The beauty of Filofaxes is that they're completely customizable. They don't even come with an instruction manual to tell you how to use them.
What advice would you give when someone sees your Filofax and desperately asks for help getting organized? (Besides, of course, reading this blog, joining one of our many Facebook groups, or watching YouTube video.)
I would say, start with week-on-2-pages and a bunch of to-do pages and blank paper. Just dump everything in your brain in there, and then it will become clear whether you need to start using tabs or custom pages.
Of course, since it's Friday, feel free to make any organizer-related conversation you wish!
I would start by first determining the need and purpose. Is the need purely for a calendar or a planner- and if so, how wide a range does the individual person´s needs require. For purely a calendar, that is a no-brainer if there ever was one. A calendar and a notebook, even small ring diameter can take that. Is the need purely to plan domestic or professional duties, or both? If both, are they bound to mix with each other or are they both completely separate entities? Exactly what are the planning, tracking, note taking needs of a person? I do not believe that there is one set way to set up a planner for everybody. It should be tweaked to suit each person´s need. Therefore it would be downright impossible to give a set answer without bombarding the person first with a plethora of questions.
ReplyDeleteI always say start with the scheduled appointments, then go to tasks, items to buy, and a section for notes, using brain dump. From then on, the organizational needs will become clearer.
ReplyDeleteI would ask the person, why he/she wants to become more organised. Then again why is this or that not happening the way you wished for? The answers would lay out the specific needs of that person. With this I could give a more tailored advice for a suitable set-up and usage. In the end a planner is a tool that can only work properly when I know what it needs to do for me plus how I handle this tool effectively. As others already mentioned, there is not one that fits all.
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