Well September has seen the end of à la rentrée here in France where all schools and most government offices close for all of August, business's too close for two or three weeks in August.
Schools have restarted in this last week and generally things are now back to normal and Autumn is approaching so we are making the most of the good weather. And it's time to start planning those odd jobs around the house that need doing before winter arrives.
How is your calendar looking in the next few weeks?
But as this is a Friday you can of course discuss anything Filofax related.
We take our holidays late (to avoid clashing with the school holidays) so my diary is looking pretty good! Two weeks off at the end of Septmber/beginning of Aufust. However, I HAVE fouled up by 'planning' (viz. letting happen) a three day trip to London on Business the week before! Since I run my own business, this adds up to pretty much three weeks away from my desk - not clever and I have learnt a lesson.....
ReplyDeleteI' using my Filofax to manage to-do lists in various categories prior to holiday, so that I can make sure I hae everything nailed down before I leave. This is also one of the two times of year when I set goals, so there is some of that going on as well - I wish Filofax had a goal-setting form...
I use David Allen's 'Getting Things Done' system of time management in harness with my Filofax - does anyone else use this, and if so, what forms do you use and how? I'd be interested to know.
Happy organising!
David
Somerset, England
@davidpopely
I'm giving a talk to my Business League group this morning on 'How to get the most from your time'. There isn't a Powerpoint as such for it (don't think they help much, and most presenters just read off the slides anyway), but I *could* put something on Powerpoint - or even in a basic Word doc, and post it somewhere if people want it, and are interested enough. Just a thought......
ReplyDeleteI'm not a TM 'guru' but I've been involved with proactive time management since 1982, so hopefully I've learnt a few things (as well as made many more mistakes!) in that time.....
David, that sounds great. I'd assume it makes a great addition to the Files section we have here on Philofaxy. Unless you don't want to have it in a public place ... I'd love to read it!
ReplyDeleteMy Filofax-news for this week: I bought a Personal Size Raspberry Chameleon. I'm so looking forward to it! It seems to be fabricated from the same leather as the Malden (minus the Vintage look). Really can't wait ...
Would love to have some nice daily pages for it, but can't find anything appealing. And I'm just too lazy to make my own sheets ...
re daily sheets, beauty is *definitely* int eh eye of the beholder but i *love* the DaVinci sheets which you can see at http://www.flickr.com/photos/stirwise/4942620046/in/set-72157624717746049/ Apparently they also do undated which you can see at http://www.flickr.com/photos/stirwise/4942021095/in/set-72157624717746049/ (thank stirwise for these photos. So far as i can see these are *only* available from Japan (!) but they do ship, so if you want the link I can send it to you. Bit frightened of the carriage charges though!
ReplyDeleteDavid
ReplyDeleteWe would be happy to turn your presentation in to a guest post. Please send it to the usual address
Regards
Steve
Re the talk outline, its really a digest of a half day course which I run commercially, so it might not make too much sense when condensed to half a sheet of A4, and I'd be a bit nervous about putting the core intellectual properly of part of my business into the public domain. But if you email me via davidpopely@googlemail.com I'll happily type it up and email you a copy if you'd like that :)
ReplyDeleteSend me a few details of how that will work - I'm new to this!! To what address should I send it?
ReplyDeleteCan I put a BRIEF and TACTFUL link (like an email address?) on the end as its really part of hat I do for a living? I'm not looking to do it as mere self-promotion, but it *is* part of my livelihood!
I had an interesting Filofax week! I went to London last weekend with my mum as a surprise 21st present, and she had put together a little itinerary of shops to visit. Both Filofax stores were on there! I thought that was really sweet of her, even though with everything else we had to do we didn't make it to visit them. We did, however, make it to the stationary department in Harrods, the ultra exclusive and famous British department store - where my mum decided to buy a Filofax! She has an A4 one for work but hates it, so decided on a Personal Finsbury in brown, to match mine in pink. The salespeople kept asking if we needed any help - of course I knew more than them hehe. I talked my mum through the different leathers and finishes, about ring sizes and diary formats, asked her what she would predominantly use it for... it was so much fun! She also treated me to inserts for next year - so I got cotton cream WOTP, cotton cream To Do lists, a pack of Day Planners and a MOTP (month on two page) planner. We've had a great bonding session over setting our Filos up and discussing the finer points of stationary and organisation. Amazing!
ReplyDeleteJess xxx
Just purchased a "new" Filofax Kent in A5.
ReplyDeleteLeather of course and is actually dated 2005.
Got it on eBay for a song and now awaiting it's arrival.
If it's nice, I will be using this for next year and can finally settle in on ordering 2011 items.
If it's not as nice as I think it will be.
Well, then I guess I'm still looking.
I wrote about it on my blog just yesterday.
Jess, your trip to Harrods sounds so much fun! I was there in July 2009 and just had a great time in the filofax dept!
ReplyDeleteI made use of the free shipping on the US Filofax site this week and purchased the software that allows you to convert and print to an A5 size. I've had the paper since last Christmas so I want to make use of it. I also purchased cotton creme paper for my pocket & my 2011 Day Per Page for Business for the A5.
David, I would love to see your ppt as well. I'm currently studying for PPM (project management professional) certification and Time Management is one of the Project Knowledge Areas.
Hi Michelle, Jess
ReplyDeleteMichelle, its more likely to be a doc going into the files area of the site than anything else at the moment.....it should be there Monday/Tuesday (we have to do some tweaking here first).
Jess - do Harrods sell non-filofax refills, such as the DaVinci which as of now seem to be available only from Japan (in the UK)? I'd be interested to know....:) I'm a little in love with the DaVinci DPP diary but a bit scared of the shipping costs from Japan!
Jess, what a wonderful shopping/planning experience. I don't think I've bonded with a friend over planners since high school, when (seriously) everyone had a ring-bound planner.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I recently ordered the personal-sized pre-perforated printer paper. The paper is total crap! Not only is it thicker/heavier than the typical Filofax inserts paper, it's also more prone to bleed-through and feathering. It seems worth the time and effort to guillotine and punch paper myself after all.
"How is your calendar looking in the next few weeks?" (Steve)
ReplyDeleteI have been using the closing hours of a full Friday to update my system a bit.
I, too, use the Getting Things Done methodology so Next Action lists are really important. I've been copying over outdated lists and checking my calendar for the next few weeks. It looks really busy:
*People who have been absent from church for the summer are getting back in touch and fall programming is gearing up, too.
*Sunday is National Back to Church Sunday in the US and we'll be welcoming new friends this week and enjoying a Cook Out.
*The next weeks are going to include a lot of leadership training events, baptism classes, AWANA kids and Youth programming, and a special "Watch the Balloons" community event where we'll serve refreshments to people coming to watch nearly 100 hot air balloons and their pilots take off and land from our local airfield. We'll also provide a picnic to any and all who wish to attend - free of charge!
Things look busy for me but it's a good busy. How do people live without Filofaxes/planners? I know I can't!