Now we are into May, and plans are really starting to gear up. In the US, college students are graduating right about now and going off into the "real world." School has about a month to go (nearly 2 months in the UK), and things are generally getting busy.
Are you starting to make plans for the summer? Have you done any re-arranging in your Filofax in preparation for the change to summer?
And as always on Fridays, feel free to discuss anything Filofax-related! :)
I would have a question... I just switched from the "day per page" layout to the "week on 2 pages". Layout is Monday on the top left and Sunday in the lower right corner.
ReplyDeleteI am having slight trouble with dividing the space within the day.
First I've been writing the daily tasks on top, but that seemed messy. So I moved the appointments to the top, i.e. "18:00 - Dinner" and reserved the bottom three lines for the daily tasks (I have quite a lot!). Still, I am not quite happy with this solution.
I would be curious how you handle this. Any tips are greatly appreciated!
Greetings from Zeeland,
Rene
@Rene
ReplyDeleteI have had the same problem and what I tried (though on the personal size it's still a bit tricky; on the A5 it worked a treat) was to vertically split the day with a line and put appointments on the left and daily tasks on the right. You could divide the space unequally if your tasks > appointments. I always like to have my appointments in order vertically as they occur in the day.
Anyway, hope that helps!
Rene... that's my problem too.. but I've tried different layouts and this is the one I always come back to.
ReplyDeleteAny more help would be fantastic too!
Steve... just thought you'd like to see.. lol.
ReplyDeletehttp://timeless-invites.blogspot.com/p/something-little-different.html
Rene, I use the jot pads for URGENT reminders and place the reminders on the bottom 3 rings of the week- I have an A5 planner, so it doesn't take up too much space. Apart from that I use 1 separate sheet of daily actions which I put at the front of my diary section, to jog my memory and focus.The jot pads are pretty handy I find.A task which must be done that day, but at no specific time,goes at the top or bottom of my diary space, as an untimed appointment.
ReplyDelete@ Rene:
ReplyDelete'Week on 2 pages' is just about my least favourite layout - it seems like it should be big enough for everything, but it is hard to make good use of the space.
So this year I bought the 'week on one page with notes' which allows me to put fixed date stuff on the left and tasks for the week on the right. This seems to be working okay so far, but I need to 'stress test' it a bit longer before I can be sure.
There are some interesting layouts available on the French website that we don't have in the UK. They have a 'week on two pages' with hours for appointments plus a small space for notes:
Vertical:
http://www.filofax.fr/store/diaryrefillsdetails.asp?productId=2429
Horizontal:
http://www.filofax.fr/store/diaryrefillsdetails.asp?productId=2456
There is also a nice variation on the vertical layout on the Dutch website:
http://www.filofax.nl/store/diaryrefillsdetails.asp?productId=2690
Would any of these suit you better?
juliet lima
@Amanda: Thanks a lot, this sounds like a workable solution as I also prefer to see my appointments in chronological order. I will definitely try this one!
ReplyDelete@Timeless: I can see why, but at the same time "day per page" remains very attractive. Time will tell what I will choose for the next filler in october.
@Butanben: I would have to have a look if Filofax jot pads would fit my Succes organizer (http://www.succes.com/en-nl/) too, but they sure look practical.
@juliet.lima1022: Concerning note space I also prefer the "day per page", but the organizer gets very fat that way. Thanks for the links you sent, but they look even more cramped than my current layout. I think I will stick with what I have for now and try to make that work. Or switch over to an A5 organizer next year. Sounds like it is worth considering...
I seem to remember reading here something about 'you only have one life so you should only have one filofax/planner'. I'm wondering if I should just have one filofax as I seem to feel I am making life a bit complicated at the moment with several, and of course when that happens then I stop using them!
ReplyDeleteI'm also finding that because I am not going to carry them all around with me, that I am tending to not write things I should write down in them - when I am next 'with' the relevant filofax, I just forget!
Does anyone else just have one filofax to plan and store all their stuff for work and home?
Bye the way sorry I've been absent for a while - have been on holiday! (Yeh!) wish I could get back into the swing of being home again, I just want to collapse and read my book!
@Alison
ReplyDeleteI'm also a "one life - one planner" guy. I find it very difficult to take care of more than one Filofax. I've just bought a Mini recently, which is going to be my accounting Filo, but even this is disturbing. I carry my Personal with me most of the time - privately and for business...
Looks like you've had a great holiday, didn't you. Enjoy the memory of it as long as you can/will, everyday life comes soon enough!
Kind regards, Thomas
@Thomas
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. I can cope with using my pocket to carry around and one for work/home I guess. The trouble us I get seduced by all the lovely binders and have to try and think up uses for the ones I have bought in impulse!
One thing about being on holiday is that it is lovely to just have a few possessions with you - I have been feeling overwhelmed by things I own since being back - I may even sell off some of my filofax collection! (That is pretty scary!).
Rene:
ReplyDeleteYou didn't mention what size pages you're using, but I assume it's Personal size. I used to use a few different styles of week-on-two-pages but last year made the switch to page-per-day. That said, there are some interesting non-Filofax weekly formats out there, particularly in Japan. Here are a few:
http://en.item.rakuten.com/nomado1230/4060dr1112/
http://en.item.rakuten.com/ikeman/4900855183353/
http://en.item.rakuten.com/ikeman/4900855183261/
This is my personal favorite of the weekly formats:
http://en.item.rakuten.com/nomado1230/dvdr1014/
Unfortunately, it seems to be sold out right now on Rakuten, but it should come back in stock by the summer. I like this style because each day has space for notes, tasks, and time markers for appointments.
The site I've linked above is a Japanese site that ships worldwide.
They have a very interesting selection of binders and refills. FYI, in Japan Personal size is called Bible size.
I'm also a one life=one planner person but as a lazy student, I think I have less things to plan than many philofaxy users :P
ReplyDeleteI received a filofax catalogue in the post today with some of the new range in it- I'm particularly liking the enigma which comes in "brindle" or "vermillion"
Okay so.. a few days ago I ordered my first Filofax (yay!!), a Violet Piazza in Personal.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone ever had a Piazza?
I got that one because they were on sale on a Spanish website so I just HAD to get the most expensive one I could get - yet spending less money.
Greetings from Spain!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteFor the general discussion, I am also a "one life, one organizer" type of guy. In the last weeks my focus has been shifting from iPhone and iPad (using Google Calendar for Agenda and Egretlist for To-Do's) to the paper based planner I call my own.
ReplyDeleteIt offers a sense of focus I have been missing with my iOS devices. You can read more about that in my latest blog entry over at http://rene.raggl.me
(The photograph shows my "Hunter" with the layout as I used it until last Monday, white day per page. Since then I have switched to cream colored a week per two pages layout. I love the classy cream appearance and have gotten several compliments and inquiries already!
@stirwise you're right, an oversight on my behalf: I use a Succes organizer in the "Senior" format, from the "Hunter" product line. This isze is 95x150 mm which is a bit smaller than the personal if I saw that correctly. Consider the heresy! (Tongue firmly in cheek! ;-P)
The japanese layouts sure look interesting (especially the first and last one), but I don't know yet if a Filofax refill will fit the Succes ringbinder. I am a neat freak (except for my writing) and would hate having to re-punch them.
@Clara: well, welcome to the community! And I hope you well get many years of pleasure out of your purchase!
Rene
Alison I sympathize with you dilemna, it is also my own. I know that I would only get a fraction of what they are worth which makes it that much harder to do.
ReplyDeleteI have succumbed.
ReplyDeleteYesterday ordered a Malden Personal in crimson. While I was clicking around, I discovered the month on two pages (tabbed) 6842511. This is perfect!
Wait, I should back up. I have had ongoing planner/bound book angst for months. Throw in a change in my work load and an extra contract and I was a mess. I tried a few different formats, then bought a cheapo DayTimer binder and was using blank daily pages. I had ordered some Filofax page a day inserts and a set of the month-on-1-page. They came two days ago and I love the daily sheets but the monthly pages are not working.
So I have the beautiful Malden coming to me, the perfect month on 2 pages tabbed, some quad ruled note paper and some other little bits.
I am also waiting on some blank dividers that were forgotten on my first order. Then I should be alllll ready to go and stay organized! Love Philofaxy!
Rene, I know that filofax personal and succes standard are the exact same size. The filofax pocket and succes juniour have the same ring layout, but the page size differes by one or two mm. The succes senior size does not exist in the filofax range. The jot pads will work but none of the other insers will fit, even with repunching.
ReplyDeleteClara, congratulations on your purchase! I haven't had a Piazza, but I've read a comment that the suede band gets dirty easily. Might be good to put some suede protectant on it so it stays fresh. The Piazza is on clearance in the States too, and I've been tempted.
ReplyDelete@stirwise
ReplyDeleteThe Japanese layouts look very interesting. Is the paper nice? The website described it as "Characteristics of high flatness and less likely to exit the back is the best paper day planner refill right". Does that translate as fountain-pen friendly? :-)
@Alison
Although I have one life, I have two main planners - work and home (in much the same way that although I have one set of feet I have both high-heels and hiking boots...)
My work planner stays at work (the key point being that home is NOT work) and I use another filofax for everything else. But then, I (deliberately) keep work and 'rest of life' separate.
If you're falling between filofaxes though, it would suggest that you should keep one as your main one and put the others to other, non-planner uses (book-o-fax; garden-planner; etc...?). If you have lots of lovely filofaxes, why don't you change with the season? I couldn't resist getting another baroque in blue (even though the pink is fabulous) and have decided to change on the equinox! Blue for autumn and winter, pink for spring and summer.
My Ebony Deco arrived! :)
ReplyDeleteI was going to use it as my book-o-fax volume 2... but after reading this blog post I think I might use it to start keeping a logbook: http://www.austinkleon.com/2010/01/31/logbook/
I can't remember where I found the link to that blog, I am sure it was via someone's blog who posts here, so thanks, whoever you are!
H
x
@Nellie
ReplyDeleteThe link to the logbook was on Plannerisms. I thought it looked interesting too Especially the little cartoons next to each item!).
@Amanda
ReplyDeleteThanks! I looked everywhere to find the link, but couldn't for the life of me find it again!
Just curious... why is it we often say that we 'move in' to a new Filofax?
ReplyDelete@Amanda:
ReplyDeleteThose robot-translated descriptions can be *very* funny. I do believe that particular statement is referring to bleed-through, but I don't know if it's specific to fountain pens. As for the paper, I think I posted a couple of different brands of refills, my experience with the DaVinci-brand ones is that the paper is very thin (that's one of their selling points), but doesn't bleed through with roller ball ink. Unfortunately, I haven't tried a fountain pen on the pages.
@A:
If you search the refills category (household supplies and stationery > organizers > refills) for A5, I think you'll find a lot of products. I believe that the "Desk Size" category is mostly A5, but there may be other sizes mixed in there.
@girlinmaths: Thanks a lot for your help, it is much appreciated!
ReplyDelete