Philofaxy: September 2016

30 September 2016

Free For All Friday - No. 411 by Anita

I've just arrived home after a wonderful week away by the sea with my family.
My Kensington has been invaluable in helping me plan for the holiday, and I just can't imagine going away now without taking it with me. I use one page for to-do items and useful information, and a separate one for my packing list. I will write down things like where the nearest supermarket is, or possible routes for going walking or running.

Do you take your binder with you when you travel?

And as always on Fridays, please feel free to discuss anything ring bound planner related.
Have a great weekend.

29 September 2016

The HitchHikers Guide to the Plannerverse - Episode 31

Guest Interview - Louise Umeki - Plannercon 2017

1st PlannerCon 2017 National Conference in beautiful San Francisco, California. Play and plan throughout two fabulous days with your friends and connect with new friends! Vendor expos with your favourite vendors, workshops & classes, amazing speakers, development personal and so much more!

Plannercon 2017 is a unique event that will be held in March 2017 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel - San Francisco Airport, 1333 Old Bayshore Highway, Burlingame, California, United States

Karine interviewed Louise to find out all about the event.

If you have ideas for future episodes please send them to steve at philofaxy dot com

Show Notes (timings approximate)
00:00 - Introductions
01:30 - Dreams to reality
02:00 - How did this come about
03:00 - The Planner World and the start of the idea of Plannercon 2017
10:00 - Ticket Sales
13:15 - Vision boards
14:15 - Travellers Notebooks
16:30 - Vision books
22:20 - Background career
25:00 - More to Plannercon than being a meet up
26:45 - Thought of the day from Louise

Episode 31 - Guest Interview - Louise Umeki - Plannercon 2017

A direct download is also available here: Episode31.mp3

Show notes: A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf

NB: A5 is in A4 format so it can be scaled to suit A5 or A6 size. Personal is for printing direct on Personal size paper.

Presenters - Karine Tovmassian and Louise Umeki
Editing and production - Steve Morton

Our Websites:
Karine: Plannerology, Karine Tovmassian (IG)
Louise: PlannerCon,
Steve: Philofaxy, Travellers Notebook Times, Mr Philofaxy (IG)

Naturally we would love to hear your feedback on the podcast. If you use iTunes please gives us your rating or reviews of the podcast.

Previous Episodes:

30 - Form Following Function - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
29 - Seasonal To Do Lists - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
28 - Making and keeping annual goals - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
27 - Organising the family - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
26 - Guest interview - Theresa Hall - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
25 - Guest interview - Ray Blake - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
24 - Defining the important things from the urgent things - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
23 - Guest interview with Rita Sedani - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
22 - Printing your own inserts - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
21 - How to derail your planning system by over thinking - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
20 - Digital devices/services and your analogue planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
19 - What To Keep In Your 'Others' Tab - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
18 - Zombie Apocalypse Preparation - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
17 - Managing Finances In Your Planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
16 - Planning for those of us who actually can't live without planning, with guest co-host Carie Harling - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
15 - Automation Nirvana - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
14 - Work Life Balance and Your Planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
13 - GTD Productivity And Using Your Paper Planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
12 - Job Seeking and Keeping - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
11 - Planner Fail - A5 docx pdf Personal docx pdf
10 - Planner Hacks - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
9 - Planner Planning - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
8 - Choosing Inserts - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
7 - How do you carry your planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
6 - Planners on the go - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
5 - Why would you pay more than the price of a Filofax? - A5 docx pdf Personal docx pdf
4 - Using Your Planner To Create Permanent Habit Changes - A5 docx pdf Personal docx pdf
3 - Getting on with two or more planners - A5 docx pdf Personal docx pdf
2 - Where to start your planning journey and why - A5 docx pdf Personal docx pdf
1 - What size and why.... - A5 docx pdf Personal docx pdf

28 September 2016

Downsizing to the NEW Filofax Lockwood Pocket Slim – Part 2 Guest post by Tim Edwards

I was delighted when Steve discovered that Filofax was to reintroduce Extra Slim Pocket models. These have existed before – both the Executive and Guildford were made as “Pocket Extra Slim” but neither have been available for several years. This time it’s the Lockwood that has been produced and sold as “Pocket Slim”. (The new model is almost identical in size to the earlier models).

The Lockwood Range was first introduced in summer 2014 in Personal and A5 with zipped closures and in 2015 with clasp closures. New colours have been recently added and Filofax is describing the range as its’ “rising star”. It’s been a really welcome addition as it appeals to both women and men. For too long, in my view, all we seem to have had is new florals, patterns, patent leather and ultra-feminine colours. It great to see this range now also appear in Pocket size.

The Filofax Lockwood Pocket Slim retails at £59/ €82 and comes in a proper box rather than a plastic sleeve - hurrah! The new boxes are a bit more colourful than previous ones, albeit with the same pattern.

The Lockwood has the embossed “f” symbol on the spine and the same leather on both the external and internal faces. Dimensions are 141 x 100 x 20mm with an 11mm mechanism and it weighs just 180g with contents - incredibly light!

Filofax is typical expressive about the leather used. In a recent blog post it talks of “typical exquisite luxury full grain buffalo leather with a lightly oiled burnished finish, stitched edging… inspired by the patina of a highly polished wooden surface… achieved by applying a shrinking process during the tanning of the buffalo leather to highlight its beautiful natural grain. The leather is then effectively ironed to flatten the grains for a polished, burnished shine. Each organiser is truly unique, developing over time, much like our heritage products still used today”.

In reality, I would describe the leather as similar in look and feel to the early Maldens but not as floppy. It’s not as “buttery” as the Holborn models (especially the Holborn Grey) but it’s certainly good quality, although not in the league of Gillio or Van der Spek. Initially, it’s launched in three colours – Cognac, Garnet (darker brown) and Navy (blue). There is no indication of country of origin or any claim of ethical production or environmental considerations – just the quality code FEB on mine (suggesting a June 2016 manufacture – not February!).

There are only three pockets – a full length internal on each side with a curved profile at the bottom plus a card pocket on the left.

Images of the front and rear suggest external slip pockets, but I’m afraid that in this size these are merely stitched. This is a shame, as a slip pocket to hold a rail ticket or similar, would be very useful.

“Flatability” on first opening is good - but not perfect – due to the stiffener used. It’s not a problem though and will, no doubt, improve over time. This is what to expect on first opening without contents: -

There is only one card pocket but it will take more than one card without apparent stretching and credit cards can be staggered without looking awkward or causing bulging. Money and receipts fit well in the vertical pockets and the new UK polymer (plastic) £5 notes should fit without needing to be folded, although I’ve yet to see one up here in Yorkshire!

Cards can also go two high in the vertical pockets easily enough. Alternatively they could go on the rings by purchasing the standard Filofax plastic card holder. One insert will hold four cards and I need to buy one. One important point to note is that, whilst credit and business cards fit horizontally in the full height pockets, they will need to go vertically if placed in a card holder on the rings (as with all Pocket-sized organisers).

Thin notebooks (Midori, Flex etc) can be inserted into the vertical pockets without affecting the ring mechanism when closed. This combines the benefits of both bound and ring binder for those who like both!

A Flex jot pad fits perfectly into the card pocket.

The pen loop is on the right and is elastic with a protective leather flap. This is just about OK and is designed so that the pen sits within the binder cover.

Standard “fill” is in cotton cream (plus a few note pages in other colours) and includes a multi-lingual week-on-one-page diary for 2017. As already mentioned, the mechanism is only 11mm – enough for me - but bear this is mind if you tend to “stuff” your organiser. It won’t take it! It would be possible to use stripped and punched Field Notes Size (140mm) inserts – such as Moleskine but it doesn’t look great in my view. The binder is actually 141mm tall so there would be no overhanging paper top or bottom. However, it would interfere with the pen loop.

So, finally, here’s a photo comparison between (left to right and top to bottom) the Holborn Pocket (15mm rings – shown as new with standard fill) the Flex by Filofax Pocket (no rings – shown with my minor modifications) and the Lockwood Pocket Slim (11mm rings – shown as new with standard fill). Notice, what a beast the Holborn seems by comparison – especially in thickness! A Malden would show an even bigger difference as it has 19mm rings (the Holborn has 15mm).

It’s early days yet, but I know several other readers here have been facing similar choice options. It’s also a much needed product to appeal to both men and women. As an organiser to use alongside a smart phone or as a satellite to an A5 or Personal organiser, I think it offers a lot of potential and is certainly a very welcome addition to the range.

Note – I paid advertised price for this from a UK retailer and the views (and photos) are entirely my own! It was not offered for review by Filofax Group or the retailer

Availability: The Filofax Lockwood Pocket Slim is currently available from the following retailers that I am aware of at the time of posting:

Availability with Filofax USA is unknown at the time of publication.

Thank you Tim for two excellent and very detailed posts.

27 September 2016

Web Finds - 27 September 2016

So I hope you have had a good weekend.

So now it is time to enjoy a great collection of blog posts and videos from around the internet.

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

For tips on how to improve your videos, please see this post. Also this video too Webfinds
Your Filofax/Organiser Videos could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list.

My Week Posts

Enjoy.

Free For All Tuesday - No. 295

26 September 2016

Gillio introduce more new colours for their organisers - Medium Mia Cara

Last week we looked at the Gillio A6 Compagna model, today we are looking at the Gillio Mia Cara Medium range.

Gillio are releasing this model in some new colours/leather finishes tomorrow and Philofaxy has been given advance sight of these new colours.

Description

The medium size Mia Cara is in two parts and it is quite a sizeable organiser in your hands. It uses 25mm rings and the spacing is the same as a personal size Filofax organiser.

Internally you will notice that the medium has a vertical zip pocket with a leather tab. There is also a vertical slip pocket behind the zip pocket and the expanding pocket is secured with two poppers.

There is also the full length back pocket too. This will take a full size sheet of A4 paper but the pocket isn't quite deep enough to take the full width of an A4 sheet, about 10 mm sticks out the top. But folded in half it swallows it completely!

The outer jacket has six horizontal card slots on the inside back cover with a slip pocket behind this section. The organiser itself has 3 vertical card slots making a total of 9 card slots. There is also an additional business card pocket at the base.

25 September 2016

A Date For Your Diary - Sunday 2nd October 2016

We are going to run another conference round-table voice/video/text chat using Skype a little later than normal this month due to my travel commitments.

When? - Sunday 2 October at the following times:

London 10:00 am,
Paris 11:00 am,
Brisbane 7:00 pm time.

Additionally we will be on line later in the day at the following times:

Los Angeles 8:00 am,
Denver 9:00 am
Dallas 10:00 am,
New York 11:00am,
London 4:00 pm
Paris 5:00 pm etc.

See the World Clock to make sure you have the right time.

The timing of these two sessions have been chosen to hopefully allow as many people to join in compared to previous round-tables.

Do not worry if you aren't available at the start of one of our sessions each one lasts 2-3 hours so pop up when you are available and say hello.

Where? - an on-line chat using Skype. with voice and video (if you wish)

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. Video is optional, but a few of us will be on video as well.

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!

If you have any questions you want to ask then please let us know in the group or before we start.

How -

Connect to Philofaxy by firstly searching for Philofaxy in Skype, I will then add you as a contact.
Then 'Send Contact Request', I will then add you in to the chat room.
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... but don't be afraid to join in the discussion.

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, just mute your microphone in Skype

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 2 October 2016.

Reader Under the Spotlight. - Natasha

Today I would like to introduce you to Natasha

As a longtime reader of this blog I am looking out every day for a new post. They are not only interesting, I also learn a thing or two from all the tips & tricks kindly shared on Philofaxy (not to mention the free diary inserts).

So, time to return something to the blog and participate in the Reader Under the Spotlight series. I am Natasha, I come from the Netherlands, I am 46 years old, married, and mother of a 19 year old son. I am working as a assistant shop-manager in a small chain of shops. In my spare time I am studying Management Science. I like reading, writing, cooking, baking and gardening.

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

It was unavoidable that I would buy an organiser one day! Both my parents did use an organiser, my mother was very fond of her navy blue Succes mini as her diary and to store here address book. My father used all of his working life a Succes junior. Somehow it occurred to me that when you are grow up, you will have an organiser! My first diaries were the usual school diary with pictures of popstars and the like (I heavily decorated my pages, using only 6 fineliners and scissors to make it look more ‘interesting’, no one had ever heard of washi in those days). At 17, so about 1987, I bought my first non-brand organiser. It was a black, faux-leather Personal size one and I felt really grown up with it. It lasted over a decade; I used it daily for about ten years and then passed it on to my husband who used it for another 10 years. Then it fell completly apart. Remarkably: it only costed about €10

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

After having my son I was a couple of years a stay-at-home-mum and in those days a small bound diary was enough. When I started working again, my first purchase was a blue Filofax Pimlico in Pocket size. I used the Pocket size for many years but finally out grown it (although it took me a long time to realise that it was the size what didn’t fit anymore, not the insert/pocket configuration/binder).

The last five years I have settled on the Personal size again and the only swapping is from Compact to Personal and back when needed. Out of the binders I own, my trusty brown Holborn is my favourite.

3. How many Filofax or other brands of organisers do you own?

Pocket/Junior size: FF Pimlico Blue, FF Baroque Black, Succes DeLuxe Brown, Succes Excellence Brown (limited edition);
A5: Succes Tokyo Black;
Personal/Standard size: Succes Excellence Light Brown (limited edition), VDS Touch Me Black, FF Holborn Brown, FF Original Pillarbox Red;
Compact size: FF Calypso Black, FF Charleston Purple.
And to make it complete: from Gillio Firenze a Giramondo in Green, a Giramondo XL in Purple and two Giramondos XS, one in Gold and one in Grey.
I also have a FF Clipbook in red.

4. What do you use your organisers for?

I have several organizers in use with all a different function. My main binder is at the moment the Holborn. The Compact Charleston is in use to keep track of my study, the Compact Calypso is used as my travel binder. All of the Giramondo’s are also in use: the Green houses several journals, the XL Purple is for all my study notes, the XS Gold is my wallet and the XS Grey is my journal on the go.

The Clipbook is in use as the house binder, and to track everything financial in our household.

5. How many sections do you have in your organiser and what is each section used for?

In the long run, I found the classic Filofax sections (diary / notes / projects / information / financial / addresses) are actually pretty accurate to stay organised.

My diary section is a cotton cream W1P, which I interleave with cotton cream lined paper. I’m using the W1P+notes format (as found in for example Moleskine diaries) for over ten years, as my number of tasks are way more than appointments.

This diary format is available in the normal FF paper but I like the cotton cream paper better, so this is my solution to have the diary on the paper I like. Because it wasn’t designed this way the diary page and notes page switch from left to right and back but that doesn’t bother me. Another plus: in very busy periods I simply add more lined paper in between the weeks.

The notes section = for notes, the projects section is for all the running things that are not completed, currently: team schedule, study schedule, lists for December: presents to buy (each person has his own list, to keep the number of presents even), menu ideas, list for christmas cards to be send. When something new pops up and can’t be finished in a few hours, I make it a project and give it it’s own coloured paper.

The information section contains the school holidays for 2016-2017, a world map and a A-Z index were completed but still regularly consulted projects are filled.

Behind finance I have two envelops, one for travel and one for personal expenses (from mylifeallinoneplace.com), a cash form and a sheet where I keep track of the grocery expenses.

I keep a full address book on paper, writing the address on a postcard (which I do a lot) is a lot easier when you take the address from paper instead of a phone screen that continually turns in stand bye modus…

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

Although the Holborn, with a ton pockets, is my favourite binder I started to like the simplicity of the Original. I don’t need all those cardslots in particulair, I would leave them out of the design. And the big back pocket on the VDS Touch Me sounded very practical but I barely use it. I can see the benefits, but simply didn’t develop the habit to remeber that I have one to store things. Or worse: to remember that I put it there!

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

Using the A-Z index as a file register made a lot of difference in the way I setup and use my organiser. I have a lot of information that I need to reference regularly and in this way I find it quickly without cluttering up the running, not completed projects.

8. Have you ever attended a Philofaxy meet-up? if not do you intend to one day?

I would love to go to a meet-up, Philofaxy, Gillio or VDS! Gillio and VDS are meet-ups within my reach, however they are usually held on a Saturday, understandable, but for me it is a lot of fuzz to have a day off on Saturday (it is a normal, and perhaps the most important workday in a shop). I still hope that I can make it to a meet-up one day.

9. What was the last movie you watched?

To be honiest: I’m not such a moviewatcher.

10. What was the last book you read?

The Neapolitan Novels from Elena Ferrante. Highly recommended, read them all during my holiday!

Thank you Natasha

As you know we are always looking for new people to appear in our 'Reader Under Spotlight feature, you don't have to be 'well known' or a long term user to be considered to appear in this 'spot'.

So please contact Steve philofaxy at gmail dot com today. Thank you.

24 September 2016

Web Finds - 24 September 2016

So I hope you have had a good week.

So now it is time to enjoy a great collection of blog posts from around the internet, so grab a drink and make yourself for our weekly round-up.

Here are some Philofaxy posts you might have missed this week:

So here are the latest Filofax and other brand blog posts from around the Internet. Don't forget to leave a comment on the posts you enjoyed reading, all bloggers enjoy getting comments.

We monitor over 400 blogs and sites, your Filofax/Organiser blog posts could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list.
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...
Your Filofax/Organiser posts could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list.
For some general tips on Filofax Blogging, please see this post

We are on the look out for more people to take part in Reader Under the Spotlight. If you would like to appear in this feature then please contact Steve : philofaxy at gmail dot com Thank you.

Enjoy.

23 September 2016

Free For All Friday No. 410 by Nan

Filofax organizers come in a few standard sizes: A4, A5, Personal (and Compact, which is Personal size paper in a smaller ring size), Pocket, and Mini. There are also some discontinued sizes, such as Deskfax (which had 9 holes) and M2 (a really mini size with only 3 holes).

I recently saw a friend who loves the Deskfax size and collects vintage binders. The Deskfax paper size is actually B5, which he orders from Japanese paper suppliers.

Some people love A6 paper, which is very hard to get in North America but common among European and Japanese manufacturers. On the other hand, if you love the Franklin Covey brand and live in Europe, you have to deal with 8.5x11 paper, which is just a little shorter and wider than A4.

Are you one of those outliers? How do you get your hands on paper and organizers in sizes that aren't sold in your country?

Something to ponder as you enjoy the weekend!

22 September 2016

The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Plannerverse - Episode 30

Form Following Function

So you have decided on the size of your planner, but how do you decide what other features your planner needs.

When we talk about planners in this episode we aren't just referring to ring bound planners because other forms of planners can also have various storage options in their covers as well.

If you have ideas for future episodes please send them to steve at philofaxy dot com

Show Notes (timings approximate)
00:00 - Introductions
01:00 - Size decided, what next.
02:00 - Choosing what you need
03:00 - Be aware of the design rules on certain sizes.
04:30 - If you could design a Custom Planner what would you include?
06:00 - Do you use separate wallet?
07:00 - Finding the perfect bag
08:00 - Create a priority order of features you need.
09:00 - Which planner is the planner.
10:00 - At what point did you make the decision when seeing something.
11:00 - Filofax Heritage A5
12:00 - Remember what is it you are going to use.
13:00 - How much do you really need to carry
15:15 - The extremes of designs
16:15 - The context of use influences the designs
17:45 - Organiser as a wallet - Video
18:00 - Steve's coin holder/pocket
19:00 - What else do you need to carry
20:15 - Where do you carry your mobile phone
22:45 - Do you want to carry a small tablet/electronic reader
24:30 - Having your planner with you and using it is the most important thing.
28:00 - Tips of the week

Episode 30 - Form Following Function

A direct download is also available here: Episode30.mp3

Show notes: A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf

NB: A5 is in A4 format so it can be scaled to suit A5 or A6 size. Personal is for printing direct on Personal size paper.

Presenters - Karine Tovmassian and Steve Morton
Editing and production - Steve Morton

Our Websites:
Karine: Plannerology, Karine Tovmassian (IG)
Steve: Philofaxy, Travellers Notebook Times, Mr Philofaxy (IG)

Naturally we would love to hear your feedback on the podcast. If you use iTunes please gives us your rating or reviews of the podcast.

Previous Episodes:

29 - Seasonal To Do Lists - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
28 - Making and keeping annual goals - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
27 - Organising the family - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
26 - Guest interview - Theresa Hall - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
25 - Guest interview - Ray Blake - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
24 - Defining the important things from the urgent things - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
23 - Guest interview with Rita Sedani - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
22 - Printing your own inserts - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
21 - How to derail your planning system by over thinking - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
20 - Digital devices/services and your analogue planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
19 - What To Keep In Your 'Others' Tab - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
18 - Zombie Apocalypse Preparation - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
17 - Managing Finances In Your Planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
16 - Planning for those of us who actually can't live without planning, with guest co-host Carie Harling - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
15 - Automation Nirvana - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
14 - Work Life Balance and Your Planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
13 - GTD Productivity And Using Your Paper Planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
12 - Job Seeking and Keeping - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
11 - Planner Fail - A5 docx pdf Personal docx pdf
10 - Planner Hacks - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
9 - Planner Planning - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
8 - Choosing Inserts - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
7 - How do you carry your planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
6 - Planners on the go - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
5 - Why would you pay more than the price of a Filofax? - A5 docx pdf Personal docx pdf
4 - Using Your Planner To Create Permanent Habit Changes - A5 docx pdf Personal docx pdf
3 - Getting on with two or more planners - A5 docx pdf Personal docx pdf
2 - Where to start your planning journey and why - A5 docx pdf Personal docx pdf
1 - What size and why.... - A5 docx pdf Personal docx pdf

21 September 2016

Downsizing to the NEW Filofax Lockwood Pocket Slim – Part 1 Guest post by Tim Edwards

Thank you Tim for the detailed two part post on his recent downsizing to a Pocket Slim organiser.

I’ve been a keen paper organiser user for nearly 30 years and have been following a “slimming down” approach for most of that time – trying to find the optimum, portable, yet practical size! My move into the recently launched Filofax Lockwood Pocket Slim is a radical step – even for me!

Today, I take a look at some of the various ways I’ve tried to slim down over the years. Next week, in Part 2, I’ll give an overview of my recent purchase – the Lockwood Pocket Slim – and letting you know how I’ve got on!

Background - at heart I’ve always been an A5-man and I still use this size at my desk. It’s not really a portable option though and as long ago as 1991 when Time Manager (TMI) introduced their Compact, I immediately purchased one for when “out and about”. It’s still undoubtedly my favourite all-time organiser and was regularly used (I have two) until the Filofax Holborn Slimline came out in 2011. Here’s the TMI Compact (still available) and the Holborn Slimline (now discontinued)

I switched because the Holborn Slimline is much lighter (approx. 350g vs 550g with contents), slimmer (13mm oval rings vs 18mm) and smaller (191 x 120 x 25mm compared with 208 x 140 x 30mm).

I’ve used my Holborn (USA readers note – it should be pronounced “Ho-bun” after a district in Central London, not “Holl-borne”!) daily but, increasingly, I was leaving it behind – often literally – in shops and stores. It was just too easy to leave it on the counter whilst I browsed. This was because, like many men, I no longer regularly wear a jacket or carry a briefcase or bag. Being tempted to not carry it or leave it at home was no good either! The number one rule to success in planning is definitely to always have your organiser/ planner with you at all times. Abandon this for the “I’m sure I’ll remember”/ “I’ll jot it down later” approach at your peril!

So, last year, I looked at other options for an organiser that I could take everywhere and Ideally, something that could double as a wallet – and suitable for work, shopping, hiking, cycling – wherever! I considered going totally digital and purchased a new iPhone 6S Plus. This has proved very successful for calendars, tasks and to-do’s, reminders and contacts using Pocket Informant and Evernote – but that’s really outside the scope of this post!

What is important is that, for long-term planning, creative thinking and general note taking, paper is still essential for me. A smaller, slim but genuinely pocket size (must fit in trouser pocket without looking ridiculous) organiser was what I needed – in short something like a pocket sized version of my Holborn? Of course, such a model is still made and I tracked down a rare, grey version in Germany. However, much as I love all the pockets (including the zipped), it certainly isn’t slim! With the full length back pocket and large clasp, it’s definitely something to carry in a bag or a large jacket pocket.

Next, I tried a Midori Traveller’s Notebook Passport size. I love the inserts, but am not a fan of the pocketless, unstitched single piece of leather that forms the cover. Equally, whilst I know there is now a large market, the growing number of imitations do nothing for me.

So, I purchased a Flex by Filofax Pocket in leather. In my view, this is much better quality than the Midori, has several pockets and MTN inserts still fit perfectly. I made a modification by gently gluing the MTN clear plastic insert onto the spine in the centre, to enable me to have a zip pocket for coins and extra pockets for credit/debit cards. I also made an elasticated closure loop from a Moleskine which fits into the Jot Pad slot on the right. This has been my main organiser for the past year.

Filofax discontinued the Flex year planners and diaries last year. However, the Travellers Notebook monthly and weekly products fit perfectly into Flex pocket covers.

Whilst bound inserts have big advantages – particularly for us left-handers who hate having to write around ring mechanisms – I’ve found I still missed the flexibility a ringed system offers. I hate having to keep writing in an increasingly tatty notebook because there are still empty pages and having to carry a full year of calendar around, full of events that have long-since taken place. A ringed organiser enables you to just keep the current pages you need, helping one to focus on what’s important NOW!

So, I was delighted when Steve discovered that Filofax was to reintroduce Extra Slim Pocket models. These have existed before – both the Executive and Guildford were made and branded as “Pocket Extra Slim” but neither have been available for several years. This time it’s the Lockwood that has been produced and sold as “Pocket Slim”.

In Part 2 (next week), I’ll give an overview of the new model, various ways of using it and let you know how I’ve got on with it! In the meantime, full details of the Lockwood Pocket Slim are on the Filofax site in Germany and will appear soon on the Filofax UK site and elsewhere soon.

Thank you Tim.

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