Today is the day of the week when we let you ask any questions you want about Filofax related matters and we do our collective best to answer those questions.
So don't be afraid to step forward and ask your question. Fire away....
Now the polls have closed, I'd like to congratulate the Philofaxy award winners. In the two categories in which I was nominated (thank you, nominators, whoever you were!) I was delighted to find myself in such admirable company.
Cat's win as 'Best New Filofax Blogger' is well-deserved. She's quickly established a distinct voice and covers a wide range of topics. But I found myself wanting to vote for everyone in this category.
As 'Best Filofax Video Blogger', Imy is the obvious choice, having almost single-handedly created the category, it seems! This was another category where I wished I'd had four votes to cast.
In 'Best Filofax Photography' the choice seemed to be between naturalism and impressionism, which wasn't a choice I wanted to make. I enjoy both. Congratulations to Tracy.
The 'Most Artistic Filofax/Blog' was the closest of all the votes. Nikki's win despite not having her own blog is a triumph and I hope she'll recognise that we're all keen to see and hear more from her, perhaps in the pages of a blog of her own.
Surprised to be nominated for 'Best Business Organiser' (the other people nominated in this category are real gurus), I am staggered to win it. In celebration, I'll look to do a 'what's in my' on A5 business binder soon.
Jotje's 'Best Family Organiser' win is well deserved (her new blog is one of my favourites and I can't believe she hasn't been writing it for years), but again I wanted to vote for all three of them.
The final surprise was that there were only three nominations for 'Best Commenter'. I'd have had a job to get the shortlist down to a dozen, personally. I get so much from so many of the Philofaxy commenters I could never single out just one. Butanben, however, is a worthy winner if there has to be one!
And lastly a big thanks to Steve for organising this whole awards initiative. I hope it will turn into as much of a tradition as the Oscars.
excellent post, and I agree completely, I found it so hard to vote in ALL the categories. I am sooooooooooooo excited to win, I do not know what to say, other than to thank enormously all who nominated and voted for me. I have to confess that I have spent my life being a frustrated artist!! I am just not very good, so to actually win something in an artistic category is even more special for me:) Big thanks also to Steve for this blog and the competition, and long may it continue, what a wonderful bunch of people we have here :))))))))
oh, as for my own blog, gosh that is a big committment, and as another has already said, "do we really need another filofax blog" lol Must admit, have done a lot of "fiddling" with filofax lately, but maybe I will just keep it to the odd guest post here for now, but thanks for the kind words, and encouragement :)
I am just so excited!Thank you ever so much to all the folks who nominated me and who voted for me. I just feel so utterly thrilled and bowled over that I have been voted as the best commenter on Philofaxy. Wow!! As Ray says, it has been so hard to choose between everyone in each category when I voted. Like a beautiful box of chocolates, all with the most gorgeous praline centres, or a menu with the most delicious dishes!!! Which ones do you choose?? Impossible. Well done to all the winners and actually to everyone... nominated or not.... I just love reading everyone's commentary and blogs and watching the video finds here. Philofaxy is my newest and best hobby, creative, engrossing, useful and sociable. Thanks folks... and of course, thanks Steve for arranging this Olympic celebratory slot. As a teacher, an academic Dodo pad is THE perfect prize. Bliss.xx
well done Butanben, and BTW you MUST send me an email with your address so I can send you a page marker as I had promised you!! my email is jokima at wanadoo dot fr Nikki XX
A FFAT question. I need to pick your brains everybody. I have downloaded and I am using Ray and Steve's amended TM A5 Philofaxy diary Week to view... and so far I have found my ideal format. PHEW!! I have started to download 2013's diary, but I am missing that little separate sheet with the most importatnt dates for 2013 on.Does anyone know if Filofax sells this as a separate item? Also if there is a particularly good web site link or links which folks already use, and which is UK based, which would help me when I come to fill in my 2013 diary and to print off for my A5 (will do this in August, ready for the new school year.) Often useful to have a list not just for filling my diary, but for school assemblies... ie those little important celebrations too. I notice for example that Mothering Sunday sometimes differs in its date in the USA. Thanks.... any help or suggestions gratefully received. xx
I have a question for Ray and Steve! I've been looking into the Travel Journal Pack that Filofax is selling (Personal size), but the price is quite ridiculous. I'm particularly interested in the two-day-spread of the Travel Journal. Is a template like this something you guys would consider making? Especially now that the holidays are knocking on the door ... (nag nag)? I would like to print it on thicker paper, so I could also do some watercolor doodling. If you have other ideas (maybe some other brand is selling inserts like that?), I'd be glad to hear!
Its almost like you have read my mind. My best friend is planning to go to Hong Kong and hopefully Japan in the next two years and her and her partner are mega excited for it, and she wants to enlist me as a sort of informal helper (she knows I love travel plans). I considered getting her a Tokyo and HK Moleskine guide but they are apparently outdated now, being published in 2008. I've also considered the general Moleskine travel journal but I think I may buy a 2nd hand personal Filo and make her a personalised version with templates for different travel aspects etc.
I have a few of the moleskine city books, too. Because they are out of date I am in the process of taking them apart and putting pages from them, like maps, into my travel filos. :)
That has given me a brainwave of scouring for cheap guidebooks to hack apart for my friends' present. I wad going to do nearly everything from scratch!
Just a small d'oh! to share. Spotted a pen mark on the cover of my Malden, wouldn't wipe off so I tried a babywipe. The pen mark is lighter, but so is the colour of the surrounding leather. :`( Don't try this at home folks!
Apart from that - I find myself fancying an Apex, and very Flex-curious. Who can tell me about them?
I was the winner of an Apex from the memory competition...and there's absolutely no comparison to a leather binder. But it all depends on your needs; I use my Apex for my notes at the hospital as I can completely disinfect it without harming the material. The long elastic does get in the way a bit, though. As for a flex, I was curious too about the A5, but I now think it's a glorified notebook cover. I don't use it because I prefer the flexibility of my Filos. Also, it has no resale value :( So it all depends on what you intend to use it for. Good luck with your decision-making (that's always the hardest part for me).
Yes, I've looked longingly at the Flex but have so far resisted. I've had no difficulty at all resisting the Apex, though. Go to a shop, pick one up. Open it. Feel the clammy plastic material and the eyesore that is the metre of elastic that now hangs from the FRONT cover. Then put it back and walk away.
LOL, couldn't have said it any better than that, Ray. That sums it up neatly ... The only thing I fancy about the Flex is the removable penloop. Because I can cut and punch it for my Filofaxes ... he he.
I bought my Malden to use as a writing notebook, but the rings really got in the way of my Muse ;-) The Flex looks a good way to keep notebook and pen together, with the possibility to slip a 'writing exercises' book or other notes into the other side. The cover doesn't look interesting enough as it is to tempt me yet for that specific purpose.
I have the flex in A5, pocket and i've got slimline on its way to me, all in magenta. I really love them and i'm quite happy with the cover, no doubt i'll upgrade at some point. It's great to use as a notebook because I hate writing with rings in the way. In fact I take paper out of my filofax, write on it then put it back in so the flex is a better system for me. I've not used one as yet as a diary but I got the pocket one off ebay and got a cheap diary off ebay too and i'm going to give it a go see how I get on.
I also have an apex in A5, it's down to personal choice (personally i'm not thinking much of the leather designs and colours currently out, I'm hoping filofax bring out some funky looking ones soon in nice bright colours), I love my pink Apex with it's aqua elastic (my two fav colours), I just use it at home, I wanted one I could just leave lying around and with five kids in the house I didn't want an expensive one, that I would be heartbroken if it got damaged. I use a pocket finchley in imperial purple as my carry around filofax, i'm not sure the flex will ever replace this but there is definitely room in my life for both :)
For those who yearn for a nice leather notebook cover: have you checked out the marvellous leather covers of thesuccesschoice.com? The are an exact fit for large moleskines, the leather is superb, the smell just delicious, and I find them very reasonably prices aswell. Did I mention the fully elasticated penloop?
Thanks for pointing out this article! Quite interesting comments, too (though I didn't stop to read ALL 212 (!) of them).
Actually, kids in Holland also learn to write with a fountain pen. And the middle school, that my oldest is going to visit, also wants pupils to write papers and essays with fountain pen. According to a teacher at that school, the process of handwriting (and especially so with a fountain pen) stimulates the creativity and thinking process in brains.
Great article! Must admit, I yearn for a Mont Blanc fountain pen like my mum had, but it's probably too thick in the barrel for a Filofax I would think.
I will always yearn for a beautiful fountain pen, and totaly enjoy the use of my parkers, and the choice of ink colours as the mood takes me!! Interesting to hear sales are rising. I know kids in school here are taught to write with one when they are a bit older, and I do not find it unusual to see someone using one occasionally here, esp. lawyers lol
@Butanben - Montblancs come in all shapes and sizes. The Mozart fits a pocket filofax very nicely and the Classique will most probably fit most other sized binders. I am a huge fan and have a (small) collection - one I had new as a present, the others I have bought second hand. They would almost certainly into a Quiver holder (which I think you have?)
My husband bought me another pen for Xmas - a Waterman Hemisphere in white, you can find it here: http://www.penshop.co.uk/default/waterman-hemisphere-white-laquer-fountain-pen-paladium-plated-trims.html I had been lusting after the new white Montblancs, but the funds would not stretch to that these days, so he bought me that white one as it looked quite pretty. Normally I wouldn't rave about this sort of pen, but it writes like a dream, has a medium nib which is on the fine side (so virtually no bleed through), and it fits nicely into the pen loops in my black A5 Amazona.
I am also a huge fan of the Lamy Safari pens (which is you are patient you can pick up very reasonably on ebay). Although I believe that Montblancs are real works of art (especially the special editions), there are loads of really nice affordable pens around which give an enormous amount of pleasure.
I could spend a good few hours discussing fountain pens and am a member of The Fountain Pen Network which is a truly international forum for fountain pen lovers - I'd highly recommend it!
I've recently gotten back into fountain pen usage, mostly for journaling, and am enjoying the throwback to olden days when I'm using one. I haven't used them in recent years, but the resurgence has gotten me loving them again.
I tried using a fountain pen when I was sixteen, and given I'm a left-hander who was brought up on ballpoints, I just couldn't do it. Give me a Bic any day!
After several months, almost a year, it seems I'm not so in love with my Filofax anymore. I still like the binders I have, and the idea of this ideal me using them appropriately to improve my life by implementing a GTD solution in a paper solution (I am this close to abandonning technology altogether), but can't find myself to actually *use* it consistently, it seems so cumbersome and... "over the edge", you know ?
Have you also suffered from total discouragement about your planners/filofaxes ? Thinking you like the ones you have but none of them is perfect, therefore, why bother even trying to adjust ? And looking at other people's success with their setup once seemed encouraging, now I'm mostly thinking "plain boring life with mundane stuff, no need for so much fretting over how to set my filo up, and so on ?"
So, what did you do, or, as you are still reading Philofaxy, what do you do when you suffer from planner angst/planner failure ? Do you just abandon it/them for a while and come back to it ?
Don't be discouraged, a filofax binder is perfect for use as a paper based GTD system. Lots of ideas around - several GTD articles here on Philofaxy, and you can Google "filofax gtd" as well.
Well, I couldn't have said it any better than Ray! What I would highly recommend to anybody with planner failure or organisational issues in general: read Julie Morgensterns book "Time Management from the inside out". It is such an eye-opener! Then establish if your "planner problems" are technical (e.g. not small enough to always have it with you - especially when you are trying to build a new habit; or not big enough to have room to record everything you need), or rather psychological (e.g. fear of failure/fear of success (and - yes - those can be the same!), dissatisfaction with certain areas in your work/personal life etc.
And in answer to your queston: yes, I had abandoned Filofax in the past, but I also returned to it. Not because other planners don't work, but because NO PLANNER WORKS. Quite simply because YOU need to work (as in "stick to the system"). I'm convinced you can adapt to any planner, even if it bugs the heck out of you in the beginning. If there were no other tool in the world, you would get it going for you. But since we are in that überluxurious positon to choose from whatever planner we desire, it's okay to look around for a bit until you find something that seems to satisfy your planning needs. And then ... stick to it for at least 30 days, because that is how long it takes the human brain to establish a new habit.
Well, summarized: you really need to read Julie's book ... ;-)
I have had planner angst myself and have felt weighed down and tired of the whole fuss. Sometimes I have bought a new binder to increase my enthusiam. I do not recommend this, it's a cycle that never ends, unless there is a very specific change you are planning for.
Any good habit we develop to enhance the quality of our lives seems to get tiring over time (think dieting, excercising etc.). I have found it beneficial to simplify my system and aspirations as much as possible. I now use a slimmer and smaller size organizer too. This has seemed to help me. Eliminate any thing that is not of real value.
I fundamentally use my planner as my portable brain which for me reduces stress on many levels because I do not forget the important things I need to do and when. I also gain value from the self reflective process that the paper planner provides to direct my life in a more fulfilling direction. I really have to have a planner or notebook of some sort but am more careful about not being obsessive about productivity and planning. Perhaps you might be one of the few whom a planner is a liability? Life is to be enjoyed and is often more of an unfolding - unpredictable and ever changing.
So, in a nutshell, try to to go slimmer,smaller and simpler for a while and see how that works for you. You may want to try the book "Simplify You Life" by Elaine St. James, in particular, the chapter on quit being a slave to your Day Runner.
I see there are alot of great comments about this topic and I hope one resonates with you. You are not alone. Good luck!!
Planner angst? Have you ever read my What I'm Currently Using? I'm always switching around and usually use more than a dozen planners per year. Here, maybe this will make you feel better:
I tried for years to use a Filofax as my planner but finally realized I need a week view with the days as columns and space on the weekly spread for my to-do lists. Keeping my to-dos behind a tab in my Filofax was out of sight, out of mind.
I need a large page size for my week + notes, at least A5, but the A5 Filofax binder was too large to carry everywhere. I like using my Personal size Filofax as my info and reference book, but for my planner it doesn't work so well.
Give yourself permission to try non-Filofax planner systems to find what works for you and what feels comfortable!
Thank you all for your input and comments, it's comforting to know some of us struggle with ourselves to stick to an organization-as-a-way-of-life !
I'm indeed in the habit-building phase, hence the uncertainty, but you are all right : I should stick to it so that I begin feeling comfortable and have faith in my system.
And for those who suggested books, be sure I will check them out !
That's the beauty of this community: ideas, support, and so much more, oh and sure, some enabling too, sure :) Thank you all again.
If it's any use, I respect GTD but found it far too cumbersome - I can't quite put my finger on why - for my personal needs, either re time management or just using a Filofax.
My first Fax came with no special inserts though, so I pretty much had to make up my own system that evolved as each new need emerged, for example some of my busiest years in my '20s all my contact numbers were listed in the order I got them, on both sides of one sheet of paper.
This worked fine for me, and the pages are still a great souvenir of the past!
Then for a few years I'd keep a day per line (don't anyone faint!) on a sheet at the front of the planner, with just times & intiails or short memos, and just use the rest for ideas, doodling, whatever - only when my needs grew more complex did I bother setting up my planner, later to become plannerS, in a more elborate way - but always led by need.
Finally, sometimes my Fax sat on my desk for months barely used, if my life worked better planned from a reporter's style notebook... didn't mean anyone or anything had "failed" because they're only tools at the end of the day!
I think there are as many ways of using a Fax as there are users, so if one model doesn't work, don't give up.
Hi there, I am very happy with my new black A5 Domino, which I wasn't sure I would like. Now, I'm hankering after the A5 Domino snake print, but it doesn't appear to be availiable in Canada/North America. Is that right?
Planners don't fail, people do. That sounds provocative, doesn't it? I suppose what I mean is that no planner can possibly be perfect for everyone. You need to meet the planner half way, sometimes and change what you do to get the most out of it.
Even if it's totally perfect for your needs you still have to do stuff like carry it around, consult it, write in it until it becomes what the GTD crowd call your 'trusted system'. Whenever you make a change you need to persist until it becomes a habit, until you can't even think about not doing it.
Some people have trouble because they're not terribly organised. Just having a planner won't fix that. Some people have trouble because they are organised and disciplined enough not to need a planer, so the planning is just additional overhead for little gain.
Work out if and why you need a planner. If you do, and you know why, work to find a routine that gives you the planning support you need. Force yourself to use it until you don't need to force yourself any more.
"Some people have trouble because they are organised and disciplined enough not to need a planer, so the planning is just additional overhead for little gain."
O_O wow, never thought of it that way. Might be why I'm experiencing planner fail after planner fail. I don't really need it (very good memory etc.) besides using it as a very rare "kick in the butt" to get started on something, and because I like to write things down. *goes away to contemplate this and to try out the newest set-up (inspired by Tracy).*
Ray, thank you for a fantastic comment! I agree about the whole 'trusted system' & I've struggled in the past with this & am still working on it. Love tinkering with my filo, but have decided I also need to stick to my set up to give the best chance of working :)
I am also always struggling with my setup. I read this blog and a few others religously to find something that will work for me.
In the process I have learned quite a few things about myself. Here are a few:
1) i obsess about finding the perfect whatever - setup, pen, paper type, etc - when the truth is there is no perfect to find. It's what works for me, for now. I do this in other parts of my life as well - (no surprise there).
2) I like the process of the setup, the list making, the color coding - but I'm not so much into actually doing all the things I write down. Under those circumstances every planner has to fail.
3) i have trouble being in the present. In choosing a setup, my head gets caught up in things that may/will happen down the road. Example: starting next year I will be travelling more for work. So my planner should be very portable. But I'm not travelling now. I have to really concentrate on the details of my life now to get a setup that works now.
4) i have also learned that when I am most stressed and overwhelmed i crave new and different planners. I have learned to recognize this in myself, so now i can go to a store or online and just look at them. I used to buy them all. Then at the end of the year i would have a pile of planners - some partially used, some not touched.
And all this is just some of the angst swirling around in my head! Phew - all this self discovery from a planner! Amazing that you can find lessons and self discovery in just about anything.
As you guessed, and as I wrote above, yes, I'm still in the habit-building phase, I've implemented a new system recently (considering I had almost none before), and have been improving/adjusting it along the way, with the tips and ideas that one can read here or on other blogs. Therefore, I am not that familiar with how I'm supposed to use my system, in a way : the process is not on auto-pilot yet, hence some stress and "now, how am I supposed to deal with this ?" questions :)
Trial and error is allowed, as Laurie and Savannah have said : perhaps I don't really need a full-blown GTD, perhaps I should simplify my needs for organization ? Or find other tools/planners and start again from scratch ?
I understand persistence is key, and instead to playing around with some tools, I should actually put them to good use and actually do something and use my system and really get acquainted with it !!
I'm also struggling with the work/personal separation, I believe in a "one life, one planner", but I think I've found a solution to have everything in the same binder, but fairly separated, so that it's not too messy/disorganized, so, that's a good thing.
Thank you for your nice words, everybody: it's inspiring, and I'm feeling motivated again, in a "let's do this!" way :)
No 1 is so me, if i stopped looking for perfection maybe i'd use what i have put all my time and energy into that and be super organised, instead i waste hours online searching!!!
Hi guys! Just letting you guys know I'm selling my slimline adelphi and a5 malden in vintage pink on eBay right now for cheap. I think Jotje is the hight bidder on the Malden right now! I will ship worldwide. My user name is Cazzlerazzle, don't know how to do the link on my phone. I'm Oing to sell my pocket crimson Malden and my a5 aqua Finsbury tomorrow too.
@Jotje, your secret identity's safe ;-) - the listing only shows initials and feedback # to other users, click on the small blue link showing number of Bids and you'll see what I mean.
Clark Kent would be safe bidding for his tights on e-Bay... ^_^
I'm reading everyone's comments and wanted to chime in: For years, I didn't need a planner. I probably would have performed better with one, but I got away with not having one. I have an excellent memory and generally can keep track of lots of information well. On the other hand, I'm incredibly unorganized! I lose things all the time, I lose track of time, I get distracted very easily, I flip flop from periods of hyper-focus to periods when I cannot seem to focus on the smallest thing. As my professional life became more complicated, I started looking for a solution. I bought a personal size Filofax. I think that the process of really learning to use a planner was greatly aided by the looseleaf system; as I thought of or saw better ways to manage various things with the planner, I was able to rearrange, add, and remove relevant bits to allow me to implement the alternatives. The planner was small enough to carry everywhere, but large enough to fit a lot into. I was proud of it! This made me want to carry it and use it even when it was not yet natural to do so. I found that it could be marvelously useful and practical, I kept adding information to it to make it more and more helpful on a day to day basis. I became known as the guy who could get his hands on any relevant detail in moments at the office. I learned things: It's important for me to have everything I need for the day on the same page, as I don't like flipping through the binder endlessly; I need to assign tasks to time slots; I need to write things I've done in addition to things I need to do; I need lots of space.
Success with my planner has helped me to create success with my life. My work desk, which was perpetually a disaster of piles of papers and booklets and odds and ends, has suddenly become serene and superbly organized. I would forget to keep in touch with my friends, now I reach out on a regular basis, I've been able to juggle school demands with work and everything else, and keep a level head and not lose track of anything significant.
I wholeheartedly agree with the suggestions above; read up on various methods; keep your planner simple and take steps to make it satisfying for you to use; use it consistently for a month.
I also suggest using a pencil and eraser. I find it really helps me keep the planner working for me to be able to edit as needed.
@Josh: I love how you put it, and I think you have put into words what we all want to achieve with our own systems -- clean desk, organized life, easy access to info, etc., etc.
I stopped using a filo for a few years as well, thinking I could live without one, but the bound notebooks I used just weren't the same, and not as much fun.
I'm back in a filofax after about 8 (?) years away, during which I tried moleskins and the little bitty planners you get from your hairstylist. I moved to these others to try to reduce weight in my bag, but they just won't do. Something prompted me to look into filofax again, and I was completely taken with the maldens. I had an apple green pimlico and an orange portobello, both leather in pocket size, between 2001 and 2004. They never laid flat, and I had totally overloaded the wallet pocket. Still, there's something about a filofax. I'm feeling that my arrangement this time is much more user-friendly for me and I have it out on my desk at work and open at home as well. Feels like success this time! It's probably just that this time I've approached it from the point of view of actually working for me, not what I think a planner ought to look like. It's a lot of fun looking through the Philofaxy website too- this is great!
I just found these on ebay - so much cheaper than the ones on Amazon - delivery is only 58p within the UK and they ship internationally too! Found someone suggesting them after trawling through old posts on here. I have a great 4 multi pen from Reynolds (brand ive never heard of) which is great but really fat and won't fit in my pen loops!
I also can totally identify what people have said here! When I am stressed, sad, bored, or angry, it's so easy to just "go shopping" for a new planner. However, this can cause problems in and of itself! So, I think the goal is to stick with one planner/one system for AT LEAST 30 days, but preferably 3 months. That really gets you into the habit of it. But, yes, we are all enablers! LOL
The planner's always just basically a bunch of rings, barring some card slots and maybe a notepad: it's what you put in the central section that defines it.
Obviously it's cool if the outside leather etc makes you happy when you hold it, but it's the functionality & portability - perhaps durability for some of us as well - that makes it different than a notebook or something.
Now the polls have closed, I'd like to congratulate the Philofaxy award winners. In the two categories in which I was nominated (thank you, nominators, whoever you were!) I was delighted to find myself in such admirable company.
ReplyDeleteCat's win as 'Best New Filofax Blogger' is well-deserved. She's quickly established a distinct voice and covers a wide range of topics. But I found myself wanting to vote for everyone in this category.
As 'Best Filofax Video Blogger', Imy is the obvious choice, having almost single-handedly created the category, it seems! This was another category where I wished I'd had four votes to cast.
In 'Best Filofax Photography' the choice seemed to be between naturalism and impressionism, which wasn't a choice I wanted to make. I enjoy both. Congratulations to Tracy.
The 'Most Artistic Filofax/Blog' was the closest of all the votes. Nikki's win despite not having her own blog is a triumph and I hope she'll recognise that we're all keen to see and hear more from her, perhaps in the pages of a blog of her own.
Surprised to be nominated for 'Best Business Organiser' (the other people nominated in this category are real gurus), I am staggered to win it. In celebration, I'll look to do a 'what's in my' on A5 business binder soon.
Jotje's 'Best Family Organiser' win is well deserved (her new blog is one of my favourites and I can't believe she hasn't been writing it for years), but again I wanted to vote for all three of them.
The final surprise was that there were only three nominations for 'Best Commenter'. I'd have had a job to get the shortlist down to a dozen, personally. I get so much from so many of the Philofaxy commenters I could never single out just one. Butanben, however, is a worthy winner if there has to be one!
And lastly a big thanks to Steve for organising this whole awards initiative. I hope it will turn into as much of a tradition as the Oscars.
excellent post, and I agree completely, I found it so hard to vote in ALL the categories. I am sooooooooooooo excited to win, I do not know what to say, other than to thank enormously all who nominated and voted for me. I have to confess that I have spent my life being a frustrated artist!! I am just not very good, so to actually win something in an artistic category is even more special for me:) Big thanks also to Steve for this blog and the competition, and long may it continue, what a wonderful bunch of people we have here :))))))))
Deleteoh, as for my own blog, gosh that is a big committment, and as another has already said, "do we really need another filofax blog" lol
DeleteMust admit, have done a lot of "fiddling" with filofax lately, but maybe I will just keep it to the odd guest post here for now, but thanks for the kind words, and encouragement :)
Your Fax is STUNNING Nikki... I'd love to hear how you made that personalised Today marker, if you ever get the time to share?
DeleteI've always loved customised inserts, right from when I first bought a hole-punch in 2002, and went crazy for months making my own!
An excellent summary, Ray, well done Steve for organising the whole thing, and congratulations to all the winners.
ReplyDeleteIndeed a wonderful summary! And thanks for the compliments btw! I gladly return them!
ReplyDeleteBig thanks for setting this up, Steve!
I am just so excited!Thank you ever so much to all the folks who nominated me and who voted for me. I just feel so utterly thrilled and bowled over that I have been voted as the best commenter on Philofaxy. Wow!! As Ray says, it has been so hard to choose between everyone in each category when I voted. Like a beautiful box of chocolates, all with the most gorgeous praline centres, or a menu with the most delicious dishes!!! Which ones do you choose?? Impossible. Well done to all the winners and actually to everyone... nominated or not.... I just love reading everyone's commentary and blogs and watching the video finds here. Philofaxy is my newest and best hobby, creative, engrossing, useful and sociable. Thanks folks... and of course, thanks Steve for arranging this Olympic celebratory slot. As a teacher, an academic Dodo pad is THE perfect prize. Bliss.xx
ReplyDeletewell done Butanben, and BTW you MUST send me an email with your address so I can send you a page marker as I had promised you!!
Deletemy email is
jokima at wanadoo dot fr
Nikki XX
A FFAT question. I need to pick your brains everybody. I have downloaded and I am using Ray and Steve's amended TM A5 Philofaxy diary Week to view... and so far I have found my ideal format. PHEW!! I have started to download 2013's diary, but I am missing that little separate sheet with the most importatnt dates for 2013 on.Does anyone know if Filofax sells this as a separate item? Also if there is a particularly good web site link or links which folks already use, and which is UK based, which would help me when I come to fill in my 2013 diary and to print off for my A5 (will do this in August, ready for the new school year.) Often useful to have a list not just for filling my diary, but for school assemblies... ie those little important celebrations too. I notice for example that Mothering Sunday sometimes differs in its date in the USA. Thanks.... any help or suggestions gratefully received. xx
ReplyDeleteThis is the page you need: 2013 uk dates
ReplyDeleteOooh thanks ever so much Ray!!! I love it when a problem is so easily solved.... great!!!
DeleteI have a question for Ray and Steve! I've been looking into the Travel Journal Pack that Filofax is selling (Personal size), but the price is quite ridiculous. I'm particularly interested in the two-day-spread of the Travel Journal. Is a template like this something you guys would consider making? Especially now that the holidays are knocking on the door ... (nag nag)?
ReplyDeleteI would like to print it on thicker paper, so I could also do some watercolor doodling.
If you have other ideas (maybe some other brand is selling inserts like that?), I'd be glad to hear!
Ooh!
DeleteIts almost like you have read my mind. My best friend is planning to go to Hong Kong and hopefully Japan in the next two years and her and her partner are mega excited for it, and she wants to enlist me as a sort of informal helper (she knows I love travel plans).
I considered getting her a Tokyo and HK Moleskine guide but they are apparently outdated now, being published in 2008. I've also considered the general Moleskine travel journal but I think I may buy a 2nd hand personal Filo and make her a personalised version with templates for different travel aspects etc.
Now to plan that....
Holly, that sounds very exciting and fun!
DeleteI have a few of the moleskine city books, too. Because they are out of date I am in the process of taking them apart and putting pages from them, like maps, into my travel filos. :)
DeleteI don't have the travel pack, but I'll try to get sight of it.
DeleteRay I did a review of it awhile back with photos, you can see it here:
Deletehttp://philofaxy.blogspot.com/2010/06/travel-journal-review.html
the Merry Lemon:
DeleteThat has given me a brainwave of scouring for cheap guidebooks to hack apart for my friends' present. I wad going to do nearly everything from scratch!
Just a small d'oh! to share. Spotted a pen mark on the cover of my Malden, wouldn't wipe off so I tried a babywipe. The pen mark is lighter, but so is the colour of the surrounding leather. :`(
ReplyDeleteDon't try this at home folks!
Apart from that - I find myself fancying an Apex, and very Flex-curious. Who can tell me about them?
I was the winner of an Apex from the memory competition...and there's absolutely no comparison to a leather binder. But it all depends on your needs; I use my Apex for my notes at the hospital as I can completely disinfect it without harming the material. The long elastic does get in the way a bit, though.
DeleteAs for a flex, I was curious too about the A5, but I now think it's a glorified notebook cover. I don't use it because I prefer the flexibility of my Filos. Also, it has no resale value :(
So it all depends on what you intend to use it for. Good luck with your decision-making (that's always the hardest part for me).
Yes, I've looked longingly at the Flex but have so far resisted. I've had no difficulty at all resisting the Apex, though. Go to a shop, pick one up. Open it. Feel the clammy plastic material and the eyesore that is the metre of elastic that now hangs from the FRONT cover. Then put it back and walk away.
ReplyDelete:-D
DeleteDo you think they'll do some different (leather) covers for the Flex?
LOL, couldn't have said it any better than that, Ray. That sums it up neatly ...
DeleteThe only thing I fancy about the Flex is the removable penloop. Because I can cut and punch it for my Filofaxes ... he he.
I bought my Malden to use as a writing notebook, but the rings really got in the way of my Muse ;-) The Flex looks a good way to keep notebook and pen together, with the possibility to slip a 'writing exercises' book or other notes into the other side. The cover doesn't look interesting enough as it is to tempt me yet for that specific purpose.
DeleteI have the flex in A5, pocket and i've got slimline on its way to me, all in magenta. I really love them and i'm quite happy with the cover, no doubt i'll upgrade at some point. It's great to use as a notebook because I hate writing with rings in the way. In fact I take paper out of my filofax, write on it then put it back in so the flex is a better system for me. I've not used one as yet as a diary but I got the pocket one off ebay and got a cheap diary off ebay too and i'm going to give it a go see how I get on.
DeleteI also have an apex in A5, it's down to personal choice (personally i'm not thinking much of the leather designs and colours currently out, I'm hoping filofax bring out some funky looking ones soon in nice bright colours), I love my pink Apex with it's aqua elastic (my two fav colours), I just use it at home, I wanted one I could just leave lying around and with five kids in the house I didn't want an expensive one, that I would be heartbroken if it got damaged. I use a pocket finchley in imperial purple as my carry around filofax, i'm not sure the flex will ever replace this but there is definitely room in my life for both :)
For those who yearn for a nice leather notebook cover: have you checked out the marvellous leather covers of thesuccesschoice.com? The are an exact fit for large moleskines, the leather is superb, the smell just delicious, and I find them very reasonably prices aswell. Did I mention the fully elasticated penloop?
DeleteNot sure about leather Flex covers. I shudder to think what they'd cost.
ReplyDeleteHopefully you've all seen this BBC news site post.
ReplyDeleteThanks for pointing out this article! Quite interesting comments, too (though I didn't stop to read ALL 212 (!) of them).
DeleteActually, kids in Holland also learn to write with a fountain pen. And the middle school, that my oldest is going to visit, also wants pupils to write papers and essays with fountain pen. According to a teacher at that school, the process of handwriting (and especially so with a fountain pen) stimulates the creativity and thinking process in brains.
Great article! Must admit, I yearn for a Mont Blanc fountain pen like my mum had, but it's probably too thick in the barrel for a Filofax I would think.
DeleteI will always yearn for a beautiful fountain pen, and totaly enjoy the use of my parkers, and the choice of ink colours as the mood takes me!! Interesting to hear sales are rising. I know kids in school here are taught to write with one when they are a bit older, and I do not find it unusual to see someone using one occasionally here, esp. lawyers lol
Delete@Butanben - Montblancs come in all shapes and sizes. The Mozart fits a pocket filofax very nicely and the Classique will most probably fit most other sized binders. I am a huge fan and have a (small) collection - one I had new as a present, the others I have bought second hand. They would almost certainly into a Quiver holder (which I think you have?)
DeleteMy husband bought me another pen for Xmas - a Waterman Hemisphere in white, you can find it here: http://www.penshop.co.uk/default/waterman-hemisphere-white-laquer-fountain-pen-paladium-plated-trims.html I had been lusting after the new white Montblancs, but the funds would not stretch to that these days, so he bought me that white one as it looked quite pretty. Normally I wouldn't rave about this sort of pen, but it writes like a dream, has a medium nib which is on the fine side (so virtually no bleed through), and it fits nicely into the pen loops in my black A5 Amazona.
I am also a huge fan of the Lamy Safari pens (which is you are patient you can pick up very reasonably on ebay). Although I believe that Montblancs are real works of art (especially the special editions), there are loads of really nice affordable pens around which give an enormous amount of pleasure.
I could spend a good few hours discussing fountain pens and am a member of The Fountain Pen Network which is a truly international forum for fountain pen lovers - I'd highly recommend it!
I've recently gotten back into fountain pen usage, mostly for journaling, and am enjoying the throwback to olden days when I'm using one. I haven't used them in recent years, but the resurgence has gotten me loving them again.
DeleteI tried using a fountain pen when I was sixteen, and given I'm a left-hander who was brought up on ballpoints, I just couldn't do it. Give me a Bic any day!
DeleteAfter several months, almost a year, it seems I'm not so in love with my Filofax anymore. I still like the binders I have, and the idea of this ideal me using them appropriately to improve my life by implementing a GTD solution in a paper solution (I am this close to abandonning technology altogether), but can't find myself to actually *use* it consistently, it seems so cumbersome and... "over the edge", you know ?
ReplyDeleteHave you also suffered from total discouragement about your planners/filofaxes ? Thinking you like the ones you have but none of them is perfect, therefore, why bother even trying to adjust ? And looking at other people's success with their setup once seemed encouraging, now I'm mostly thinking "plain boring life with mundane stuff, no need for so much fretting over how to set my filo up, and so on ?"
So, what did you do, or, as you are still reading Philofaxy, what do you do when you suffer from planner angst/planner failure ? Do you just abandon it/them for a while and come back to it ?
Don't be discouraged, a filofax binder is perfect for use as a paper based GTD system. Lots of ideas around - several GTD articles here on Philofaxy, and you can Google "filofax gtd" as well.
DeleteWell, I couldn't have said it any better than Ray!
DeleteWhat I would highly recommend to anybody with planner failure or organisational issues in general: read Julie Morgensterns book "Time Management from the inside out". It is such an eye-opener! Then establish if your "planner problems" are technical (e.g. not small enough to always have it with you - especially when you are trying to build a new habit; or not big enough to have room to record everything you need), or rather psychological (e.g. fear of failure/fear of success (and - yes - those can be the same!), dissatisfaction with certain areas in your work/personal life etc.
And in answer to your queston: yes, I had abandoned Filofax in the past, but I also returned to it. Not because other planners don't work, but because NO PLANNER WORKS. Quite simply because YOU need to work (as in "stick to the system"). I'm convinced you can adapt to any planner, even if it bugs the heck out of you in the beginning. If there were no other tool in the world, you would get it going for you. But since we are in that überluxurious positon to choose from whatever planner we desire, it's okay to look around for a bit until you find something that seems to satisfy your planning needs. And then ... stick to it for at least 30 days, because that is how long it takes the human brain to establish a new habit.
Well, summarized: you really need to read Julie's book ... ;-)
I have had planner angst myself and have felt weighed down and tired of the whole fuss. Sometimes I have bought a new binder to increase my enthusiam. I do not recommend this, it's a cycle that never ends, unless there is a very specific change you are planning for.
DeleteAny good habit we develop to enhance the quality of our lives seems to get tiring over time (think dieting, excercising etc.). I have found it beneficial to simplify my system and aspirations as much as possible. I now use a slimmer and smaller size organizer too. This has seemed to help me. Eliminate any thing that is not of real value.
I fundamentally use my planner as my portable brain which for me reduces stress on many levels because I do not forget the important things I need to do and when. I also gain value from the self reflective process that the paper planner provides to direct my life in a more fulfilling direction. I really have to have a planner or notebook of some sort but am more careful about not being obsessive about productivity and planning. Perhaps you might be one of the few whom a planner is a liability? Life is to be enjoyed and is often more of an unfolding - unpredictable and ever changing.
So, in a nutshell, try to to go slimmer,smaller and simpler for a while and see how that works for you. You may want to try the book "Simplify You Life" by Elaine St. James, in particular, the chapter on quit being a slave to your Day Runner.
I see there are alot of great comments about this topic and I hope one resonates with you. You are not alone. Good luck!!
Planner angst? Have you ever read my What I'm Currently Using? I'm always switching around and usually use more than a dozen planners per year. Here, maybe this will make you feel better:
Deletehttp://www.plannerisms.com/p/what-im-currently-using_19.html
I tried for years to use a Filofax as my planner but finally realized I need a week view with the days as columns and space on the weekly spread for my to-do lists. Keeping my to-dos behind a tab in my Filofax was out of sight, out of mind.
I need a large page size for my week + notes, at least A5, but the A5 Filofax binder was too large to carry everywhere. I like using my Personal size Filofax as my info and reference book, but for my planner it doesn't work so well.
Give yourself permission to try non-Filofax planner systems to find what works for you and what feels comfortable!
Thank you all for your input and comments, it's comforting to know some of us struggle with ourselves to stick to an organization-as-a-way-of-life !
DeleteI'm indeed in the habit-building phase, hence the uncertainty, but you are all right : I should stick to it so that I begin feeling comfortable and have faith in my system.
And for those who suggested books, be sure I will check them out !
That's the beauty of this community: ideas, support, and so much more, oh and sure, some enabling too, sure :) Thank you all again.
If it's any use, I respect GTD but found it far too cumbersome - I can't quite put my finger on why - for my personal needs, either re time management or just using a Filofax.
DeleteMy first Fax came with no special inserts though, so I pretty much had to make up my own system that evolved as each new need emerged, for example some of my busiest years in my '20s all my contact numbers were listed in the order I got them, on both sides of one sheet of paper.
This worked fine for me, and the pages are still a great souvenir of the past!
Then for a few years I'd keep a day per line (don't anyone faint!) on a sheet at the front of the planner, with just times & intiails or short memos, and just use the rest for ideas, doodling, whatever - only when my needs grew more complex did I bother setting up my planner, later to become plannerS, in a more elborate way - but always led by need.
Finally, sometimes my Fax sat on my desk for months barely used, if my life worked better planned from a reporter's style notebook... didn't mean anyone or anything had "failed" because they're only tools at the end of the day!
I think there are as many ways of using a Fax as there are users, so if one model doesn't work, don't give up.
Hi there, I am very happy with my new black A5 Domino, which I wasn't sure I would like. Now, I'm hankering after the A5 Domino snake print, but it doesn't appear to be availiable in Canada/North America. Is that right?
ReplyDeletePlanners don't fail, people do. That sounds provocative, doesn't it? I suppose what I mean is that no planner can possibly be perfect for everyone. You need to meet the planner half way, sometimes and change what you do to get the most out of it.
ReplyDeleteEven if it's totally perfect for your needs you still have to do stuff like carry it around, consult it, write in it until it becomes what the GTD crowd call your 'trusted system'. Whenever you make a change you need to persist until it becomes a habit, until you can't even think about not doing it.
Some people have trouble because they're not terribly organised. Just having a planner won't fix that. Some people have trouble because they are organised and disciplined enough not to need a planer, so the planning is just additional overhead for little gain.
Work out if and why you need a planner. If you do, and you know why, work to find a routine that gives you the planning support you need. Force yourself to use it until you don't need to force yourself any more.
"Some people have trouble because they are organised and disciplined enough not to need a planer, so the planning is just additional overhead for little gain."
DeleteO_O wow, never thought of it that way. Might be why I'm experiencing planner fail after planner fail. I don't really need it (very good memory etc.) besides using it as a very rare "kick in the butt" to get started on something, and because I like to write things down. *goes away to contemplate this and to try out the newest set-up (inspired by Tracy).*
Ray, thank you for a fantastic comment!
DeleteI agree about the whole 'trusted system' & I've struggled in the past with this & am still working on it. Love tinkering with my filo, but have decided I also need to stick to my set up to give the best chance of working :)
I am also always struggling with my setup. I read this blog and a few others religously to find something that will work for me.
DeleteIn the process I have learned quite a few things about myself. Here are a few:
1) i obsess about finding the perfect whatever - setup, pen, paper type, etc - when the truth is there is no perfect to find. It's what works for me, for now. I do this in other parts of my life as well - (no surprise there).
2) I like the process of the setup, the list making, the color coding - but I'm not so much into actually doing all the things I write down. Under those circumstances every planner has to fail.
3) i have trouble being in the present. In choosing a setup, my head gets caught up in things that may/will happen down the road. Example: starting next year I will be travelling more for work. So my planner should be very portable. But I'm not travelling now. I have to really concentrate on the details of my life now to get a setup that works now.
4) i have also learned that when I am most stressed and overwhelmed i crave new and different planners. I have learned to recognize this in myself, so now i can go to a store or online and just look at them. I used to buy them all. Then at the end of the year i would have a pile of planners - some partially used, some not touched.
And all this is just some of the angst swirling around in my head! Phew - all this self discovery from a planner! Amazing that you can find lessons and self discovery in just about anything.
I recognise this so much - especially number 4!! It's nice (reassuring) to hear from other people doing the same thing.
DeleteRay, you are absolutely right !
DeleteAs you guessed, and as I wrote above, yes, I'm still in the habit-building phase, I've implemented a new system recently (considering I had almost none before), and have been improving/adjusting it along the way, with the tips and ideas that one can read here or on other blogs. Therefore, I am not that familiar with how I'm supposed to use my system, in a way : the process is not on auto-pilot yet, hence some stress and "now, how am I supposed to deal with this ?" questions :)
Trial and error is allowed, as Laurie and Savannah have said : perhaps I don't really need a full-blown GTD, perhaps I should simplify my needs for organization ? Or find other tools/planners and start again from scratch ?
I understand persistence is key, and instead to playing around with some tools, I should actually put them to good use and actually do something and use my system and really get acquainted with it !!
I'm also struggling with the work/personal separation, I believe in a "one life, one planner", but I think I've found a solution to have everything in the same binder, but fairly separated, so that it's not too messy/disorganized, so, that's a good thing.
Thank you for your nice words, everybody: it's inspiring, and I'm feeling motivated again, in a "let's do this!" way :)
No 1 is so me, if i stopped looking for perfection maybe i'd use what i have put all my time and energy into that and be super organised, instead i waste hours online searching!!!
DeleteHi guys! Just letting you guys know I'm selling my slimline adelphi and a5 malden in vintage pink on eBay right now for cheap. I think Jotje is the hight bidder on the Malden right now! I will ship worldwide. My user name is Cazzlerazzle, don't know how to do the link on my phone.
ReplyDeleteI'm Oing to sell my pocket crimson Malden and my a5 aqua Finsbury tomorrow too.
Geez, now you've blown my cover! LOL
Deletecan't find your offers?!?! ebay says no offers under cazzlerazzle!
Deletehttp://myworld.ebay.co.uk/cazzlerazzle/?_trksid=p4340.l2559
DeleteThat should take you to my page.
@Jotje, your secret identity's safe ;-) - the listing only shows initials and feedback # to other users, click on the small blue link showing number of Bids and you'll see what I mean.
DeleteClark Kent would be safe bidding for his tights on e-Bay... ^_^
I'm sorry! I do really hope someone from here gets it though!
ReplyDeleteI'm reading everyone's comments and wanted to chime in:
ReplyDeleteFor years, I didn't need a planner. I probably would have performed better with one, but I got away with not having one. I have an excellent memory and generally can keep track of lots of information well. On the other hand, I'm incredibly unorganized! I lose things all the time, I lose track of time, I get distracted very easily, I flip flop from periods of hyper-focus to periods when I cannot seem to focus on the smallest thing. As my professional life became more complicated, I started looking for a solution. I bought a personal size Filofax. I think that the process of really learning to use a planner was greatly aided by the looseleaf system; as I thought of or saw better ways to manage various things with the planner, I was able to rearrange, add, and remove relevant bits to allow me to implement the alternatives. The planner was small enough to carry everywhere, but large enough to fit a lot into. I was proud of it! This made me want to carry it and use it even when it was not yet natural to do so. I found that it could be marvelously useful and practical, I kept adding information to it to make it more and more helpful on a day to day basis. I became known as the guy who could get his hands on any relevant detail in moments at the office. I learned things: It's important for me to have everything I need for the day on the same page, as I don't like flipping through the binder endlessly; I need to assign tasks to time slots; I need to write things I've done in addition to things I need to do; I need lots of space.
Success with my planner has helped me to create success with my life. My work desk, which was perpetually a disaster of piles of papers and booklets and odds and ends, has suddenly become serene and superbly organized. I would forget to keep in touch with my friends, now I reach out on a regular basis, I've been able to juggle school demands with work and everything else, and keep a level head and not lose track of anything significant.
I wholeheartedly agree with the suggestions above; read up on various methods; keep your planner simple and take steps to make it satisfying for you to use; use it consistently for a month.
I also suggest using a pencil and eraser. I find it really helps me keep the planner working for me to be able to edit as needed.
@Josh: I love how you put it, and I think you have put into words what we all want to achieve with our own systems -- clean desk, organized life, easy access to info, etc., etc.
DeleteI stopped using a filo for a few years as well, thinking I could live without one, but the bound notebooks I used just weren't the same, and not as much fun.
The "fun" factor is one that cannot be underestimated ^_^
DeleteIn the words of Jotje, "LIKE"!
DeleteI'm back in a filofax after about 8 (?) years away, during which I tried moleskins and the little bitty planners you get from your hairstylist. I moved to these others to try to reduce weight in my bag, but they just won't do. Something prompted me to look into filofax again, and I was completely taken with the maldens. I had an apple green pimlico and an orange portobello, both leather in pocket size, between 2001 and 2004. They never laid flat, and I had totally overloaded the wallet pocket. Still, there's something about a filofax. I'm feeling that my arrangement this time is much more user-friendly for me and I have it out on my desk at work and open at home as well. Feels like success this time! It's probably just that this time I've approached it from the point of view of actually working for me, not what I think a planner ought to look like. It's a lot of fun looking through the Philofaxy website too- this is great!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSorry about the removed posts. Nothing sinister!
ReplyDeleteNo worries! :)
DeleteI just found these on ebay - so much cheaper than the ones on Amazon - delivery is only 58p within the UK and they ship internationally too!
ReplyDeleteFound someone suggesting them after trawling through old posts on here. I have a great 4 multi pen from Reynolds (brand ive never heard of) which is great but really fat and won't fit in my pen loops!
I also can totally identify what people have said here! When I am stressed, sad, bored, or angry, it's so easy to just "go shopping" for a new planner. However, this can cause problems in and of itself! So, I think the goal is to stick with one planner/one system for AT LEAST 30 days, but preferably 3 months. That really gets you into the habit of it. But, yes, we are all enablers! LOL
ReplyDeleteThe planner's always just basically a bunch of rings, barring some card slots and maybe a notepad: it's what you put in the central section that defines it.
DeleteObviously it's cool if the outside leather etc makes you happy when you hold it, but it's the functionality & portability - perhaps durability for some of us as well - that makes it different than a notebook or something.