I love looking at everyone else's neat and beautifully decorated binders, but when mine are working well they're more untidy with post-its here and there and paperwork sticking out. And I'm quite proud of that as it means I'm losing more of my old perfectionist habits.
What is working well for you currently in your setup?
And as it's a Friday, please feel free to discuss anything ring bound planner related.
I just wanted to say thank you. i was able to print out some of the dairy inserts though i had to print out page by page i was so happy i was able to print them out(user error). your awesome and a great big thank you, you saved me. love your blog and this community.
ReplyDeleteMe too Anita! I’ve simplified my Filofax throughout using Zen-to-Done and minimalist inserts. Strangely, writing in pencil was feeding my perfectionist habit. I’ve gone back to writing in black ink again – it’s made me more decisive. My Filofax pages now look ‘lived in’ with crossings-out, arrows and squiggles. It looks perfect to me!
ReplyDeleteAs an almost exclusive pencil user the idea of using a pen gives me the heebie jeebies.
DeleteI like pencils because they are the ultimate minimalist writing instrument. I do own pens, but very few of them, and black ink only. I read these ink-tests and look at bleed through photographs and clutch my pencil tightly, thankful that I don't need to do all this testing and decision making. HB or 2B is quite enough in the decision department.
Should I try a pen? Hmmmm...
Zen-to-Done Inserts? Can you please tell me where I might look at them?
DeleteThanks!
Natalie - pencil seems so lacking in commitment and not permanent ... I used to work for a guy who signed everything in pencil - he was a very difficult man and I often imagined him creeping into the office at the dead of night and rubbing out all his signatures!
Delete@natalie - I was a confirmed pencil user for many years but recently was wearing holes in the paper as meetings kept changing dates/time! Releasing myself from that perfectionism has been a joy! Agree the quality of the FF paper is awful – I use mainly Mont Blanc pens and their ink is super black. Ball point is okay, roller ball has some ‘show through’, but strangely it doesn’t worry me; fountain pen ink – absolutely agree, terrible bleed through.
DeleteAs an artist, I use a range of medium including pencils HB-6B and sketch away without a care for ‘mistakes’! Although not strictly minimalist, Mont Blanc pens are beautifully engineered - that appeals to the designer in me, but then again the simplicity of a wooden pencil appeals too, and I have quite a collection of those too!
@SF – hmmm, I didn’t word that very well, sorry to cause confusion. There are no specific ZTD inserts although there are some ‘forms’ at the back of the book. I’m using standard FF inserts to support my ZTD approach – see my blog for further info.
DeleteOh wow, that is SUCH a coool Blog! You've given me a whole bunch of readhing homework...Zen to Done that looks extremely interesting and helpful! Thank-you!
DeleteI don't like doing everything in pencil because it's not as durable. Since I do a lot of journaling in my planner, I want it to last forever. Some of the entries I made in pencil are somewhat smudged (the old ones) so I stick with a pen most of the time.
Delete@Alison, I disagree.
DeletePencil is low tech, like a Filofax.
It is completely recyclable, cheap to manufacture, and there is no plastic "stuff" to get rid of when it eventually runs out of inches.
Remember the old joke about the million dollar Space Pen developed by the Americans which worked in zero gravity? And the punch line... the Russians took pencils.
No worries about bleed through.
There are even indelible pencils if you prefer them.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FABER-CASTELL-SINGLE-Document-Indelible-Pencil-BLACK-/320731577216
Fountain pends are useless if you fly, they leak with increased cabin pressure.
Ball point pens are soulless.
Rollerballs are horrible.
Frixion... an over-engineered pencil substitute.
I rest my case.
:)
I always use pencil in my diary, because crossings-out annoy me. I use men throughout the rest of my Filofax. I've given up using fountain pen until Filofax a) own up to and b) solve the issue of the toilet-paper quality of their inserts. If there is one issue which might ultimately lead to me giving up my Filofax, it's paper quality.
DeleteSo there - I'm a pencil user *and* a difficult person (viz. I have standards I'm not prepared to compromise)!
I admit I'm "difficult", David.
Delete@David
Delete"I use men throughout the rest of my Filofax"
I confess this made me smile. Best typo in a very long time!
Fabulous debate! It's inspired me to write a post on my blog!
Delete'I use men throughout the rest of my Filofax' sounds like something Samantha from "Sex and the City" might say. After all, the only reason she HAD a Filofax was 'to keep track of thousands of men'!
DeleteVery often, less is more. Certainly for me in my planner that seems to be the case at the moment. It's just brilliant when you get a busy period like I have had this week and next and my planner is really coming in to its own and working really well.
ReplyDeleteI am finally accepting that Personal is the size for me and therefore I am now enjoying using my planner and it is working well as I am not constantly looking for reasons to go up to an A5.
ReplyDeleteJasJan, even though I love the A5, I, too, have accepted that my Filofax planner is most usable in a Personal-size!
ReplyDeleteI have attempted to use only one type/color of pen. As I look back through the past weeks pages I think I get of satisfaction seeing all of the colors, checked boxes, todo's crossed out, etc. It shows me not only how busy I am, but how blessed I have been in my life to get the opportunity to do and achieve many things. ♥
ReplyDeleteHas anyone with a personal sized Osterley tried it with Franklin Covey inserts? The Her Point of View range is catching my eye. I'd imagine it'd be a tight fit, and the pen loops would probably get in the way. I could be wrong though.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right that it would be a tight fit and the pen loops would get in the way. If you have any perfectionist or OCD tendencies at all, it would probably drive you crazy. I tried putting FC inserts in my Malden and it didn't go well.
DeleteThanks for the reply, and your absolutely right, my OCD and the inserts would probably not get along.
DeleteI'm thinking of upsizing from the pocket size to a Compact or Slimline, but weight is very important to me, so that I don't weight down my purse too much.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have the empty weight of the Compact Osterley, Doodle, or Calipso?
Thank you in advance!
I can check and get back to you on the weight of the calipso and osterley. I don't have a doodle, unfortunately. I hAe never carried a pocket, but moving from personal to compact I can tell you that compact is easier to carry as far as weight. But of course, it will depend on how much you cram into the compact, though you're limited from the get-go.
DeleteBoth the compact calipso and osterley weigh 0.4 lbs / 179 g.
DeleteThank you so much Kanalt. I have added this info the the spreadsheet that is linked from the Philofaxy "FAQ" section.
DeleteHi! I am new to this site and to blogging in general so bear with me please. I just received my new Calipso A5 in Bright Blue. It is certainly beautiful but I was disappointed to find it wrapped in a plastic sleeve - no black box. I called customer service and was told that with the new line they are no longer using the black box. I don't know about you but I very much like the black box! So I sent an email to the customer service dept. to report my disappointment. I received a very nice response as follows:
ReplyDelete"Thank you for your inquiry.
I apologize for your frustration. The reason that we have gone away from the box is because in our experience, most people that purchase a Filofax from a Retailer do not actually want the box and the boxes just get thrown away by the Retailer.
With that being said, we have ordered some to have on hand. They are probably going to arrive at the end of August. I will gladly send you one if you would like."
So it seems that you must request a black box (at least from filofaxusa).
Hope this was helpful.
Rubbish! My reliable source tells me there are two reasons for no box - cost cutting and visibility. The new sleeve allows the products to be displayed and also handled before purchase without getting tatty and dog-eared (that's probably another British expression).
DeleteIt might happen with shoes, but can you really imagine a new Filofax customer saying "don't bother about the box, I want to start using it, right this minute!"
I believe that about as much as I believe the 1% comment they made about rings.
DeleteI know I only purchase my Filofaxes online so I appreciate the box both for protection. I also know I'm not the only one using them for storage purposes either, so I doubt people don't want them.
I can see from a retail standpoint, why it would make sense. It keeps hands off them, but I'd still prefer to open the binders up and check the rings out and everything in store. In reality it just seems like a way to cut costs though.
At least you can request them though I guess.
Although I like the box (it really is like opening a gift, even if I already know what's inside), I have to say I don't use it for Filo storage. I don't throw them away; I keep them and use them to box other items when I have gifts to give. So they are recycled on my end, but I don't need them for storing Filos. But it's nice to know you can request them if you like them.
DeleteJust another example of the decline in standards of both workmanship and now customer service.......
DeleteUm no I DO want the box. I really don't think retailers are throwing them out! Perish the thought! I will be disappointed to order a Filofax from the company and have no box to store it. :(
DeleteSuzi, this is sooooo Filofax.
ReplyDeleteI don't really care how my filo comes, as long as the rings are good! I've had several deliveries in boxes and the rings were still screwy...
ReplyDeleteMy current planner joy stems from the basic fact that I USE it every day, so I get to analyse on-the-go how some things can work really well and how some others can't - oftentimes this can just be down to placement within my filo and a quick shuffle can make things 'flow' better.
I'm an A5 convert through and through ... I like a generous page size. If I use it more then it's doing it's job better ... No point in having a personal size if I don't use it! ... I don't drive, I walk everywhere and yet the weight seriously doesn't bother me ... but I guess that's the whole point of this filo malarkey ... what works for me won't necessarily work for anyone else ... but when it works, it's serious 'Planner Win'!
I see more and more people use their own bags at the stores and refuse paper bags and boxes with a purchase unless it is a gift. At least the elimination of the boxes with the binder is better for the environment. I like the idea of the plastic sleeve but I am not sure if it is recyclable. On a another note, I hope Filofax will produce some new inserts with different layouts.
ReplyDelete