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:

1. Calendars for the current and the next year.
2. Inbox
3. Yearly inserts for the current and next year (year at a glance)
4. Monthly and weekly inserts (I use my own Monweeklies inserts that combine them together to see all weeks at a glance)
5. Dailies. I just recently added them because now I need them with my shop.
6. 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.