So we are in to September, Autumn (Fall) will soon be with us, so it really is time to start seriously thinking about what diary insert size and type you are going to use next year... same as this year? or different?
I will try to put together a round-up of what is out there and available that will fit your Filofax in the next week or so, but September is going to be a busy month for me, which includes the meet up at the end of the month... not long to go now... three weeks time!
Don't forget the Philofaxy Round-Table on Sunday
But as it is Friday, you are of course free to discuss anything Filofax related.
A couple of weeks ago I received my 2012 monthly-tabbed on two pages calendar as well as my two-days-per-page diary pages. Yay, I thought. But in the intervening time, I have had a huge shift in my work situation and have moved (well as soon as it arrives in the mail) to an A5 for all my work needs. So in the past few days, I'm finding the 2dpp format is plenty spacious. I might go back to week-on-2-pages. We'll see!
ReplyDeleteI will be sticking with old faithful, week on two pages as it always seems to have enough space for me. Although I have teamed that with a month on one page so I can get a quick overview of the whole month without flicking through pages to see what is happening. :)
ReplyDeleteI received a free 2012 cream week on 2 pages when I bought my Ebony Deco. I've used this layout this year and works well for me so I'll stick with that. I like the notes area at the top.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe it's September already!
Like icclewu I use a week on 2 page format with month on one page overview (with monthly tabs) in my main filo.
ReplyDeleteHowever for my masters filo I want to use week on one page with notes. However the 5-language is driving me nuts!!! Is this available in English only? Or are there any alternatives anyone can suggest?
I have just changed my set up for the third time this year. Have moved into my pocket Malden, which includes a wo2p and a dpp. I hope that will work out, and otherwise I'll move back to my personal Malden.
ReplyDeleteI will be sticking with a combination of WO2P and DPP in my personal, but I have changed to have the WO2P with the appointments times in.
ReplyDeleteI got a WO2P Jul 11 to Dec 12 A5 which I don't need when I bought my new domino. It's for sale on AdSpot if anyone wants it.
I just started to make my own (for personal size) DPP for next year. I don't like the ready-made because of the time slots and two columns. I just want it plain (not even ruled) with the date and week at the top.
ReplyDeleteI bought a white plain notepaper value pack some time ago, and I think it's nicer quality than the diary that came with my planner.
I use an A5 and am constantly disappointed with the range available in that size. I haven't made my mind up yet, but may consider some of the print your own options which means I could have a more attractive version on better paper.
ReplyDeleteI would like a month on two pages tabbed for the A5, then I could slot in my page per day, or two page per day in between.
Hello, all
ReplyDeleteMy name is Olga, from Seville, Spain. I found you somehow in Google about a month ago -don't even remember what it was I was searching for- and I have officially been abducted by this blog! I am currently job hunting and taking courses and a Philofax seemed a great way to get organized. I had always used bound diaries strictly for work, but now my memory is shot and I find the Filofax is a great help even for daily non work related stuff.
So now I own a beautiful pocket raspberry Chameleon, which came with WO2P for 2012 and I purchased a 2011 week on one page with notes so I could try this format for the rest of this year. I am using the pocket as my wallet and it works beautifully and never leaves my side. This set up is fine for now, but given I'm already addicted I find myself looking for a new planner in a bigger size for when I start working again. Great excuse, huh?
I am enamored of the Domino snake in Bronze, I find it the more stylish of the cheaper models and I have found it on Filofax Germany. My quandry is, should I get the A5 or the Personal? It would stay at my desk most of the time, so portability is not a huge issue. The personal is less expensive and it would be more manageable, plus more inserts and templates available.
The A5 would be definitely more convenient for writing space, but I think it is a bit less versatile. What do you think?
To add to my indecisiveness, now I found a sale on the Personal Crimson Malden for pretty much the cost of he Domino A5... You make it sound so appetizing! Although the color is not my favourite and I really like the snake effect of the bronzes.
Please, please help me make up my mind. And thank you all so much for giving me such good reading material!
Can anyone tell me whether the 2DPP in personal size has Saturday and Sunday combined or if they have the same space as other days? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI mainly use DPP, and I bought the Filofax brand 2012 refill earlier this summer when I found it cheap on ebay. I love the DPP to use for everything, but I do think I need a week view sometimes as I always live in the moment and tend not to plan ahead, although I'm trying to rectify that. But I find that I just can't use WO2P very effectively. I bought my WO2P lined 2012 refill early this year, I think it was in April when there was free postage on the Filofax UK website! But I don't use this for normal planning things, I only use the WO2P for noting down appointments etc for dates that I don't have DPP pages in my filo, because I can only fit a few months in at a time. I then transfer them to the DPP sheets when I refill my filo for the next few months. I also have month on 2 pages, but I don't really know how to use them yet. When I go back to uni I will also be using A5 WO2P columned appointments for noting uni lectures etc, which I will transfer to DPP on my Sunday night previews!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAlready ordered my Time/System A5 refill with two pages per day, and fold-out monthly and yearly pages. The 2ppd works well for the number of activities I have, plus daily notes. I also have Next Actions and Waiting For lists reverse-folded over the left-hand page of 2ppd, probably wouldn't work well with other daily formats. For a number of years I printed my daily pages and monthly calendars from Outlook, then cut and punched them. It worked well, but I like the Time/System calendars better than the block-style calendars (the 2011 refill package included both styles of monthly calendar).
ReplyDelete@mstraat, I have my 2-days-per-page here, personal size. Mine is the 3 language Jan-Dec version. The left side has Fri/Sat and the right side page has Sun/Notes. Each day has an equal amount of space, and the notes portion is the same size as the days. Here's a pic: http://www.flickr.com/photos/terri_royea/6016057654/in/set-72157626909217117
ReplyDeleteArg! Some of us do work weekends in this day and age. My fondest wish is a format with equal space on weekends.
ReplyDeleteI only use a paper diary in my filo to track my most important tasks. Have been using a dodo pad in personal size & love the cartoons & colour. However, I think those boxes are a bit small, so I'll probably go back to printing out blank months from Google calendar as I did before.
ReplyDeleteI have a question about the Compact. What size paper does it hold? Personal, or a special new size?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your help!
I have just changed around the set up in my personal Chameleon as I have recently got a new job. I was using a dodo pad 2011 refill and I love it but I need more space So I wanted to try keeping the dodo pad as my week to view and then have DPP in order to write down daily to dos and reminders.
ReplyDeleteHowever, all of the 2011 DPP diaries are still full price and I refuse to pay full price for less than half a year's diary. So I printed the Day Planner pages from the links page here on Philofaxy so I can trial the DPP until the end of the year. I've been using this set up for two days now and it's working like a dream!
@Lady_Tamlynn. Have a look at the dynamic templates program on the DIY planner website. It's free and let's you print your own diary pages in whichever format you want.
ReplyDelete@Babs Thanks for the tip! I didn't know about that website. I shall put it to good use :-)
ReplyDeleteFor work, I'm probably going to order the Time/System A5 refill. It has worked well for me this year. (Any shortcomings were related to my personal shortcomings -- I'm terrible about long-range goals.) I've just read the TMI guide, thanks to the DavidandAlison Yahoo group (not the real name, but it's how I think of it), and I'm tempted to order the TMI setup because it is very goals-oriented. It is very similar to Time/System but has better instructions and more structure. Or I could use Filo inserts to set up a pseudo TMI system in my black Malden... but I might be dooming myself to failure if I don't use the real thing. David and/or Alison, since you have used all of these options, do you have any advice?
ReplyDeleteRe: "Unknown"
ReplyDeleteThat's me. I've been reading this blog for years (as well as other linked blogs), but I tend to lurk. I'm a freelance writer and I live in the Seattle area. I don't have a blog, but I do have opinions and on occasion I treat my family to some really good rants. Perhaps I should blog about them.
@unknown - I haven't used the TMI system for many, many years. I'm currently trying to set up a sort of hybrid which has the best of GTD and TMI but it is in it's infancy. Also I haven't used to Filofax Time/System inserts. I'm not sure I need two pages per day. The problem is that many of these inserts can be expensive so it is a costly mistake if we get it wrong! Regarding the diary, I'd probably compare the inserts online and go with my gut feeling. Often it is just as important to 'like' the inserts you are using as it makes you want to use them. I really wish the Franklin Covey stuff fitted - or even day timer as their designs are much more fun and interesting.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Alison.
ReplyDeleteJust to clarify, I'm not using the Filo professional Time Mgmt inserts -- I'm using the A5 inserts from the Time/System company (they are similar, but Time/System has a nifty foldover Activities [to do] list)in an antique rose Finchley. I think that a couple of other readers use Time/System as well. I agree about the Franklin inserts -- I used Franklin on and off for close to 20 years. Currently, I have cropped Franklin inserts in my Malden, but cropping inserts isn't really something I enjoy. Besides, I'm OCD enough that if the inserts don't line up perfectly, I get irritated. For this reason, I'm not using the Malden right now. It just sits there, looking pretty.
I am currently using a week on two pages on my personal which gives me no room at all so I got page per day for next yr. Previously I used to try and have the whole yr in at once but now I am going to try and have a few months at a time and use my whole yr planner to write dates as they come up. Hope that makes sense!
ReplyDelete@terriknits Thank you! I can see the number on the edge of the page in your photo to order the correct refills.
ReplyDeleteIn January, I decided to try using the iPAD my family bought me for my birthday. After 8 months of error and trial, I've ordered my Week on Two Pages (educational) FF pages for my A5 Finsbury and they should be here soon. Can't wait to let go of the fuss of digital planning!
ReplyDeleteNellie: You bought my dream Filofax? How do you like it? I would love to see pictures of it with your set-up!
ReplyDeleteI have been using my usual setup of WOTP + DPP. But considering how neglected my Filo has been for the past 4 months, I think I will stick with it until December. Then I will think about moving to a different system altogether.
ReplyDeleteI will continue using the Mini as a wallet though.
As SSJ pointed out, Time/System isn't associated with Filofax. The Time/System A5 Business refills are supposedly hole-compatible with the Filofax A5 binders, and similarly the Filofax A5 refills should work with the Time/System binders. I can't seem to find used Filofax A5 binders on Ebay or CraigsList at a reasonable price so that I can prove or disprove the assertion ;)
ReplyDeleteI started using the (then) Time/Design binders and refills in 1991 when the company I worked for had a number of us take a two-day seminar on Personal Productivity. We were supplied with the basic system (vinyl binder) and starter set, then were shown how to set up a personal management system. I still have the handouts from the seminar and refer back to them. There are reasons why the Time/Design (now Time/System) forms and layouts work well with GTD (hint: the seminar was informally referred to as "The David Allen Class").
I bought the official refills for a few years, then started printing my daily calendar pages from Outlook on a weekly basis. I simply printed seven days worth of daily pages for the next week, then cut and punched them and put them in the binder when I removed the previous week. I keep three weeks worth of daily pages in the binder at a time. Eventually my wife noticed that the black vinyl binder was being held together with black duck tape. She gave me a new full-up Time/System set for Christmas, and each Christmas I receive an official refill. I now have a leather Time/System binder that was another Christmas present!
One of the problems I have with Filofax paper is that it's not archival/ acid free. I might order up the Timer 17 diary insert for my personal size Filofax. Timer inserts are from France, made by Quo Vadis and they do have acid-free (and fountain pen friendly) paper. Many thanks to Steve for pointing out the Timer 17 Prestige format is in English and French!
ReplyDeletehttp://quovadis.eu/site/product-agenda/timer-17-prestige/