It's Back To School Time in the northern hemisphere! Actually, my cousins' kids in the US went back to school weeks ago. They have adopted the year-round school schedule like we have here in the UK with a short summer break then two weeks off in autumn, winter and spring. Personally I would rather have a long summer break. My kids only got six weeks off for summer, which I think is awful but it's what everyone here is used to. As a kid I loved having three months off in the summer!
Anyway, I digress. Back To School means loads of fun stationery and school supplies are in the stores right now. I've seen lots of non-student people online saying how much fun they are having with all the paper goodies in the stores, and even years after graduation they still feel like this time of year is the start of a new year.
Are you getting new stationery items now for your Filofax?
And as always on Fridays, feel free to discuss anything binder-organizer related!
I have all my new inserts - A5 and Personal - and am looking forward to sorting them out and filling in details for 2014 such as birthdays, training courses and events I know are coming up next year. I keep a master to-do list and diary online, so it is easy to find stuff already scheduled for 2014 and put it in my Filofax.
ReplyDeleteI think the excitement at this time of year is not just getting the new inserts, but filling them out and getting yourself organised for the following year.
With bound diaries, you couldn't start using the new one until around the end of December, but with a Filofax you can have a rolling year. So, this weekend I will probably remove Jan - Jun 2013 from the start of my Filofax and insert Jan - Jun 2014 at the end, giving me a kind of academic diary.
Hi Hamish, your idea is exactly what I did - took the first half of 2013 out and put the first half of 2014 in. That's exactly what I did. That's why I enjoy using my personal planner (currently a vintage microfile one due to be exchanged with a Gillio medium compagna as soon as...it arrives. Even though I loved the nice leather and product quality of this cute vintage organiser it turned out that I simply needed the option to also cary unpunched A5 sheets with me in my personal binder.
DeleteNot ALL US states and schools have gone to year-round school. My kids still get three months off. In fact, here in Des Moines, IA... only one or two schools are year-round. My kids go back next week... Thursday... then get Labor Day off on Monday.. ????? Stupid schools. Anyway... yes... I'm DANGEROUS in the stores now with all the fun stationery!! I HAVE to stop myself as it's VERY expensive these days to get ALL they want your kids to bring... not only their own supplies.. but wipes and Kleenex and copy paper for the teachers... budget cuts as always. Oy! My daughter going into 6th grade and I spent $100 just on her REQUIRED items and still have things to get for her. High school is easier as they let the kids get what they want and don't ask for paper for teachers, etc.
ReplyDeleteI had almost 3 months school holidays in Summer as I was a kid, but to be honest after half the time of kids camps and holidays with the parents I was bored to death wishing school was starting earlier - so I could learn new stuff and do all the fun circels that were only on during school terms. So our meaning splits here but reunits at the paper fun side even long after craduation :-)
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Deleteok even as a non-native English speaker - sorry for the typo from me: I meant *graduation*
DeleteSix weeks off not enough?! How is that 'training for life'? When I Am Prime Minister schoolkids will get four weeks off like the rest of us (less if you're self employed, but that's another soapbox.....)! Crafty 'school closed' days off whenever it snows a bit will also be banned....
ReplyDeleteSeriously, though, a chance comment in an email has started me thinking whether I may have a go at using the Day-Timer inserts for a period, to see what they're like. I'm guessing a full year's worth of DPP Portable DT pages won't fit in a Personal FF - even my Hampstead with it's large rings - which is a definite drawback. The alternative would be to go for Wo2P DT, but then the last appointment time each day is 5.00 p.m. - not ideal. Ho hum.......
I am also considering the Day-Timer refills. I've seen the DPP and it is massive. I don't really need those, but the WO2P is quite big too. If you buy the Coastlines Portable, it goes until 6pm. Many people do take inserts in and out. I think I may just stick with FF as I am relatively new and it is inexpensive compared to DT.
DeleteHonestly, I think the reason I'm a teacher is pretty much solely for the stationery and the continuation of my 'new year' starting in September!
ReplyDeleteAs my business is family holiday cottages (Ilkley Moor in Yorkshire, UK) I would love to see school holidays spread more widely throughout the year. At the moment we have 2 weeks at the beginning of July when we are full of Scots (traditionally Scotland finishes at the end of June and goes back in early August) followed by a mad 6 weeks in high summer for everyone else (including mainland Europe). Then everyone is back at school at the same time, leaving only grandma and grandad with pre-school age grandchildren to come and stay.(Having said that, after a couple of teacher training days etc. my daughters don't return to their state school until 11th September, this year).
ReplyDeleteBack on topic, I think that the range of academic year products has shrunk in recent times. Filofax only produces one refill in A5 and one in Personal - Wo2P. They stopped the academic year Flex refills after the first year of production. Similarly, despite being planned, you decided against an academic year Plannerism planner - presumably due to limited demand?
The academic year is not just for the education sector. In my holiday cottage world, the year starts in October - that's when all the new brochures (what few still produce printed literature) come out and everything is geared to the new year.
Hi Tim, actually I had loads of people asking for an academic-year Plannerisms planner, but my publisher decided not to print them this year because the 2013's are still selling well and the 2014's are due out soon. I hope they'll be printed for the 2014-2015 academic year but I don't have any confirmation for that.
DeleteThe supermarkets here in France are full of 'Back to School' stuff. But it also marks of the return to work for a lot of people too as a lot of businesses shut in August. Lots of pens and stationery!!
ReplyDeleteI recently purchased some new dividers & received a very kind RAK (must write some posts now), but other than that I'm not planning on buying anything else for them. I have however spent time browsing in our local supermarket & another stationery shop, but resisted all the goodies :)
ReplyDeleteI'm giving the Acad Dodo pad a try this year, but although I love the concept I'm wondering if the limited grid space will be an issue. I would love to find something similar but with more space for the week.
ReplyDeleteI've always loved "back to school" supplies for as long as I can remember.
ReplyDeleteI've always loved "back to school" supplies for as long as I can remember.
ReplyDeleteSeptember always feels like the beginning of the new year to me -- more than January. I always LOVED the outing to get school supplies. Guess not much has changed!!
ReplyDeletePerhaps I was sleeping at the time, but what happened to "The Hand of Philofaxy"? Did we just need a change , or something?
ReplyDeleteHi John
DeleteYes I changed it last weekend!! 'The hand' wasn't available when I did the updated photos, but I think the change brightens things up a little bit.
Regards
Steve
2 questions a bit off the subject: a friend sent me a beautiful Day-Timer binder (and an extra set of rings) since the rings are misaligned. This don't easily unscrew like Franklin Covey ones (Josh gave me that information, thank you!). Is it easier to try to align them with plyers/some kind of tool or am I better off taking it to a luggage/leather shop to have them fix?
ReplyDeleteAlso, are Day-Timer inserts narrower than Franklin Covey inserts?
Day Timer inserts are the same size as Filofax pages. Both are narrower than Franklin Covey Compact size inserts by a skosh.
DeleteA skosh equalling one half of an inch.
DeleteHelp! Having gone back to my Filo a few months ago I'm on the verge of giving up. The rings on the personal one make it really awkward to write on the left hand page. Plus the pages are pretty cramped. An A5 would be too heavy I think (I cycle). Am thinking of - gulp - buying a standard A5/A4 diary for 2014 instead of Filo refill. Any thoughts? (reposted as I was a bit late on Tues)
ReplyDeleteCavalry arriveth!
DeleteWell... at least I can tell you how I resolved my very similar problem (sans cycling but really bad joints) and can now enjoy personal- sized planner with larger papersize and no rings.
I´ve been an avid FF user for two decades. Then entered ring issues. My son bought me a cheap non-FF pleather planner in personal sized planner from thrift store and I remembered how back in the days I used to enjoy a personal size as a carry- on planner while the A5 was merely a house planner and a catch- all. So I took the rings from the personal sized planner and made a really nice leather planner from my son´s first school bag. I´m sentimental and also I adore good, brown and thick vintage leather. But I needed to fit more papers inside. I needed more writing space but the A5 is no longer compatible with my joints and their carrying capabilities. Besides, ring problems.
Then I had this idea, since I also love MTN and have done a hack of one from another messenger bag I transformed the leather binder by taking away the ring system and adding holes to thread rubber cord through and made the shebang similar to TN in threading. I now have ample space to write, no poking rings and absolutely no restrictions to how much stationary I can add to the thing. I could not recommend more. The personal sized binder now holds my all. I have monthly calendar, weekly spreads, DPP, notes, lists, additional craft holder, signature of plastic pockets to hold stickers and stamps, I have a yearly fold- out, I have financial signature, I also have alphabetized contact numbers and addresses( that signature is heavy) and then some additional card pockets sticker´d on craft paper to hold calling cards etc. Oh, and I have a journal there AND larger sticky notes to which I collect grocery shopping list as I go. The thickness of all of this is only 5,5 cm´s with leather covers included.
And I´m like a kid on Yule. I just found DPP diary to last through June 2014, printed on extra thin paper. This was wire bound calendar. I took the wire cord apart with pliers and used the holes to thread a yarn through them. I put the 2013 pages with some extra fluff info pages to my binder and saved the 2014 pages for New Year. The DPP- pages are included in the measly 5,5 cm measurement.
It´s like all of my planner wants came together on one covers.
I´m so happy that I´ve taken a habit to wake up 30 mins earlier just to be able to journal first thing in the morning. It seems to sort the foggy grey cells from the get-go.
Eh, I apologize. I have fever and I seem to have written something completely... I don´t even know.
DeleteIn a nutshell; Back in the days I made a MTN- hack (it was a fly hack, if I say so myself) from a messenger bag, the leather was very old and thick. I heart it.
I also hearted the personal sized planner that I got from my son. I took another messenger bag (his very first school bag) and used that leather to make a personal sized planner, to which I took rings from the pleather planner that my son gifted to me. I liked it but I needed more paper space. So I combined the TN idea and removed the rings from the personal planner. I now can fill the entire space of the planner with signatures which are replaceable at will. Happy with all of that. Especially at the ease and increased use of paper.
Hope this made more sense this time.
Hi Nos - I agree about big rings and Personal size paper. I'm left-handed and struggle to write on right-hand pages of standard 23mm binders. I think modern A5 Filofaxes (Holborn, Malden etc) have the advantage of being lighter than earlier models (I cycle a lot too) but I personally prefer an A5 Flex for both lightness and portability. However, I'm currently going the other way, leaving my A5 on the desk and experimenting with a Slimline Holborn, which fits into my cycling top pocket for carrying my essential data.
ReplyDeleteIn case he doesn't see this, another option suggested by James is an ARC A5 binder from Staples. This gives you the advantage of rings (well, discs) without a hefty mechanism.
I am also a leftie, but writing on the right hand page is easier for me because I slant the filo up at about a 45 degree angle.
ReplyDeleteI love my filo too much to give it up, so the inconvenience is worth it for me.
I am switching to a different binder after using a Personal Filofax for many years. I am paring down the contents of my binder but I have not completely set it up. I don't plan on buying any more stationery items because I already have a little treasure trove from purchasing more items this year. I want to instead make some donations to local charity drives. I also ended up with several diary inserts for this year. I should have donated the one(s) I did not use earlier in the year.
ReplyDeleteTo Nos' post above - why not leverage the flexibility of the inserts move things around the binder? For example, in my own binder, I have three sections - Calendar, Projects and Journal, and at this time of year, they're arranged in that order.
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of the calendar, year, however, it's Projects, Calendar, Journal - I arrange the calendar to be in the middle of the organizer. That way, the rings are never in the way.
Being a total geek, I always love going back to school. When I was in grade school, while I enjoyed the summer vacation for the time it gives me to stay up in tree branches to read adventure and mystery and ghost novels, It would be the school year I that I truly looked forward to, because of the mega-shopping for new school supplies that happened in May. And the month of May in our country would also be the start of the rainy season (my favorite,too) , so I would shop with my mother wearing my little raincoat and rubber boots, and spend hours and hours picking out my notebooks and pads and writing implements and bags and pencil cases, and all those wonderful, little things for school that really make me happy. I am still a student now, on my second Master's Degree, but the start of the semester is still and will always be one of the happiest points of my year, largely because it's an excuse for me to shop for paper and writing implements and study/reading paraphernalia, and also to update my planner with class schedules and academic events. I honestly thought I was strange that way, until I found fellow enthusiasts in grad school, and until I found you all. LOL!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, since I design and make my own planner pages, I do not feel the need to wait for academic planners to come out. I have designed my Chronodex 2PPD already, and have filled in the holidays and university-wide events, but not the classes yet, since the second semester does not start until November and I actually do not know yet what classes I will be in. That will be up to my program adviser and will be dependent on the classes available with the Professors that I want to study under, and I also have to pick schedules that can work with the schedule of my day job. But since I have only one calendar for everything (day job, freelance work, personal, family, birthdays, novel-writing, and university), it will be okay. Hurray for Everything In One Calendar!
ReplyDeleteThat said, I have been looking at Laurie's Plannerisms planner. I am drawn to it because it's been designed by a planner addict, and I think that it can be especially useful in tracking long-term and very detailed projects. I can probably use it to track my work when I'm already in the thesis phase.
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