Reader Under The Spotlight - Nicole

I’m Nicole and I have just finished my BA in English Literature and History at University of Huddersfield. My ultimate ambition is taking my PhD and becoming a lecturer in medieval history. I also would like to be more active in blogging about my organisational habits and my Filofax.

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

My first Filofax was a raspberry personal Metropol, given to me for Christmas two years ago by my parents. It now has some very sad scuffs and chipped off pieces but I can’t bear to part with it! It’s been everywhere with me and has kept me organised while I’ve been at university.

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

I’ve never used any other binder brand but I’ve always loved diaries and journals so I’ve tried most UK high street branded stationary. It was a revelation to try my own Filofax and have only the things I wanted in it.

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

During term-time I use a black A5 Finsbury every day which is so classy and smells amazing! However, since I’m between my BA and my MA and I’m not very busy I’m using a personal Kent with a week per page and just plain notepaper which I have found quite freeing, compared to the detail of my A5 planner. The Kent is a little softer too.

4. How many Filofax organisers do you own?

I currently own three: the raspberry personal Metropol, a black personal Kent and my black A5 Finsbury.

5. What is the oldest Filofax in your collection?

The Kent is the oldest; it came with a blank 2003 diary in! I don’t know how long the person before me had it but it came in the original box, so I’m guessing it could be a fair bit older than 2003? Leave a comment below if you know!!

6. What do you use your Filofax for?  

My A5 Finsbury is the centre of my life while I’m at university as I have to be organised from minute to minute and the extra page space for the A5 is so helpful. I use it during term time to keep track of classes, deadlines and ‘homework’, as well as the hours I was working and my general to-dos like laundry! It also acts as a notebook for now while I start my research for my MA dissertation.

My Kent is my ‘throw in the bag’ Filofax so I put shopping lists and meal plans in it and general notes I find myself making whilst I’m out and about, as well as my little diary which was so difficult to get used to after a day per page!

My Metropol holds my spare personal inserts and is mainly just to be looked at for the moment. Maybe soon I’ll feel less upset at the thought that she will wear out and just carry on using her until that happens.

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

I love the fact that Filofaxes are so flexible. At the moment my life is in flux so being able to switch diaries as often as I need to helps me stay on top of things without lugging around a huge amount of paper! I also like the option to customise and add different inserts. I haven’t yet, but will get round to, making my own dividers and sheets. Philofaxy, and all of the other Filofax blogs, are so inspiring!

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

I don’t use the card slots in any of my Filofaxes so I would just have one full side-loading zip pocket and one general side pocket in the front and a full-sized top loading pocket in the back with two pen loops. I also need something quite hardy with the fact that I quickly throw my Filofaxes in my bag, forgetting the crumbs, the uncapped pens and everything else in my bag. Bad Nicole! Oh and I would probably have quite small rings since I only have one diary and notepaper in my Filofax usually, but as I said I like having the opportunity to put whatever I want in so maybe I would have large rings!

9. How do you carry your Filofax?

In my hand, constantly! It even comes from room to room in my (tiny) house because I love having it around that much. I need to have it within easy reference distance. As I said, I do have a bad habit of throwing my Filofaxes carelessly in my bag so I should really stop doing that!

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

If I had the money I would buy a grey or ochre Malden because they are so beautiful. On the other hand, I do want a really brightly coloured Filofax again so I might have to go for a Calipso. I won’t be buying any for a while as the MA is quite expensive and I doubt I will be able to afford a new Filofax, sadly. I will have to be satisfied with looking at other people’s Filofaxes on the internet!

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

I spent about £25 on my A5 Finsbury from eBay so not very much!! I was extremely happy with that as I’m sure you can all imagine!

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

Buy a decent hole punch!! I bought the plastic Filofax one for personal and it drove me crazy. Also be critical of the way you use your Filofax. At first I carried around a very full, heavy Filofax but only used a tiny percentage of the pages. If I had carried on I would have stopped using it, but I took loads of paper out and suddenly my Filofax was magical again.

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

I love the sense of community. It’s nice to feel part of a group of people where you can ask questions, support each other and share everything. I also like the fact that the writing is black on cream because I work with a lot of dyslexics and this is a lot easier to read for them, so I appreciate it now more than black writing on a white background.

14. And what do you not like about Philofaxy?

I would like more user-generated content, like a guest blogger spot.

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

None of the above! I have Spotify so I stream my music. I’m obsessed with Emeli Sandé’s Wonder at the moment.

16.  Mark Darcy or Daniel Cleaver? 

Mark Darcy. I love a Christmas jumper!

Thank you Nicole for appearing under our spotlight. If you would like to appear in this feature please contact philofaxy at gmail dot com