Reader Under The Spotlight - Josh

I'm so excited to go "under the spotlight" after reading these profiles for a couple of years now.  To introduce myself, I'm Josh; I live in Hartford, Connecticut which is about 90 miles north of New York City.  I work as a law library assistant at a local law school and live with my partner Juan, two corgis, and several cats in a big 1892 Victorian home which we are slowly restoring.

1. When did you buy your first Filofax and what was it?  

I bought my first filofax, a personal size red Domino, in July of 2011, which means I've been using a filofax for just about exactly two years now.  I was assigned several new responsibilities at work during the summer of 2011 and realized quickly that I needed to find a way to manage all these details; after trying out the electronic calendar I did some research and went with a filofax.  My filofax really changed my life!

2. What other brands have you used or considered using?  

I've used Daytimer, which has excellent planner layouts but not so wonderful paper, Franklin Covey, and I used a Success Choice planner binder for several months.  Early in my working life I used At-A-Glance and Mead planners.  I'm currently esconced in an an older FranklinQuest binder with FranklinCovey compact inserts which is working brilliantly, but lacks the style of Filofax products.

3. Out of the organisers you own which is your current favourite (Style and Size)? 

My red personal Winchester.  It's the perfect filofax!  I would say the runner-up would be a tossup between the Domino and my navy Cavendish.  Both of these have been sold to new owners as I was no longer using them.

4. How many Filofax organisers do you own? 

Two; besides the red Winchester I also have a 1980's black slimline.

5. What is the oldest Filofax in your collection?  

Probably the slimline, which I assume is from the mid-1980s.  The Winchester was supplied with all its original inserts and sleeve all dating to 1989.

6. What do you use your Filofax for?

Everything.  I would estimate that my planner is used 70% for work and 30% for personal.  I've just completed an experiment of maintaining a separate work planner and personal planner but found the bifurcated system inefficient and unnatural for me so have transitioned back to one book.  I keep my contacts, personal and work reference information, diary, all my accounts, etc. in one book.

7. What was the feature about Filofax you like most?  

Really honestly the fact that I can maintain one book with all this disparate information inside.  I am a very disorganized person and being able to maintain all the important stuff in one easily portable book allows me to function like a responsible adult.

8. If you could design your own Filofax what would it feature? 

BIG RINGS! Why the heck does Filofax think that busy people can fit everything into 23mm rings?  They are too small.  I find even 30mm rings somewhat lacking for my needs, but much better than the smaller 23mm size.  Every binder should have a secretarial pocket, and covers built like a book (with a spine, hinge, and cover) so they will both lie flat AND be rigid (why is this so difficult for the modern Filofax to achieve? The Winchester pulls it off without a hitch.)

9. How do you carry your Filofax?  

I carry it in my hand or in my messenger bag.  I always stick with personal size or FC compact as I need the planner to be very easy to tote in one hand while running around at work.

10. Which Filofax in the current range do you like the most? Are you going to buy it?  

Orange Osterley.  I don't think I'll buy one, but I keep admiring them!  I love the color!

11. What is the most you have ever spent on a Filofax? Which model?  

Certainly my Winchester, which was in brand-new-in-box condition and for which I paid about $150.

12. What's your favourite Filofax tip or hack?  

Use a set of A-Z index dividers to organize the content of the planner.  Twitter user @aspire_to_be was using this setup in her Cuban and I thought it was a great idea.  I tried it and have used it continuously ever since.  I saw too that Philofaxer had written a post about this method of organizing the planner.

13. Turning to Philofaxy, what do you like the most?  

I love the set-up or "how I use my filofax to manage my very busy life" posts; my favorites are Judith's posts about her personal and pocket malden setups, which taught me so much and really are great examples of "all-in-one" planners.

14. And what do you not like about Philofaxy?  

Sometimes I wish that there was a better topical organizing system (a taxonomy) for the various topics discussed.  Some posts I want to find take a while to locate (such as the ones from a couple of years ago outlining the various diary insert options for the personal size).

15. What was the last music track you downloaded or bought?  

Loretta Lynn "We've come a long way baby" on vinyl.

16.  Kate Middleton or Katie Perry?  

Neither; Patsy Stone.  I love AbFab.


Thank you Josh, you can catch up with Josh on his You Tube channel and his blog.   If you would like to feature as a 'Reader Under The Spotlight', please contact philofaxy at gmail dot com