Web Finds - 31 December 2013

So the last web finds of 2013... time to open a bottle of something chilled sparkling and fizzy, finish off those chocolate truffles before the New Year springs upon us all.

So here are the latest Filofax blog posts from around the Internet:

1. CROSS personal - The Filofax
2. Vanilla Paris bags and Gillios - This Bugs Life
3. Zen-To Done 9: Set Routines - Cloudberry Musings
4. Setting up for the New Year - It's Bluetiger
5. Goals to projects to next actions - Paper Pens Ink
6. In this day and age, how do you find your way around a Filofax? - The News
7. Filofax Personal Richmond - The Filofax
8. Collections - Part 1 - This Bugs Life
9. Putting 8.5 x 11 paper into Your A5 Planner - The Contemplative Belle
10. My planning system, 2014 - Paper Pens Ink
11. Collections – Part 2 - This Bugs Life
12. Monthly Notes & Reminder pages for Filofax - The Filofax
13. Zen-To-Done 10: Find your passion - Cloudberry Musings
14. Gillio meetup in Antwerp - a little late ;oD - Chrissie's Universe
15. Preference Collection 2014 Diary Refills - Yay, for Fridays!
16. Paul Smith Swirl Agenda - This Bugs Life
17. My filofax collection - anYiu
18. History of Filofax & Rounce - The Filofax
19. A tour of my Filofax - En Vogue Pogue
20. The red croco Compagna!!! :o)) - Chrissie's Universe
21. The lure of the limited edition, the discontinued and the rare - This Bugs Life
22. Some gratuitous photos of my pink Smythson personal planner - Zoe At Home
23. Filofax  4HLF  7/8 Real Hide (Tan) - The Filofax
24. The shreds of my own frustration - The Crazy Suburban Mom
25. Simple Brilliance: Tick Marks - Giftie Etcetera 
26. My Personal Filofax Aston in Purple - Kwala Love
27. Filofax Writing Case - Natalie Fergie
28. Filofax Fans: my apologies! - Kel and Filofax
29. More to do than you can do - GTD Times
30. Creating a Manifestation List for 2014 - Rhodia Drive
31. 2013 Wrap Up - Lime Tree Fruits
32. Frohes neues Jahr! - Filomaniac
33. My 2014 Planner Set-up - Giftie Etcetera
34. Compact Holborn Setup Update 2014! - The Filofax Lifestyle
35. Launching a New Week, Part One - Clarifilo
36. Launching a New Week, Part Two - Clarifilo
37. Document your hopes and dreams and goals - I Love It All
38. Filofax 2014 Set Up A5 Pennybridge Project Planner - Rhomany's Art Journal
39. My Brand New Filofax! - Bits and Pieces 
40. Filofax Pretties: It's A New Year! - So Joey
41. Reflections on 2013 - Cloudberry Musings
42. Cheers! 10 Ideas for a Successful New Year - Day Timer Blog

• We can not guarantee people will read your posts, but we know there is a higher chance of people reading your posts and returning to read other posts if you make them interesting with pictures and good hints and tips. Do not forget to give your posts a title... 
• For some general tips on Filofax Blogging, please see this post

Here are the 'My Week' posts.

1. Planner week 49 & 50 - Planet Millie
2. My week #89 - Paper Lovestory
3. My Week: 23-29 November 2013 - Hop Skip Jump 
4. Weekly Post #49 - Miss Mai's Adventures
5. WEEK(s) IN REVIEW: 12.16.13 - 12.29.13 - Innocent & Twisted
6. My Week #52 - Ink Stickers Notebooks
7. My filofax week: december round up - Even artichokes have hearts
8. Week in Photos & Links Week #52 - The Contemplative Belle
9. my week #26 - Coffee & Stationery
10. Last Post: My Filofax Week #52 - My Purpley Life
11. Weekly Post #50 - Miss Mai's Adventures
12. My Week # 6 - Break of Light
13. Week 52– Life Mapping Weekly Chit Chat - DiYFish
14. My Week #52 - Life of Kitty
15. My planner week #1 - Deligted
16. My Week #52, 2103 - Fi-Lily, Fi-Lo
17. Week 52 and December After Shots - Carie Harling
18. January & Week 1 Before Shots - Carie Harling
19. My Week #52 - Just a Girl... Atlanta
20. Filofax: Week 52 - Crafty Island Girl
21. Filofax Pretties: Week 52 - So Joey

And here are a selection of the latest Filofax videos for your enjoyment.

1. Unwrapping of my new purple Filofax Apex - PlannerLuv
2. Personal Kanban Productivity System in my FILOFAX - My Summer Touch
3. A Surprise FILOFAX RAK and Marry Christmass and Happy New Year! - My Summer Touch
4. Gillio set ups - medium blue and black croco - Alice Photis
5. When Harry met Scarlett-my new to me Gillio brown croco compagna - Debbie Hockedy
6. DIYFish Dec setup - Katherine Dobbs Roberts
7. Filofax Malden December Flip through, storage binder disaster and Midori art practice journal - Tracy Reinhardt
8. DIY Fish Color Code Index Tutorial - Katherine Dobbs Roberts
9. Weekly Filofax Page Decoration: Yellow/Purple Theme for Week 1 of 2014 - Ruby Dumbrique

• For tips on how to improve your videos, please see this post. 

If you attempted the Christmas Day Crossword, but you are still struggling here is the answer sheet.

Enjoy and Happy New Year, I'm off to put a bottle or two in the fridge...

Free For All Tuesday - No. 152

Tuesdays are your chance to ask any Filofax related questions you might have.

So fire away and we will collectively try to answer your questions or offer opinions.

Wishing you all the best for 2014,

A date for your diary - 5 January 2014

New York	London	Paris	Sydney

We are going to run another conference round-table voice chat using Skype.

I'm sure we are gradually getting to know each other's voices, but I will make a point of going 'around the table' to get everyone to introduce themselves this time.

So...When, Where, What, Who and How?

When? - Sunday 5 January  from 8:30am London time, 9:30am Paris time, 7:30pm Sydney time and 9:30pm Wellington time. This session will last 2-3 hours

Additionally I will be on line at 8am San Francisco 10am Chicago, 11am New York, 4pm London time, 5pm Paris time etc.  This session will also last 2-3 hours

See the clocks at the top of this post to see roughly what time you should be on line. Or the World Clock

The timing of these two sessions have been chosen to hopefully allow as many people to join in compared to previous round-tables. The timing of future ones will be varied to suit everyone if need be.

Where? - an on-line chat using Skype.

What do I need? - just a micro-phone and some head phones(in ear phones work fine) and a free Skype account. Using headphones or earphone reduces 'echo' on the call.

Who - All of you... connect up with Philofaxy and we will attempt to get as many of us linked in to the audio conference as possible. Come and listen if you don't want to chat.  What do we talk about? Filofax stuff... but anything else as well. It's like long lost friends meeting up for coffee and a catch up.. but don't worry if you have never joined in before... you are an old friend too!

How -

1. Connect to Philofaxy by firstly searching for Philofaxy in Skype, I will then add you as a contact.
2. Then  'Send Contact Request',  I will then add you in to the chat room. 
3. Then if you request it, I can add you to the audio conference as well. But if you just want to chat via keyboard that's fine. That way it's slightly less hectic for me! 

Come and join in the fun, even if you only pop in to say hello...

As with previous round-tables there will also be a parallel text chat room going at the same time as the voice conference, so you can listen to the voice chat and type if you wish.

If you need any assistance setting up Skype, please pop a comment in this post and I will try and help you get one line. Skype is free for computer to computer calls....

Here is my post on how to improve your Skype audio with headphones or a headset.

Hope to be chatting with you on Sunday 5 January 2014.

Taking notes...

So I recently shared my thoughts with you about being 'organised' so we have got ourselves an organiser (or two)! Today I would like to give some thought to what we write in our organisers, with view to improving the quality of what we write in there.

So this might not apply to you, you might already be an excellent note taker, if this is the case I hope you will share some of your secrets of success with us or me specifically.

So what triggered this post.. ok let me step back a little and explain. Firstly I never went to university... unless you count 'The University of Life'. Does this matter? Well I've worked with plenty of young graduates in my time, trained quite a few as well. I admire their ability to adapt quickly to a topic and absorb new ideas and learnings.

Most but not all of them took excellent notes which they were able to refer back to and then use in their work...

If I'm in a meeting (rare these days) or in a class (French in my case) then I find it difficult to make meaningful notes at the same time as listening and taking part in the meeting/class. So how do you guys do it?

Now I'm sure applying any lessons I learn from this shared knowledge will improve the notes I/we write in my/our Filofax organisers and won't result in me trying to workout what my short notes refer to days or weeks later!! Yes it is sometimes that bad!!

So to get started on this I did some searching around on the web, naturally a lot of the posts are written with students in mind. But I'm sure we can adapt them to our own use.

• Hints on good note taking
• Classes: Notetaking, Listening, Participation

I'm sure there are plenty of other examples just search for 'Note taking' on Google and you will find lots of others.

One thing I have learnt with note taking or in formulating ideas in my Filofax is record your thoughts, get them on paper, it doesn't matter if it looks messy, you can always rewrite it later on a fresh bit of paper.

A Filofax is flexible enough to accept updated pages without having to leave your original notes in there. So let's use that flexibility.

Do you have any tips you can share on this topic??? Pop them in the comments, thank you

Reader Under The Spotlight - Sarah Pings

Hi, I'm Sarah Pings and I'm a 50 something UK Filofaxer. I teach Business Studies, English, and Information Technology to International  GCSE students (14-16 yrs old) in Brighton on the South Coast of England.  My pre-teaching background is in Advertising, Film Production and second time around as academic researcher in Linguistics and Neuroscience.  If I could live in another place and time I would have been a cryptographer at Bletchley Park during WW2.  Yeah, I'm a bit of a nerdy mix. I also Quilt.

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

My first Filofax was back in the 80s when I worked in Advertising (clichéd or what?!)  I think it was a navy blue Winchester.  I remember it being absolutely stuffed to the gills … In those days we had so many production companies that produced their info on Filofax inserts, you could carry around a virtual wikipedia …  There was never a problem with strap length ...just sayin' ...

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

I was a big fan of Lefax organisers (I worked in Covent Garden, London back in the day)  I spent many a lunch or after-work hour in their shop.  They had a fabulous array of colours and styles – including magnetic clasps and such like *swooning at memory, can almost taste the Pina Coladas …

3. Out of the organisers you own which is your current favourite (Style and Size)?
It’s no secret that I’m an A5 girl and I really am the biggest fan of the Chameleon and regret not buying one in Aqua when I could have afforded it.  I love the leather, I love the pattern and I love the colours.  I just wish it were available in every colour … Why? Well, the suppleness of the leather and the internal layout for one, and the fact that its texture is delicate.  I’m not a big fan of croc or wrinkle or shine.  My mother always told me that patent was only suitable for  weddings.  I know it’s not true but I still hear her voice.

4. How many Filofax organisers do you own?
I have 11 …. Lmao!

• 1 Deskfax (olde worlde address book and random writings), 
• 7 A5s – Finsbury: Turquoise (Household), Emerald Green (medical); Domino: Black (recipes), Snake (work swap out); Chameleon: Raspberry (diary/dreams), Black (finance), Spring Green (work/life); 
• 1 Personal: Spring Green Chameleon (interwebs/contacts), 
• 1 Pocket: Spring Green Chameleon (wallet) and 
• 1 Mini Raspberry Chameleon (to be sold) *eek!

5. What is the oldest Filofax in your collection?

My 1989 Deskfax.  It smells of old mouldy damp leather and I take it out of my desk approximately every 6 months with the full intention of using it again, only to shove it back in the drawer … that baby is heavy, man … Hard to believe I used to lug it around EVERYWHERE!

6. What do you use your Filofax for?

Writing.  Life.  Work.  Play.  Song.  Excuse for washi tape.

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

Ability to tailor to my solipsistic idiosyncratic needs.

8. If you could design your own Filofax what would it feature?
No pen loops.  Why bother?  Use the rings.  Very few pockets other than full length vertical.

9. How do you carry your Filofax?

With pride … and a prescription for my osteoporosis bone-building drugs.

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

I was soooo looking forward to the A5 Aqua Malden, but in the end, in the flesh, it was a bit *meh for me on account of being so greeeeeeen … I’m a big fan of the Finchley and the Finsbury, but it’s more about the colour and simple texture for me … I want vivid brights not all this conservative brown blue stuff that I see.  At this time I have no desire to buy another Filofax other than an A5 Aqua Chameleon for swap out …

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

I hate to admit it, but this summer I spent 100 Euros on my A5 Spring Green Chameleon. It was worth every penny and my head has not been turned by any other brand/model/size/colour since.  I have enough A5s in my collection to afford myself a swap out once in a while, but since he came into my life I have been monogafilomous. I am the only person on the planet (it seems) to have no desire for a Gillio.

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

Use it!.  It’s not about the outside, it’s about what you put inside.  Make it work for you, then you can have any bloomin’ cover on the planet and IT WILL STILL WORK FOR YOU.

It’s easy to get caught up in the acquisition phase.  In the end you either have a heap of empty planners on your shelf or a heap of used, loved planners with a system that works for you.  Use the experience of others like Ray from mylifeallinoneplace.blogspot.com – edit, remodel, experiment.  Print your own inserts.  Play.  Life is all about the Ludic. Ooh, that was less tip and more rant, sorry!

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

The wonderful wealth of information from people like Steve and Ray; the added nutty bonus of all the experience of its [mad] clientele … coupled with the sobering discovery that one person’s hate [for me, the Siena and Adelphi] is another person’s passion.  Tolerance of differences.

14. And what do you not like about Philofaxy?

Errrr …. Still thinking …. Ummm …

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

Janelle Monae the ArchAndroid  - she’s James Brown and Michael Jackson in a funky girly soul body thang.

16.  Mark Darcy or Daniel Cleaver?

Really?  Neither.  Give me Harpo Marx.

Thank you Sarah, I'm sure I'm not the only one to enjoy watching your videos!  And if you would like to be featured on Reader Under The Spotlight, do please contact me at philofaxy at gmail dot com  no need to be invited, just put yourself forward.  Thank you. 

Web Finds - 28 December 2013

So I hope you all had an excellent Christmas. Time now to sit down with a slice of Christmas cake or some mince pies and read the latest posts and watch some videos.

So here are the latest Filofax blog posts from around the Internet:

1. Wichteln im Filofax-Forum - Filo-Manie
2. Planner Status, looking forward to 2014 - Penguin Girl
3. Zen-To-Done update - Cloudberry Musings
4. Quick Answers...Planners...Which One & Why? - The Contemplative Belle
5. Franklin Covey vs. Filofax: An Important Difference - Homemakers Daily
6. Zen-To-Done 5: Simple Trusted System - Cloudberry Musings
7. Organisers and notebooks on the Christmas Sales - This Bugs Life
8. Make your own sticky Post It notes for your Filofax planner - Shabby Beautiful Scrapbooking
9. Final Planner Preparations for the New Year - The Contemplative Belle
10. Zen-To Done 6: Organise - Cloudberry Musings
11. How many LMI V02 months am I able to keep in my FILOFAX? - DiY Fish
12. Filofax stickers and hole reinforcers - This Bugs Life
13. My To Do Lists - Roses in December 
14. Free For All Friday No. 16: Capturing on Paper vs. Digitally - Plannerisms
15. Zen-To-Done 7: Review - Cloudberry Musings
16. Review: Plannerisms planner - Paper Lovestory
17. Getting ready for 2014 - Paper Pens Ink
18. Boyfriends and Buckles: My First Leather Planner - Giftie Etcetera
19. Zen-To-Done 8: Simplify - Cloudberry Musings
20. Washi- Paper Printables - Incarnations of Organization
21. Lovely leather! - Life of Kitty
22. Prepping for 2014 - Clarifilo
23. Another Change Of Direction With Dividers - Roses in December
24. Future Planning - Giftie Etcetera 
25. Family Portrait  - Thoughts and Exploration

• We can not guarantee people will read your posts, but we know there is a higher chance of people reading your posts and returning to read other posts if you make them interesting with pictures and good hints and tips. Do not forget to give your posts a title... 
• For some general tips on Filofax Blogging, please see this post

Here are the 'My Week' posts.

1. My Week #8 - Addicted to Stationery
2. Week 51 After Shots - Carie Harling
3. Week 52 Before Shots - Carie Harling
4. My Week #52 Layout - Just a Girl.... Atlanta
5. Project Life: Week 44 - Hello, I'm a Paper Addict

And here are a selection of the latest Filofax videos for your enjoyment.

1. My Purpley Life's Christmas Special 2013 - My Purpley Life
2. Video! A Look Inside my new Purple Malden Filofax! - Just a Girl... Atlanta
3. Filofax Pocket Luxe December/Holiday 2013 Set-Up - The Glossette
4. Filofax Inserts for 2014 (from Piaric) - AKCaraboo
5. Medium Croco Blue Companga - Alice Photis
6. My Color Coding System - Julia Jules
7. Filofax Week 52 Decoration Tutorial - SugarPandax3
8. My Franklin Quest Compact Binder and Pages for 2014 - Sharon Korkes
9. My NEW planner share! - Nadine Mixed Plate

• For tips on how to improve your videos, please see this post. 

Enjoy

Free For All Friday No. 267

I'm amazed that this will be my last FFAF of 2013 and I've thoroughly enjoyed contributing to the site over the year. Thank you for all your kind comments on my posts, and for your great ideas which continue to inspire me.

So, did Santa bring you all the binders and other related items that you asked for?
I joked with my husband that I sincerely hoped that no one would be giving me a Filofax as I'm very content with what I currently have. I've returned to using two binders (actually not that long after writing this post!) as I missed the extra space for helping me sort out paperwork and projects.

I hope you had a great Christmas and here's to a fantastic 2014 for us all and Philofaxy.

Filofax Malden iPad case

I reviewed the Pennybridge iPad case earlier this year. The Malden I'm reviewing today is very similar in design except it is made from the lovely soft buffalo leather which the Malden range is renowned for.

The iPad case offers a place to hold your iPad with access to all of the controls and the camera, whilst on the opposite side there are a range of card slots and a pocket to hold a notepad if you wish.

There is also an A5 organiser which slots in to an outer edge pocket. This organiser is fitted with 20 mm rings, smaller than an normal A5.

The rings themselves fit on to a black plastic stiff card and then there is a leather cover that wraps around the rings to form the spine and front cover.

The cover is very soft and pliable, the inside is lined with a contrasting textile lining.  The organiser cover has a padded section that cushions the rings against the iPad screen.

A fixed elasticated pen loop is located on the inside edge of the card slots and will take a wide range of pen sizes.

The frame around the iPad is quite think leather but if doesn't intrude in to your use of the iPad at all.

On the outside of the case on the rear there is a  slot pocket which could be used for loose papers etc.

Conventionally the iPad is on the right and the organiser and/or note pad is on the left. But I discovered that you can invert the case and without removing the iPad, just have the home button at the top, the screen auto rotates around and then if you prefer you can use the case with the notepad on the right and the iPad on the left.

The notepad slot is open top and bottom so that will work either way up.

With the organiser rings only being 20 mm and I'm used to using a 25 or 30mm A5 I thought it might be a bit of a challenge to fit everything I normally need in to the organiser.

The iPad case comes with a Filofax week per page diary insert and a set of dividers, a paper flysheet and an A5 notepad. So I removed the contents and set about putting my own set up on to the rings.

My full A-Z contact list and website information sheets went in as they are now. I added some to-do sheets and some lined note paper.

I then looked at the diary. My current Week per View diary which is the Enhanced TM Week View insert, for a full 12 months is a bit bulky as it is printed on 80gsm paper. So as a compromise I printed off a Week per Page, insert, the one I had devised with appointments and task columns. Going back through my last few months as I don't have many appointments and rarely do they take up a full line of text, I could live with this reduction of space easily.  Note, I'm still using paper for my calendar and contacts! This particular insert I designed for use with my A4 Classic, but it works fine with my A5 as well.

So I settled on the Week per Page insert and printed it off and punched it to suit and that went in to the A5 organiser as well. I was quite surprised there was still space to spare. I looked at what other pages I regularly look at in my desk A5, and moved the blog month per page diary insert across as well, putting that in to another section. And adding another ruler so I can can flick between inserts easily.

I then zipped up the case and felt the weight of it with the iPad and pages in there. Quite a heft, and it tips the scales at just under 1.5 kilogrames about three pounds in old money!  But the case easily fits in my messenger bag and that would be my usual method of carrying it.

I've found having both the iPad and the organiser together in one place quite convenient, during this last week or so. I've found that if the organiser is needed separately it is very easy to pull out of the slot and use it on it's own or to leave it on the desk and just grab the case and use the iPad on it's own with the notepad.

Thank you to Ideas Network for supplying this review sample.

The Malden A5 iPad case is available from Filofax UK and other retailers. Apple iPad not included!

Philofaxy Christmas Crossword - 2013

So just a little bit of Christmas fun, no time limits no competition. Just enjoyment. All the answers are Philofaxy or Filofax related and an answer grid will be made available if you need one.

You can download the file here, print it out and fill it in between mince pies, glasses of wine and the odd bit of chocolate.

Across 5. Secure closure 6. Filofax/Letts home 8. Place to store your pen 9. Diary insert 10. Charity supported by Philofaxy 14. For the love of Filofax 16. Royal residence in London 17. Old 3 ring mini size model 18. Cigar 20. Once a month Skype chat 22. An organiser with three sets of rings 24. Was four rings now six rings 25. Long distance Philofaxy traveller 28. Tuesdays and Saturdays on Philofaxy 30. Filofax note book

Down 1. Young upwardly mobile 2. Royal house in Scotland 3. The Italian Job 4. Cuts holes in paper 7. What you should use to open your rings 11. Rifle 12. Lizard that can change colour 13. Holborn colour 15. London N3 19. The biggest Filofax size 21. Stop on the underground on the way to Heathrow 23. English county model 26. Malden Leather 27. Holds the paper in your organiser 29. Philofaxy contributor

Happy Christmas from Chimwemwe

Christmas across the globe is a wonderful time when people celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

This is the time when families and friends meet together to share meals, gifts, joy and love. In Malawi, just like in many other places, parents and guardians do their best to treat their children with special clothes and other gifts.

Unfortunately, there are many other children whose parents and guardians have died, often due to HIV/AIDS. Without anyone to care for them, these children end up living in the streets where life is extremely difficult. To them, Christmas is a time of sadness and pain as they watch other children from well to do families celebrating with their loved ones.

Charles

Charles 8, Vincent 11 and Petred 13 are some of the children who have grown to hate Christmas due to the loss of their parents. Although all three come from different families, they became friends while living in the streets. For a while, all of them were living in the Chimwemwe Children’s Centre, but the centre had to close in late October due to financial constraints.

However, Chimwemwe has helped them to find alternative shelter. Petred is now living at the Samaritan Trust, an organization that supports street children. Charles is currently placed at Mpemba Boys’ Home, a former reformatory Center for Juveniles and Vincent is now living with his aunt in Ndirande Township – one of the biggest districts in Malawi.

For all of these children, this will be their first Christmas in these new homes. However, none of them is really keen or looking forward to Christmas this year.

Charles feels that living at Mpemba boys home is lonely and not really exciting. Christmas day will be just like any other day, and to make it worse, the children at the home will not be able to have a traditional Malawian Christmas meal which is rice and meat. Instead they will have the usual meal they eat (which feels a little like a prison meal to them).

“I really feel bad that Christmas has arrived. It’ll be so painful to see other kids celebrating with their families while we do not have an opportunity to be with our families or at least eat something nice. I look forward to see Christmas go as quick as possible,” says Charles.

Petred (far right)

For Petred this is a sad time being at the Samaritan Trust because most of the other children there have gone to be with their families, leaving only a few other children at the home. Petred will also have to do with the ordinary Malawian meal every one eats on a daily basis – vegetable stew and nsima (a starchy substance made from maize).

This is what he says:
“To be honest, I am not really looking forward to Christmas. Our friends from other families will receive gifts, new clothes and rice and beef. For me and other kids here we will have to do with an ordinary meal. I feel very lonely and isolated.” 

Vincent

Although Vincent will be with his aunt, the fact it is Christmas will mean nothing because the aunt thinks that the little resources they have must be carefully budgeted for the month of January.

“My aunt thinks that buying extra things for Christmas is a waste of the little money she has and she needs to plan for the month of January which is one of the most difficult months for most Malawians in terms of hunger.”

The story of little Charles, Vincent and Petred is a true example of what life Christmas is like for poor and vulnerable children who have been found on the wrong side of life after losing parents. However, the positive side of the story is that all these three children are being supported by Chimwemwe to go to school which is their only hope that one day they will live a decent life. This is being reflected in Petred’s own words.

“I am very hopeful of life that one day, we shall live to celebrate Christmas with joy because of the support we continue to receive from Chimwemwe. Attending school is our only hope that we shall be able to get a job and earn our own money to help us look for our own families.”

Thank you to Amanda for this timely update about our support work for the charity she works with. 

I know a lot of you have given donations throughout the year when you have sold items through Ad-spot and all these small donations all add up, and thank you for those. 

Even if you have only bought from Filofax UK, but you clicked on a Filofax link on Philofaxy then you too have contributed to Chimwemwe. 

Each time someone buys via one of those links on Philofaxy a small commission is paid in to an account.  Yesterday I made a donation on your behalf, so thank you for continuing to use the links on Philofaxy, it all goes to a very good cause.   

Individual donations to Chimwemwe are very easy to do via PayPal, with or without a PayPal account. 

Thank you everyone for your continued support. I hope you have a Happy Christmas. 

Web Finds - 24 December 2013

It was the night before Christmas, and all the children were so excited they didn't want to go to sleep.... but you know what happens if you are still awake when Santa comes down the chimney......

So to keep you away from the Christmas TV and the sherry bottle, here are the latest Filofax blog posts from around the Internet:

1. Filofax... Mulberry... Filofax... Mulberry? - Paper Pens Ink
2. A New Year's Resolution - My return to paper based productivity. - Filofax filosophy 
3. How I created a time map, and some notes about thinking about... - Joshua LaPorte
4. 10 More ADHD/ADD Organizing Strategies That Work For Everyone - Homemakers Daily
5. 5 Ways to Make Your Goals Stick - Day Timer Blog
6. David Allen of GTD on Rhodia - Rhodia Drive
7. Ink links - The Pen Addict
8. Vintage Gillio - Gigliodoro - Seelen Zucker
9. Let's start a no gadget day in 2014 - ZD Net << Not a problem for Filofax users!
10. Another Mulberry... - Paper Pens Ink
11. What is Saffiano leather? - This Bugs Life
12. How I Use my Week on Two pages - The Filofax Lifestyle
13. Checking Off Your Lists: A How-To Guide - Giftie Etcetera
14. The Overstuffing Dilemma - The Contemplative Belle
15. My Review Monday: Violet Temperley - My Purpley Life
16. My planner for 2014 - Deligted
17. A Filofax Christmas Wish - Roses in December
18. Web Links #51 & Sneak Peeks of My Upcoming Year - The Contemplative Belle
19. Merry Christmas from Kent from Oz! - Filofaxuations
20. Weihnachtswichteln im Filofax-Forum - Seelen Zucker
21. Time management Mondays: Are you a last-minute holiday shopper? - Quo Vadis Blog
22. In my Filofax Personal size again! - My FiloWorld

• Your blog post could appear here next week if we missed you this time around. Email us the details and we will include it if we can. 
• We can not guarantee people will read your posts, but we know there is a higher chance of people reading your posts and returning to read other posts if you make them interesting with pictures and good hints and tips. Do not forget to give your posts a title... 
• For some general tips on Filofax Blogging, please see this post

Here are the 'My Week' posts.

1. My Week: 16-22 November 2013 - Hope Skip Jump
2. My week #88 - Paper Lovestory
3. My Filofax Week #51 - My Purpley Life
4. My Week #51 - Ink - Stickers - Notebooks
5. My Week # 5 - Break of Light
6. Filofax: Week 51 - Crafty Island Girl
7. My Filofax Week 40 - Roses in December
8. My week #51 - She's Eclectic
9. Week 51– Life Mapping Weekly Chit Chat - DiY Fish
10. My Week #51 - Life of Kitty
11. my week #25 - Coffee and Stationery

And here are a selection of the latest Filofax videos for your enjoyment.

1. 2013 franklin covey, filofax, mo2p, wo2p, dpp, wo1 - sandrajohn27
2. Setup of my Gillio Compagna in Dark Brown - Ramblin Mom
3. My planner toolbar - katebtps
4. Compact Saffiano Filofax - sandrajohn27
5. My Review Monday: Temperley Filofax - My Purpley Life
6. Filofax Decoration w.52 - adamsfilo
7. Filofax Collection - Stamping Songbird
8. My 2014 goals! - Joshua LaPorte
9. Josh's 2014 Accountability Project - Joshua LaPorte
10. My 2014 Filofax setup in the Winchester - Joshua LaPorte
11. A Look Inside my new Purple Malden Filofax! - JustaGirlTV
12. My Filofax Organization- Holborn Zip! - Earth2Angie

• For tips on how to improve your videos, please see this post. 

Enjoy and have a Happy Christmas... there will be posts tomorrow, they are already scheduled to go!

Free For All Tuesday - No. 151

Tuesdays are your chance to ask any Filofax related questions you might have.

So fire away and we will collectively try to answer your questions or offer opinions.

And a Happy Christmas to you all.

Filofax Print to File Software (USA only)

I'm grateful to Filofax USA who sent me a trial version of their Print to File software.

This software lets you print 'regular' documents out on to Filofax size page formats easily. It is intended to be used with their own A4 or Letter size computer pre-preforated and punched pages, but it will work with regular plain paper too which you can then cut and punch yourself.

The software will only work with Microsoft Windows machines, but it works with Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT4, 2003, XP, Vista and Vista 64 bit. It reads like 'All my yesterdays' of computer operating systems. I tested it on Windows XP, I don't have anything newer than XP so I can't vouch for it working on Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1

The software once installed adds an extra 'printer' to your set up which you then print to from any application. This new Filofax Printer then in turn formats the output to the correct format for the Filofax page size and format and then prints this on to the printer you have set up from within the software.

Once set up it is fairly easy to use. You can also save files to disc for future reprints as well.

The software can handle double sided printing too, so you can maximise the amount of text etc that ends up on your Filofax pages.

As the software supports both Letter size and A4 size paper, I don't understand why this software isn't available on the Filofax UK website for purchase? I'm unable to purchase it legitimately from Filofax USA because my credit card billing address isn't in the USA.

During the short trial period I was able to do a few 'test prints' which all worked flawlessly, but they all get a 'Trial Version' footer added to the bottom of each page.

So if you are struggling with printing your own pages from Word or Excel for your Filofax organiser, this is a great solution... assuming you use Windows of course... and you are in the USA.

Here is a link to the website to purchase a full copy.

Reader Under The Spotlight - Lynda

I am a planner geek/nerd who also devotes a good deal of time and energy toward not taking myself too seriously.
 
Planners became all-important for me when I attended college as a single mom to finish my business degree, and they became a necessity when I later took a job with a global accounting firm as a staff auditor.  As it had during school, my planner kept my juggle focused and manageable.

Shortly after earning my CPA, I left the firm to work as a financial analyst for a blue-chip pension fund's real estate asset management firm. At that point, I was no longer tracking billable hours in half-hour increments in my planner (thank heaven), but my growing children and their extracurricular activities kept my Franklin Covey Compact zip in active use.

Some years and a lot of life later, I find myself now richly blessed with a larger, still-busy family of grown and growing children, and am drinking the kool-aid of a happily married SAHM.  Add to this mix:  a special needs child, a part-time job, and attention issues, all of which contribute significantly to my absolute dependence on my Filofax. A soothing beacon, it is.

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

First, a spiral WO2P academic planner that I used in college.  Afterwards, a green leather Franklin Covey Compact zip. The leather was a handsome, polished dark green.

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

Prior to the Filofax brand, I used a series of Franklin Classic size planners, thinking I needed the larger space for daily journaling (I actually do not).  I have considered a beautiful Gillio; I am a stuff-it-to-the-gills binder switcher, however, and would rather not invest that much money into one binder.

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

My recently-acquired red personal Amazona.  Gorgeous.

4. How many Filofax organisers do you own?  

The short answer is 11. Personals Amazona, Original, Holborn, Osterley, rose Finchley, Sketch, Woodlands, ochre Malden, Portland, Cavendish, Portland Grand.  Plus some Coveys.

5. What is the oldest Filofax in your collection?  

The Portland Grand, from the late 20th century.  Kinda fun to write that ;)

6. What do you use your Filofax? 

Tracking and planning family activities and info, daily journaling, my various lists, household business, to-dos.  Will probably move the household management items into a binder of its own to remain at home.

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

The slimmer profile and variety of colors and styles.  And I'm one of those that like the international reference inserts and foreign language headings.

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

It would be a Holborn with 30mm rings and pockets that do not interfere with either of two pen loops.  And one pen loop that can truly accommodate a fat pen without inducing an I'm-gonna-rip-the-side-stitching panic attack when the pen's inserted.  Nice, real (the defined term) leather that is not padded or reinforced with cardboard.  A long clasp with two fastener options for us stuff-it-to-the gills folks.  Color choices:  a black or brown option, and also a Chanel lipstick red model.  Yup.

9. How do you carry your Filofax?

In a large handbag.  I used to put them in a freezer ziploc to protect the binders from key scratches and such, and I still do that with the Osterley and Amazona, but the Portland Grand is well-used and I love to just toss it in there, my style, and see how the leather takes it.

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

The current samurai stand-off is between the Amazona and Portland Grand. The Amazona has a solid feel, along with beautiful texture and color.  The Portland Grand is stuffable, with buttery leather and 30mm rings that allow my stationery to flourish.  I feel lucky to own one of each.

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

Ugh, there are the experienced and more-patient-than-I-am horsetraders here that will no doubt read in eye-popping disbelief that I spent $188 on my well-used Portland Grand on e-Bay (thank you, Alan, for the heads up).  And...it is worth every penny, I absolutely adore every well-stitched and quiet ring-popping inch of it.

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

Not my hack, but simple and effective:  two small binder clips clipped side by side on a fly-leaf to slip in a clipped pen.  Instant and readily movable pen loop.  Thank you, sandrajohn27 on YouTube.

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

The well-crafted and generous insert files, and the free-for-all sharing of people with a passion for written organization.

14. And what do you not like about Philofaxy?  

Nothing.

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

Kashmir by Led Zeppelin.

16.  Mark Darcy or Daniel Cleaver?  

I'm drawn to the fellow in Bridget's group of friends that tried, unsuccessfully, to take Bridget to Paris.

Thank you Lynda for being our Reader Under The Spotlight this week. If you would like to take part, please contact philofaxy at gmail dot com