No matter what the weather or which holiday traditions you follow, this time of year brings a particular focus on...food! Do you use your Filofax to store your recipe collection, list dishes you want to try cooking someday, or jot down wine tasting notes? I'm guilty of the last two especially, much to the amusement of my tablemates.
Can anyone tell me if Filofax makes a Compact or Slimline with TWO pen loops (preferably elasticated)?
ReplyDeleteThe compact Osterley has two pen loops but I don't know if they are elasticized.
DeleteThanks; I'll check it out.
DeleteCompact Osterley pen loops are elasticized. :)
DeleteMy Personal Hampstead has two proper, full size, non-elasticated pen loops - I love it!
DeleteOsterleys have two elasticized pen loops, though they still groan when encountering Lamys.
DeleteTopaz has non-elasticized pen loops, and for some reason, the right pen loop on mine can accommodate thicker pens than the left.
Please help - I saw a post on here sometime fairly recently (I think) by someone using an iPad mini in conjunction with their Filofax. I've been trawling through web finds but I can't find it. Is there anyone out there who remembers whose post it was?
ReplyDeleteI thought that sounded like something Zoe would do, and sure enough! ;)
Deletehttp://thezeitgeistofzoe.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/go-big-or-go-home/
Thanks Laurie - you are a star!!! I knew it was one of the regulars, but just couldn't find it - that'll be because I thought the title would have had something technology sounding in it. Off for a read now :-)
DeleteI think Tim does as well.
DeleteI'm an iPad 2 guy. Can't afford an iPad Mini as well!
DeleteThe larger iPads will fit in some A5 zipped Filofaxes (mine has been tried in a Time Manager zipped A5) as well as the new purpose built Filofax models. However, Like Zoe, I concluded that an A5 with an iPad of any variety, would be too big and heavy to carry around as one unit. So, my iPad has a simple hard case and goes with my "Filoflex" (Flex with a 13mm ring fitted). I'm almost certainly going to dismantle and punch my Plannerisms Planner and insert pages from that - but only the current months.
I have finally figured out how to combine my iPad mini with my filofax. I'm using Opus Domini Pro as my planning calendar and Filofax strictly as my "current day/written" calendar. I can do any and all future planning on my mini/iPhone including adding tasks. Then either the night before or the morning of I pull up the day electronically and transfer all appointments, tasks and notes the current day in my Filofax. It's working really well. Now I don't have to use multiple calendars in my FIlofax to get different views ( I hate having to write appointments in more than one calendar), I don't have to carry as much paper, and I get a written record as well. Syncing the app took a little work but it's totally worth it. It will sync appointments, tasks and notes so I them both on my iPad mini and my iPhone. Nice for when I just want to run out the door with just my phone and keys. I hope that helps!
DeleteThat sounds like a good plan :-) Thanks for sharing - it looks like I won't be getting the iPad mini for Christmas, but I think I will check out Opus Domini on the iPad and see how I get on with it. If it works well for me I may see what my chances are of getting one the mini for my birthday :-)
DeleteIndeed. Have just written a post about how a have just set up a Recipes Filofax. (:
ReplyDeleteI'm going to go back on the paper quality issue today - because basically, if I can't solve it, it's 'goodbye Filofax, hello Rhodia notebooks' (or whatever).
ReplyDeleteI'm looking for good quality, Personal sized, pre-punched (because I'm lazy and I can't be doing with all that faffing about)paper with a smooth finish that will take a fairly 'wet' fountain pen without *any* a) feathering, or b) bleed-through, both of which are a feature of FF's current toilet-grade offering, and not much improved by cotton cream.
Any suggestions that fit these criteria gratefully received.
I only need lined/plain paper, and I think I can sort out a diary from Mont Blanc/Aspinall/Smythson (at a huge cost, but it's time to get this sorted)
Have a great weekend y'all. I'm off to our new billet for a measuring-up weekend (big grin), so I won't be able to respond again until Sunday once we leave.....
David
DeleteThere will be a post on Monday about paper... as a follow on to the 'pen' post this week.
Have a good weekend
Regards
Steve
David, hi.
DeleteIf Steve's post on Monday does not say Filofax will solve the paper issue in 90 days, I will send you 1,000 (one thousand) 90g pages of high quality cream paper.
I said 1,000 (one thousand) 90g pages of high quality cream paper. Delivered to your home, free of any charge.
Let's wait for Monday and see what Steve has for us.
And if you need to get rid of your paper, very interested. I am also dealing with the paper issue for my Personal. I cannot find nice paper for her. If you do not what to get rid of the paper, can you tel me where I can buy it and the name of the paper?
DeleteSuus: Look at the refills for L'Agenda Moderne.
DeleteThat's a very kind offer, thank you. Steve, i *do* think enough time has now passed for us to be expecting movement on the issues raised at the meeting of 26th November.....it seems that Filofax are in the process of kicking this into the long grass, as they have done on previous occasions. I believe that's very disrespectful to those of you who made the trouble to attend (as well as those who nearly attended but couldn't). This seems to be their standard way of dealing with things, "We'll look into it"......not good enough. If we don't get some concrete responses (actions, not words) I propose we organise another word-of-mouth offensive and that this time we aren't so reasonable in easing off on the basis of promises.....
DeleteI don't quite know what you are expecting to happen in just three weeks?
DeleteI hardly think it's enough time for Filofax to source new/better quality paper, scrap their entire production for 2013, reprint their entire range and restock everywhere whilst absorbing the cost of this complete new production of products across the whole range of sizes and types of inserts diaries etc?
I will be able to up date you on the on-going relationship tomorrow, but you might be disappointed in what has been achieved or not in the space of 3 weeks since our meeting.
Personally I'm remaining positive about what has been achieved at the meeting and since then. I still believe the real benefits of this relationship will be in the future, in some cases the distant future given production and product cycles.
I was too long a civil servant to know that big organisations are like super tankers, once you have got them moving or if they are moving, it takes a bit more than a nudge to make them change course, but work with them and they will see the benefits of our suggestions and change course.
Thank you for your on-going interest and patience.
Steve
hi Steve
DeleteSorry to be ornery, but.....it's not just three weeks, is it. Filofax have had more or less identical feedback at least twice in the past to my knowledge, and each time they have successfully steered their so-called 'valued' customers into the sidings with no solid response whatsoever. Personally I don't think Filofax is a 'supertanker' at all - if they were a Glaxo Smithkline I might. I consider them to be a very small vessel indeed compared to the multinationals of this world, most of whom have learned to respect their customers, we who pay their wages, far more that Filofax. It's tempting to reflect again that this meeting was only offered as a response to bad word of mouth reaching a level where they felt they had to head it off. If there is nothing but patience forthcoming from our side, they have every reason to do what they have already done in the past - nothing. They were motivated into this by the 'stick' of bad word-of-mouth, not by the 'carrot' of improved customer relations in the future.
Real change *is* possible in a short time scale - if they are/were motivated enough. The fact that we haven't even had any 'interim' feedback speaks volumes. Three weeks? If I have a serious problem with a client I can respond in three hours, or even less.
They are still being sold though right? They may not be in a position to undertake heavy investment at this time either... I would be surprised if they were to start making huge changes to their production etc when they are in the process of being sold (whatever stage they are at in the process right now). I´m not defending their prior lack of action in any way at all, but given the current situation I would imagine that anything they do or say is being given more careful consideration than before...
DeleteSo far as I know they're still being sold to Clairefontaine, a *proper* stationery company. Agreed, they have every reason to sideline all of this process, as they may well be (and some may say justifiably) without jobs after Spring 2013. Clairefontaine also make Quo Vadis diaries, which have excellent paper quality....
DeleteSorry....Clarefontaine
Delete90 days are not enough.
DeleteIt is a big organization.
Fine.
Question:
How many days does the manufacturer need, if we may ask.
Nan,
ReplyDeleteI use my Jade A5 Finchley as a kitchen filo. It sits on the windowsill toning in nicely with the paint on the wall!
I love to buy recipe books/ food mags but then I forget what is in them I wanted to cook or remember the recipe and can't find it. So in here I have sections by type of food (soups, bread, mains, baking,Indian etc)and a list of dishes and their location. I use the Oxford Active paper so I have a column to write in the date I tried them and a star rating to see if I wnat to repeat them. The filo also has some home sections for managing the house renovations and the purchases still needed.
I also have a flour inventory list in my bread section because I buy speciality flours when I see them ( which is never locally sadly) and I need to know when their sell by dates are to remember to use them up or else they sit in a cupboard and I forget I have them. I also have a journal which just records my steps towards becoming an artisan bread baker which is one of my aims.
The best, most cunning bit however is the shopping inserts. I have devised a template which allows me to choose some things to try for the week ahead, jot down the ingredients we don't have and then I set the filo on the kitchen island and when my husband sees it he dutifully goes and gets the ingredients! It works a treat becuase I hate being in the mood for cooking and finding I don't have what I need.
Helen
DeleteThat is a really clever set up! I've been playing around with different set ups for a while but I like the idea of referencing recipes. I think I'll try this out once we move home!!
Thanks for the inspiration!
There's a wine pairing/wines to try section in Loki (compact Regency in yum)as well as a meal planner. Right now I'm also going to covert one of my Filos into a sort of food album with photos of memorable meals and recipes, sort of like an old school Pinterest :o)
ReplyDeleteI use my A5 red Domino as my household filofax.
ReplyDeleteOriginally this was just going to be for 'food' related issues, but I've a small flylady/cleaning section and have started a household finances section, which will mainly be for tracking grocery spending.
I have master lists in it, for example a list of the herbs and spices in my cupboard I can quickly refer to when looking at recipes to see if I already have an item.
I have lists of ideas for meals eg. all the breakfasts we like to eat.
I also have instructions for seasoning a cast iron pan, how to make a good stock etc.
Then I have a set of A-Z dividers for recipes. I only have a few so far, but I'm trying to write in only ones I know I'll do and refer to.
At the minute I also have a dodopad, bought especially to use for meal planning, though this hasn't been used as well as it might. I'm debating whether to purchase the 2013 insert and continue, as it's a great thing to use and I don't think it'll work for me as a diary in my personal. :-D
I have been using Jenny's (plannerperfect.com) idea of making a list behind my monthly pages and foods are definitely in there for special occasion planning. Also I use post it's to plan suppers, a spin off of a you tube video (Audrey's wife life and her A5 gray malden).
ReplyDeleteI have a to-do list question. Wondering if anyone else deals with this issue & how they've solved it.
ReplyDeleteI use 2ppd and on Sunday sit down and plan my week. I write things down ahead of time - like on Thursday I need to prepare a birthday card. Friday I need to mail it. Tuesday I need to make a grocery list. Etc. So when I turn to a new day, it already has items written on it. And I add some more. I end of with a list of things I need to do but not HOW & WHEN I want to do them. I think this is where traditional prioritizing comes into play. You write your list and then go through with the ABC 123's. But that doesn't work for me. It's almost like I need a to-do list but then a "this is how & when I'm going to do it list." I need to write things in advance or I'll forget but then I need to figure out exactly how and when I'm going to do them. I have ADHD and am definitely time challenged. If I don't have a plan, I tend to do nothing. But when I look at the list for the day, I get overwhelmed and don't know where to start. That's why I need a list of tasks and then I need to figure out how and when to accomplish them. I'm tried putting them on the schedule part of the page but then I feel kind of claustrophobic. I prefer something a little looser - like morning, afternoon, evening - or like today - before the grandkids come, while they're napping, after they're back home. Two daily lists seems like overkill. Using a separate notebook, which I've tried, isn't awesome. I'm a one book kind of girl.
Does anyone have any brilliant ideas? I really need help on this.
I keep a weekly planner and add all my to dos to it at the beginning of the week and then keep adding to them as the week progresses. Like you, I get overwhelmed by the list and can't quite figure out what I'm going to do or how. Now, the night before, I make out a daily sheet (just a lined piece of notepaper), divide the day into morning, early afternoon, late afternoon and early evening then I slot in my to dos and appointments. If don't do it the night before, I wake up in the morning without a plan and tend to just scrap my to do list and go off and do other things. Not very productive! Hope this helps.
DeleteWhat about drawing a line to split the day section in half and keep fixed appointments on one side and then To-Do on the other side, in rough approximation of morning, noon or evening (of course, keeping an eye on when you're already busy and avoiding those bits)? Then you would still be 'time-boxing' to some extent but not too claustrophobically hopefully.
DeleteThe only problem with that is that often there are already things written on the list that interfere with that strategy. I've tried writing in pencil and then doing a lot of erasing but that doesn't seem like a good way to do it either. I do keep to-dos and appointments separate most of the time.
DeleteWhat's already written? Sorry, I'm just not doing well with visualising the page - do you have a blog with pictures?
DeleteI have similar issues, in that if I don't time-box (write when I am going to do something) but just have a big list of what I need to do, that I feel swamped. My solution (and I realise it's just my solution) is to have weekly sheets where I can write things down like birthdays and things that have to be done that week) then on my Sunday review, I assign these to rough areas of the days I have to do them on (if they are day-sensitive) or distribute them across the week (if non-time sensitive), depending on how busy my day is.
Any help?
Amanda, I did a guest post on Plannerisms that showed my planner: http://www.plannerisms.com/2012/09/guest-post-from-patty-at-homemakers.html.
DeleteI have monthly pages and then 2 pages per day (Franklin Covey). There's a section for a to-do list and a section for the schedule. The right side is blank for notes. On Sunday evening I sit down and plan my week. I write on the various day's to-do lists things I know I need to do. So when I turn to Tuesday, for example, I might have 5 things on the list already. Then I'll add a few more. At that point I have the list of things to do but no idea when or how to do them. Sometimes I have plenty of time to do them all and sometimes I have to pick and choose. Writing down when I'm going to do them helps me figure out what I can and can't do and keeps me productive. If I have a list, all day and no plan, I tend to do nothing. But there's not room for a schedule, a to-do list, and another list. That's what I can't figure out.
Elise, I've thought about doing that - a blank piece of paper that allows me to plan how I want from a master list. I wish there was a way to incorporate it into my regular pages but I'm probably asking too much. There's only so much room on those pages, even with 2 pages per day!
Deletewhat about using a post it note when you have to add things to your day on 2 pages in advance? then when you get to that day either the night before or in the morning write out your to do list with headings either morning, lunch & evening or before grandkids, naptime, after kids leave ( you can also abbreviate these to something like instead of morning 1st, 2nd, 3rd priority: M1, M2, M3 Lunch 1st, 2nd, 3rd priority: L1, L2, L3, naptime 1st, 2nd, 3rd priority: N1, N2, N3 )
DeleteI think I have similar symptoms to you! When using an A5 I have used the TM inserts which have loads of space (2 pages a day) and I tend to use this for work. (I'm trying to separate out work and personal else I just work all the time and worry about the washing when I should be working!). So I list everything, but I don't assign times. When using the personal I do the same (if I am using 2 page per day) otherwise I use some day timer hot lists and put items on there - so they are visible (i.e. I know I have to do them and don't forget) and I can move the list if I haven't done everything.
DeleteMay I suggest one or two things. They're only my own thoughts, and there's no definitive right way, but here they are.
DeleteFirstly, consider removing any anxiety that may stem from having to co form to a particular diary format. Maybe you might need more than two pages for a particular day. What I do is use one sheet (two pages) per day, and then it's easy to slip in an extra page or two for those days where you really need some extra space to plan your day.
Secondly, consider dividing up your "to do" lists, so than you can allocate some degree of priority, rather than having one enormous list. Try having five sheets, labelled A to E, using sheet A for your most important tasks and sheet E for your least important tasks.
Thirdly, keep your binder at hand, and at the moment you want to enter a task, make a decision to do it straight away, without even recording it on paper, to mark it in your diary because it is an appointment that is time specific, or enter it one one of your "to do" lists according to the importance you place on getting that task done. Prioritising tasks in this way may help you feel empowered.
Fourthly, plan your days by allowing yourself some time each day to do as many tasks from sheet A as you can, but scan sheet B when you have made your decsions about tasks on sheet A, and so on.
Fifthly, to avoid your "to do" lists becoming too long, try to "postpone" even thinking about some "to dos" for a few days ( or until a particular day in the week) by entering them in your calendar instead. I do this all the time, and find it helps me to thinks of my childrens' issues on a Sunday, and my grandchildrens' issues on Wednesday evenings, simply by adding these "to dos" in my calendar at the appropriate page, rather than my "to do" lists.
Sixty, if you have a particular project, consisting of several related tasks, just create a sheet just for those tasks, perhaps in a different colour, and slip it into your diary at the date you want to next think about it
I must remember that my spelling is rubbish when using an ipho e keypad, lol.
DeleteI'll be publishing a desription of my basic system on my blog soon, so look out for a filofax GTD post on web finds in the next few days. Hope these ideas have helped.
Thanks, Neil. I'm playing around with your suggestions and I'll be watching for that blog post.
DeleteI posted this on Tuesday's Free for All but didn't get it posted till Wednesday so not sure anyone saw it.
ReplyDeleteJust curious...does anyone know what type of planner/journal Robert Pattinson used in the movie Remember Me, if anyone saw it? The 'journal' is a key component of the movie and is featured quite frequently throughout.
http://www.rememberme-film.com/2010/06/tylers-diary-for-sale.html
The first time I saw the movie and the journal I thought it was a Traveler's Journal as it has a very worn and beat up thin leather cover. Upon second look I was surprised to see it has rings. A couple of times you actually see the binder 'rolled' in half and tied with the string or piece of leather that keeps it closed, that's how flexible the cover is.
I have been curious about this journal since I saw the movie over a year ago and wondered if anyone had spotted it. I found mention of it a few times around the web but no reference as to the make/model if such one exists.
One of my favorite ringbound planners looks a lott like this one, not the same, but close. It's a (dutch) brand, called Succes and the model is designed by Dutch designer Fred de la Bretonière and is called Vintage.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.succesagenda.com/Succes-Agenda-Fred-De-La-Bretoniere-Vintage-Zwart-Standard?filter_name=Fred
That is very interesting! At first the picture made it look like an A5 but upon further reading it says its compatible with Filofax personal size. Wonder if the covers are very flexible and bendable. Thanks for posting this link! :)
DeleteThe pictures and descriptions on that site don't always match, which is a shame, because it's the official site. It does come in different sizes and colors. 'Standaard' being the same as filofax personal, junior = pocket and Executive=A5, only the mini has different spacing. It truly is a high quality brand and in Holland it's better known than filofax. The covers are flexible and bendable, it's just a piece of plain leather and on the inside there are pockets from suede. Look:
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/crqtk6b