Free For All Friday No 272

Those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are in the middle of our cold dark days. When the weather is cold and grey I tend to gravitate to planner covers that are brightly colored: strong reds or cheerful pinks. When it's sunny and warm in the summertime I go back to cooler and darker colors.

Do you find you choose certain types of colors or patterns for your planner covers during different times of the year?

And as always on Fridays feel free to discuss anything Filofax-related!

A Filofax Curiosity

Andrew, a Philofaxy reader sent me some photos by email the other day of this organiser.

In his email he said this:

I discovered your excellent blog last year when I was looking for somewhere to mend my grandfather's filofax. The metal spine and ring binders had become detached from the cover. In the end, I had to find a second hand filofax with as small rings (still a bit bigger than the original) as possible and the repairers took them out and put them into my cover.

The filofax was used by my grandfather who had a chemist's shop in Surrey.  My 80 year old mother says she remembers him using the filofax when she was a girl so it must date from the1930s or 40s. It's black leather and has 6 holes along the side of the slightly larger back cover so it can be inserted into larger (desk) filofax. I couldn't find it on any of your catalogues or in the pictures of vintage filofaxes. I use it as my holiday organiser.

So the rings are not the original ones, but they would be of a similar type and size.  But I asked Andrew a bit more about the organiser and he confirmed that the back cover is wider than the front cover, which confirms his thoughts about it being able to be clipped on to the rings of a larger organiser.

It would therefore fit a Personal Duplex (two sets of rings) type organiser like those shown here  It would fit a large ring ordinary personal size as well but may be it would add too much bulk?

Andrew mentions in his email above it fitting a Deskfax, whilst this is true (the ring spacing is correct) the Deskfax didn't appear until 1993!

It's not shown in the old catalogue I have from about 1937. Thank you Andrew for sharing this with us.

Have you ever come across anything like this before?

Travels with my Filofax

Whilst trying to find some inspiration for writing another Philofaxy post, it occurred that it's very rare for me nowadays to go away without my Filofax. I used to instead use a small bag that I could wear across my body and would keep important documents in that. And then it got me wondering about when I have (or haven't) had a binder with me, and could I work that out using holiday photos and my memory? (hmm, is that a bit crazy to even consider it)

I purchased my first binder, a cherry personal Classic, in 2009. However, when I went away later that year to visit family in Malaysia I didn't take it with me. I don't think I even considered it, and have a suspicion I wouldn't have wanted it to get damaged in my bag as it was so new.

Our next big holiday was our honeymoon to Morocco the following year, and I am surprised that I didn't have a Filo with me by then. However, the photos have jogged my memory and I didn't take one.

In 2011, we went to Ilfracombe, Devon, for Christmas and I definitely did take my crimson personal Malden with me! I took some photos of the inside of our apartment as it was very festive with some lovely decorations, but unfortunately I couldn't spot my binder. I think this was the beginning of my holiday tradition of having a book and a Filo on my bedside table, and I've done it ever since.

In 2012, I went away for a long weekend, but didn't take my Filo as I had upgraded to the A5 size and felt that it was too big. However, I went back to personal again... and off me and my Malden went to Iceland that summer.

Last year, we went back to Malaysia again for a longer holiday and my crimson Malden was my faithful companion once again.

And my final travels (so far) finish with a long weekend last autumn to Athens with my black personal Ascot. The Ascot is a seasoned traveller anyway as it came from Germany to me in the UK, went up north for a bit, back down to me and then finally back to its original owner in Germany! 

My crimson Malden is ready for our next adventure :) 

Web Finds - 28 January 2014

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

1. Using Organized Mum Inserts in my Filofax - The Crazy Life of J
2. Space And Time: Planning Next Week - Giftie Etcetera
3. Return Of The Filofax - Miss Budget Beauty
4. Pining for a pen-and-ink past - Philly.Com
5. Filofax Chameleon A5 Black - Colournme
6. Thank you, The Sewing Sloth! - Thoughts & Exploration
7. Highly Recommended Leather Balm – Saphir Creme Universelle - This Bugs Life
8. 11 reasons why a Filofax is better than a PDA - This Bugs Life
9. Small Tweaks to My Bullet Journal - Clarifilo
10. Week 4 – How to concentrate on To-Dos – Life Mapping Weekly Chit Chat - DiYfish
11. All About Giftie - Giftie Etcetera
12. Goals or Objectives - The Nest Not Exactly Empty
13. New use for my Back to School Filofax - Innocent + Twisted
14. Bullet Journaling To Do Lists - The Contemplative Belle
15. 5 Ds: Taming An Overwhelming Task List In Your Planner - Giftie Etcetera
16. A Home Planning Organizer - Lime Tree Fruits
17. A Filofax Mash-Up - This Bugs Life
18. 2014 System Revamp: Past/Future Inserts Binder - Well Planned Life
19. Filofax Review: The Malden (Personal size) - OATTblog
20. The Dakota A5 (before) - Onigiri Sama & her 21Kittens
21. Slimline/Compact binder pros and cons - Ink Stickers Notebooks
22. A Day in The Life of My Filofax - This Bugs Life

• You Filofax/Organiser blog posts could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list in any of the categories (Blog, Video, My Week)
• 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

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

1. My 2014 Planner Set-Up - My Purpley Life
2. Filofax Ostrich & Lizzard!!! - Chrissie's Universe 
3. Filofax Flex A5 :oD - Chrissie's Universe
4. 2014 Organized Mum Pages in my Filofax Malden - Jordan Powers
5. What's My Favorite Filofax ? - Jessica Belle
6. Filofax Setup 2014 - Palestblue
7. Review of the vintage pink A5 Malden - Palestblue
8. Filofax Review: The Malden - The OATTblog
9. My 2014 Planner Set-Up - Part 2. - My Purpley Life
10. Keeping videos and posts organized in my Filofax - Mits t
11. Unboxing of my Gillio Compagna in Epoca Orange - Ramblin' Mom
12. DIY Page Markers for your Filoflex, Day-Timer, Franklin Covey planners - Life Planned
13. Set up: Gillio Pocket Mia Cara - Tessa Kidd

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

My Week Posts

1. my week #93 - Paperlove Story
2. Filofax – Weeks 2-4 - Artful Mouse
3. Week in Review: Week 4 - OATTblog
4. My Week #56 - #4 2O14 - Ink Stickers Notebooks
5. My Week #13 - Addicted to Stationery
6. My Week #30 - Coffee and Stationery
7. My week #4 - She's Electic
8. Weekly Post #54 - Miss Mai's Adventures
9. My Week 4 - Kawaii Rilakkuma - Just A Girl... Atlanta
10. My planner week #4 and #5 - Deligted
11. My Week #4 - Life of Kitty
12. Week 4 After Shots, by Comparison - Carie Harling
13. Week 5 Before Shots – Plaid! - Carie Harling
14. My Week- January 28-February 2, 2014 - Incarnations of Organization
15. Filofax Pretties: Week 5 - So Joey Creates

Enjoy

Free For All Tuesday No. 156

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.

Guest Post - Using Multiple Diaries - Helen.

Q: How many diary inserts does one Filofax user need to use at any one time?

A: In my house, nine paper and two digital.

I know, pick yourself up off the floor and I will explain how my system came to be and why it works for me.

The need

I am a lawyer by day and at night/weekends building a career as a textile artist. To enhance both I do a little freelance writing about art and law. I also love to travel, bake, journal, do yoga and read. I don't love to exercise (other than yoga) but I do it anyway. Sometimes I blog and know I ought to keep my websites up to date better. I am involved in various textile art related groups.Oh and I have a husband who likes to see me from time to time! 

I am the type of person who has too many ideas and too many goals to realistically achieve in the too little time in a day. I struggle not with will power but with achieving a healthy balance between work and play and being realistic about what I can achieve.

My Filofaxes are therefore meeting the need of enabling me to ensure I achieve all my goals, meet my obligations and achieve a balanced life. 

The functions

To meet that goal I need my system to

1. Record appointments
2. List goals, next steps and progress to those goals
3. Allow me to apportion time appropriately between different areas of life ( work, art, home, health etc)
4. Act as a repository for the many pieces of information and thoughts I come across which otherwise would make my head explode
5. Give me information as to how much time I need/ have spent for various tasks to enable me to better balance life in the future
6. Give me a visual overview so I can easily see when I am about to overcommit or neglect an area of life.
7. Facilitate me doing tasks I do not naturally gravitate towards.

My system needs therefore to both forward plan and backwards record.

It also needs to be available to me at all times when I need it. For me, that does not mean one life one binder. Some information and recording is place specific and so can stay where it is.  But the capacity to capture information at first instance and to schedule and balance must be always to hand. For me that means a personal sized binder as that easily fits in my handbags.  

As I write I am in a very fat Mia Cara Gillio but I  rotate between Maldens, Regency and Osterley and with only minor filleting can run the system from a compact Regency when I am travelling.

Monthly diaries

I use three monthlies. Two for tracking, one for planning

(A) horizontal Filofax Yearly Planner - I use the tiny boxes on this to track, by way of symbols the days I manage to fit in, reading, journalling, baking bread or a new recipe.

(B) A colourful set of inserts I bought on Facebook which I think originally came off Etsy where I track my time spent on yoga, cardio and strength exercise. These two diaries will allow be to look back, in conjunction with other diaries and see what tends to be happening in my life when I fail to fit in the things that keep me mentally and physically balanced and healthy. Thus they are a tool to help me learn lessons to improve my habits.

(C) Filofax tabbed monthly. This diary provides me with birds eye view planning. I use it mainly to show   (a) time blocked out for holidays  (b) weekends which I intend to dedicate mainly to my art (marked with a green dot) and (c) relaxation and celebration days (marked with a blue dot). This is new this year as a result of lessons learned last year. I will happily flog myself to death in pursuit of my goals and I do not celebrate my successes enough. So, now I plan for that.

Weekly diaries

I have one personal week on one page with notes in my planner. The diary contains all personal appointments and commitments and the notes are used for  

(a) notes related to the appointments such as train times, directions etc  and 

(b) Big Rocks. The three things I really want to achieve this week. Those items are sometimes added a week or two in advance- usually where I wanted do it in an earlier week but realised I already had three other more vital tasks and so carried this one forward. Mostly I add them on a Sunday for the week following.

I also have separate A5 diaries (week on one page with notes)  in three A5s which are dedicated to specific activities

(A) My Studio Planner (Brown Osterley) - used for my art activities. I use the diary to set out very specific tasks for that week for art only and record my time spent on production, learning, design and studio business in the diary. Time recording is vital for me to calculate the costs of art works, to be knowledgeable,about how long tasks actually take and so how much I can take on. It also motivates me to clock up targeted hours.

(B) Kitchen Planner. (Jade Finchley)  I have an aim to become a very good artisan bread and cake maker. So I use this diary for brief notes about what recipes I have tried and which I plan to do. Some breads require overnight preparation and I need to plan ahead to have the right ingredients. So I note what I plan to do so I don't go off piste and waste ingredients or forget to to make the poolish the night before.

(C) Yoga Journal ( Purple Finchley). I have subscriptions to various newsletters, online class providers and magazines. I use the notes section to note things like new classes or sequences I want to try and the diary to schedule them and note what I did.

The A5s stay in the studio/kitchen/dressing room save when I do my weekly review. There is a small overlap with my planner. At a weekly review on a Sunday I will decide when I am going to schedule yoga sessions. I simply write 'Yoga' in my daily pages and the details of the session in the yoga planner. In my weekly diary I may note that my Big Rocks include completing a particular quilt or art related article. The steps to do that and the time I take go in the studio planner.

Daily diary- home

I use Filofax day on two pages in my personal planner. (And still cannot fathom why I have to buy them from France!) These pages have four sections for week days which I use as follows:

(A) timed appointment column - the few timed personal appointments I have go here but I also schedule my appointments with myself eg. Gym or studio time. I wish these pages did not stop at 8pm because I certainty do not! Because of my other filos and action lists I need only write the very basics of the activity here.

(B) Lined vertical column- brief journal of the day done at bedtime

(C) Action - this box has ten to do boxes. Pesky admin and household tasks go in here. Collect dry cleaning, post tax return. That sort of thing. Non project related tasks mostly. I make myself do these on the day scheduled as much as possible. If I don't I write CF (carried forward)  in a circle and rewrite them again with a CF symbol. CF symbols get priority the next time they appear.

(D) Notes. Used for food diary when I remember and, um, notes!!

Annoyingly weekends only have one page and that is the timed and lined columns. I can actually be exceedingly productive at the weekend but resent a To do list. I also hope to do too much. So if I am at home I insert a lined piece of notepaper and make a Must Do List, which is as short as possible and a To Choose From List on which I put as many nice things as I like. Then there is no pressure to do them all but I just get to pick. Usually I get to most of them. Then I use the appointments column to note what I achieve as the day goes on.

Daily diary - work.  

I do both civil and family law and my civil appointments are controlled by a team of staff and I don't see the diary until it is printed out for me in the morning. The family appointments I can see and edit on outlook calendar but as it is a communal diary it has to stay electronic. Again I get a print out. I inevitably lose that list by eleven am. So my morning ritual is to write it out by hand into a daily diary in my Gillio. Because some appointments are ten mins, some for a whole day and anything inbetween, a pre- printed diary with times is useless. So I buy a day per page diary from WH Smiths (I like the cream pages you find in the faux leather ones), pull it apart and punch. I cross out appointments in red as I finish them for a sense of progress and control. To dos go on those pages too. 

Action lists

This system is supplemented by a set of action lists in my personal planner. I use a tweaked GTD system.  I could never fathom Dave Allen's system of project lists for all and sundry and contexts that to me overlapped ( being online, on a train and in a shop usually being one and the same thing for example!). So I have a  different  coloured page for each area of my life in which I have set goals for 2014 and behind that as many to do lists as I have projects under that heading. So under Home for example I list my plans and motivations in bullet points then behind that page, there is an action list for booking our Italy trip and one for landscaping the garden.

So thats my system. No doubt it reads as being highly complex (and yes, expensive in diary inserts!). However, because it fits me and my life I find it works to contain a very involved life into calm segments and enables me to feel I am in control and making progress. I do a weekly review early Sunday evening to plan the week ahead when I have personal and A5s together to synch them. Feel free to leave comments if you have any questions and I  would be pleased to answer them. 

Thank you Helen for an interesting insight as to how your system works. 

Reader under the spotlight - Abigail

Hello Philofaxy! I’m Abigail, and I’m a final year music student in the UK. I’m an organisation freak and have been known to alphabetise things as a form of relaxation. I’ve had a Filofax for a year and have been hugely helped in getting everything together with the community on Philofaxy and its Facebook group. So I thought it was time to introduce myself, a year of lurking later…

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

I was introduced to ring binder planners at a young age with the fabulous Horse and Pony Funfax! I’ve always had diaries/planners through school, and when I went to university knew I wanted to carry that on. My first Filofax was a Personal sized Domino in Chocolate, bought last February, which is about to be gifted to a friend to hopefully start her on her Filofax journey!

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

I used school-issue spiral bound planners through high school, in conjunction with a calendar for non-school dates. At the start of university I used day-to-page WHSmith diaries, which were great for appointments and having lots of space but not for getting a general overview of my time.

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

It has to be my Personal sized Aston in Chocolate, which I received in December through a swap with another Philofaxy reader. I was in a Mushroom Aston before that, which the format of was great but the colour just didn’t click with me. The Chocolate is so much more luxurious feeling and I don’t see myself moving out any time soon!

4. How many Filofax organisers do you own?

Currently three: my first, the Personal Chocolate Domino, which is about to go to a friend; the Personal Mushroom Aston; and the Personal Chocolate Aston, which is my life-in-one-diary planner. I had a Personal Aqua Malden which I wanted to love, and did aesthetically, but the floppiness of it just didn’t work for me so I swapped it for my lovely Aston :)

5. What is the oldest Filofax in your collection?

Personal Chocolate Domino.

6. What do you use your Filofax for?

Pretty much everything! As a university student I use it to record appointments, lectures/classes, due dates of assignments, exams etc. My to-do list also goes in there, both weekly and daily. I have a projects section for things like to-read and to-watch lists, a health section for weight/medication/food tracking, finance (oh student loan, how you ruin me…), and addresses. Oddly I don’t have anything work-related in there apart from deadlines - I’ve never got into note-taking or essay-planning in my Filofax, it’s just a planner for me.

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

The fact that you can swap in and out as much as you choose and customise completely to suit you. Because of where I’m at in my degree at the moment it suits me to have about 18 months of week on two pages so I can see which deadlines have happened and how long projects have been going on for. With a Filofax this is easily manageable, and it’s still not too bulky as I have less in the other sections. It gives me a flexibility that I wouldn’t have in any other kind of diary.

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

This is a difficult one because I’ve settled really nicely into the Aston! I’m going to be controversial and say I really like the 25mm rings - anything larger feels too bulky to me. I like my Filofax to feel structured, so not anything as floppy as the Malden. Definitely would have two pen loops, though, and cotton cream inserts with the layout of the white - I want the extra space per day on nicer paper!

9. How do you carry your Filofax?

It stays open on my desk when I’m at home/university, and if I go out it goes in my handbag. If I’m in a situation where it’s not practical to carry it I have my iPhone with me to note down anything crucial and then transfer it back to the Filofax later.

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

I have been gazing adoringly at the Osterleys for a while - they just look gorgeous! The plum is so rich, the brown so smart, and the orange so cheerful…definite love. But certainly not student budget friendly! Maybe as a post-graduation treat...

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

I’ve been really lucky in finding eBay bargains, so my most expensive was the Personal Aqua Malden at only £38! 

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

Don’t be afraid to do what works for you - I spent a long time being intimidated by other people’s setups and thinking mine could never be as good, before realising actually it was doing everything I wanted to!

Can I have two tips? If so, the second…

Flyleaves are your friend. I have one at the front as a dashboard, two or three with post-it notes, and one in between my weekly pages to keep a to-do list, a deadlines list, and anything I need to remember. SO useful to be able to see through it to other things without blocking up the week with notes and stickies!

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

The community is fantastic - I recently sat in on my first round table Skype chat, which was lovely. I was only listening to the talk and in the text chat room, but everyone was so friendly and bonding over their shared interests.

14. And what do you not like about Philofaxy?

I can’t think of anything! If I’m being hugely pedantic, the use of Capitals For Every Word in post headings bugs me a bit because I’m OCD like that. But honestly I think it’s great!

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

I’m a music student and listen to most of what I have to for work on Spotify or Naxos, so this isn’t necessarily representative of what I listen to most! But apparently my last bought track was an acoustic version of Dream Catch Me by Newton Faulkner.

16.  Mark Darcy or Daniel Cleaver? 

Mark Darcy, obviously! …except…I want Hugh Grant…but I don’t want Daniel Cleaver, only Hugh Grant. On balance I think it has to be Mark Darcy.

Thank you Abigail for agreeing to appear on reader under the spotlight. Now if any of you would also like to be a Reader Under The Spotlight... then please contact philofaxy at gmail dot com

Web Finds - 25 January 2014

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

1. Filofax brass name plate - This Bugs Life
2. Simplifying My Planner, Again - The Contemplative Belle
3. A5 Purple Malden Setup - Jagged Little Thoughts
4. Reverting back to the Domino - Ink Stickers Notebooks
5. Cutting and Trimming Filofax Inserts and Dividers - This Bugs Life
6. Small Notes In My Filofax - Roses in December
7. Filofax Friday - En Vogue Pogue
8. Changing Planner Formats: The Right Way & Wrong Way - Homemakers Daily
9. Filofax Original, A5 - Messy Jesse
10. Some more Akiko organizer loveliness from Kikosattic - This Bugs Life
11. Filofax Review: A5 Original (in PINK) - OATTblog
12. Planning Your Best Year Yet! - Lime Tree Fruits
13. It's Here! My Malden Set Up for 2014 - The Crazy Life of J
14. Downsized to Pocket Aston - It's Bluetiger
15. Van Der Spek Organiser – yay! - This Bugs Life
16. Colored Pens for Planners - The Contemplative Belle
17. Whacky Wednesdays: 22/01/2014 - Day to Day Concepts
18. Spreading our Dodo wings with a new greetings card range - Dodevoted
19. Bullet Journal – Going Strong - Clarifilo
20. Guest Post: Pippa Dore speaks about her organisers - This Bugs Life
21. Full- frontal binder - The Crazy Suburban Mom
22. I’ve got another confession to make… - Addicted to Stationery
23. Calendar cuties | february 2014 - I Love It All 
24. Stylish Tasks: How To Write Tasks In A Planner - Giftie Etcetera
25. Crazy talk! - The Crazy Suburban Mom
26. Dealing with Confidential Information in your Filofax - This Bugs Life
27. Weekly To-Do List- Chocolate Treats - Incarnations of Organization 
28. How-To Guide - The Filofax Blog
29. New Plannerisms Planners Facebook page! - Plannerisms
30. Guest Post: Akiko from kikosattic talks organisers - This Bugs Life
31. Arrival of the Filofax Personal Ostrich in Buttercup! - My Filo World
32. Your Planner. Is it a Tool or Fashion Statement? - The Contemplative Belle
33. Battered and Bruised - The Appeal of the Battle-Scarred Planner - The Sewing Sloth
34. The sad demise of the Filofax exotic - This Bugs Life
35. DIY Filofax Dashboard Designs with a Silhouette Cameo - Renew Your Space
36. Personal Pink Domino Detailed Set-Up - The Storage Studio
37. Free For All Friday No. 20: - Plannerisms
38. FILOFAX FRIDAY #4 - What She Hearts
39. Filofax Flex as Midori and Filofax – thank you Tim Edwards! - This Bugs Life
40. How to Choose a GTD Tool - GTD Times
41. Filofax Friday! My 1st Personal sized Filofax! - Avo's Life
42. Finding your track & Keeping on it! - Filofax Friday - Mrs Brimbles
43. How my Pocket Springboard has rekindled my love for my Personal! - Addicted to Stationery
44. Connectdesign ‘Watch Filofax’ refills - This Bugs Life
45. Filofax Tour - Under An English Sky
46. Filofax Review: A5 or Personal Size? - OATTBlog
47. January Filofax photo-a-day challenge, week three - She's Eclectic

• 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

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

1. Comparison: kikki-K Time Planner vs. Filofax - My Purpley Life
2. Unboxing a new FILOFAX, Franklin Covey, Inserts, ARC and a lot more!!! - My Summer Touch 
3. Filofax Review: A5 Original - OATTblog
4. Welcome to my personal sized planner! (Faux Filofax & Day-Timer) - Well Planned Life
5. Planner Set Up January 2014 - Dizzy Mama
6. 2013 Filofax Flip Through ft. Personal & Pocket Weekly Inserts - The Glossette
7. 2014 Filofax Malden Set Up {thecrazylifeofJ} 
8. Plan It Sunday Episode 14: Exercise & Nutrition Filofax Setup - ScrappinMariposa
9. My Super Exciting Tab Adventure (Faux-filofax, Day-Timer, DIY Tabs) - Well Planned Life
10. My bag and Filofax stuff - Elisi Gygeyui
11. Filofax Heaven = connect design watch paper + spiralled - Sarah Pings
12. Filofax tips Part 6 - Well Thats Nat
13. Super Easy DIY Dividers for Faux Filofax / Day-Timer - Well Planned Life
14. Set Up Update 2014 - Julia Jules
15. Savage Croco Review! - Alice Photis
16. Davinci Inserts in my Portland Filofax - Tracy Reinhardt
17. Coupon binder in a slimline filofax - Sonia S
18. 2014 Day Timer Setup - Planner Luv
19. Price Book in my personal Filofax and why my A5 helps with time management  - Tracy Reinhardt
20. Keeping on Track (& finding it in the first place!) - Filofax Friday - Anna Brim
21. Filofax Personal Malden Setup - Lori Waters

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

Enjoy

Free For All Friday No. 271

I was away last weekend for my company's annual conference. As we would be taking extra things like laptops and handouts, I wanted to keep my own belongings to a minimum in one bag. My crimson Malden was added to my packing pile, but I later removed it as I wasn't expecting much free time. However, I realised from past experience that I'd miss it and added it in at the last minute.

It occurred to me that not only do I find my Filo useful, but there's also something quite comforting and familiar about it. Somehow having a binder and a book nearby feels like a little slice of home when I'm away. Do you find this when you are travelling or staying elsewhere?

And as it's Friday again, please feel free to discuss anything about Filofax or other makes of ring bound organisers.

Things people say when they find out that I have a Filofax (or two)

• Why would you use one of them, don't you have a smartphone?
• Haha, isn't that what Yuppies used in the 80s? 
• Oh, you're like Del Boy from Only Fools And Horses! 
• You went up to London for the day to meet other Filofax owners? (they found that one very amusing)
• You saddo (my response was that I preferred 'quirky', thank you very much) 
• Are you a technophobe? 
• I think my Dad used to have one of those
• Hang on a sec, I think I've got my old one in the cupboard (only happened the once unfortunately)
• Wow, that's beautiful, please can I open it?
• The diary is so much easier to read than on my iPhone
• I prefer a paper diary really and all those pockets look really useful 
• That's very cool in a retro sort of way
• What a beautiful clutch bag (when I've been using it as my wallet)
• Would you buy me one as I'm not sure where to start?

Minimalist Filofax

When you get an organiser it is very easy to fill it up with different pages. Of course the bigger the rings the heavier and bulkier it becomes. But how much of it do you really need on a daily basis?

Before you throw your hands up in horror at the thought of removing things, give it a bit of thought.

Now at this time of year a lot of people will have a new 12 months of diary insert already loaded. Some of us try to be more economical with the number of months we carry at any one time, a rolling 6 months or 4 months, sometimes the last month and the next 3 months. Updating the contents on a monthly basis.

Some people add in monthly pages and may be a year planner to supplement their daily or weekly pages for their more detailed planning.

As well as your planner pages what else are you carrying in your organiser? Do you need all of it all of the time?

OK lots of thoughts and questions. As you might know my main organiser is an A5 Filofax which tends to live on my desk, always open at the current week. I've reduced the contents of this organiser so I can use a mixture of A5 organisers with either 25 or 30 mm rings or at a push in the 20 mm rings of my Malden iPad organiser. So that one is fairly constant now.

However, I also use another organiser which I carry with me outside of the house. But what do I really need if I'm only away from the house for a few hours?

So this got me thinking, and I thought about not limiting myself to just personal size, could pocket size do the same task as the personal?

So what do I need at an absolute minimum in terms of the contents for a minimalist organiser.

I sat and looked through my current personal size set up, I removed the pages from the organiser and laid them out in neat stacks for each section on my desk.

I started off with just my week per page diary inserts and some pages of note paper. This left out all my contact information. This reduced the page count to less than 50 pages. Well within the limits of my slimline Holborn, shown on the left in the picture below.

I continued to try different combinations, and if I needed key phone numbers I could add in the A-Z telephone dividers out of the slimline and this would still fit in the slimline or the compact shown on the right in the photo above.

I was having too much fun rearranging things. Let's go a step further shall we. I had been sent a sample of a week per page + notes for pocket size. Things would be even more compact in that, even if the diary side of things might be a little limiting in terms of how many appointments I could comfortably fit on a single day.

So I'm going to try carrying the pocket set up when I go to French class the smaller size will certainly help in my bag which has to fit a large dictionary in it. The rest of the time I will see how I get on with the compact size again.

I will be restoring things in to my full size personal for longer trips away from home.

Web Finds - 21 January 2014

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

1. Filofax & The Mind - Roses in December
2. A5 Amica in mustard yellow epoca - Just happy me
3. My New Pocket Portobello - Yashira's Creations 
4. The Need for Two Planners - The Contemplative Belle 
5. Organising with Filofax: The Metropol - OATTblog
6. Filofax Friday... And a BIG announcement. - En Vogue Pogue
7. 2014 Goals layout for my Filofax - Organised Lifestyle 
8. Sloth-o-Fax - Organizing the Sloth (Part One) - The Sewing Sloth
9. Organising With Filofax: Colour Coding System - OATTblog
10. All about LMI v02.1 - DiY Fish
11. Three more Akiko Binders on Etsy - This Bugs Life
12. Waffle about my A5 Fauxdori for hobbies and my Midori TN planner! - The Life of The Perpetual 
13. 2014 System Revamp: Household Binder - Well Planned Life
14. A real Wow! - The Crazy Suburban Mom
15. Filofax Malden - The Filofax
16. Kikki-K Large Time Planner  - Coloursnme
17. Filofax saga - benvenuta Flex! - Fucolandia 
18. A5 Teacher’s Filofax from FF Sweden - This Bugs Life
19. A Prayer Planner ♥ - Lime Tree Fruits
20. Another Pocket For My Filofax - Roses in December
21. My Planner, a Cup of Tea, and Cookies - The Contemplative Belle
22. Filofax Original in Personal Size: Review - OATTblog
23. wright now | january 2014 - I love it all with Monika Wright
24. Prayer Planner Setup with Limetree Fruits... - The Filofaxtory
25. Week 3– Color Coding & Index – Life Mapping Weekly Chit Chat - DiY Fish
26. Zweite Chance für einen Gillio - Seelen Zucker
27. Filofax Inspiration #1 - Claireabellemakes
28. An Empty In-Box - Giftie Etcetera
29. Embracing Pink in 2014 - The Storage Studio
30. Caring for epoca leather (1) - Just Happy Me
31. What’s in my Filofax today - This Bugs Life
32. How Top Professionals Get Things Done - 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

Nominate Philofaxy for a social media award in the Shorty Awards in the #Filofax category

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

1. A New Planner!!! - Jan. 18, 2014 - MyPurpleyLife Vlog - My Purpley Life
2. January 2014 planner set-up - Sonia S
3. Filofax Metropol Review/ Update - OATTBlog
4. Filofax week-on-two-pages with Daytimer two-pages-per-day - Joshua LaPorte
5. The mini Cross Filofax as a wallet. - Joshua LaPorte
6. Filofax Decoration 2014 W.4 - adamsfilo
7. Why I Use 3 Filofaxes - OATTBlog
8. Planner Evolution: Kate Spade Wellesley as a Wallet January 2014 - Liz S
9. EasyPeasy Portable Meal Planning for your Filofax or Keyring - Sarah Pings
10. 2014 Planner Set-up -- Filofax Personal Malden -- Philofaxy and DIYFish Inserts - Carie Harling
11. A Quick Peek at my 4yr Old's Faux Filofax! - WillowMuck
12. Filofax Weekly Pages Decoration: Week 4 - Neutral Theme - Ruby Dumbrique
13. Decorating my Filofax 2014: Week 4 - Mits T
14. Daily Weekly Planner Inserts from Lime Tree Fruits - Well Planned Life

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

Enjoy

Free For All Tuesday No. 154

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.

Vet Visit and Pet Treatment Records

For those of you that have pets, you always need to keep fairly detailed records of when you visited the vet and what treatments you have given your pet each month to keep them in tip top health.

Thank you to one of our readers Fiona for providing the following printable files for A5 and Personal size for you to use in your Filofax organisers.

• Pet Treatment A5 .docx .pdf
• Vet Visit Notes A5 .docx .pdf
• Pet Treatment Notes Personal .docx .pdf

To print these out you need to print them on to A5 paper or Personal size paper. The hints and tips in this post will help you with doing this. 

Thank you Fiona for sending in this guest post. If you have a guest post you would like to submit, please contact philofaxy at gmail dot com

Reader Under The Spotlight - Kristy

I am Kristy, a married, stay-at-home mom of two, living near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I actively blog about paper planners and organizing, play on Facebook, and try out all those crazy nail colors that I could never get away with in my past life as a Catholic school teacher and attorney focusing on juvenile law. I also refuse to dye my gray streaked hair, even though I am only in my thirties.

On occasion, I mentor younger juvenile lawyers or substitute teach. I am in the middle of writing my second novel, but have not even bothered to edit and submit my first one for publishing yet. It's on my task list, so I am confident that it will get done. Some would call me "overconfident." That makes me chuckle knowingly.

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

I have never bought a Filofax. I've only ever seen one in person twice - once at a lawyer training and once at a local paper shop. They were bought black and beat up, including the one at the retail place. Sure, I lust over them. My drafts of my novels feature them. There is no better way to know a character than by meeting his or her day planner, right? But I am spoiled by Franklin Covey's 4 1/2 x 6 3/4 wider-than-Filo-personal pages. I am a planner monogamist.

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

I currently use a Franklin Covey Boston. It's compact-sized, but Franklin compacts are the same hole set-up at Filofax personals and just an 1/2 inch wider.

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

The Boston is a week old and easily my favorite.

4. How many Filofax organisers do you own?

I also own a Franklin Covey 365 Flourish and I like it pretty well, but it is vinyl, not leather. If I were traveling to Disney World, I would use that binder instead. I have a bunch of Plan Ahead/Day One cheap binders, just because I love the refills and, since they are undated, plan to use them in the future.

5. What is the oldest Filofax in your collection?

My oldest planner is a Franklin Covey Classic (measures close to A5, but different holes) in a synthetic brown leatherish material. It's too big and bulky.

6. What do you use your Filofax for?

I use my planner for everything. Seriously. I do grocery lists, doodle, plan my novels, organize volunteer events, outline blog ideas, keep track of sales and freelance jobs, track my diet and exercise, keep my household organized, schedule events, track my tasks, monitor my budget, keep receipts, list my medical history, track prescriptions, keep notes of court cases, plan holidays, and write down anything else that would otherwise go in my brain.

Some people think I am smart. I am. I write everything down. That is smart.

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

Writing things down somehow magically seals them in my brain. Paper planners do that for me in a way that electronics never could. I am very computer savvy and use my smart phone regularly, but computers and smart phones have a completely different purpose than my planner.

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

Two pens loops with some elastic, stretchy material in them, and with the loops places higher on the planner layout instead of right in the middle. (Hey, this is my dream, right? I might as well ask for everything that I want.) I like one loop for a darker colored Frixion (not black) for writing and one for pink or red Frixions (for highlighting and journaling).

Big rings, an inch to an inch and a half.

Sturdy snap closure.

Gray or blue, but never bright.

9. How do you carry your Filofax?

I never buy a purse that is too small for my planner. Never ever.

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

I have to say Malden because of rumors that it fits Franklin Covey paper. But, truly, the overhang would drive my insane.

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

I spent about $50 on my Boston.

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

Can I have two?

First, I like to circle things that get recopied. For example, if I am going grocery shopping on Tuesday, I circle it. Once I shop, I scratch it out and schedule it for the next week, since the circle reminds me to schedule it next week.

Second, I have a Project index for all my projects that I am currently working on in my planner. The index helps me find the right project at a glance.

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

I love web finds. I visit twice a week, like clockwork, to read them all. I read the other stuff, too, but I NEVER miss web finds.

14. And what do you not like about Philofaxy?

How could someone dislike Philofaxy? It's been my favorite website for years.

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

This is embarrassing. Disclaimer: I am a Cajun girl from south Louisiana. I can't help myself.

{mumbles} garthbrooks {mumbles}

See? Absolutely embarrassing. Why couldn't my last one be The Cure? I love The Cure. I would not be ashamed of The Cure.

16.  Mark Darcy or Daniel Cleaver? 

How can one choose? I polled my Facebook friends and they say Darcy is the only real choice, but I disagree. Can I add that this sort of question is one reason I love Philofaxy? The British flavor of the site is quite a charm for this American girl.

Kristy - my blog: http://giftieetcetera.blogspot.com

Thank you Kristy. And if you would like to appear in this feature it is open to any of our readers, please contact philofaxy at gmail dot com

Web Finds - 18 January 2014

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

1. Aswirl with Swirls - This Bugs Life
2. My brand new planner! - For the Love of Planning
3. Printing semi-custom pages from Philofaxy - Artful Mouse
4. Stopping by the Gillio Boutique… - Just Happy Me
5. I'm a 3-Filofax Kinda Gal - The Storage Studio
6. Week 2– Plan forward – Life Mapping Weekly Chit Chat - DiYFish
7. Goal Setting - Filofax Friday - Mrs Brimbles
8. There is only one thing worse than being talked about and that is not being talked about - Typecast
9. Video: The Meat Of The Planner - Giftie Etcetera
10. LIFESTYLE: New Year, New Filofax - Georgina
11. M2 modifications - a few pics and a brief explanation. - Filofax Filosphy
12. Guest post: Review of the X47 DUO4 wallet. - Plannerisms
13. Start 2014 with a Better Notetaking System - Day Timer Blog
14. What Does Your Filofax Mean to You? - Contemplative Belle
15. Designer Planners on Resale Sites today - This Bugs Life
16. 6 Ways to Use a Franklin Covey Menu Planner - Homemakers Daily
17. Free For All Friday No. 19: Annual cyclicity - Plannerisms
18. Time Management & Prioritising Tasks - Filofax Friday - Week 2 - Mrs Brimbles
19. My formatted Philofaxy pages and my red A5 Domino planner - Artful Mouse
20. My Sister's Funfax - Reflections by Cruz
21. 2013 Favorites continues with, Jetpens, Will you marry me? - Crazy Suburban Mom
22. How-To Guide - The Filofax Blog - Post written by Steve Morton
23. Finsbury filofax - Bluebell & Bumpkin
24. FILOFAX FRIDAY #3 - What she hearts
25. Filofax Fluro PINK - Lov3kat
26. Filofax Fridays: The A5 Itch - Yay for Fridays
27. 2013 Favorite planner and there's no app for that... - The Crazy Suburban Mom
28. January Filofax photo-a-day challenge, week two - She's Eclectic
29. Staying organised at University with a diary. - Life of Kitty
30. Filofax Q and A – Part 1  - This Bugs Life
31. Turn Your To-Do’s Into Ta-Da’s With This Handy Tool - Renew Your Space
32. Holiday Ideas- Making your Own Tags - Incarnations of Organization
33. Filofax Week 3: PENGUINS! - For Love of Cupcakes
34. My Filofax Saffiano Personal & Compact Setup - Nina Christensen
35. Filofax// Qimmis - Oh shoot

• 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

Nominate Philofaxy for a social media award in the Shorty Awards in the #Filofax category

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

1. Video - Filofax Update! How I Use All 3! & 2014 Filo Savings Challenge! - Just A Girl.. Atlanta
2. Filofax tips: Adjustable Pen Loop - My Summer Touch
3. Filofax Decoration 2014 W.3 - adamsfilo
4. Malden, Saffiano & Metropol Comparsion/ Review - Jessica Bella
5. Filofax Week 3 Decoration Tutorial - SugarPandax3
6. Time Management & Prioritisng Tasks - Filofax Friday - Week 2 - Anna Brim

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

Those of you in or near Dallas Texas, there are still a few places available for the forthcoming meet up. See the earlier post for details.

Enjoy

Free For All Friday No. 270

So some items of news for you... some of you I'm sure might have noticed that Filofax Germany has just been relaunched with their new website in a similar style to the UK Filofax site. I'm sure our readers in Germany will find it a big improvement over the old one.  

Before someone asks... the USA site will also be updated along with the others (France, Denmark etc) No dates as yet for the others but I will let you know when I hear.

Some news also about Philofaxy, I keep a running total of the number of visitors to the site over a 30 day period and we have just passed quite a significant landmark, with a 30 day total of over 100,000 visitors and over 300,000 page views in the same period.

A word of caution though. This time of year always brings in more visitors than usual, the numbers will start to drop back a little as we get in to February/March and then stabilise before they start to increase again towards the end of the year.

Four years ago a 30 day period was about 4500 visitors and about 8000 page views in 30 days, so quite an increase!!

Thank you to everyone for your continued support for Philofaxy.

Anyway, as it is Friday, you can of course discuss anything about Filofax or other makes of ring bound organisers. Have a great weekend.

My Blog Post Planner Insert

Do you ever get the feeling that goes something like 'I'm sure I've written about this before' but when you go looking in all the obvious places you can't find it... or to my embarrassment I once reviewed the same organisers twice about 18 months apart!

So the other day I was asked what I use to plan blog posts on Philofaxy... yes there is a plan! 

And here it is: 

So this is a standard Philofaxy 'Steve and Ray' Month on One Page A5 insert which you can download and customise. 

So I took the merged file for 2014 in this case and I then populated it with our standard posts on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. 

You will notice I also included the post numbers in there as well. We got out of sync once and I had to go back and renumber some FFAF posts! Opps! Then I assign the person who will be scheduled to do the particular Friday unless they are busy or away etc. These just run in alphabetical order Anita, Laurie, Nan, and Steve. Nothing complicated! 

I then try to plan in the round table events and when they should be announced. The insert also contains the dates of the clock changes in North America, Australia and Europe. We try to avoid round tables on those weekends. 

After all those dates have been accounted for the remainder are free for any post that needs to appear on the blog. 

Now occasionally things get moved around and that is fairly easy to do when I can see it laid out in this calendar layout. It takes the guess work out what is the date in two or three weeks time for Tuesday and what number will the post be. 

With my Filofax open at this section to my left, I can glance across at it and because I touch type I can type in the relevant information in to Blogger and it all comes together nicely. 

I use a Pilot Frixion pen for entries so if I need to shuffle posts around, which frequently happens I can write in the approximate title in to a new slot and rub out the old one easily. 

It gets a bit busier than this example above around the time of press releases, because they have to go out on a set date, but mostly we try to work a week or so in advance of publication date. 

Some people go in to a lot more detail with their blog post planning than I do. But I find this works for me. Of course I could put this all in to iCal, but that just wouldn't work now would it!!!!