Philofaxy: May 2019

31 May 2019

Free For All Friday - No. 550 by Steve

How often do you change your Filofax setup? Do you frequently do little tweaks, or one big housecleaning per year?

Of course, since it's Friday, we can talk about anything Filofax.

30 May 2019

Filofax Eton Compact - Update

In December last year I shared with you a purchase I had made on Ebay (France) as I said at the time I rarely look at eBay (too much temptation!)

I had searched for details of the Filofax Eton Compact, but I hadn't found it in any of the catalogues at all.

To refresh you memory here are some of the photographs of it. The full details are in my previous post here.

I took the Eton Compact with me to PlannerCon Europe recently in the hope that someone from Filofax could shine some light on this mystery Filofax.

I was pleasantly surprised when I was told that the Eton Compact was as I had suspected, a prototype design that never went in to production and they would have made no more than ten of them.

There followed some discussion as to how I acquired it! It was made in about 2003-4 which is a couple of years after I bought my Psion 5Mx palmtop computer.

I guess it never went in to production because for the combine bulk of the Psion plus the organiser in your pocket wasn't considered practical.

I was carrying my Fusion iPad/A5 Organiser with me at PlannerCon, the modern equivalent in a way!

I am happy to have finally discovered some more about the history of this organiser.

29 May 2019

Video Web Finds - Wednesday 29 May 2019

So I hope you have had a good weekend.

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

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.

You might also be interested in Planner Spread Love on Facebook.

Enjoy

28 May 2019

A Date For Your Diary - Sunday 2 June 2019

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

When? - Sunday 2 June 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.

Do not worry if you aren't available at the start of one of the session as it lasts 1-2 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). Please make sure you have the latest version of Skype.

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

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 June 2019.

Free For All Tuesday - No. 434

So what questions or discussion points have you got for us today?

It doesn't matter if you are a beginner or a more experienced user of organisers, we want to hear your thoughts, questions, opinions etc.

We are here to answer your questions.

Make today the one day you post a comment or a question.

It is Tuesday after all so fire away.

27 May 2019

Editing & Using the Philofaxy Diary Inserts - A Practical Guide

This was the subject of my talk at PlannerCon Europe in May 2019

I then gave a very quick demonstration of editing the files, which ran something like this. Please try to watch this full screen on reasonable size monitor.

26 May 2019

Reader Under The Spotlight - Marusya (MySummer Touch)

Hi! I'm MySummerTouch on social media, recently I opened up an etsy shop that sells planner printables. I also have an Instagram, YouTube channel and Facebook groups under the same name!

I've been a planner lover my whole life, I always liked to learn new productivity systems and I try to implement them in my planners as well! All of my "adventures" I share on my social media.

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

It was when I was studying in Manhattan. It was a compact size black Franklin Covey. I bought it together with the whole year of day on 2 pages inserts.

It has large rings and it was so heavy to take with me that I have abandoned it after a day of using! I was a student and I carried a lot of very large and heavy textbooks! I still have it, though, it's very useful as a storage organizer! And it has a lot of functionable pockets! Still have it and like it!

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

The last organizer that I bought was Gillio Grey Croco Matt in medium (personal) size. It is so gorgeous, I still admire every time I hold it in my hands! On top of it, it has velvety feel, and, and after having so many leather organizers, mostly filofaxes made out of calf leather, I didn't expect it from the printed calf leather!

Another one that I absolutely love for many years already is a personal Ochre Malden. It has an interesting story. I placed an order on Ebay for a Malden and didn't get anything after half a year of waiting. The store has disappeared from Ebay together with my money. I was so disappointed that I posted it on Philofaxy Facebook group. One reader send the Ochre Malden to me after reading my post! The story has another happy ending -my money were returned to me too! And I love this Malden because it is as soft as a butter! It is also the oldest from my collection!

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

A lot. Lol. I had a video on my youtube channel showing all of my organizers at that time, but it was several years ago, and my collection has grown since then....

I particularly like the Malden Filofax, and I had them in all sizes except mini and in 5 colors. All of the leathers are different!

Unfortunately, I live far away from Filofax, Gillio, Franklin Covey stores and I can't just hop into the store to experience a new model.

All of my organizers' purchases were good researched and well thought of, so I can't say that I don't like them!

4. What do you use your organisers for?

I know that a lot of people have different organizers for different parts of their life.

I prefer to organize all my life in one size, so I I have just one binder to take with me (a personal size). Other binders are storage binders for the inserts that I don't take with me every day. But, having said it, I do like to change organizers themselves, as frequently as I want.

For summers I do like to go down to a pocket size.

For my store I have one large A5 Traveler's Notebook and one personal size Filofax to hold my ideas on new inserts on paper!

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

I am a very logical person and I need to put all of my inserts into a logical order:

Calendars for the current and the next year.
Inbox
Yearly inserts for the current and next year (year at a glance)
Monthly and weekly inserts (I use my own Monweeklies inserts that combine them together to see all weeks at a glance)
Dailies. I just recently added them because now I need them with my shop.
Lists and other inserts that include goals, projects, etc.

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

I would like to combine rings and strings together in one because I like to have everything in one organizer.

Just yesterday I have added several strings to my Malden pocket Crimson to experiment with that! I have added my goal Workbook on the strings, so now I could transfer it to my passport traveler's notebook if I want to travel just with it!

I also would like the option of taking out the rings plate so we could put the strings in instead of the rings! I think all organizers should be versatile like that!

Also the back and front pocket to hold notebooks as in covers are necessary in case I want to add a notebook. And the back pocket in all of the pocket size organizers is a must to use them as wallets!

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

Before buying a certain size, try to cut out several sheets of paper of this size, and try them out for several days. Maybe it's good to buy planner inserts in this size to try them out beforehand.

Another tip is to have a shoe box near your bed or table to store all your past inserts in one place. It's easier than having to buy rings and put your inserts on them and I could find my inserts easily without a paper clutter!

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

No, unfortunately. I would love to do that and meet same-minded people! If I ever go to Europe, I'll try to organize such event at the same dates as my trip!

I "met" a lot of wonderful people through the planner community and still enjoy it every day since 2012!

9. What was the last movie you watched?

Game of Thrones, 8 season, 5th episode. Dayenery's behaviour shocked me.

10. What was the last book you read?

Haruki Murakami's "South of the Border, West of the Sun". Very good writing, I recommend this book.

Thank you Marusya

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.

25 May 2019

Web Finds - Saturday 25 May 2019

So I hope you have had a good week

So now it is time to enjoy a few blog posts from around the internet, so grab a drink and make yourself comfortable 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
Consider joining our Facebook group - Filofax for Philofaxy fans

And have you tried reading one of my Flipboard magazines yet? It works great on a tablet or smart phone, but you can view them on a desktop machine as well. Be sure to Follow the ones you like and you will get notifications when I update them.

View my Flipboard Magazine. View my Flipboard Magazine. View my Flipboard Magazine. View my Flipboard Magazine.
View my Flipboard Magazine. View my Flipboard Magazine. View my Flipboard Magazine. View my Flipboard Magazine.
Enjoy

24 May 2019

Free for All Friday No. 549 by Nan

I find that my Filofax is indispensable for record-keeping and planning, but when it comes to productivity, I need strategic help. Recently, I discovered a smartphone app called Pomodoro, which helps me focus on my work for set periods and take necessary breaks.

Do you use any apps along with your organizer?

Of course, since it's Friday, all ring-bound organizer discussion is welcome!

23 May 2019

Van der Spek - Custom A5 Manager

I weakened... again! Yes I ordered another Van der Spek Custom A5 Manager organiser.

I spent several weeks deciding on the design of this one and Petra Van der Spek was very patient answering my questions about what was possible and what leather was available etc.

So here it is. The details of the leather colours etc are as follows:

	Outside	Inside
Leather	Dark Brown JL 101	Yellow JL 106
Stitching	Ivory	Dark Brown

The Dark Brown JL (Janet Leather) is a reserve list leather. It is a gorgeous vegetable tanned leather. I saw it on another custom order late last year and although I had to wait for Petra to get it back in stock again, it was worth the wait. I have a similar combination of dark brown and yellow in another leather planner from another brand and I really like the combination.

As you can see from the table above I went for contrast stitching on both the outside and the inside.

On the outside, this Van der Spek looks like any other, there are no alterations or hidden pockets.

The organiser arrived in this very smart black box with their logo in the centre.

And here is the inside of the A5 organiser. I've removed the flyleaf to show you the details.

I once again opted for 35mm Krause rings. Despite pruning the contents of my A5 to the bone, it I put all of the sections in one organiser, it is a little more than a 25 mm ring mechanism can cope with.

The first obvious change is the inside front cover, I opted for the Van der Spek '454' layout, I have this same layout in another A5 organiser and I really like it.

The photo below shows the comparison between the layout I chose compared to the regular one. I don't need that many card slots, I find three slots more than enough.

Looking in detail at the inside front layout, it has as I have just mentioned three vertical card slots. One slip pocket behind those. A slightly deeper horizontal slip pocket above that as well. There are two full height vertical slip pockets as well.

Overall there is an excellent amount of storage in the front cover alone to store maps, brochures, tickets, documents etc. And based on previous experience of this layout I make full use of it.

Additionally there is an elasticated pen loop on the front cover.

The addition of the embossed logo is a nice touch, this was added at my request, but I don't believe it will appear on all custom orders. It is due to appear on the limited edition planners announced at PlannerCon EU.

Whilst in close up, note that all pocket edges are stitched, rather than just cut.

The A5 flyleaf is in the same leathers. One colour on one side.

And the other colour on the other side.

The rear inside layout includes a gusseted zip pocket with a full height slip pocket behind that. There is also the second elasticated pen loop.

I use both loops, one with a mechanical pencil the other for a pen.

I also requested the addition of the full width back pocket. This is useful for full size A4 sheets, such as print outs of travel confirmations for hotels or trains etc. This pocket is very nicely lined too.

The gusset of the zip pocket is at the top and it gives this pocket quite a large capacity as well as making it easy to get things in and out of it.

The zip has a small leather flap to cushion it and stop it denting your inserts when the organiser is closed. When open it doesn't interfere at all.

Another requested option was an extended clasp. To make sure it didn't look 'untidy' when the organiser was not so full, I requested an additional popper on the clasp. This seems to work quite well.

I've seen similar arrangements on other brands, sometimes with two poppers on the cover rather than the clasp

Thank you to Petra and the team for making this organiser for me.

Further Information.

Web Site: http://www.vdsshop.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/VDSleathergoods
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/vanderspekorganiserfans/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vdsshop/

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