It's Casual Friday at Philofaxy! Do you dress down on Friday? (Steve, at some companies, your Western wear would be absolutely appropriate.) I thought we'd have casual Friday today and leave the discussion completely open!
But these days, the suit only comes out for weddings, funerals and christenings! I should have a suit refresh! I used to quite like wearing a suit for work, less to think about in the mornings!!
These days, I'm casual all of the time, once it's warm enough I am in shorts every day through summer!
I quite agree, Steve. Suits are just easy. You need not think about anything in the morning, just dress and go. I like that.
I used to be quite sloppy with work dress, but I've tried to tidy myself up over the past year. I never dressed down as much as some of my colleagues, but tended to be in rumpled trousers and a slightly threadbare shirt. Now I try to do all my ironing in one go and have sturdy, tidy clothes to wear to work. I'm far too active at work for proper formal business clothes to work. I put on suit pants with shirt and tie, and I guarantee you in a matter of a week I will do something to ruin the thin wool pants. So I don't bother.
Nope! If anything I dress up, I love the friday night last minute plans with friends or friday night drinks. saves coming all the way hone just to get changed.
At my office, we always order lunch together on Friday, too. It does make the whole day more fun. (I have to confess that we're a dress-down-every-day office, too.)
In my (French) company, there is no real "casual friday", except for people in the Purchasing Dept, they all wear jeans and many don't wear their regular shirts, some even have long-sleeve T-Shirts. I've never really liked the Casual Friday notion : it seems no one wants to set meetings or do hard/complex/long tasks on Friday. You can't do anything of the like on Monday either (we all come back from the week end, no one wants to be back, so things start slow), and on Wednesday, lots of part-time workers aren't there... I'm in an HR dept, and sometimes I think : can everybody get back to work, please ? :)
Anyway. On a side note, I'm finally in Paris for a few days, visiting my brother and the city, and I had longed for a long time to visit the "Filofax Centre" in rue des Francs Bourgeois, only to learn yesterday, when I asked the clerk in the shop where Filofax was supposed to be, that the Filofax store had closed its doors at least a year ago, if not two.
Sure, there are Filofax corners in Galeries Lafayettes, BHV, etc, but I wanted to go to a real Filofax store. No other choice than go to London, then ? :)
Unless I am out training (or at the odd meeting) I work from home. This means that every day is 'dress down'. I tend to dress according to the weather as we are careful with the heating these days - I'll be heartily pleased to get out of fleece this year! Even my socks are fleece as it can get very cold! It's amazing how warm I find offices when I go visiting.
Most of my work is writing, so I am lucky really to be able to dress in comfort.
My job is based at a business centre & the public rarely visit, so I don't wear a suit these days. However, I do enjoy making an effort & even when I sometimes wear jeans I smarten it up. That said, I'm a bit more scruffy today as I was lacking a bit in inspiration & I'm behind on my ironing.
I work at a research institute at the university (as a student though) and most of the folks here never dress up for work - me included. But since I was really late this morning, I'm eventually dressed even more casual as for the rest of the week... ;-)
Slightly off the current topic - I know we've discussed this before, but am I'm finding myself in a bind over the use of my Filofax in conjunction with digital planning methods, I'm curious how many people use both, what they use the digital planning part for, and how that works in conjunction with a paper planner.
I use both a Malden Personal and a Samsung Galaxy S3. I carry my filofax everywhere with me and once of twice a week, write everything into Outlook express then sync it to my phone. It works for me.
Hi kanalt, I normally have my iPod touch with me & use it as my diary. My personal Malden stays at home & I use it for to-dos, planning, projects, notes etc. My Malden is my extended brain & I use the iPod as it's so easy to sync mine & my hubby's calendars.
Occasionally when I'm having a clear out, I'll put a load of things into Remember the Milk & print out to put in my Malden to work through.
I don't use any electronic planning. I've tried but I can't have two places to look. My daughter uses a Filofax and her iPhone and has great success with it. She has all her contacts in her phone. She also uses her phone for reminders and appointments. It works really well for her.
I use outlook for my diary, and for my contacts. This is sync'd to my iPhone regularly so I have both to hand when out and about. If a new appointment comes up when I am out, or a change, I can do it on the phone and when I next sync the change is transferred to my outlook calendar. I tried using a FF for diary, but got in a mess with having things in two places.
I use a filofax for lists, checklists and to plan each day. This is where I would put down everything I plan to do today after inserting any previous appointments from my diary. So it is a 'planner' rather than a 'diary'. I can cross things off when they are done and if I want to, keep a record of accomplishment.
I use the iOS reminders app that's built in to set reminders for things that pop up that I need an alarm setting for. Being linked in to iCloud it these reminders do pop up on my iMac, my iPad, or my iPod Touch. I don't have an iPhone.
I put some events on to iCal again shared across all three, and also they appear on Alison's iCal too, but my Filofax remains my main planner sat on my desk.
If my work used outlook I think I would go ahead and convert to electronic for scheduling. I need that to be in one system, and if I could maintain my personal calendar on google and my work calendar on outlook, and be able to view them both on my BlackBerry, I'd be quite content to just use my filofax as a task management and reference book. But sadly we use this horrible Lotus Notes which does not sync to the native calendar, contacts, or email on a phone and is just miserable to use in general, so I run everything out of my Filofax, which works fine too. The problem is that other people like to be able to see my work calendar, so once a week I go through and manually copy everything work related from my master calendar (in Filofax) to the god-awful Lotus Notes excuse for a calendar. I HATE Lotus Notes.
I received an iPad for my birthday last July and confess to increasingly running my life on it. I hardly ever now use my laptop> Apart from accounts, I totally run my business on my tablet. This includes taking enquiries, processing bookings, credit card payments and just about all correspondence.
I've totally stopped using Microsoft Outlook and reject the bog-standard Apple apps. Instead I have been trialing various "organiser style" apps (with varying degrees of success!). I've now found one that is excellent and may write a guest post on it.
I find my paper organiser system is increasingly limited to note taking for later transfer to an electronic version. For example, my elderly mother is seriously ill in hospital and I've used my "Filoflex" for taking lots of notes on the ward with the hospital team. Somehow, tapping important notes into an iPad or iPhone whilst listening to a surgeon still isn't acceptable. But writing notes in a leather binder and using a pen still looks as if you're genuinely interested in what they've got to say (even if it is bad news they're telling you...)
Thanks for all of the input. I am trying to work on a hybrid system, which I sort of had before. But as I'm finding that so many of my work tasks are repetitive, it just seems easier to keep them digitally, which morphs into maybe I could do the same for the personal, which morphs into I wonder how a calendar app would work, and then soon, I'm all digital. However, I still find that there are great limitations to digital planning, like not being able to customize it just how I want, like I can do with a paper planner. Plus, theres no one app (that I've found) that does it all - I'd have to switch bewteen various apps just to plan out my day. But I do need (most) things together so that I know where to find them. Creating that divide is what I'm struggling with.
Tim, if you want a landing spot for your guest post, I'd be happy to host it. However, if you are thinking a Philofaxy guest post, then that's where it should be held. :-)
Homemakersdaily - what a lovely idea for a guest post for your daughter to do! ;-). I'd love to hear more about it, if she does do guest posts for you. Just putting it out there...
Thanks Mama Bear. It's hard to watch someone you love go downhill fast - even if they're in their late 80's and had a good life.
Kanalt/ Miss Lily - this tablet v paper debate is a big issue for me as I've been a paper planner man for nearly 30 years! I too have numerous repeating tasks (weekly, monthly, quarterly etc) and find that digital works best for me for these things. But I hate switching apps all the time and have been trying to find an "all in one" solution. I've looked at numerous including : I planner Week calendar HD I calendar Fantastical Beesy Apps Opus domini Pocket informant
I don't think I'll ever go totally digital. Indeed the post on old Filofaxes earlier this week had me digging out and polishing one of my old 1980's Time Manager binders this week!
My boss at work has managed to develop a system heavily reliant on Evernote to manage her work. I have asked her to set aside some time to explain the system to me and am secretly hoping that she will do a video with screen cast that I can post to youtube. Interestingly, she tried to go paperless but found that she still needed paper. She always has a notebook, ideally something with removable pages which can be dropped into her scanner and converted to pdf to store in Evernote.
The appeal of digital is the elasticity, if that's the right word. I love that the system expands to fill the need; currently, I'm working daytime hours and am serving as the point person for contact with my department; I need a LOT more space for logging random things people drop on me and overload my current filofax setup. In a digital system, this would not be an issue.
I think, though, that paper will always be a very important part of my life management scheme. I have ADD and have a fine-motor-manipulation disability. I think that writing in my filofax is much easier than typing into a tablet or my BlackBerry. It's also fast and discrete. And having everything I need to manage my life in one book is extremely intuitive and convenient. I see so much magic in some of the new mobile digital technology though; was watching a demo video of the new BlackBerry OS and how flagging an email creates a note in the "blackberry remember" app which syncs with an evernote account, or how the calendar app will suggest people to invite to a meeting based on past calendar events and text/email conversations... And I start to think that this really could be useful.
Hi Josh - My list was limited to calendar or combo-apps rather than task-based. As well as Evernote (which I use a bit) there's Things (which I've tried), Omnifocus and lots of others!
For folk interested in time management (which we've tended not to discuss so much on here lately) Time Management Ninja is an interesting blog - but it's very largely technology driven rather than about paper systems.
The one I'm most impressed with so far is Pocket Informant, which is an organiser-type app.
Hi Tim, I have been reading your posts today, and wanted to give you some feedback on the iOS apps you have mentioned. Before I became "addicted" to Filofaxes I used many of the same apps for organization and contact management. Let me just suggest you keep working with Pocket Informant for an extended period, to give it a real chance. My experience with them goes beyond user----I have been a long term beta tester for the past year or so. I have found it works well in tandem with my Filofax --- if I can help in any way with my own experiences with this combination, just message me!
Wow, lots for me to think about! I have been using Wunderlist for the past couple of days and I'm really liking it better than the iOS reminders app, mainly because I can have lists with subcategories and additional notes. Plus, it gives reminders and due dates, syncs between my iPad and iPhone, and has a desktop version which is what I need at work. I've been using it for random personal reminders (things that wouldn't necessarily go in my planner) as well as work tasks. So far so good, so we'll see where it ends up. I'm planning on doing an official post on it once I've been using it for a while.
Austin Linda - I'd love to hear more about your hybrid system. Any chance of a post on that?
My contacts are on my Google account, because that's where I write all my email from, and it synchronises with my Blackberry. Otherwise I cannot, and will not, abide electronic gadgets for planning purposes. Paper is quicker, more reliable, won't duplicate, delete or corrupt my data and is generally superior in ever respect. I'm sick and tired of twiddling my thumbs at meetings while gadget-users open their tablets, phones and worse, when I can find any date from now to the end of 2014 within 5 seconds whenever a meeting calls for organising. Why should I put up with this kow-towing to so-called 'progress'? Progress it isn't, it's just faddishness without regard for efficiency. Electronic planning isn't efficient, it's following the herd, in my opinion.
Hi Linda -. I'm really enjoying PI so far. MUCH better than Opus Domini that I've been struggling with since Christmas. I did my research and can see that the developers of PI are really dedicated and enthusiastic. So yes, I'll be sticking with it but still using some paper planning!
David - I used to agree and if life was simpler I would stick to paper. The reality for many of us is that the pressures and volume of work generated by our digital world is now making it impossible to cope with just a paper planner alone. My competitor is a huge international holiday cottage (vacation rental) agency that trades under dozens of different names and has staff on duty 24 hours a day ready to process online bookings. I'm the equivalent of a corner shop ( a "ma and pa" store) struggling against Tesco or Walmart and need more than a paper-driven organiser to survive. It may be following the herd, but that's the way it is!
Thanks Tim. I have used Pocket Informant on and off for the last few years. Even when I was using Blackberry more than 5 years ago! That's when I discovered it. I'm back at it again after over a year of going paper. I love paper but having to carry it around gets old. The ability to sync across my computer, iPhone and now iPad mini are a BIG plus these days. I'm now using a pocket Holborn as my wallet, notes and whatever random things my tech can't do. I've just discovered Paperless for lists. I do love the idea of keeping old Filofax pages to look back on and recording little things about life that's easy to forget, funny things my son says and does, etc, so I'm trying to use my FF as a desk journal at the end of each day. So far so good but it's only been a couple days...
Also, I LOVE the look of Opus Domini's Daily pages but it's frustrating how limited it is on the iPhone.
Miss Lily - it sounds as if we've been following a similar paper vs digital road! Just beware of three things with Opus Domini. Firstly the severe limitations of the iPhone version as you've spotted. You can't even read your tasks on it. Secondly, synchronisation. It will CRASH and lose all your data AND you can't rely on the cloud back-up. It will tell you that your data is backed up to different accounts (iPad and iPhone) and you can end up having to use an old manual back-up. Thirdly, the goals and compass stuff looks attractive but doesn't link into tasks and your day-to-day stuff, so is totally meaningless.
Pocket informant crashes but it doesn't seem to lose all your data when it does and seems to bounce back with a smile!
Tim! Are these *seriously* the tools you are claiming you 'have to' use because they are more *efficient* than paper?! I've been using my Filofax for thirty years now, and it hasn't crashed once in all that time.
I'd seriously suggest throwing al these patently-rubbish apps in the bin, and going back to something that works. Right now, the emperor clearly has no clothes......
David - You're right! Some apps are poorly designed. But I do recall you recently losing a lot of data when you dropped your Filofax in a big wet puddle! I think that's the analogue equivalent of a "crash"! And have you never left your organiser on a train, or written something important with a Frixion pen only for it to vanish overnight? Or picked up your Filo with all the dirty washing and next seen it all soggy having gone through a full cycle and 1400 rpm spin? I've had all these crashes - and more! Maybe a topic for a post one day, Steve?
I can honestly say I've never actually suffered any analogue data loss in thirty years of using paper. I *did* drop my Filofax in the snow in Cardiff back in February, but apart from costing me a few quid in new refills and an hour or so of time copying stuff out, it wasn't a big deal. In fact it gave the the opportunity to review everything which was in the system at the time.
I've never left my Filofax anywhere. Back in pre-laptop days I used to carry by Filofax in my briefcase, and now it fits in my laptop bag on the few days when I'm out and about in that way.
The Frixion pen is a good point though - I'd never use one, as one might as well use invisible ink. A pencil with a rubber tip works fine for me - preferably Staedler. I'm still on a mission to find a pencil sharpener which works though....
Seriously, though, I think tech is great for a lot of things, the principle one of which is email, which has, without a doubt, revolutionised the way we do things. It's just that I genuinely believe that personal organisation is better done on paper for all sorts of reasons.
I work at a military support organization. The military culture is pretty formal, as is Washington DC. So it's full business attire every day.
Frederique, that is terrible news about the Paris Filofax store!! I will be in Paris in June for the Paris Air Show and that was definitely on my list of places to visit.
I am a potter and work from home, so stuff is usually splatted with clay, and glazes, and my main bit of uniform is an apron which gets washed daily. Dry clay dust is not something you want to breathe in.
I'm a SAHM and a substitute teacher, but it's spring break here in Louisiana, so shorts and a tank top for me. I like to spend Fridays trying to finish everything that's undone in my planner for the week, so I stay really casual.
I am a research nurse so although I work in an office, my patient contact is variable so I wear uniform don't have to think about what I am wearing, makes things so much easier.
I used to be a clinical nurse back in the day when nurses actually wore white uniforms - and caps - and dresses at that! When I segued to the corporate world, I wore a dress suit and heels etc. every day - fortunately - or not? - styles have relaxed. I see young women wearing flips flops to work in the summer in midtown Manhattan (suggesting a more coporate job). I distinctly rememeber giving away/tossing out all my suits in the early 90s and haven't worn one since - haven't worn a dress since about the mid-late 90s. My, my times/fashions certainly DO change!!
I work from home as a freelance writer, so I'm very casual every day. I will even admit to sometimes spending the entire day in pj's/sweat pants/yoga pants.
I'm also happy to say I bought my very first Filofax yesterday! I think I got a great deal on a personal raspberry Finsbury from Amazon, only $40 including shipping. Inserts are included too, but it said something about a 2010 diary, so I'm hoping that's a typo. LOL! I can't wait to get it. I think I'll do another "first" and make my first video as I open the package. Boy, once you get bitten by the Filofax bug, you're done for, huh?! LOL!
If it was from a person (as opposed to a retailer like Pens and Leather) it may have the 2010 diary in it. If so check out adspot here (or if you're just looking for the basic Wo2P one drop me a line as I suspect I've an extra that I could post you sarahelps [at] live.com) for a current one. People (myself included) often end up with more diaries than we use as they come with so many binders (and I prefer another format so always have to buy mine separate).
Most of my employed time is spent in a uniform. I actually quite like wearing a uniform, much less faff in the morning and I don't feel so precious about it. I can get covered in all sorts and not care, yet it still looks smart. In my other job I try and look vaguely presentable, but as its museum/heritage work the dress code is a bit random!
Amen to that, Holly. In the first half of my career I had to wear a suit everyday. That was awful! Thankfully I enjoyed 17 years at another company and only wore a suit when I was presenting or marketing. And it wasn't really a 'suit'...more like dress slacks and a blazer.
Our office was always pretty casual as well. Sometimes a little too casual-lol. But when clients came to visit we got 'the memo' and we all dressed to the nines. Fortunately for our group, clients didn't visit our offices much (maybe a few times a year) as we were a pretty casual bunch to begin with. Most of the staff came from a child care background and they were used to sitting on the floor and getting paint on their clothes...so business attire was out of their comfort zone. Also, many of us went in and out of auto plants on a daily basis and we soon learned that if you showed up in a suit, you were 'management'. So we wore casual slacks and polo's so that we were 'approachable' and non-intimidating. (I could tell you some terrific stories about our in-plant visits and some of the cat calls, comments and overall shenanigans heaped upon us...but it was all in good fun. You had to have backbone for that job and not get all up in arms about women's rights and being offended. You had to set boundaries but you had to do it in a certain way. Great lessons in diplomacy. But once they accepted you, you were part of the family.) I've worked from home on and off during my career. Can we just say...pj's and flip flops?! I'm looking for work at the moment and the 3 biggest issues I am struggling with in getting back into the workforce is: long commute (hate that), having to dress up (hate that, too!) and the worst: one week vacations. What?!?! When you are used to 5 or 6 weeks, this is just not acceptable. I'm hoping to find or create some kind of flexible work like I had in the past or try and do my own thing. Fingers crossed!
My days was spent running errands and doing school runs and taking my son to doctor´s office. The day was warm´ish (+2C) but very windy so it was bootcut lederhosen and a kimono-cut angora sweater with elbow- high wool gloves for me. Warm, wind- proof, splosh proof and guarantees for cars giving way when you cross the street (that would be the lederhosen). Oh, and the brick of a stuffed A5 Malden was met with great approval at the tax- office... and it wasn´t just because I found every information needed in a jiffy. Almost made me wonder about the knowing glint in her eyes paired with a musing "... I just happen to have a calendar just like your kind. Big and bulky..." There´s no way of translating her words strictly to English but she referred to a same likeness in structure rather than exactly likeness, being A5 Malden, that is..
6.30pm and I've just checked-in our last cottage holiday guests for the weekend. Definitely dress down day. Cleaning accommodation, carrying out repairs and endless trips to the bottle bank is my typical Friday. We have some lovely guests this weekend - not many Filofax users though! The first thing we always get asked now is "what's the wi-if code?"
I used to have a Personal sized organiser (LeFax) but it was exasperatingly small and I kept bumping into the ring system.
So I decided to put together an A5 version. I bought a 2nd hand Kendal, lots of odd inserts and refills from eBay and printed off templates from this lovely and useful site (thank you very much, by the way, donation on the way). I also printed off various artwork to personalise the dividers, photos of my beautiful horse, my Mini Cooper (real thing) paintings, that sort of thing. But before I start to put it all together.....
Dividers, do you place them in front or at the back of sections? Contacts, by category or A-Z? I have a calculator, magnifier, tags, labels and stickers, etc., how do you store them in the back of your Filofax bumplessly? What to use the business card inserts for.....or have i just answered my own question?
First of all, I use my A5 Chameleon as a university organiser/notebook, so I can´t really afford it to be bumpy.
In my case:
I put the dividers in front of sections.
I have just necessary contacts with me sorted by category all on one page (family and really close friends, basic university contacts, doctors - basically those contacts I might need in case my phone is down); the rest is in my phone and laptop. So I don´t use the A-Z dividers at all.
Calculator - yeah, that was a hard one. Always making things bumpy. One day, I got angry with it and bought a zip-lock envelope from Bantex (looks just like Filofax one but is much cheaper). I put all my extra writing tools (those not in pen-loops) and the calculator into it (later, I switched the A5/personal calculator for the pocket one).
I don´t put the zip-lock envelope into the rings, I just put it loosely into the front of my organiser, so I can take it out without opening the rings when I´m writing into the organiser. (I hope it´s understandable; English is not my mother-tongue.) You could probably put the magnifier there as well, but first I recommend asking yourself a question if you really need it with you. As a matter of fact, I would recommend doing so with everything you intend to put into your organiser. But it depends on whether or not you intend to carry your organiser with you everywhere. Because A5 can get really heavy.
I also have some sticky notes (not Filofax ones) in the inner front zipped pocket of my organiser (but probably any pocket would do). If the block of sticky notes is too thick, I divide it so I take just about twenty of them with me and leave the rest at home. I stick/glue those twenty sticky notes to a piece of paper of the same size so the last note doesn´t stick to the organiser. The last note is ruined but I prefer that to a bump the whole block would make or a sticky organiser.
Business card holder – strangely enough, I don´t use it for business cards but for stickers. I´ve bought dot stickers that are on sheets exactly the same size as business cards. And I´ve cut the heart and star sticker sheets to fit in as well. I find it quite useful as I can sort the stickers by colours and type and have easy access to them.
I shall be using my Kendal for Uni work, more portable that ring binders.
I shall ditch the magnifier, cant remember why I bought it and cant remember the last time I used it either but I can't ditch the calculator, I'm forever calculating things, conversions - metric to imperial and vice versa, how many rolls of wallpaper I need for the sitting room, how may spuds can I get in a row across my kitchen garden, that sort of thing.
I have decided to use just the two loops for pen and pencil and resist the urge for coloured inks to save bulk, although I have just read a very interesting blog about illustrating a FFax with the odd sketch here and there which sounds a good idea. I have some bookmarks, post its, stickers, etc. on order from Paperchase which should make the whole thing look a little jollier.
This afternoon I am in the process of printing out some appropriate illustrations for the dividers and have decided to put them behind the content of the sections.
When all is complete, if ever, perhaps I will post some photos.
Dress down every day in our office - even the smartest people are usually wearing black jeans and a shirt. Although one of them does usually also have a black jacket too, and has even been seen to wear it on occasion :-)
Before a disability pretty much forced me to take an early retirement, my occupation called for a much more rigid code of dress. Since volunteers were always coming into the offices, we were expected to dress as if the Board of Directors would drop in at any moment. So it was a "uniform" of dressy slacks and blazers during the workday. Once in a while, the staff was able to have a "casual" Friday dress day. As most of my jobs were in Southern California, they chose beach clothing and flip flops as their idea of casual dress. Since I was under contract as a CFO, or an Exec. Director---i HAD to dress up every day. And they were rigid about the outfits chosen, right down to a list of approved colors and collar styles; hair color and hairdo styles were to be taken seriously -- in accordance with my contract!
Absolutely, although if you saw the way some of my colleagues dressed in my last job, you would think every day was a Friday!
ReplyDeleteBut these days, the suit only comes out for weddings, funerals and christenings! I should have a suit refresh! I used to quite like wearing a suit for work, less to think about in the mornings!!
DeleteThese days, I'm casual all of the time, once it's warm enough I am in shorts every day through summer!
Steve
I quite agree, Steve. Suits are just easy. You need not think about anything in the morning, just dress and go. I like that.
DeleteI used to be quite sloppy with work dress, but I've tried to tidy myself up over the past year. I never dressed down as much as some of my colleagues, but tended to be in rumpled trousers and a slightly threadbare shirt. Now I try to do all my ironing in one go and have sturdy, tidy clothes to wear to work. I'm far too active at work for proper formal business clothes to work. I put on suit pants with shirt and tie, and I guarantee you in a matter of a week I will do something to ruin the thin wool pants. So I don't bother.
Nope! If anything I dress up, I love the friday night last minute plans with friends or friday night drinks. saves coming all the way hone just to get changed.
ReplyDeleteWe have dress down friday that also comes with a bacon sandwich run! favourite day of the week!
ReplyDeleteAt my office, we always order lunch together on Friday, too. It does make the whole day more fun. (I have to confess that we're a dress-down-every-day office, too.)
DeleteAt home at the mo. Dressed more like Scott of the Antartic it's so cold here!! Central heating break down does not help!!
ReplyDeleteI work from an office in my garden.. need I say more!
ReplyDeleteIn my (French) company, there is no real "casual friday", except for people in the Purchasing Dept, they all wear jeans and many don't wear their regular shirts, some even have long-sleeve T-Shirts. I've never really liked the Casual Friday notion : it seems no one wants to set meetings or do hard/complex/long tasks on Friday. You can't do anything of the like on Monday either (we all come back from the week end, no one wants to be back, so things start slow), and on Wednesday, lots of part-time workers aren't there...
ReplyDeleteI'm in an HR dept, and sometimes I think : can everybody get back to work, please ? :)
Anyway. On a side note, I'm finally in Paris for a few days, visiting my brother and the city, and I had longed for a long time to visit the "Filofax Centre" in rue des Francs Bourgeois, only to learn yesterday, when I asked the clerk in the shop where Filofax was supposed to be, that the Filofax store had closed its doors at least a year ago, if not two.
Sure, there are Filofax corners in Galeries Lafayettes, BHV, etc, but I wanted to go to a real Filofax store. No other choice than go to London, then ? :)
Unless I am out training (or at the odd meeting) I work from home. This means that every day is 'dress down'. I tend to dress according to the weather as we are careful with the heating these days - I'll be heartily pleased to get out of fleece this year! Even my socks are fleece as it can get very cold! It's amazing how warm I find offices when I go visiting.
ReplyDeleteMost of my work is writing, so I am lucky really to be able to dress in comfort.
My job is based at a business centre & the public rarely visit, so I don't wear a suit these days. However, I do enjoy making an effort & even when I sometimes wear jeans I smarten it up. That said, I'm a bit more scruffy today as I was lacking a bit in inspiration & I'm behind on my ironing.
ReplyDeleteI work at a research institute at the university (as a student though) and most of the folks here never dress up for work - me included. But since I was really late this morning, I'm eventually dressed even more casual as for the rest of the week... ;-)
ReplyDeleteYou all have a nice weekend!
Slightly off the current topic - I know we've discussed this before, but am I'm finding myself in a bind over the use of my Filofax in conjunction with digital planning methods, I'm curious how many people use both, what they use the digital planning part for, and how that works in conjunction with a paper planner.
ReplyDeleteI use both a Malden Personal and a Samsung Galaxy S3. I carry my filofax everywhere with me and once of twice a week, write everything into Outlook express then sync it to my phone. It works for me.
DeleteHi kanalt,
DeleteI normally have my iPod touch with me & use it as my diary. My personal Malden stays at home & I use it for to-dos, planning, projects, notes etc. My Malden is my extended brain & I use the iPod as it's so easy to sync mine & my hubby's calendars.
Occasionally when I'm having a clear out, I'll put a load of things into Remember the Milk & print out to put in my Malden to work through.
I don't use any electronic planning. I've tried but I can't have two places to look. My daughter uses a Filofax and her iPhone and has great success with it. She has all her contacts in her phone. She also uses her phone for reminders and appointments. It works really well for her.
DeleteI use outlook for my diary, and for my contacts. This is sync'd to my iPhone regularly so I have both to hand when out and about. If a new appointment comes up when I am out, or a change, I can do it on the phone and when I next sync the change is transferred to my outlook calendar. I tried using a FF for diary, but got in a mess with having things in two places.
DeleteI use a filofax for lists, checklists and to plan each day. This is where I would put down everything I plan to do today after inserting any previous appointments from my diary. So it is a 'planner' rather than a 'diary'. I can cross things off when they are done and if I want to, keep a record of accomplishment.
I use the iOS reminders app that's built in to set reminders for things that pop up that I need an alarm setting for. Being linked in to iCloud it these reminders do pop up on my iMac, my iPad, or my iPod Touch. I don't have an iPhone.
DeleteI put some events on to iCal again shared across all three, and also they appear on Alison's iCal too, but my Filofax remains my main planner sat on my desk.
If my work used outlook I think I would go ahead and convert to electronic for scheduling. I need that to be in one system, and if I could maintain my personal calendar on google and my work calendar on outlook, and be able to view them both on my BlackBerry, I'd be quite content to just use my filofax as a task management and reference book. But sadly we use this horrible Lotus Notes which does not sync to the native calendar, contacts, or email on a phone and is just miserable to use in general, so I run everything out of my Filofax, which works fine too. The problem is that other people like to be able to see my work calendar, so once a week I go through and manually copy everything work related from my master calendar (in Filofax) to the god-awful Lotus Notes excuse for a calendar. I HATE Lotus Notes.
DeleteI received an iPad for my birthday last July and confess to increasingly running my life on it. I hardly ever now use my laptop> Apart from accounts, I totally run my business on my tablet. This includes taking enquiries, processing bookings, credit card payments and just about all correspondence.
DeleteI've totally stopped using Microsoft Outlook and reject the bog-standard Apple apps. Instead I have been trialing various "organiser style" apps (with varying degrees of success!). I've now found one that is excellent and may write a guest post on it.
I find my paper organiser system is increasingly limited to note taking for later transfer to an electronic version. For example, my elderly mother is seriously ill in hospital and I've used my "Filoflex" for taking lots of notes on the ward with the hospital team. Somehow, tapping important notes into an iPad or iPhone whilst listening to a surgeon still isn't acceptable. But writing notes in a leather binder and using a pen still looks as if you're genuinely interested in what they've got to say (even if it is bad news they're telling you...)
Thanks for all of the input. I am trying to work on a hybrid system, which I sort of had before. But as I'm finding that so many of my work tasks are repetitive, it just seems easier to keep them digitally, which morphs into maybe I could do the same for the personal, which morphs into I wonder how a calendar app would work, and then soon, I'm all digital. However, I still find that there are great limitations to digital planning, like not being able to customize it just how I want, like I can do with a paper planner. Plus, theres no one app (that I've found) that does it all - I'd have to switch bewteen various apps just to plan out my day. But I do need (most) things together so that I know where to find them. Creating that divide is what I'm struggling with.
DeleteTim, if you want a landing spot for your guest post, I'd be happy to host it. However, if you are thinking a Philofaxy guest post, then that's where it should be held. :-)
Homemakersdaily - what a lovely idea for a guest post for your daughter to do! ;-). I'd love to hear more about it, if she does do guest posts for you. Just putting it out there...
DeleteTim, I'm really sorry about your mom.
DeleteTim, which app are you using? I've tried them all but still keep looking...
DeleteThanks Mama Bear. It's hard to watch someone you love go downhill fast - even if they're in their late 80's and had a good life.
DeleteKanalt/ Miss Lily - this tablet v paper debate is a big issue for me as I've been a paper planner man for nearly 30 years! I too have numerous repeating tasks (weekly, monthly, quarterly etc) and find that digital works best for me for these things. But I hate switching apps all the time and have been trying to find an "all in one" solution. I've looked at numerous including :
I planner
Week calendar HD
I calendar
Fantastical
Beesy Apps
Opus domini
Pocket informant
I don't think I'll ever go totally digital. Indeed the post on old Filofaxes earlier this week had me digging out and polishing one of my old 1980's Time Manager binders this week!
My boss at work has managed to develop a system heavily reliant on Evernote to manage her work. I have asked her to set aside some time to explain the system to me and am secretly hoping that she will do a video with screen cast that I can post to youtube. Interestingly, she tried to go paperless but found that she still needed paper. She always has a notebook, ideally something with removable pages which can be dropped into her scanner and converted to pdf to store in Evernote.
DeleteThe appeal of digital is the elasticity, if that's the right word. I love that the system expands to fill the need; currently, I'm working daytime hours and am serving as the point person for contact with my department; I need a LOT more space for logging random things people drop on me and overload my current filofax setup. In a digital system, this would not be an issue.
I think, though, that paper will always be a very important part of my life management scheme. I have ADD and have a fine-motor-manipulation disability. I think that writing in my filofax is much easier than typing into a tablet or my BlackBerry. It's also fast and discrete. And having everything I need to manage my life in one book is extremely intuitive and convenient. I see so much magic in some of the new mobile digital technology though; was watching a demo video of the new BlackBerry OS and how flagging an email creates a note in the "blackberry remember" app which syncs with an evernote account, or how the calendar app will suggest people to invite to a meeting based on past calendar events and text/email conversations... And I start to think that this really could be useful.
Hi Josh - My list was limited to calendar or combo-apps rather than task-based. As well as Evernote (which I use a bit) there's Things (which I've tried), Omnifocus and lots of others!
DeleteFor folk interested in time management (which we've tended not to discuss so much on here lately) Time Management Ninja is an interesting blog - but it's very largely technology driven rather than about paper systems.
The one I'm most impressed with so far is Pocket Informant, which is an organiser-type app.
Hi Tim,
DeleteI have been reading your posts today, and wanted to give you some feedback on the iOS apps you have mentioned. Before I became "addicted" to Filofaxes I used many of the same apps for organization and contact management.
Let me just suggest you keep working with Pocket Informant for an extended period, to give it a real chance.
My experience with them goes beyond user----I have been a long term beta tester for the past year or so. I have found it works well in tandem with my Filofax --- if I can help in any way with my own experiences with this combination, just message me!
Wow, lots for me to think about! I have been using Wunderlist for the past couple of days and I'm really liking it better than the iOS reminders app, mainly because I can have lists with subcategories and additional notes. Plus, it gives reminders and due dates, syncs between my iPad and iPhone, and has a desktop version which is what I need at work. I've been using it for random personal reminders (things that wouldn't necessarily go in my planner) as well as work tasks. So far so good, so we'll see where it ends up. I'm planning on doing an official post on it once I've been using it for a while.
DeleteAustin Linda - I'd love to hear more about your hybrid system. Any chance of a post on that?
My contacts are on my Google account, because that's where I write all my email from, and it synchronises with my Blackberry. Otherwise I cannot, and will not, abide electronic gadgets for planning purposes. Paper is quicker, more reliable, won't duplicate, delete or corrupt my data and is generally superior in ever respect. I'm sick and tired of twiddling my thumbs at meetings while gadget-users open their tablets, phones and worse, when I can find any date from now to the end of 2014 within 5 seconds whenever a meeting calls for organising. Why should I put up with this kow-towing to so-called 'progress'? Progress it isn't, it's just faddishness without regard for efficiency. Electronic planning isn't efficient, it's following the herd, in my opinion.
DeleteHi Linda -. I'm really enjoying PI so far. MUCH better than Opus Domini that I've been struggling with since Christmas. I did my research and can see that the developers of PI are really dedicated and enthusiastic. So yes, I'll be sticking with it but still using some paper planning!
DeleteDavid - I used to agree and if life was simpler I would stick to paper. The reality for many of us is that the pressures and volume of work generated by our digital world is now making it impossible to cope with just a paper planner alone. My competitor is a huge international holiday cottage (vacation rental) agency that trades under dozens of different names and has staff on duty 24 hours a day ready to process online bookings. I'm the equivalent of a corner shop ( a "ma and pa" store) struggling against Tesco or Walmart and need more than a paper-driven organiser to survive. It may be following the herd, but that's the way it is!
Thanks Tim. I have used Pocket Informant on and off for the last few years. Even when I was using Blackberry more than 5 years ago! That's when I discovered it. I'm back at it again after over a year of going paper. I love paper but having to carry it around gets old. The ability to sync across my computer, iPhone and now iPad mini are a BIG plus these days. I'm now using a pocket Holborn as my wallet, notes and whatever random things my tech can't do. I've just discovered Paperless for lists. I do love the idea of keeping old Filofax pages to look back on and recording little things about life that's easy to forget, funny things my son says and does, etc, so I'm trying to use my FF as a desk journal at the end of each day. So far so good but it's only been a couple days...
DeleteAlso, I LOVE the look of Opus Domini's Daily pages but it's frustrating how limited it is on the iPhone.
Miss Lily - it sounds as if we've been following a similar paper vs digital road! Just beware of three things with Opus Domini. Firstly the severe limitations of the iPhone version as you've spotted. You can't even read your tasks on it. Secondly, synchronisation. It will CRASH and lose all your data AND you can't rely on the cloud back-up. It will tell you that your data is backed up to different accounts (iPad and iPhone) and you can end up having to use an old manual back-up. Thirdly, the goals and compass stuff looks attractive but doesn't link into tasks and your day-to-day stuff, so is totally meaningless.
DeletePocket informant crashes but it doesn't seem to lose all your data when it does and seems to bounce back with a smile!
Tim! Are these *seriously* the tools you are claiming you 'have to' use because they are more *efficient* than paper?! I've been using my Filofax for thirty years now, and it hasn't crashed once in all that time.
DeleteI'd seriously suggest throwing al these patently-rubbish apps in the bin, and going back to something that works. Right now, the emperor clearly has no clothes......
David - You're right! Some apps are poorly designed. But I do recall you recently losing a lot of data when you dropped your Filofax in a big wet puddle! I think that's the analogue equivalent of a "crash"! And have you never left your organiser on a train, or written something important with a Frixion pen only for it to vanish overnight? Or picked up your Filo with all the dirty washing and next seen it all soggy having gone through a full cycle and 1400 rpm spin? I've had all these crashes - and more! Maybe a topic for a post one day, Steve?
DeleteHi Tim!
DeleteI can honestly say I've never actually suffered any analogue data loss in thirty years of using paper. I *did* drop my Filofax in the snow in Cardiff back in February, but apart from costing me a few quid in new refills and an hour or so of time copying stuff out, it wasn't a big deal. In fact it gave the the opportunity to review everything which was in the system at the time.
I've never left my Filofax anywhere. Back in pre-laptop days I used to carry by Filofax in my briefcase, and now it fits in my laptop bag on the few days when I'm out and about in that way.
The Frixion pen is a good point though - I'd never use one, as one might as well use invisible ink. A pencil with a rubber tip works fine for me - preferably Staedler. I'm still on a mission to find a pencil sharpener which works though....
Seriously, though, I think tech is great for a lot of things, the principle one of which is email, which has, without a doubt, revolutionised the way we do things. It's just that I genuinely believe that personal organisation is better done on paper for all sorts of reasons.
I work at a military support organization. The military culture is pretty formal, as is Washington DC. So it's full business attire every day.
ReplyDeleteFrederique, that is terrible news about the Paris Filofax store!! I will be in Paris in June for the Paris Air Show and that was definitely on my list of places to visit.
I am a potter and work from home, so stuff is usually splatted with clay, and glazes, and my main bit of uniform is an apron which gets washed daily. Dry clay dust is not something you want to breathe in.
ReplyDeleteSo for me every day is a casual day.
The only time I ever wear a suit is when I'm in meetings, so most of the time I'm in casuals
ReplyDeleteI'm a SAHM and a substitute teacher, but it's spring break here in Louisiana, so shorts and a tank top for me. I like to spend Fridays trying to finish everything that's undone in my planner for the week, so I stay really casual.
ReplyDeleteI am a research nurse so although I work in an office, my patient contact is variable so I wear uniform don't have to think about what I am wearing, makes things so much easier.
ReplyDeleteI used to be a clinical nurse back in the day when nurses actually wore white uniforms - and caps - and dresses at that! When I segued to the corporate world, I wore a dress suit and heels etc. every day - fortunately - or not? - styles have relaxed. I see young women wearing flips flops to work in the summer in midtown Manhattan (suggesting a more coporate job). I distinctly rememeber giving away/tossing out all my suits in the early 90s and haven't worn one since - haven't worn a dress since about the mid-late 90s. My, my times/fashions certainly DO change!!
ReplyDeleteYoga pants and bare feet over here. ; )
ReplyDeleteI work from home as a freelance writer, so I'm very casual every day. I will even admit to sometimes spending the entire day in pj's/sweat pants/yoga pants.
ReplyDeleteI'm also happy to say I bought my very first Filofax yesterday! I think I got a great deal on a personal raspberry Finsbury from Amazon, only $40 including shipping. Inserts are included too, but it said something about a 2010 diary, so I'm hoping that's a typo. LOL! I can't wait to get it. I think I'll do another "first" and make my first video as I open the package. Boy, once you get bitten by the Filofax bug, you're done for, huh?! LOL!
Congrats on your first Filofax! Consider yourself 'bitten'. :-0
DeleteCongrats! and yes, you're done for ... once bitten and all that! But what fun!!
Deletecongrats :-)
DeleteIf it was from a person (as opposed to a retailer like Pens and Leather) it may have the 2010 diary in it. If so check out adspot here (or if you're just looking for the basic Wo2P one drop me a line as I suspect I've an extra that I could post you sarahelps [at] live.com) for a current one. People (myself included) often end up with more diaries than we use as they come with so many binders (and I prefer another format so always have to buy mine separate).
Most of my employed time is spent in a uniform. I actually quite like wearing a uniform, much less faff in the morning and I don't feel so precious about it. I can get covered in all sorts and not care, yet it still looks smart. In my other job I try and look vaguely presentable, but as its museum/heritage work the dress code is a bit random!
ReplyDeleteFor me, success is never having to wear a suit :p
Amen to that, Holly. In the first half of my career I had to wear a suit everyday. That was awful! Thankfully I enjoyed 17 years at another company and only wore a suit when I was presenting or marketing. And it wasn't really a 'suit'...more like dress slacks and a blazer.
DeleteOur office was always pretty casual as well. Sometimes a little too casual-lol. But when clients came to visit we got 'the memo' and we all dressed to the nines. Fortunately for our group, clients didn't visit our offices much (maybe a few times a year) as we were a pretty casual bunch to begin with. Most of the staff came from a child care background and they were used to sitting on the floor and getting paint on their clothes...so business attire was out of their comfort zone. Also, many of us went in and out of auto plants on a daily basis and we soon learned that if you showed up in a suit, you were 'management'. So we wore casual slacks and polo's so that we were 'approachable' and non-intimidating. (I could tell you some terrific stories about our in-plant visits and some of the cat calls, comments and overall shenanigans heaped upon us...but it was all in good fun. You had to have backbone for that job and not get all up in arms about women's rights and being offended. You had to set boundaries but you had to do it in a certain way. Great lessons in diplomacy. But once they accepted you, you were part of the family.) I've worked from home on and off during my career. Can we just say...pj's and flip flops?! I'm looking for work at the moment and the 3 biggest issues I am struggling with in getting back into the workforce is: long commute (hate that), having to dress up (hate that, too!) and the worst: one week vacations. What?!?! When you are used to 5 or 6 weeks, this is just not acceptable. I'm hoping to find or create some kind of flexible work like I had in the past or try and do my own thing. Fingers crossed!
ReplyDeleteMy days was spent running errands and doing school runs and taking my son to doctor´s office. The day was warm´ish (+2C) but very windy so it was bootcut lederhosen and a kimono-cut angora sweater with elbow- high wool gloves for me. Warm, wind- proof, splosh proof and guarantees for cars giving way when you cross the street (that would be the lederhosen).
ReplyDeleteOh, and the brick of a stuffed A5 Malden was met with great approval at the tax- office... and it wasn´t just because I found every information needed in a jiffy. Almost made me wonder about the knowing glint in her eyes paired with a musing "... I just happen to have a calendar just like your kind. Big and bulky..." There´s no way of translating her words strictly to English but she referred to a same likeness in structure rather than exactly likeness, being A5 Malden, that is..
I love how a temperature of 2°C is 'warm-ish'. I know I complain about Wellington weather, but that really is ridiculous!
Delete6.30pm and I've just checked-in our last cottage holiday guests for the weekend. Definitely dress down day. Cleaning accommodation, carrying out repairs and endless trips to the bottle bank is my typical Friday. We have some lovely guests this weekend - not many Filofax users though! The first thing we always get asked now is "what's the wi-if code?"
ReplyDeleteDid anyone spot the Filofax on the table of new companion Clara in Doctor Who? http://postimg.org/image/qrlvpxytp/
ReplyDeleteI'm home all the time so it's jeans and long-sleeved t's. I haven't dressed up since my daughter got married 1-1/2 years ago. I don't miss it.
ReplyDeletebaggypants, loose top and cosy fleece sweat :) aaaah gotta love fridays !
ReplyDeleteI used to have a Personal sized organiser (LeFax) but it was exasperatingly small and I kept bumping into the ring system.
ReplyDeleteSo I decided to put together an A5 version. I bought a 2nd hand Kendal, lots of odd inserts and refills from eBay and printed off templates from this lovely and useful site (thank you very much, by the way, donation on the way). I also printed off various artwork to personalise the dividers, photos of my beautiful horse, my Mini Cooper (real thing) paintings, that sort of thing. But before I start to put it all together.....
Dividers, do you place them in front or at the back of sections?
Contacts, by category or A-Z?
I have a calculator, magnifier, tags, labels and stickers, etc., how do you store them in the back of your Filofax bumplessly?
What to use the business card inserts for.....or have i just answered my own question?
Thanks and best.
First of all, I use my A5 Chameleon as a university organiser/notebook, so I can´t really afford it to be bumpy.
DeleteIn my case:
I put the dividers in front of sections.
I have just necessary contacts with me sorted by category all on one page (family and really close friends, basic university contacts, doctors - basically those contacts I might need in case my phone is down); the rest is in my phone and laptop. So I don´t use the A-Z dividers at all.
Calculator - yeah, that was a hard one. Always making things bumpy. One day, I got angry with it and bought a zip-lock envelope from Bantex (looks just like Filofax one but is much cheaper). I put all my extra writing tools (those not in pen-loops) and the calculator into it (later, I switched the A5/personal calculator for the pocket one).
I don´t put the zip-lock envelope into the rings, I just put it loosely into the front of my organiser, so I can take it out without opening the rings when I´m writing into the organiser. (I hope it´s understandable; English is not my mother-tongue.) You could probably put the magnifier there as well, but first I recommend asking yourself a question if you really need it with you. As a matter of fact, I would recommend doing so with everything you intend to put into your organiser. But it depends on whether or not you intend to carry your organiser with you everywhere. Because A5 can get really heavy.
I also have some sticky notes (not Filofax ones) in the inner front zipped pocket of my organiser (but probably any pocket would do). If the block of sticky notes is too thick, I divide it so I take just about twenty of them with me and leave the rest at home. I stick/glue those twenty sticky notes to a piece of paper of the same size so the last note doesn´t stick to the organiser. The last note is ruined but I prefer that to a bump the whole block would make or a sticky organiser.
Business card holder – strangely enough, I don´t use it for business cards but for stickers. I´ve bought dot stickers that are on sheets exactly the same size as business cards. And I´ve cut the heart and star sticker sheets to fit in as well. I find it quite useful as I can sort the stickers by colours and type and have easy access to them.
Good luck with your Kendal.
Thanks, Helen. All sound advice.
DeleteI shall be using my Kendal for Uni work, more portable that ring binders.
I shall ditch the magnifier, cant remember why I bought it and cant remember the last time I used it either but I can't ditch the calculator, I'm forever calculating things, conversions - metric to imperial and vice versa, how many rolls of wallpaper I need for the sitting room, how may spuds can I get in a row across my kitchen garden, that sort of thing.
I have decided to use just the two loops for pen and pencil and resist the urge for coloured inks to save bulk, although I have just read a very interesting blog about illustrating a FFax with the odd sketch here and there which sounds a good idea. I have some bookmarks, post its, stickers, etc. on order from Paperchase which should make the whole thing look a little jollier.
This afternoon I am in the process of printing out some appropriate illustrations for the dividers and have decided to put them behind the content of the sections.
When all is complete, if ever, perhaps I will post some photos.
Best wishes.
Lucky we have a 'uniform' polo top and my centre (I work in a Learndirect learning provider) we all wear jeans every day :D
ReplyDeleteDress down every day in our office - even the smartest people are usually wearing black jeans and a shirt. Although one of them does usually also have a black jacket too, and has even been seen to wear it on occasion :-)
ReplyDeleteBefore a disability pretty much forced me to take an early retirement, my occupation called for a much more rigid code of dress. Since volunteers were always coming into the offices, we were expected to dress as if the Board of Directors would drop in at any moment. So it was a "uniform" of dressy slacks and blazers during the workday. Once in a while, the staff was able to have a "casual" Friday dress day. As most of my jobs were in Southern California, they chose beach clothing and flip flops as their idea of casual dress. Since I was under contract as a CFO, or an Exec. Director---i HAD to dress up every day. And they were rigid about the outfits chosen, right down to a list of approved colors and collar styles; hair color and hairdo styles were to be taken seriously -- in accordance with my contract!
ReplyDelete