As I wrote in a previous FFAF, I recently moved all planning into my A5 Filofax, as opposed to my previous system where I used a separate bound weekly planner along with my Filofax.
Part of the reason for this move was to be able to plan the upcoming two years all in one book. I can't really do that in a bound book, because I am limited by the timeframe of the bound planner.
The next two years are a distinct and significant period of time for me and my family, and I am already planning things well into 2024. In my Filofax I have monthly planning pages all the way through the end of 2024, and I rotate in weekly pages as needed. I also have a designated tabbed section for this project, to hold related notes.
Being able to rotate weekly pages through my Filofax also eliminates the friction I felt at the end of every year (or in my case, the school year) when I had to carry two bound weekly planners around with me to plan the end of the school year and into the next school year. That transition time of working out of two planners was always frustrating. Now my weekly planing pages are in my one working book, no matter what time of year it is. I'll be able to plan the next two years seamlessly.
I find myself relying on my Filofax as my all-in-one system in a way I never could with a bound weekly planner.
Are you using your Filofax for any big projects?
And as always on Fridays, feel free to ask and/ or discuss anything Filofax related!
I've been using a personal size Filofax for a number of years - to great effect - as my main organising system. In contrast to your own experience, in teaching, as an IT worker I found I could 'get by' with just the Filofax and then use IT systems for all the other 'heavy lifting' (in terms of data and project detail). The Filofax (since 1988 in one form or another) has always been at the core of my system and I couldn't work out why, until I considered it in detail recently: speed of jotting/sketching, reliability, flexibility, speed of retrieval, simplicity and general useability. They also look nice!
ReplyDeleteThe reality, for me at least, has been that an emphasis on IT working has simply changed the way in which I use the written planner and 'freed it up' for wider uses. I would say I rely as much on it now (if not more) than I did in 1988!
The current Personal Filofax has however become a victim of its own success. Over-full with networking/contact information, diary entries, plan/project schemes, basic financial info, sketches, poetry and inspirational quotes - I have had to 'archive' some sections in an old 'Time Manager'. For this reason I have decided to go 'Full Power' and migrate to an A5 format. So - it seems - I've ended up going down the same route as yourself, but from a different start point.
Thanks to everyone for the great website and podcasts, by the way. I also recently bought Steve's book and it contained some information I'd never before considered - and is a good companion to the website and the podcasts.
I used Personal size from 1996-2006, then moved up to A5 when life got more complicated. Then I needed a larger page size so moved up to bigger and bigger bound planners. Last year I used an A4 bound planner along with multiple notebooks. Not too much of an issue when I was home all the time, but now that I'm out and about again I need my system to be portable. My stuffed A5 Filofax feels like a lot in my bag, but it does have everything I need all in one book. So that's a Win for me!
DeleteI've had a couple of months off from using any organiser, so will shortly be setting up my Filofax or Filofaxes to get back into all sorts of things! My main projects will be focussing on decluttering, clearing backlogs of different areas & dealing with some family commitments too. I'm looking forward to it after having a break & will be writing some posts here about my plans & progress.
ReplyDeleteWell here on Philofaxy we have inserts available for long term planners... 2025 now available!!
ReplyDeleteI think they way you are using monthly pages is a good way of planning that far ahead in time. You can bring in weeklies as you get closer to the months and expand the information you have to record. Alternatively if you have a lot of information for individual days, you could use undated daily pages and slot those in now.