So fire away and we will collectively try to answer your questions or offer opinions.
We still have plenty of places available for the Manchester Meet Up, please get in touch if you would like to come along. Full details here
03 September 2013
Free For All Tuesday - No 135
So fire away and we will collectively try to answer your questions or offer opinions.
We still have plenty of places available for the Manchester Meet Up, please get in touch if you would like to come along. Full details here
I need your advice. I'd like to give a Filofax to my daughter. She has a cheap diary from the supermarket which I'd like to replace with a Filofax. She is 11 years old and her favourite colour is blue and she doesn't like pink colour.
ReplyDeleteI thought about either
- The Purse in red (Leader seems to be sensitive)
- Pennybridge pocket zip in blue (Quality problem with the zip)
- Malden Pocket in Aqua (Is pocket really the right size for a 11 year old or would compact be better?)
- Calipso Compact Teal (I checked it out at the stationary, the colour isn't soooo nice)
What do you think?
When I was 11 I wanted my Dad's Classic sized Day-Timer, so I would lean towards a personal size. But if you are currently a Filofax user I would venture to guess your daughter would be attracted to a similar sized binder to what you use.
DeleteI believe tha pocket malden in aqua would be a great gift for your daughter - if of cause the leather quality is right for her taste. The other features together with the right inserts - I believe could make a great day compagnion for her without being too big - considering the many things teens need to carry around without having a car ;-) Good luck with the present!
ReplyDeleteI have the compact calipso in bright blue, which is a great color! It's also a great binder. I can't really speaks towards what size would be best for an 11 year old, but I would think it depends on how often and for what purpose she is using her current planner. I love the compact size as it allows for easy portability but pages large enough to write quite a bit. I have tried using the pocket size and was never able to adapt to it. But I also record a lot of information throughout the day. If I just kept my schedule and a small selection of notes, pocket might work for me.
ReplyDeleteShe uses her diary almost only for school. But I think once she finds out how she can personalize her Filofax...
DeleteYour're right, personal might suit her needs better than pocket. Especially because her handwriting isn't as miniscule as mine. Yes, the blue colour looks much better than teal. I didn't notice the blue calipso, probably because the stationary didn't have it on stock.
You can check out my write up on the blue calipso here on Philofaxy (one of the "twins" posts) to check out the color. As for the amount of pages you can fit into a compact (as mentioned below): I have several pages of notes and to do lists, an entire years worth of monthly pages, three months of daily pages, some dividers, and a few other inserts. I rotate out my months, so at the beginning (or a week beforehand) of a month, a remove the oldest pages and add another month at the end. It works well for me, but I can understand wanting everything together all of the time and not having to do with swapping out inserts every few weeks, so that might be an annoyance to your daughter. If I remember correctly, I once counted the number of pages I have in my compact at any time and it was around 75. I want to say I posted that here as a Philofaxy comment too, if you can find it.
DeleteYou are a great help, Kanalt, your system might work for her. I think I'll leave it to her to find out.
DeleteI remember my first Filofax was a compact too. I had a week on a page and it was a good compromise between ringsize and overall size / weight. I tried a few Palm gadgets after that and eventually returned to a Filofax Personal Bridle a year or two later. If my daughter wants to upgrade from compact to personal I'll happily go shopping with her.
Second thought: If of course your daughter loves to journal / express her thoughts by writing it down than the more spacy compact size would serve her needs better - I believe.
ReplyDeleteRight, but with a full years week on two pages the 15mm rings are probably already full.
DeleteHow about tracing down a personal sized blue sky coloured blue Metropol?
ReplyDeleteMy wife bought a blue metropol or something similar a couple of years ago. It went into a drawer and I don't know where it is now. Recently my wife started to use one of my minis because managing the family became too big a task without writing things down.
DeleteI'd like to buy something really nice for my daughter - it must be leather and new and shiny.
I saw the blue calipso for only £60 at Quickdraw_Stationary (eBay). It is £102 in Switzerland...
There's a lovely blue Finchley on Adspot for €37 with shipping to the UK, about £32.
DeleteNo, thanks, it's well used. I'd prefer new and unused.
DeleteHi all. My A5 Finsbury has recently developed a gappy top ring. I bought it from someone on eBay, would I still be able to send it back to Filofax do you think?
ReplyDeleteI somehow doubt it. I have found that with some exercise - proper opening with the opener tabs and closing by pressing the rings together - the gaps will disappear. Sometimes a bit of coaxing - with the ring set open, hold the rings open but apply gentle inward pressure to the gappy ring(s) - is necessary.
DeleteI figured as much. Thank you for your advice Alan!
DeleteHi! Has someone been able to print personal pages using an office laser printer? I am currently afraid to do it as it might jam the printer being so small. Do i need a carrier type thing for it?
ReplyDeleteIf the guides on your printer squeeze down that far, it should be no problem. In the past, I've used an HP Laserjet 5(?) and currently have an Epson Workforce 545, both of which will print without much of a problem.
DeleteRegarding a Hole Punch....I was wondering if anyone can confirm the exact size of the 'holes' on filofax paper/tabs, etc. I am in the process of purchasing a single hole punch (so that I can punch thicker card stock etc.) and want to be sure of the size for a single hole punch.
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for your help!
A bit of a philosophical point... I was mulling over my set up, and thinking about the problems we all have dealing with appointments, tasks etc. I came to the conclusion that it isn't about whether I use a mini or an A5, a paper system or an electronic system. It is just that we are all expected to do so much. Way too much. It isn't possible to make a system which can deal with all of the things which are expected of us. In trying to do all of it we just make ourselves anxious, but our anxiety targets the wrong things. What to folks think? Am I just having an existential crisis?
ReplyDeleteHi Nellie
DeleteI don't think this is a silly question at all! You're quite right....the problem is, we make ourselves responsible for others' expectations of us, even when they conflict with our own goals and values. Of course, we all have to pay attention to the expectations of employers, life partners, children etc (many of which expectations we've consciously signed up for), but a failure to be able to say "No" results in overload. This is compounded by the 'always available' culture in which we live, and we need o train others to respect the fact that we are *not* always going to be available, whatever the time of day (or night). I've had to do this in my business, to stop clients from unreasonably expecting responses outside of work hours. At the end of the day all of this comes back to setting down our own markers, establishing and prioritising our own goals, knowing our own values, and using an effective tool such as a well implemented Filofax to support those resolutions.
Well said. We seem to condition ourselves to have "knee jerk" (or automatic/autonomic) responses, i.e. the/a phone rings - we run to answer it. ETC. What's cranked this up is emails and portable ones at that - we walk around with our ever-present "smart"phones and check for emails - or texts - all day long and feel anxious if we don't answer them immediately or worse - feel anxious if there is not a response to one we sent out!
DeleteI learned something a very long time ago in nurses training - the only TRUE emergencies is if someone is not breathing (you MUST get an airway open NOW) or if they are profusely bleeding (MUST be stopped ASAP) - basically, everything else can wait.
Another anxiously-producing issue we face in life today comes from merchants - I heard that yesterday (in the US) it was "Halloween Tuesday" heralding the beginning of SHOPPING for Halloween (which falls on Oct.31) - are you kidding me??!! This makes people feel like they have to "hurry" to stay on track or to catch up, etc. Same for Christmas shopping. It alls lead to a constant, underlying sense of urgency/panic/anxiety which is not only nuts - it can lead to ill health over the long haul. No good. We all need to SLOW it down!! :) and that includes not allwoing other people to rush us.
Stepping down off soapbox now ... :)
I am waiting anxiously for my personal orange Osterley. I use fountain pens and really hate the Filofax paper. Is there another company's inserts that will fit and work well with fountain pen ink?
ReplyDeleteThe dodo pad paper is very nice, but it's a very specific layout which some people (including me!) don't get on with.
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ReplyDeleteThank you to all of you. I'm going to buy the blue Calipso compact.
ReplyDelete