Guest Post - Prachi - Paperchase Organiser

Hello everyone, I’m Prachi. I’m 15 years old and I am from the UK. Since early summer, I’ve developed an obsession with planners and Filofaxes, fuelled of course by the wonderful Philofaxy and Plannerisms. I don’t have a blog (though I’m considering starting one), so this is my first ever blog-style post, so bear with me if it isn’t as great as Steve, Laurie, Nan and Anita’s posts!

I recently experienced Planner Fail with my pay-per-page planner, so I needed a change. I wanted a Filofax, but I can’t quite afford one and it’s not my birthday any time soon, nor could I have waited until Christmas, so, I bought a mini organiser from Paperchase. It’s the same as Filofax’s pocket size. If it all works (which so far, it is), I’ll upgrade to the real deal!

So, here it is!

I fell in love with the colour, and the design is rather cute and at £11 it was a steal! In the pen loop I’ve got a mechanical pencil (also from Paperchase), and I prefer using this as I can erase things easily, and there’s no worries about bleed through or feathering.

This is what you see when it’s opened up.

The card slots are currently empty, but I’m going to put in my library card and when school starts again I expect the pockets will be brimming with bits and bobs. The insert is also Paperchase, and came with the diary. It was mid-year (July 2012 to December 2013) but I took lots out and re-arranged it all to my suiting.

There’s also a larger flap/pocket at the back.

I know that if I don’t designate a use for it, it’ll be full of junk which will just accumulate, so I’ve decided that any letters that need to be taken home will be folded in four and slotted in there so I don’t lose them.

The diary insert came with the following tabs: Information, Planner, Diary, Agenda, Addresses and Notes. I wanted to use them so much as they were multi-coloured and very pretty, but I could not for the life of me differentiate between Planner, Diary and Agenda – what would I put in all three?!

And besides, I envisaged having different tabs, so I changed it all around.

So, my current tabs setup is: Information, Planner, Homework, Money, Urgent and Notes. I’ll go through each section step-by-step and show you what I do. Below is the Information section.

It starts with a yearly overview – this is just for reference, though I’m considering circling birthdays or something on it.

Over the page are the 2013 overview and my school timetable. I’ve put in a blank one, so you don’t see the actual one…not that you’re like that but we never know who else is trawling the Internet! That’s all that’s under this tab; I’m going with the flow because I don’t want to overstuff the binder.

Next up is the Planner tab. The first picture is a weekly spread and the second is the Monday-Wednesday part closer up so you can read it.

This is an example week, because I’m on half-term right now, so my planner isn’t too exciting. I write most stuff in pencil because it’s always to hand and can be erased if things change. The majority of things that have to be done are next to a tick box, because I find it really satisfying to tick a task off when I’ve done it. I also tick it in a pretty colour! If a task isn’t done I put a cross in the box, and draw an arrow next to it and write the day it has been transferred to. It gets written in capital letters and colour on the new date because it’s a priority. If something special is happening that day, a birthday for example, then it is written in a colour and has a little bubble around it. By the way, I use Staedtler Triplus Fineliners – I love them and I’ve got the 20-pack!

After the Planner, I’ve got a tab for Homework.

This isn’t space in the daily boxes to write the details of homework, so I write it on lined notepaper, which I bought 50 sheets of for £1.50 at Paperchase. The subject, due date and tick box are all written in a bright colour, and then the details of what I have to do in pencil underneath. If a task has more than one part, I tick each part when it’s done and then the homework as a whole when all parts are completed.

I then have a tab for Money.

This is a self-drawn sheet where I track my spending by writing what I’ve bought, whether I paid by cash or card, and how much it cost.

The tab after this is labelled Urgent. I haven’t seen anyone else do it, but I find that it really helps me.

It’s quite simple really. One sheet of blue lined notepaper, and when there is an urgent task I write it on a cupcake post-it note and pop it on the paper. This makes it really, really stand out. I’ve made it a habit to check this every morning and evening, so as to remind me if there’s anything that’s super important to do.

Finally, we have the Notes tab.

Nothing special, just any notes like emails or mobile numbers that I’ve jotted down.

So, that’s my little organiser! I hoped you liked looking at her, and that maybe, just maybe, I’ve inspired you to do something with your own! J

Thank you Prachi for your Guest Post, do update us on how your set up is working out.  And we look forward to featuring your new blog too