tuesday - No 745
5. Video Web Finds - Wednesday 14 May 2025
6. London Meet Up - 10 May 2025
7. Free for All Friday #862 by Eve

Here are the latest Filofax and other brand blog posts from around the Internet. Don't forget to leave a comment on the posts you enjoyed reading, all bloggers enjoy getting comments.

1. The Way Out is Through - Getting Things Done
2. Gillio Meetup 2025: get your tickets - Blog | Gillio
3. My collection of Filofax and other 5/6 ring binders - Filofax
4. Have Your Lists Become Listless? - Getting Things Done
5. The Five Dimensions of Win/Win (pg. 247-265) - FranklinPlanner Talk
6. How to choose the right Filofax for you - Filofax
7. The One List People Trust - Getting Things Done
8. The History of the Pocket Slim Filofax, Part 4: Oddities and Alternatives - Notebook Stories
9. Filofax ideas for those who lead un-busy lives - Filofax
10. Balancing Digital & Paper Planning with Carl Pullein - FranklinPlanner Talk
11. Turns Out, GTD Is Child’s Play - Getting Things Done
12. Link Love: Ghibli-Love - The Well-Appointed Desk
13. Web Finds – 14 May 2025 - Travellers Notebook Times
14. Your blog post could appear here. Please let us know if you have a blog that features ring bound organisers.

• Please leave a comment on any of the blogs you enjoyed reading and mention that you saw their post mentioned on Philofaxy. Thank you
• We monitor over 400 blogs and sites, your Filofax/Organiser blog posts could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 
• We can not guarantee people will read your posts, but we know there is a higher chance of people reading your posts and returning to read other posts if you make them interesting with pictures and good hints and tips. 
• Your Filofax/Organiser posts could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 
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Enjoy

       

Free for All Friday #862 by Eve

Task Management Workflow

Recently I have been rethinking my workflow as it relates to task management. As an HR Manager, I have a TON of tasks that repeat - from daily to dos to long term  and annual deadlines - and it got me thinking about the possibility of incorporating a hybrid approach that combines some digital tools along with my Filofax to (hopefully) achieve a "best of both worlds" situation.

Of course I could never give up paper planning! My Filofax is my emotional support animal and I honestly can't imagine a purely digital life, but for those tasks that occur over and over, I also don't necessary want the redundancy of re-writing them constantly.

Digital tools are perfect for scheduling, recurring reminders, and syncing across devices. They shine when  flexibility and real-time updates are needed. But when it comes to focus, memory, and daily intention, nothing beats writing things down in a paper planner. Handwriting helps you commit tasks to memory, disconnect from distractions, and think more clearly.

The advantages of handwriting are proven, something all Philofaxers know!

I am going to try using  a reminder app for macro-level logistics, task deadlines, and long-term project management. However, each morning I will still (and always) consult my Filofax for planning my day. 

With all those repeating tasks safely tucked away in Reminders so I don't have to worry about missing them, my daily workflow will be to write down my top 3 priorities in the morning, add non-recurring tasks that need attention to my planner as they come up, and reflect on my day as I go. My paper planner has always been my daily anchor, but I'm also going to try to make use of digital tools to keep the big picture in check.

How do you maximize your task workflow? What do you do with repeating tasks? Do you use any digital tools along with writing your tasks down by hand or do you prefer to solely use your planner? As always feel free to discuss anything related to ring planners and have a great Friday!

London Meet Up - 10 May 2025

Last Saturday we had a Philofaxy Meet-up in London. Eight of us gathered at the usual venue near to Oxford Circus for lunch and drinks and many chats and discussions about Filofax organisers and other brands of course.  

People had brought with them various Filofax organisers and we made some interesting discoveries. 

The first was yet another Filofax (Norman and Hill) address. 

I was aware of an address near to South Woodford railway station, but this gives a more accurate address so we can add it to the list of Filofax addresses we already know about. This is what that address looked like in 2021 before a new building was constructed on the site and the 2021 building doesn't look that old so what was there back in the 1980's we don't know (yet) 

Emma had also brought along her miniature Classic Croc. 'Honey I shrunk the Filofax' !!

It only has 3 rings, but they are spaced at 19mm! But is is a very odd ball page size! I did measure it, but I forgot to note down the height and width of the page. 

Here we are at the restaurant. 

L-R Tracey(in the background) Claudie, Max, Kevin, Emma, Steve with thanks to Pamela for this photo
(Hidden) Dave and Pamela!

Kevin had brought a lot of his collection of Pocket Filofax organisers. 

There was a lot more to see and discuss of course, but the meet up was all about talking with people rather than snapping away with a camera. 

We chatted away for well over 4 hours, so it was a great afternoon. 

Given the success of this meet-up I hope to be able to hold another in a few months time. Thank you to everyone who came along to this one.