Guest Post - 10 Years of Planner Bliss! - Susan

Today we continue our 10th anniversary celebrations with the a by Susan. I thought I would dig out the previous header picture for a bit of a 'retro' feel!

Happy birthday Philofaxy!!! I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since this blog started. Since finding it, Philofaxy and the planner community that surrounds it, has been a huge part of my life. Never in a million years did I think I would find so many like-minded people as crazy about planners and time management as I am, much less make life-long friends from such a community.

But let’s start at the beginning…

Since high school, I have used a planner. It started with the spiral-bound notebook-types that students are given. It started as a practical tool, one to keep track of my assignments, nothing more. In college, my use of planners grew, keeping track not only of my assignments, but also my work schedule and social events. By the time I graduated and moved into the adult, grown-up world of jobs and housekeeping, I was dependent on them to keep me sane.

I had always stayed with the spiral-bound planners, as they worked well for me. I also thought of the ringed binders as too big and bulky. I looked at them in awe of their use, but never did I buy one. However, around 2007, a friend turned me on to Filofax, pointing out how great they are, how flexible. I did a Google search for Filofax, found an array of options just for the binder alone. And then…

And then.

And then I found Philofaxy.

Needless to say, I have never turned back. Not only did I find a product I liked, with many options of sizes and colors and textures and inserts, but I also found an entire blog devoted to the brand’s use. I mean, my gosh, there are planner people out there! I felt like I had found my home.

In the beginning, I spent hours (and I do mean hours) reading all of the back posts. It took precedence over anything else I read. I had to know about this Philofaxer person, this blog that was full of juicy planner, time management, and task management goodness.

Once I caught up on all of the back posts, I waited oh so impatiently for new posts to appear, gasping and getting that flutter of excitement in my stomach when one did. A new Philofaxy post absolutely made my day!

At the time, the Philofaxy Flickr pool was at the top of its game. It’s still active today, but Instagram has overshadowed the wonder of this planner photo collection, and today there are only a few additions every few days. Back then, there were several contributions a day, and I would spend hours looking at all of the hot planner porn. I especially loved (and still love) the early photos. Some of my favorites are this, this, this, this, and especially this. I really could go on and on, but I won’t bore you. If you have never looked at the Philofaxy Flickr pool, I urge you to head over and start at the beginning. You won’t find much in the way of sticker- or washi tape-decorated or themed pages way one sees today, but I promise, you will not be disappointed. Looking back at the original photos today, I feel that same sense of sophistication that I felt when I first viewed the photos—everyone’s planner(s) looked so beautiful and so classy, I could not wait to get one of my own.

Finally, I did—it was a brown Personal Domino, given to me as a gift by the friend who first mentioned Filofax to me. I still have it and use it for storing extra inserts. The band is stretched and dirty and the inside isn’t great, but I don’t think I’ll ever get rid of it, for nostalgic reasons.

I can remember when Nan first came on the scene, followed by Laurie and Steve. (You can read about each of them, as well as Anita here.) It was shortly after Laurie started Plannerisms that I started my own blog, Well Planned Life. (Actually, it started out as Life Well Planned, which I loved, but which I changed after finding out that an American company used it as their tagline/slogan. I probably didn’t have to but just in case, I did. PS. The company no longer uses it. Oh well.) In any event, I started my blog in 2009, and most of my readers found me via Philofaxy. The major (blog) players of the time were (and some still are) Crazy Life of J, Crazy Suburban Mom, Oni, Zoe (though she was something else in the beginning), Imy, and Kyla, among others.

Since then, numerous planner blogs have popped up, as well as YouTube Channels, Instagram accounts, and Facebook pages. Who knew how it would take off? Nan and Steve and Laurie and Anita have all made that happen, all with meet-ups and Skype chats and Facebook groups (oh, the Facebook groups—too many to keep track of!). I remember when the first meet-up happened in London—I was so jealous! I wanted one here in the US. Never did I think I’d be the one to organize the first New York City meet-up. Never did I think that I’d put my planner into strange and amusing situations. Never did I think that my planner would be banned from New York City for trysting in a public park (read the other side of the story here).

And now, Philofaxy isn’t just about Filofaxes. Other planner and notebook and general office supply products are covered as well.

But what really sets this blog apart from any other I have followed (and I follow a lot) is the community that surrounds it. I have met so many wonderful, supportive, and friendly people from this community. Some friendships I’m sure will last a lifetime, and it’s Philofaxy that I have to thank for that. Back in 2012, I wrote a Philofaxy Culture Tribute post, but it still holds true today, though perhaps a few more practices and traditions can be added to the list.

So, thank you, Philofaxy for all you have done for the planner community at large and for me specifically. Without you I never would have met some amazing people, nor would I have been writing for the last (almost) 6 six years.

Happy 10th birthday! Here’s to another 10—and beyond!

Thank you Susan for a lovely trip down memory lane.  Now before you all rush to comment on this post... you will won't you... Susan has been very generous to offer a free Filofax iPad Air case, as pictured below. 

We will pick a person at random from the comments on this post on the blog to receive this gift. The closing date/time will be 12:35 on 31st October 2015... blog time (East Coast USA) this was the time of the very first post 10 years ago on that day. 

This is open to anyone world-wide as long as you have a postal address. 

Usual rules will apply... No cash alternative, Judges decision will be final, etc. 

Thank you everyone for all your support.