Philofaxy: 2022

31 December 2022

Web Finds - Saturday 31 December 2022

Happy New Year for 2023.

It is time to enjoy a few blog posts from around the internet, grab a drink and make yourself comfortable for our weekly round-up.

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

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.

Can GTD help you do less? - Getting Things Done
I've ordered the Norfolk Filofax... - Filofancy | Life On Paper | Zara M.
Time To Reflect - FranklinPlanner Talk
What I did over Christmas - Pam Alison Knits
Countdown to 2023 – Kikki-K - notesinabook
The Extreme List of Free Planner Printables - Planners, printables, stickers, inserts
Episode #187: Slice of GTD Life with Keri Hobert - Getting Things Done
Bring back blogging - Belle's blog
Link Love: Dead Week - The Well-Appointed Desk
Web Finds – 28 December 2022 - Travellers Notebook Times
Your blog post could appear here. Please let us know if you have a blog that features ring bound organisers.

Please leave a comment on any of the blogs you enjoyed reading and mention that you saw their post mentioned on Philofaxy. Thank you
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.
Your Filofax/Organiser posts could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list.
Consider joining our Facebook group - Filofax for Philofaxy fans

Enjoy

30 December 2022

Free For All Friday - No. 738 by Anita

After a busy number of months at work, I'm very grateful to be on annual leave this week and then back on the 4th January. In preparation for the new year, I normally set time aside now with my Filofax to:

Remove all contents
Clean with a damp cloth
Polish with Lord Sheraton leather balsam
Choose a different dashboard and dividers
Choose a different set up, if needed - I will be changing back to my GTD based set up
Choose some different pens, if I fancy a change
Process all notes and brain dumps from my inbox (first section)
Update my to do lists
Update my projects list and notes
Update my A to Z section - remove any unwanted sheets and update projects and/or to dos from this section
Add more spare paper to my inbox
Have a think about what has been working well or needs to be tweaked.

Have you done, or are going to do, something similar to get ready for 2023?

And as always on Fridays, please feel free to discuss anything organiser related.
I hope that you have a great weekend and wishing you a happy New Year from all of us at Philofaxy.

29 December 2022

Guest post series - 'Filohax' No.3 - Paul

Thanks again to Paul for this third instalment of his guest post series.

You can find all the 'Filohax' posts here.

Why modern technology doesn't satisfy

Julie Ann raised an interesting point recently about how electronic devices and systems don't 'satisfy' some of us in the way that physical planners do. This got me thinking about why this might be. Drawing only from my own experiences of using Filofaxes in my early career, then becoming an early adopter of PDAs, then Apple Mac based organisational systems - and now relatively recently returning to Filofax - I feel like I have a good perspective on the subject.

We are all both psychological AND physical beings, and however much we might think that we are more 'advanced' now, we have the same biology now as our hunter gatherer forbears did. To survive they also had to 'conceptualise' throughout the day, but turned that into hand to eye coordination moving through physical territories.

What I have realised is that my Filofax is 'my territory', and just like back then, I have such a thorough knowledge of the 'territory' that I can go into it (navigate to a section) manage a crop with tools (write up an idea or notes with a tool - a pen!), or harvest out of the territory what I need (retrieve information). For me the Filofax represents a massively scaled down territory and the physical act of opening and turning pages / dividers / writing feels natural, as interacting with the real territory did all those hundreds of generations ago.

That's not to say that newer technologies can't play a part, of course a physical planner can't send or receive emails, take calls or post to social media - but together they are an improvement over either one used on its own. I suppose REAL progress lies in staying grounded in an increasingly virtual world…

My Cavendish and my newly rediscovered Slimline Finsbury collating my Moleskine sketchbook collection

28 December 2022

Video Web Finds - Wednesday 28 December 2022

So I hope you have had a good Christmas.

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.

Please leave a comment on any of the videos you enjoyed and mention you saw a link on Philofaxy.
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.

Enjoy

27 December 2022

Free For All Tuesday - No. 621

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 with any questions and comments.

26 December 2022

Diary Inserts for 2023 it is not too late....

Have you decided yet what inserts you are going to use next year? Have you sourced them yet? It's not too late!

We are in the last week of 2022 so if you haven't got yours sorted yet..... then Philofaxy is as good a place as any to look?

Let me recap what we have to offer here at Philofaxy for you to download and use.

You will find all the diary inserts for 2023 on this page. If you have already got your 2023 inserts sorted out, you might want to get ready for 2024 as well. Those inserts are available on this page.

As a bonus for visiting the pages scroll past the 2024 inserts to find the 2025 inserts

Please visit those pages to see the full list of inserts available.

Please note that the previews will not show the current year. We only update those when a design changes so some will show some previous years.

As you will recall we have rationalised the list of ready to print files available. However, the previous full list of source files are still available and listed on those pages as well.

Any broken links or incorrect links please report them to Steve, thanks. The page was hand edited/crafted.

For a detailed explanation of how to understand and use the new format files. Please revisit this earlier post.

If you are using some of our older format files, I did a guide on how to use those files here.

If you get stuck, don't panic or get stressed out about it, get in touch with Steve and I will be more than happy to help you out and get you set up with a set of files for 2023.

25 December 2022

Silent Sunday

Season's greetings from all of us at Philofaxy and I hope that you have a lovely Christmas.

24 December 2022

Web Finds - Saturday 24 December 2022

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:

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.

Have you ever weighed your planner? - StickersSwissMade
The Magic of the Season - FranklinPlanner Talk
How to use a planner effectively & stay organized - My Idle Moments
Episode #186: GTD Weekly Review 5 - Getting Things Done
Simple Christmas themed weekly spread with foil washi tape - All About Planners
How to Stay on Top of Things When Life Gets Super Busy - Wendaful Planning
The Franklin Five: January 2023 - FranklinPlanner Talk
5 Game-Changing Accessories - Goulet Pens Blog
How to Colour Code your Planner ( Family, School & Work Calendars ) - My Idle Moments
Link Love: Yule Be Glad It’s Link Love - The Well-Appointed Desk
Web Finds – 21 December 2022 - Travellers Notebook Times
Your blog post could appear here. Please let us know if you have a blog that features ring bound organisers.

Please leave a comment on any of the blogs you enjoyed reading and mention that you saw their post mentioned on Philofaxy. Thank you
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.
Your Filofax/Organiser posts could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list.
Consider joining our Facebook group - Filofax for Philofaxy fans

Enjoy

23 December 2022

Free For All Friday - No. 737 by Steve

Christmas is almost here.....

I would have liked to have done a meet up before the end of the year, but in the last few months planning anything involving public transport, especially trains has been fraught with issues with strikes and cancellations. Let us hope for better luck in 2023!

All of the Philofaxy team would like to wish you and your families all the best wishes for Christmas and the New Year. Take care and stay safe....

And as it is Friday... Please feel free to discuss anything Filofax related.

22 December 2022

Removing/Replacing Rings

Removing rings from your Filofax to then use it as a notebook cover seems to be very in vogue at the moment. The reasons for doing so are mixed and you will have your own ideas as to why this is a good idea or not.

Removing rings using some methods is not a reversible process, if a month or so later you decide that a bound planner isn't for you and you want to go back using rings then you might have to buy a new organiser because the rings you removed are no longer fit to be reused.

In the case of riveted in rings on say a Filofax Malden, the only way to remove them is to drill out the rivets. The only way to reinsert the rings is to then look for a set that bolt in and you will have to have the blind domed headed bolts on the outside of the spine. Not terrible but certainly not acceptable to some people.

Krause rings or a similar design of removable rings were not designed originally with the idea of them being put in and taken out of the organiser on a frequent basis. The design originates from over a hundred years ago!

Alternative designs do exist of course, the rings used in Moterm and Franklin Planners are held in with a small screw fastener, making them much easier to change.

Unfortunately there are videos on You Tube on how to remove rings that in my opinion, use methods that are fairly destructive and result in the mechanisms being damaged to the point you wouldn't be able to reuse them. That's fine if you never want to use the rings again, or they were damaged beyond repair anyway and you have a new set to go in.

Before we get too far in to explaining why I don't recommend some methods and how to do it with the minimum of risk in damaging the rings or the organiser, let us recap on the names of the parts of the ring mechanism.

A picture saves a thousand words!

The cover plate is not only there for decorative purposes, it actually holds the tabs in when the rings are open. It is only made of thin metal and it is easily damaged. If you bend it too much it will end up with creases in it.

When pulling the rings apart to remove them, once the cover is off, try to pull evenly with rings 3 and 4, this spreads the load. I've seen some people only pull one pair of rings apart and that might result in the mechanism becoming twisted and therefore having gaps if you try to reassemble them.

Another flawed method is to prise the rings off the mounting lugs, this can not only damage the leather but it will bend or even break the mounting lugs if extreme force is used. Please don't do it!

Videos with methods I don't recommend or support:

How To Remove Krause Rings From Filofax which copies a method started with this next one
Gillio Planner Firenze - Changing rings

After seeing that last one from 9 years ago. I devise my own more mechanically sympathetic methods which you will see used in these two videos:

Changing the ring mechanism - one of my very early videos
Ring Mechanisms - Removing and Installing Krause Rings - similar method but more hints and tips.

If looked after and not abused a set of rings should last a lifetime.

If you have any problems with replacing rings just get in touch with me steve at philofaxy dot com and we can arrange to connect to solve the issues.

21 December 2022

Video Web Finds - Wednesday 21 December 2022

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.

Please leave a comment on any of the videos you enjoyed and mention you saw a link on Philofaxy.
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.

Enjoy

20 December 2022

Free For All Tuesday - No. 620

19 December 2022

Filofax Kensington - Is it a Classic?

The Filofax Kensington was sold between approximately 1999 to 2003 although it might have been available in some markets after that.

It was sold in a wide range of sizes: Mini, Pocket. Slimline, Personal, A5 Deskfax and A4. Basically all the sizes except M2!

This is an extract from the 2000 catalogue.

I have this model in Pocket, Personal and A5 sizes. The Pocket and Personal size are very similar in construction. Both have quite supple covers, but the A5 and I am told that the Deskfax and A4 are also similar, in that they have stiffener in the covers. As a result my A5 feels very hard and a lot firmer in the hand.

This makes it easy to use if you are holding it and there isn't a flat surface near by to put the organiser on to write on. But it was a bit of a surprise compared to the Personal and Pocket models.

I tend to use the A5 mostly at my desk, so I've not noticed any issues with it being stiffer compared to other A5's I own.

The Pocket has 15mm rings, Personal 23mm rings and A5 has 30mm rings.

I find 30mm rings in an A5 about the right size for me, although I can manage with 25mm in an A5 as well.

My trio of Kensingtons in A5, Personal and Pocket

The inside front of the A5, with 6 card slots, a vertical slip pocket, a zip pocket and business card or 3.5" floppy disc pocket, yes one of those fits!! And a pen loop.

No I don't normally carry a copy of my Netscape install discs! but I had to test it!

The A5 back inside cover has a vertical slip pocket and a horizontal slot to accept a writing pad. And a slightly smaller pen loop.

The front inside cover of the Personal size has eight card slots

The rear inside cover has a vertical zip pocket and the single pen loop.

The inside front of the Pocket size has four vertical card slots.

The back inside cover has a vertical zip pocket and the single pen loop.

If you are wondering about having a Kensington in your 'collection' I'm a little late to the party! We have plenty of past posts on this model:

Do you like the Kensington? Do you own and use one?

18 December 2022

Silent Sunday

Dashboards

17 December 2022

Web Finds - Saturday 17 December 2022

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.

A5 diary inserts trade? - reddit.com
Intentions - Pam Alison Knits
Slow It Down - FranklinPlanner Talk
Episode #185: GTD Weekly Review 4 - Getting Things Done
Review of Notebook Therapy 160 GSM Dotted Notebook and bullet journaling stencils - All About Planners
Link Love: Countdown to the Holidays - The Well-Appointed Desk
Web Finds – 14 December 2022 - Travellers Notebook Times
Your blog post could appear here. Please let us know if you have a blog that features ring bound organisers.

Please leave a comment on any of the blogs you enjoyed reading and mention that you saw their post mentioned on Philofaxy. Thank you
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.
Your Filofax/Organiser posts could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list.
Consider joining our Facebook group - Filofax for Philofaxy fans

Enjoy

16 December 2022

Free For All Friday - No. 736

The ability to be able to insert and remove pages from your Filofax has always been for me the main advantage to using this format of 'diary'. The contents can evolve and adapt through the year.

When I started using a Filofax back in late 1986 I was spoilt by the vast range of inserts available. These days I tend to create and print all my own inserts, but I'm still able to change things when ever there is a need to change them.

For many people their organiser is much more than a 'diary'. What pages get most use during the year in your organiser?

Of course being a Friday please feel free to discuss anything Filofax related.

15 December 2022

Filofax Garden zipper pouch review

Depending on the Filofax model, it can sometimes be hard to get into the zippered pockets or I've found that I'd like to securely carry money or important documents, so I hole punched a cheap plastic pencil case. Despite years of use, it's still going strong and has been very useful whilst on holiday, or for processing bits of paper or receipts.

Plastic pencil case on a trip to Iceland

I rarely buy direct from Filofax, so I decided to treat myself to an upgraded version when they brought out the Garden zipper pouch.

My first impressions were that I like the print and the pouch itself feels nice to the touch. The Filofax website doesn't say what material it's made of, but it feels like some sort of plastic, with a more textured pink lining inside.

The pouch fits both personal and A5 size. I remember seeing some reviews saying that it doesn't fit A5, but due to the differences in hole configuration between personal and A5, it does work as below in my DIY A5 binder.

However, one thing that was immediately obvious to me was that the Filofax pouch is unsurprisingly more bulky than a basic pencil case, which is not something I considered at time of purchase. In the photos below, both are empty and you can see that the Filofax pouch takes up quite a bit more ring space.

The Filofax pouch is also smaller.

So, while the new pouch may be aesthetically more pleasing to the eye, unfortunately from a practical point of view my old pencil case is still the winner as:

It takes up very little ring space, even when full with receipts
It's taller and wider, so holds quite a bit more, like folded bits of A4 paper.

However, I do think that the Garden pouch would work quite well to hold spare pens etc. in a second binder, along with some spare paper, so that you have it all easily to hand.

Pages

31 December 2022

30 December 2022

29 December 2022

Why modern technology doesn't satisfy

28 December 2022

27 December 2022

26 December 2022

25 December 2022

24 December 2022

23 December 2022

22 December 2022

21 December 2022

20 December 2022

19 December 2022

18 December 2022

17 December 2022

16 December 2022

15 December 2022