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19 August 2011

Free For All Friday No. 144

It's Back To School time! For many of us, the school year is in full swing already. (Those of you who are lucky enough to have some summer remaining, enjoy it!)  Students, teachers and parents, how are you using your Filofax to help you plan this school year?

On another note, there's only slightly more than 4 months left in 2011. How will you use your Filofax to shape the next several months to complete your 2011 goals and keep up on all the upcoming events?  Autumn is such a busy time, are you making preparations yet?

And as always on Fridays, please feel free to discuss anything Filofax-related!


27 comments:

  1. Well I had to break out my 2012 insert the other day (Personal, Week on 2 pages in Cotton Cream) as I'm starting to get dates for things for next year.

    But rather than squeezing it in to my already full Malden... I've put it in to my Slimline Finsbury for now. And the whole year fits in to that nicely.

    The supermarket stationary aisles have been expanded for the return to school here in September.

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  2. I work in academic years and back to work for me on Monday. Have recently moved to a Pocket Malden and am using the week on 2 pages (French version with apt times slots) which looks great so far. I believe in 1 diary only so it contains work and personal data BUT I need a day planning page (for daily to-dos of which there are many as I like to brain dump every-thing onto paper) but am holding out to the Philofaxy meet-up to buy some A5 refills for this function (my A5 will remain on my desk).

    I like to put my 3 monthly personal goals on a bright coloured page at the front of my diary so I see them every-time I open my diary.

    Feel a mixture of excitement and dread to be entering 2011 - 2012. I know it will be a busy year...

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  3. In case you are wondering that you might have missed a Reader Under the Spotlight post that has come up in your Google Reader or similar last night...

    It is scheduled for Sunday, but due to a glitch on Blogger last night it got published for a few seconds before I grabbed it back again and finished it.

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  4. Hi, long-time lurker, first-time poster*, crimson Malden Personal owner. I also work in academic years, so during the summers (and this autumn, when I will be research only) WO2P works fine. But when back to teaching in Jan, I'll switch to 1DPP. I've also interleaved the month-on-one-page throughout, and have a year planner for 2012 going already, where I can pencil in conferences, beginning and end of terms, etc.

    globetrottingcacti, I'm with you on the frequent braindump/planning issue. What I do instead of using the 'to do' sheets, is I have one of the large yellow lined notepads in the back pocket. Every few days I make a to do list on one of those yellow sheets - I find that more flexible than the rigid to-do format, so I can have a big task and then subtasks, plus cheaper. Then I place that yellow sheet with my ruler/marker so I see it when the diary is open. And because it's yellow, it jumps out from the middle of all the white pages. Simple but it works for me.

    But I'm definitely getting stationery fever from all the back-to-school. It's only a matter of time before I succumb and buy more goodies.

    *I posted once before but can't for the life of me remember what screenname I used. Should have written it in my FF!

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  5. It seems like a strange annual ritual... we always buy more stationary than we ever need... pens, paper pencils etc! But I suppose there are worse things in life!

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  6. But Steve, buying office supplies and rearranging the FF counts as work... and it is exactly the right kind of work for an August Friday!

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  7. @lucyclio. Hi there,just great to read your post. I so wish the crimson Malden came in A5!!!! I use A5 planners for my teaching work and all home stuff,and when I was doing my masters degree, for my research work too,along with copious box files. I have recently discovered that WH Smiths do an A5 mid year diary ie August to August with WO2P ie with the hours written vertically and notes section at the side. The quality of the paper could be better, but the format is great, as a lot can be fitted in. Personally, my perfect academic planner format so far!! I hope you don't mind, but I may well use your idea of coloured paper mid planner for things..... what a fabulous and simple idea, as of course bright colours will show up in the middle of a white diary!! I think I will have to sit on my hands, or put my money purse on a high shelf, so that I am not tempted to spend ANYTHING on the back to school stationery!!!! It all looks so inviting.

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  8. Steve, thanks for posting that about the post, I was missing it!

    I am not bound to an academic year, but review my filofax a couple times a year. Due to quitting college, I noticed I didn't need the DPP, so I switched to a WO2P.

    I like re-organising my Filofax, it's such a calming thing to do. But then again, I have always liked filling in diaries, I love stationary too!

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  9. Well, I (currently) work in academia and use my A5 diary at work with WO2P with vertical columns. It's actually enough space to plan most days, but when I need to I also use A6 scrap sheets, landscape orientation with 3 filofax-spaced holes and slot them in on the opposite side to the current day. They get binned at the end of the day.

    However after an absolutely disastrous week and several years of being more unhappy than happy in my job, I am taking the plunge (!!!) and retraining this year and my personal baroque is helping! I have my goals and monthly/weekly lists in there and for 'everything that's not work' planning I use a combination of a WO2P and DPP. I know that sounds like I am running 3 diaries and that sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, but my work days are just crossed off in my baroque diary (and have work and a sad face drawn in) and in my work diary, non-work days are crossed off (and have smiley faces on). Work appts only go into the work one and similarly for the 'everything else' one. The work A5 stays on my desk and the 'everything else' travels everywhere with me.
    The DPP is used to plan the 'not-at-work' bits of the week so only gets things transferred to it once a week.
    It might sound like a weired system but it's working for me.
    With any luck, this time next year, all that will be in my'uni work' diary will be when my leaving party is!

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  10. Just spotted that WHS are doing A5 ultraviolet dominos for £18 with no P+P.

    Any takers? (Other than me!)

    Think they were full price yesterday?

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  11. Oh, and most of the inserts will be for sale as I really only wanted a 30mm ring sized binder (for my re-training stuff!). I will ask Steve to put them on AdSpot as soon as they arrive at approx half price plus basic P+P.

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  12. The monk, contemplative and writer Thomas Merton once said, "Fall (he was American) is a fine time for starting things". I don't think there has been a truer word written about the cycles of life in general. Although not a professional academic myself I find the academic year as we have it in the West far easier to relate to than the natural cycle-of-seasons. I think if I was a farmer or otherwise agriculturally or botanically inclined, I would relate more to the natural seasons, but I just find it easier to work with the academic year. So this will be a kind of 'new year' for me, and already there are *lots* of things, some of them really big, which I want to add to my 'sometime/maybe' list (in GTD) with a view to getting them off there and onto the 'off the ground' projects list a.s.a.p. Certainly by Christmas I expect to have a good few of these progressed, at least in their early stages.

    I'm still using my Ochre Malden Personal and I *love* it. @Seve I haven't broken out the 2012 diary yet (indeed I don't yet have a Personal size diary for next year, I need to think some more about formats), but I will doon, I know. Work alone means I have to plan 3 months ahead, so I'm pretty much in 2012 already (I do have the annual overview, but need 2013).

    @Steve, loks like I'm goign to have my 2012 A5 'professional' refills to put on the Adspot, how do I go about doing that? All unopened, and I have a bunch of other stuff which, once I have been through it and catalogued it up, can join them, from the 'professional' range. Perhaos you can advise....or if anyone is interested just get in touch via davidpopely (at) googlemail (dot) com

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  13. Sorry - forgot to subscribe to comments so ignore this!

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  14. My nearly new Ochre Personal Malden is starting to pick up scratches to the leather....what do other people use to 'polish' these out?

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  15. David
    You need to look at the guest post over on Imysworld

    http://imysworld.blogspot.com/2011/08/filofax-college-week-7-caring-for-your.html

    Steve

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  16. Thanks for the leather cleaning tips Steve - much appreciated and duly noted!

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  17. @butanben hi! Partly, at the rate I scribble through to-do lists, I couldn't justify paying £2.25 for 20 personal to-do sheets -- whereas you get 100 yellow lined sheets in the personal notepad, for £4. But it looks like the price difference is less pronouced for A5. I realize now that A5 would probably have been more practical for me, but love the Crimson Malden so much I can't bear to switch :)

    and @amanda good luck/congrats on the move out of academia and retraining - it is not always a happy place, that's for sure.

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  18. I've looked on a few of the different international Filo sites at the A5 Malden. Do they only come in any other colours than the ochre, pink or grey? I've been doing an experiment for a work Filo using my old DayTimer "desk" size binder. If it is successful, I was going to get a lovely, beautiful A5 Malden. But I'm not really keen on any of the colours.

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  19. @butanben (LOVE the name BTW - always reminds me of The Broons, if you know of them??) I'm interested in how you used your A5 for your Masters. I'm just about to start a Masters in October, 20 years (almost to the day!) since I first went to uni. I'm not sure what the planning requirements will be like so any help and tips would be most welcome. I currently run 4 FFs with #5 finally decided-upon and purchased today. But there's always room for one more ;-) I do love my Aqua personal Finsbury which is my Daily FF at the moment, though!

    Thanks!
    Babs (Scottish but in England!)

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  20. @ David poperly - I was just coming on to ask the same question about the Malden Ochre and scratches. I have only had it 2 weeks and i have a very ugly scratch right in the middle at the front. sigh.

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  21. @Butanben I agree with Babs!! I'm starting my MA in Sept and need ideas for my MA filo! thanks!

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  22. I have just bought a crimson pocket Malden! I love City Organisers!

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  23. @Babs. How wonderful, another Broons and Butt and Ben fan!!! I always had the Broons and Our Wullie annuals in my Christmas stockings, and there was never a peep out of me on Christmas Day afternoon!!! I also read ring of Bright Water, watched the film and cried buckets!!! But I do remember thinking how wonderful the Butt and Ben was in that film, and how lucky Gavin Maxwell was to live as an author in that gorgeous setting. In the film, it looked very much like the gateway to the Isles.
    Of course I'll post some tips on an MA planner for you and TPS. Delighted to be asked. My degree was an MA.Ed with a music education specialism, taken at Southampton University, as they offer a flex degree, so it is possible to work and study.I passed my coursework with Distinctions- all A grades, amazingly, as I'd never had an A grade in anything in my life before, but just missed the overall distinction by a few marks unfortunately. But,as I took it whilst working full time, and at a time when my mother and boyfriend passed away, AND I was entering for my teaching threshold qualifications, which I also passed, I was thrilled to come out intact!!! I'll have a think about it over the weekend and send key ideas for you both. CP - Kyla, is also worth mailling, as she is using her planner for her doctorate. Maybe you can contact me at je.mccourt@virgin.net, then I can explain my set up in more detail. You don't have to run with my setup and advice by the way, as what works for one person doesn't always feel right to another and your course may also be of a different structure to mine.

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  24. I have found my tribe! This website and all participants are amazing--I am not the only planner-aholic in the world.

    I am reading past posts and am up to mid-2008 and finally enough courage to ask a question. Does anyone know if the pocket-sized month on two pages with tabs is on cardstock or paper? I am currently using the monthly grid, two pages, and want to switch but not add too much bulk to the rings of my mustard Finchley pocket.

    Thank you all!

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  25. Ooo, I saw my first filofax 'in the wild' today! We went to a cafe & it was sat behind the till, looking very stuffed with papers. Not too sure from the angle, but I think it was either a personal Metropol or Identity. I tried not to look too much, as they might've thought I was after some thing :)

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  26. @mstraat:
    The MO2P with tabs is on lightweight cardstock. They also come with the fully supply of front matter (weights and measures, etc) but on cardstock instead of paper, much nicer than what comes with the other calendar sheets.

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  27. is no-one else excited about the A5 domino in ultraviolet on sale for £18 and no P+P??

    And I thought I was going to be such an enabler!!
    :-)

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