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
24 September 2013
Free For All Tuesday No 138
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
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ReplyDelete2nd attempt ........Grrrrrrr How many planners are too many planners? Or how many planners do you need to own, to know that you have enough? Or is there such a thing as too many planners?
ReplyDeleteI think it depends on the individual! Some people want 1 planner for life. Some want a collection that looks pretty on the shelf. Some people want a rotation that they can switch between when they get bored. When I was using a personal filo as my planner, I think my optimum amount was 4 or 5 in my rotation, because then I could switch between them every few weeks and not get bored. But then I had a few personals and pockets sitting on the shelf, not in my rotation, and never being used- so I sold them. That's when I think there are too many- if they aren't being used, and you are just keeping them for the sake of it, and they aren't even considered to be part of a 'collection'. At that point, personally I try to de-bond with them and sell them!
DeleteNow I'm in an A5, I have 3 that I switch between for my main planner in my rotation, and I'm happy with that... but I have room in my rotation for a couple more. I have other filos which are used for other purposes, but as long as they're being used, I don't think it's too many!
For me, with my rotation and my filos actually in use for other purposes, I think my optimum number is around 15 (but I haven't counted recently!!)
Two :)
DeleteJust a random question. .. am i the only one who doesn't decorate my filofax pages? I am so easily distracted by the colours and pretty things, i can't focus on the important things!
ReplyDeleteNo, you are not. Too much perky is cryptonite. Hey, let´s go and sulk to some distant corner together!
DeleteLol!
DeleteLol!
DeleteLol!
Deletein a word no.....
DeleteI don't decorate my planner pages. I've never been a doodler or a decorator type.
DeleteI'm with this lot in the 'sulky' corner!! But seriously, I don't know if it's my age, but I did try out some jolly stickers one time, but ended up hating them being on my pages. I am creative in other areas but I like my Filo to look business-like. I do sometimes highlight an entry if it is especially important, but usually do this by drawing a sort of cloud shape around it in a different coloured ink. I also use small sticky tabs for a couple of regular weekly tasks, which I can move from week to week and not have to keep writing them every time.
DeleteI love looking at other people's beautifully decorated pages, but it's not for me personally as I know I'd find it too visually busy & distracting. However, I do use some alphabet stamps for the titles for my to-do lists.
DeleteI like my diary pages to look business like. I do add calendar stickers and just a few... not many... event stickers, like little cup cakes for coffee out, a London bus for when I'm there, a huge Union Jack for when Prince George was born.But just the odd smattering, as I once went overboard and my work diary instead of looking unique began to look like a reception class decoration project!! Lots of diary stickers but not many event... ie fun stickers. I find it can look childish, embarassing when you whip your diary out at a meeting, or in a professional context, and if my diary is too busy it fails for me.... I easily miss the important...I need to see space to filter the important... hence an A5 and not personal. I tried highlighters, but they were even more distracting. I compromised on the washi tape too for space, page thickness reasons and also a business like look. I use washi for my information pages, address book pages meal planner, shopping list and tv planner, so I have some fun decorating, but not appropriate for my diary pages. I find that a great compromise. I use Martha Stewart rain drop stickies for other people's diary appointments which may affect mine.... like my dad and God Daughters being away on holiday.
DeleteI decorate mine, but it tends to be with Washi Tapes as there are loads out there and you can be as businesslike or as pretty as you like. I make cards and things so like to prettify things :)
DeleteNot at all. Some of use it as intended with minimal accenting for purposes of reminders, not just to fill in a blank space. Nothing wrong for those 'scrapbookers' who have found a new medium for their crafting outlet...I also like my planner to look orderly and business like but not stuffy or overwhelming with decorations. I think there is a balance to strike..for me :-)
DeleteI really can't see how people have SPACE to decorate so much! I use a week-to view A5 diary, and it's literally full - I mean maybe the odd half-inch gap, but certainly no space for some monstrously large nodding cat or anything. My planner itself is my personal planner (I use a separate a4 month-to-view for work) and so it is not formal or business in style - it's purple, with some photos of my kids, and with pretty sticky notes on the fly leaf. However, I would still feel a bit embarrassed if I pulled it out to make a date and the diary page was covered in stickers and stuff. And I would struggle to keep track of my life, my husband's work hours, my kids' after school activities, church activities, when the baby's with the childminder, social stuff... I think a diary for me has to FUNCTION, and enable me to keep a bird's-eye-view of my life and schedule. I don't think washi tape would help me to do that!
DeleteI limit my use of colour to dots, postit notes and highlighter used to emphasize. I find too much colour distracting.
DeleteI tried, but it didn't take. I even bought washi tape and I have stickers, but it's just not me. I don't really enjoy it as much as others. It's not completely business and bare, but I really only use 2-3 pens and that's it. A lot of Filofaxers leave it bear, but we don't hear about them because there are a lot of those who do show it off. :)
DeleteI don't decorate. My Filofax is a tool, not a toy......
DeleteNo, I don't decorate. I agree with David, it's a tool. I want it to function as that.
DeleteI'm also in the 'sulky' corner. I see pictures of pretty, colourful Filofaxes and admire the expression, personality, freedom and fun of the owner. Unfortunately decorations would bug me after the novelty wore off, so my limit is coloured inks.
DeleteDecorating is not for me - I would find it distracting and I'm not fond of most of the stickers, tape in any case. But I like seeing what others do!
DeleteJust a quickie to say that I spotted the FF Saffiano on sale in Costco this week. If anyone is interested in purchasing one, they are the Personal size in the green and purple colours. £23 inc vat if I recall correctly.
ReplyDeleteJust a random fact I thought I'd share with you...
ReplyDeleteI play an online game & it can be hard to come up with a character name that hasn't already been used, so my most recent one is called Saffiano :)
I did try using Saffiano as a PC password on my work computer, but it won't accept double letters together :(
DeleteI have been wobbling back and forth a bit planner wise lately, downsizing to an Aqua Malden pocket for a more or less pure diary (Week on one page with notes), but for courses, projects, work notes etc I need bigger pages. I do love the A5 Flex, but the grey notebooks are soooo boring I could cry. Black would be a million times better. Even pink. Aqua. Brown paper coloured. Anything. But I still do have a high threshold for decoration, as it can end up looking childish and messy. I need a clean page. But today I got so sick of the two grey covers when I opened my Flex that I promptly typed 'washi tape' into Ebay - even though I think it can get a bit OTT with all that cuteness and colour. But then I found black and white ones with retro prints! I'll use them to fix black and white pics onto the covers. As the man said: If you can't beat them, join them ... Hopefully I can make covers that look less boring, but also not too busy on the eye when I open the Flex in public. Yay!
ReplyDeleteInstead of the flex, have you looked at the Arc range of disc-bound notebooks/planners in Staples? They have some beautiful black and white graphic and floral cover designs, and they share with Filofax the fantastic option to re-order pages - but are slim and light like a Flex or spiral-bound notebook. My A5 flex is really not much bigger than my personal Filofax, but has SO much more page space! And they're very affordable and have lovely thick smooth paper. Might be worth considering.
DeleteHi guys!
ReplyDeleteAs you may know, over the past year I've been from Filofax to Midori to Moleskine to Filofax to Midori to DIY planner and back again to Filofax! At the moment, I'm very happy in an A5 Filofax (Espresso Siena, yum!!), and I hope it will stay like that! I haven't finished setting it up, that's a job to do this week before the Philofaxy meet-up on Friday/Saturday!!
Anyway, earlier this month I made my own DIY diary (planner/calendar, not journal) out of a Leuchtturm 1917 A5 notebook- basically, I've drawn in MO2P and weekly spreads from September 2013 to the end of August 2014, and space for the rest of 2014 in there too! I have used it since September 2nd, so for 3 weeks now. I intended to use it in conjunction with my A5 Filofax, using them both in conjunction.
But since I set up my 'planner' in my A5 filo- i.e. all planning lists, notebook and other things to do with planning, but no diary in there- I've wanted to have EVERYTHING in this one filo- which means putting a diary (calendar, not journal) in there too! BUT I don't like loose-leaf diaries, because I'm terrible at archiving, and I love the ease of having a bound diary- like my Leuchtturm 1917 DIY diary- as I can just put this book on the shelf at the end of the year. Also, I didn't want to stop using my Leuchtturm diary, as I want it to be a record of my next 12-18 months! I love looking back at my past WO2P spreads!
So, I've come up with a solution! I'm going to have the Filofax brand A5 WO2P horizontal diary in my filofax. I will use this as my normal diary (calendar), for all of my appointments, to-dos, etc etc. It doesn't need to be neat and tidy, it doesn't matter if it has crossings out and changed appointments. I'm going to decorate it with a strip of washi tape at the top like I always do, and some diary stamps. Then, at the end of the month, I will open up my Leuchtturm 1917 diary and transfer everything over into there, very neatly- all of the appointments, to-dos, reminders, record of things that happened; I will take the washi tape strip off the Filofax diary page and stick it onto the Leuchtturm diary page in the same place, and I will use the same stamps I used in the Filofax page. I will add some stickers to decorate the Leuchtturm page. Then, I will throw the old Filofax pages away!
This is the best of all worlds. The Leuchtturm bound diary provides me a permanent, bound archive for my past calendar pages, which I can't achieve with loose-leaf pages, because I either lose them, or they accidentally get torn out of a binder. I can throw the old Filofax diary pages away because they're copied over into the bound diary, which is good, because I have piles of old used Filofax diary pages in my room and I don't want to make any more piles! I like reading things back and copying things over, so I don't mind transferring everything. I can do this once a week, or once a month, so it doesn't require much commitment. And as I only use stickers on bound pages, not loose-leaf pages, it gives me a chance to use these. It gives me a reason to carry on using my Leuchtturm diary, which was quite expensive, and I spent several days setting up. And it gives me a bound diary I can look back on in the future, which can sit happily on a shelf, and provides a permanent record of important things such as my cats' vet visits! :)
Can I ask why you keep a permanent record of your calendar? And why you don't just put the pages themselves into another Filo? I keep my old diary pages in a drawer for about a month after buying the new years' inserts but then chuck it!
DeleteHi Jacqui,
DeleteI like to look back on my old diary pages, I love seeing all the colours, all of my scribblings, how busy I was, what I achieved, etc etc :) Also, they are important for me to keep track of things like doctor and vet visits etc. I could just keep the Filofax pages in a storage binder, and this is something I may do in the future, but at the moment I want to find a use for my Leuchtturm diary, and also I prefer the idea that it's difficult to rip pages out of a bound diary, but it could be quite easy to lose pages out of a binder if the 6 holes got ripped!
Hey PTS,
DeleteI´ve wrestled with the same A5 FIlofax/Fauxdori/bound notebook system this year.
I need to have everything in one place and a Midori sized composition just became too tough to write on- it being so narrow (albeit wildly attractive) but A5 ended up being large as a house and then I had the unfortunate luck to get crappy rings on Malden. WHY! Loved the leather, hated the rings and actively kept on hating the rings as they tore through the pages on daily pages.
... I spent a very active day cutting away the ringsystem and glued cardboard from spine from my Malden. I then managed to neatly sew it all back into one binder, only much narrower and threaded two elastic ribbons at the spine- much like Midori and now the Malden leather is all supple and bendy for me to pet, the binder is reasonably sized and oh, so much more manageable (sizewise I suppose it´s somewhere close to the larger medium Gillio and it just fits A5 notebook inside). I honestly have never been happier with my planner organisation, the look and feel of it. Once the ring system got shooed out and the cardboard got painstakingly removed, the leather is now enjoying its new-found liberty and softness.
Thanks for that Perpetual Student :) Really interesting to hear how people treat the departing year, diary-wise. I wasn't familiar with the Leuchtturm range, so Googled it. They look fab though and the page format looks good. Probably a good thing my local stationers doesn't carry them, otherwise I might develop another habit!
DeleteWeirdRockStar - that's quite a hack you did there. I would love to see what your Malden looks like now. Have you considered doing a 'Reader Under the Spotlight' piece for the site?
DeleteJacqui Emm, my Malden now looks like a Malden, just more like a book instead of a ring binder. I even kept the Filofax- logo and stiched it at the very back of the spine (because my old Balmoral, I respect the history and craftmanship that Filofax used to have) for pure sentimental reasons. I´ve also given the leather several soakings in medium brown leather creme to tame the harsh white stitching and the new stitching I made, I made with medium brown strong thread (used in leatherwork). I also have soaked the leather several times in mink oil and olive oil and neutral leather cremes and many evenings I apply my natural oil- based handcreme from my hands to the covers. Have you seen that Gillio scratch test? It´s also capable to do with Malden leather and with much deeper dents as long as leather is properly conditioned.
DeleteI wouldn´t mind making a post at some time but in respecting of Filofaxy´s "ring binder"- policy I´m not entirely certain this post would be something Ffaxers would be that keen to see. However, to me this was a perfect solution. I refused to let the brown vintage leather of Malden to go unused and it simply could not be used with those rings. At the same time my son´s Malden has thicker, more fantastic leather and better rings- even if they are not perfect either, but I knew Malden can be great and mine was a constant reminder of fooling this customer. Well... I figured I don´t have a degree and history in sewing and designing for nothing and went for it. Now I have bettered the leather by worlds by nourishing it and I have managed to use the elastic band idea from Midori that I so loved and found useful- not to mention that this way my writing space is maximized.
Summa summarum, a Malden hack is doable but it is not for the faint- hearted. I would strongly recommend some experience in leatherwork before taking on this task. And then just take a deep breath and jump. You might be left with a fantastic end- result. I did.
WeirdRockStar, if you would be interested in doing a guest post on Plannerisms showing how you did this I'd be thrilled to have you there! I get lots of Philofaxy readers so everyone would still see how you did it while still respecting the ring-binder content of Philofaxy. :)
DeleteShuur, sweetness. For about a month or so I´m stuck in paperwork limbo with just some odd moments here and there to spare but if we can think about it Oct-Nov I´d be happy to go about the "how to" or at least show some pictures how the puppy came out.
DeleteAbsolutely no rush and no pressure. You can email me at Laurie at Plannerisms dot com whenever works for you. :)
Delete(By the way that's me up there as worldwide, logged in under the wrong account!)
Your email has been transferred to my Brains and I´ll jump on the case of Filohackerism when time is fine and dandy.
DeleteExcellent!
DeleteOh and funnily enough, I only now figured out the "worldwide". The mere mention of Plannerisms rings a very familiar bell already.
Deleteworldwide was the ID I commented under way back in the days before Plannerisms existed and before I was a contributor here on Philofaxy. Seems like a long time ago now!!
DeleteSo time flies when you´re having fun, huh?
DeleteI´m just so familiar with loitering around the net amongst the planning posse that I must admit... I sometimes even dream of note- making and people around this whole subject.
I would love to see your efforts WRS. Like you, I increasingly dislike rings but haven't found a decent planner that will fit inside an A5 leather cover. Midori is A5 tall but, at 100mm wide, too narrow. Plannerisms is a great planner but frustratingly Imperial-sized and too tall to fit in anything designed for A5 (sorry Laurie). A compromise for me was the monthly large Moleskine which is A5 tall and 130mm wide. So I made two covers using cutdown Filofax binders. My first was using an old A5 Kendal. The second was from an A5 Flex cover. Both have worked - especially the Flex where it now has a flap cover to protect the exposed booklet edge. Like you, this is not probably not the best blog to show ringless hacked covers! And yes, I still have two ringed Filofaxes!
DeleteI wonder if the Plannerisms planner would fit into a Franklin wire-bound cover Classic size. Their Classic size planners have the same page size (5 1/2 by 8 1/2 inches) as the Plannerisms planners, so it seems like it should fit. The Franklin covers have loads of pockets and pen loops. Here is one:
Deletehttp://franklinplanner.fcorgp.com/uk/category/prod1050018/UK-BSOY/Slim-Open-Wire-bound-Cover
Here's a leather cover: http://franklinplanner.fcorgp.com/uk/category/prod2380041/UK-Planning-Essentials-And-Favorites/Breckenridge-Wire-bound-Cover
DeleteHullo, Tim. I actually had to remove a smidgen more leather from the center-back since the rings were originally positioned a wee crooked, the covers really had to be made symmetrical in size and position. So while the A5 fits very well, I did try a large Moleskin notebook in it and PERFECTION ACHIEVED! Visually it´s just all very pleasing.
DeleteFor this year I will continue using everything that I already do. I have WO2P and MO2P in Midori print and original size and while it´s too narrow, it works still and I don´t need more space (for 2014 there will be WO1P on A5´ish and I plan to draw the weekly pages on Staples notebooks since they are insanely thin paper and don´t show through more than my creme 80 gr.papers) and for the DPP and monthlies I will buy a Ajasto Anno-calendar in A5, its paper is very thin yet holds ink from fountainpens like a champ. For Chronodex... I forsee either carving my own stamp or printing them on A5 sticky notes to slap aside the DPP. This year I have the same DPPs that I find to be the perfection. If it ain´t broken...
Also another bonus... I now can fit as much as I need, in between the covers without any restrictions of ringsizes. Or them being broken.
Thanks for trying to find a solution Laurie! Yes, a Plannerism would fit in one of these, but a very loose fit! With a Plannerism measuring about 140x225x13mm (in new money!) and a Franklin Breckenridge 186x247x26mm, it wouldn't look great! An A5 Flex cover is 164x225x18mm but the pockets won't take anything taller than 217mm! If only the Plannerism was A5.. (you know my view!)
DeleteI've just had an idea though. As the Plannerism is not actually taller than the Filofax Flex cover, converting a Flex to Midori style by drilling holes and fitting elastic as Gail did http://gailwheatley.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/filofax-flex-conversion.html (and as Ray as created in (My Life in One Place) ought to work! I may try this!
(Good job this post is Free For All Tuesday!)
Hi Tim, their cover measurements are the exterior dimensions of the cover. The planner books those covers are designed to hold are the FC Classic size wire bound planner books, which have the same page dimensions as the Plannerisms, so I'm assuming the books themselves would be the same size and would therefore slot into the covers the same.
DeleteThe Plannerisms exterior cover dimensions as measured by me are: 8 5/8 inches (22 cm) tall, 5 5/8 inches (14.4 cm) wide. Thickness is 1/2 inch, 1.3 cm.
Thanks Laurie - I estimated the size as I no longer have the my 2013 Plannerism. I do clearly remember that it was like trying to fit the ugly sister's foot into the prince's slipper (Cinderella). No matter how I huffed and puffed, it would not fit into any of the Filofax Flex pockets! It was about 3 or 4mm too tall! I was gutted! Even trimming the cover didn't work as it the just revealed the stiffening card and looked awful! I then dismantled my Plannerism (there's a lot of glue!) and punched the pages for Filofax use. This worked for a while but defeated the purpose of wanting a bound document that represented the year 2013.
DeleteI agree that the Plannerisms would fit into these FC covers - but not a snug fit! These FC binders would be fine on a desk but are almost as big as a typical bulky A5 Filofax. I know you agree ( from your many posts on the subject) that portability is key! A binder that is too big just gets left at home - no use at all!
I will look at making a Midori style Flex cover. If it works with a Moleskine monthly, I'll try Plannerism once again for 2014.
Hi Laurie - Would you ever consider bringing out sets of Filofax inserts based on the Plannerism system? I LOVE your organizational system and the styling of your pages and would love to be able to use them in my FF.
DeleteHi Laurie! Actually I discussed looseleaf inserts with my publisher last year, but they decided to stick with just the bound book for now and if it takes off then they'll consider branching out into different sizes and types. The Plannerisms 8 daily columns would work well with A5 (since that's approximately the size the bound ones are) but in Personal size I think the daily columns would be too narrow to be useful. I have played around with a version of it though, hand-drawn on Personal Filofax pages, and if people really want it I can approach my publisher about it. Too late for 2014 but maybe a possibility for 2015!
DeletePhew!! I didn't realise that comment would be so long!!!
ReplyDeleteI have been using daily pages with my week on two pages insert since the beginning of the year. A couple of months ago, I switched to a compact Filofax from a personal Pimlico. The daily pages have a lot of space to write everything. I write appointments, tasks, projects, notes, etc. on the pages, and then I write the finished items with a check mark on my weekly pages. Before using the daily pages, I wrote tasks, appointments, etc. for the week on a piece of paper or notepad. Essentially, my system is the same but I have replaced the piece of paper for each week with daily pages. I save my monthly and weekly pages but I don't know if I will save all of the daily ones. My weekly pages show what I finished whereas my daily pages have some items that I did not complete that day. I have the Filofax cotton cream Wo2P insert and my daily pages (a few weeks at a time) in my compact Filofax for the rest of this year. For 2014 I may buy a Franklin Covey day on a page insert with no times. The pack includes the monthly calendar but I don't think I will put it in my binder due to limited space. I have the 2014 cotton cream Wo2P insert. If I buy the FC pages, I hope that I can trim them enough to fit in my planner.
ReplyDeleteI keep my diary pages - I have them back to 2006. 2006 - 2011 I used a day-per-page pocket, 2012 - Aug 2013 I used personal week-to-view. Every couple of months I take out old pages and I bundle each year together with a treasury tag through the top and bottom holes. I keep them all in a vintage tin on a shelf. I have just switched to an a5 arc planner, so I plan to archive by buying the largest discs (which will easily fit a few years of pages) and effectively making an archive book. I never did this with Filofaxes because I felt the binders were too expensive just to sit on a shelf with old pages in them - but a set of arc discs are £2, so that's not an issue. I don't look at my old pages very often, but I like having the 'real' ones, with all the scribbles and mess and tea stains and 'real life' all over them. TPS, I would never have the patience to copy them all out - wow! You could SCAN them, and then get the images made into a photo book? just a thought.
ReplyDeleteFor those of you not in the Facebook Filofaxes & Pens For Sale group, have a little look at this eBay listing: A5 Malden on eBay
ReplyDeleteOne of the photos on the listing belong to me & two of them belong to KateTPS!! I contacted the seller to politely ask which FF was for sale as they all looked a little different? (haha, trying to stay neutral to see if they confessed)
Long story short, sounds like a number of us have contacted the seller & the listing has now been removed. Way to go Philofaxy detectives!! (sorry to anyone that bid, but who knows what the actual item looked like :)
He keeps removing it and then relisting it lol :)
Delete