28 February 2023

Free For All Tuesday - No. 630

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.

27 February 2023

A date for your diary - Sunday 5 March 2023

We are going to run another 'Virtual Meet Up'

When? - Sunday 5 March 2023 at the following time:
  • Los Angeles 8:00 am, 
  • Denver 9:00 am
  • Dallas 10:00 am, 
  • New York 11:00am, 
  • Moncton 12:00 noon,
  • London 4:00 pm 
  • Paris 5:00 pm etc.  
Do not worry if you aren't available at the start of the session each one 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)

Join the chat here: https://join.skype.com/A85fEyS7HPUP

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 most of us will be on video as well.

Who - All of you... Join the chat here: https://join.skype.com/A85fEyS7HPUP  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.

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 5 March 2023.

26 February 2023

25 February 2023

Web Finds - Saturday 25 February 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:
  1. Web Finds - Saturday 18 February 2023
  2. Silent Sunday
  3. One planner or more than one planner/organiser?
  4. Free For All Tuesday - No. 629
  5. Video Web Finds - Wednesday 22 February 2023
  6. How Steve Gets Things Done (SGTD!)
  7. Free For All Friday - No. 746 by Anita 
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.
  1. New Stock Leathers | TM Lapon & TM OlivĂ© - Blog Vdsshop
  2. Dynamic Leadership - FranklinPlanner Talk
  3. PLOTTER at California Pen Show 2023 - PLOTTER USA
  4. Free Printable 2023-2024 Colorful Pastel Clouds Annual Calendar Inserts - Wendaful Planning
  5. VDS Shipping Rate changes - Blog Vdsshop
  6. The Franklin Five: March 2023 - FranklinPlanner Talk
  7. Episode #195: Managing Projects 6 - Getting Things Done
  8. How to Organize Your Website Tasks in the Most Efficient Manner - Wendaful Planning
  9. PLOTTER Debut Pop-up Event at Dromgoole’s - PLOTTER USA
  10. Link Love: Pen Show Crud Lingers - The Well-Appointed Desk
  11. 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




24 February 2023

Free For All Friday - No. 746 by Anita

As mentioned previously, I have returned to my GTD based setup for 2023 and will write another post once I've settled in a bit more. As part of this, I am also using these criteria (context, time available, resources and priorities) to help me choose what to next work on. As I solely work from home, context isn't as important as all I need is a computer and internet connection, but most of what I now do is balanced between my resources and priorities. For example, I need to file tax returns by a particular deadline, but my completely flexible hours mean that I can schedule this based on my current energy levels. Once I've finished my busiest quarter, I can then work less hours to recover. Whilst I do use Google calendar, I find that planning in my Kensington or notebook is the best way to ensure that I meet deadlines, but in the most sustainable way for me based on my current resources whilst I'm still recovering from burnout. 

Are you using your Filofax to help you work and/or meet your commitments in a more sustainable way?

And as always on Fridays, please feel free to discuss anything organiser related. I hope that you have a great weekend. 

23 February 2023

How Steve Gets Things Done (SGTD!)

I'm frequently asked how I use my A5 organiser. A picture saves 1000 words! It approximates to something like this: 


At the start of the week I find some quiet time to sit with a notebook/pocket organiser or any post-it notes I have hanging around from last week. 

I write out my notes in no particular order I just want to get them on paper whilst away from any distractions. 

From this list I add any new appointments to my Apple calendar to keep others informed of my movements! 

I also transfer the appointments and tasks from the 'Brain Dump' list to my A5 organiser. I put the tasks in the appropriate day if they have a deadline attached to them.

I copy any future reminders from Apple Reminders in to the Tasks part of my A5 organiser. This makes my organiser the centre of all activities and then I don't have to look in there and in various apps for what I should be doing, it's all in one place. I'm using the Enhanced Time Management Philofaxy insert shown in the picture. 

I journal most days about what I actually did each day, not too detailed, but enough detail to recall what I was doing, what I was reading or watching etc. 

I journal in a Quo Vadis Daily 21 bound planner, as shown in the picture above. The Daily 21 has very good paper which takes fountain pen perfectly and I archive each of these books at the end of the year.  

At the end of the week I review the week and carry forward any missed or unfinished tasks. 

During the week I will of course write in anything that pops up as needing to be done that week or in coming weeks, I don't wait until the Monday, my memory isn't that good these days. 

I realise my method and work flow might not work for everyone, thankfully it is working for me! 


22 February 2023

Video Web Finds - Wednesday 22 February 2023

I hope you have had a good weekend.

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.
  1. Never letting go of this one... - Seaweed Kisses
  2. Filofax The Original Collection in Midnight Blue - Filofax 
  3. Mid Week Plan With Me! - BuySellPlan
  4. February 2023 Planner Setup || I Lost My Voice - GanchiPlans
  5. A short message. - Flatability
  6. Franklin Classic Plan With Me || Feb 20 - 26th, 2023 || Last Month in this Binder! - Sandra Dahl
  7. Inside my personal rings || reference binder || Functional Planning - Life With MJB
  8. I made my own custom cleaning schedule - GanchiPlans
  9. March Sterling Ink Kit - BuySellPlan
  10. Plane with with me for Valentine Day - Natalia
  11. February flip through | A6 rings | VDS undyed | - Plan With Tiffanita
  12. Gillio Mia Cara Planner Flip - ambruh
  13. February 20th Plan With Me! - BuySellPlan
  14. Filofax Personal Finsbury SetUp/deutsch #filofax #setup #flipthrough - Pinky Rose Bianca
  15. How to Make Pocket Size Clear Divider Tabs from Laminating Sheets - Mariane Cresp
  16. Dekochaos bei der ersten Wochendeko nach Ewigkeiten.. | KW 06 im Filofax A5 - dekoRIAt
  17. Besser spät als nie - 2022 FlipThrough | Filofax | Paperblanks | Bullet Journal - my_ paperstory
  18. Set up filofax personal Malden - Karina Gley
  19. All Things Random | New NKJV Bible Review | Filofax Malden | Filofax Soft Domino - Shirley Joss
  20. Making a Handmade Leather Ring Planner Cover - P.X.K LeatherCraft 
  21. Your YouTube video could appear here. If you have a YT channel that features Filofax organisers or similar, please let us know. (steve at philofaxy dot com)
  • 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




21 February 2023

Free For All Tuesday - No. 629

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.

20 February 2023

One planner or more than one planner/organiser?

For a few years now I have been an advocate of the thought that 'You have one life, therefore you should only have one planner'

For several years I used an A5 at my desk and carried around a Filofax Personal size, occasionally an A6 or Pocket size depending on the phase I was going through. Whatever the size though, there was duplication. A diary insert in the A5 and another in what ever I was carrying around at the time. In general it worked, but occasionally there was a hiccup when something didn't get written in to either planner. 

This practice ended with the review of the compact Filofax Heritage that opened up new possibilities for me. I was able to carry the A5 size where ever I intending to go, leaving behind some of the A5 sections at home in another larger ring A5. Just keeping the essentials in a compact A5. This has been working well for me now for more than 5 years, possibly longer. 

That said, I'm about to break my own rule again! Travel, or more precisely air travel, something I've not done in recent years. I prefer to travel in Europe by train when I can. 

Budget airlines and some of the main carriers these days are quite restrictive on their baggage limits. I have a couple of trips coming up in the next few months, one a very quick two night stay in UK the other a couple of weeks in two European countries for a holiday we intended to take in 2020... and we all know why that didn't happen! 

In essence I'm looking to cut down my baggage to just a carry on bag for the short UK visit and a small light bag and case for the longer trip. I'm looking at everything I need for each trip. My 'packing list' has expanded over the years, it was therefore time to examine everything on the list and ask the question: 'Did you use this during the last 2-3 trips?' if not then it gets dropped. 

Naturally my organiser has come under examination. Yes I do use it whilst I'm away, life continues! But do I need something as big as an A5? 

I've been getting on well with my Pocket Kensington. Mainly as a notebook with a year planner. I decided to expand on its planning capability by adding a Month on Two Page diary insert and add in up coming appointments to it for the next few months to see how workable/useful it was. 

It is certainly a winner in terms of compact and light weight. When I'm travelling I like to be able to jot down things as I think of them. Also have a written record of booking numbers etc. The Pocket Kensington will be more than ample for these tasks. 

I was also considering using a Compact Personal size Filofax as an alternative. However, I will see how well I get on with the Pocket over the next week or two before trying that out. 

19 February 2023

Silent Sunday

 

Journal pages in gold personal Saffiano, thank you to Daniel B for providing the photo

18 February 2023

Web Finds - Saturday 18 February 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:
  1. Web Finds - Saturday 11 February 2023
  2. Silent Sunday
  3. Which Filofax Organisers Have Krause Style Rings?
  4. Free For All Tuesday - No. 628
  5. Video Web Finds - Wednesday 15 February 2023
  6. Buying and Selling Organisers
  7. Free For All Friday - No. 745 by Steve
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.
  1. Burde pocket-sized black ring organiser - This Bug's Life
  2. Episode #194: Managing Projects 5 - Getting Things Done
  3. The Original Collection | Where It All Began - Filofax UK - BLOG
  4. How to REALLY personalise your planner - MAY PAPER CO. - Blog
  5. 5 Reasons Why You NEED to Use a Habit Tracker - Wendaful Planning
  6. Love Your Life - FranklinPlanner Talk
  7. Link Love: Post-CA Pen Show - The Well-Appointed Desk
  8. Web Finds – 15 February 2023 - Travellers Notebook Times
  9. 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




17 February 2023

Free For All Friday - No. 745 by Steve

I'm still hopeful of being able to have another Philofaxy Meet Up in London, but with train strikes still randomly occurring both in UK and France, planning such an event is not easy!

Thankfully we are still holding our regular monthly Skype Virtual Meet Ups and social media is still going strong. But I do miss the true face to face nature of the meet ups. 

Have you got any trips planned this year? 

As always as it is Friday, please feel free to discuss anything organiser related. 

16 February 2023

Buying and Selling Organisers

There are so many more places these days to buy and sell organisers. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages as well as successes and risks. 

In the last 10 years or so I’ve been involved in a few of the sales groups on Facebook as well as looking after our own Adspot page here on Philofaxy. 

Through that experience I have seen a lot of things that have led to issues with sales. To make sure these issues don’t reoccur we have had to revise our guidelines and rules, these are to protect both parties, the seller and the buyer. 

If you are selling on Facebook or any other site make sure you follow the rules of sale on which ever site/group. On Facebook we have tried to make the rules similar on each of the planner sales groups, but there might be some minor differences. 

Always take plenty of photographs of the item, showing all sides of the planner, front back and inside and out. Include a name and date tag somewhere in your photos, this proves you own the item you are selling and when the photos were taken. 

Remove all paperwork from the pockets and move the name/date tag to different parts of the planner so that you might repeat some photos with it in different positions. 

Make sure the photos you submit are the correct way around, you don’t want potential buyers (and the admins) getting neck ache looking at your photos. 

In the description of the article include details such as smell, is your house a smoking house as leather absorbs cigarette smoke very easily and it is impossible to remove. Likewise if any perfume has been sprayed on the item or pets have been near the item. Note it all in your advert. 

Try to include details like you have owned it from new. If you have the original sales invoice include that in the sale, this can be a requirement if there is a warranty from the original supplier. 

Be careful about using phrases like ‘Brand New’ ‘Never used’ especially if your photos show otherwise. 

Point out any known defects in the leather or the rings, any pen marks etc. 

As a seller if you have someone interested in your item check out the buyer as much as possible. Before they have paid you ask them for their name and address. Check out that address, make sure it actually exists, that it isn’t a forwarding service or similar. These can be problematic if the item is damaged in transit between the destination address you were given and the real address of the buyer. 

Remember PayPal tends to side with the buyer not the seller in any disputes and so you can lose not only the item you have posted but also your money. 

Always over pack the item with plenty of padding around the organiser, remove any inserts from the rings, use a strong box not just a paper/plastic wrapping. Yes it might cost a little more, but you should reflect the true cost of postage and packing in your price of the item. 

Take photos of the item as it is packed, and send them to the buyer so they can see how to get in to the package when it arrives! People must curse me when they receive one from me, I was trained by the UK Foreign Office…. don’t you know!!!!

Buyers…. When you receive a parcel inspect the package before you sign for it. If it is damaged or wet do not accept it. Don’t be tempted to open it, doing so counts as accepting it in what ever condition it is in and voids the insurance on the item. 

When paying via PayPal always pay via Goods and Services. Yes the seller will have to pay a small fee, but you gain protection should the item fail to arrive or is damaged on arrival or not as described. You lose all of that protection if you pay by ‘Friends and Family’ It is important that the seller pays the fees, they can’t ask the buyer to pay the fees on top of the item price as it is against the PayPal terms and conditions to do that.  

Timely communications help both the buyer and seller. Don’t advertise something if you are about to go away on holiday and you don’t have the item with you! Delays in replying lead to suspicions that the buyer has been scammed. Keep your communications simple, remember the other party might not speak/read your language. 

The overall success of your sales is dependent on many factors. Get it right and your item will sell quicker than you imagined, you will not be stressed out by the experience and you will get a great item for the money or the money if you are selling to spend on another item. 

Good luck. 

15 February 2023

Video Web Finds - Wednesday 15 February 2023

I hope you have had a good weekend.

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.
  1. The most versatile Filofax ever made? My view // Flatability - Flatability
  2. Plan with me for this week in Filofax - Natalia
  3. planner asmr - GanchiPlans
  4. Van Der Spek VDS Stardust Velvet Croco Personal Planner. - Kathy Tamburri
  5. February Planner Flip!! - Just1Espi
  6. Plan With Me! Week of February 13th in my Franklin Covey Compact Anna Binder - BuySellPlan
  7. Filofax Q&A // Flatability - Flatability
  8. My Planner Belief - A6 Rings/Techo, Personal Wide Rings, Standard Bujo & Hobonichi Mega - Moniki
  9. How I Use My Monthly Overview | 2023 Planner Insert Mini-Series PART 2 | MadyPlans - MadyPlans
  10. Plan With Me || Feb. 13th - 19th, 2023 || Blush Beautiful Life Binder - Sandra Dahl
  11. 2023 Planner Revision || Junior Discbound || Plum Paper Planner || Functional Planning - Life With MJB
  12. Brain Dumping & Planning - Personal Rings, Pocket Moleskine & Hobonichi Weeks - Moniki
  13. Plan With Me | Week of February 13 - 19, 2023 | Personal Rings - Tiffany’s Plans
  14. Monday plans in my #franklinclassic #beautifullife binder - Sandra Dahl
  15. Flip of my new Gillio personal wide lotus planner - Planner fun and inspiration with Melissa
  16. Filofax Domino-A country style theme. Vintage Typewriter. - The Planner Pincher
  17. Planner Fun With Pens | Filofax Malden | Filofax Soft Domino - Shirley Joss
  18. Rivestiamo Agendina Filofax - Annina Vlog
  19. Wochendeko im Filofax Norfolk „be my valentine“ | Klebschneiderei mit Gequatsche - planenaufpapier
  20. Monatsdekoration Februar - Kalender/Filofax dekorieren - kreativi
  21. Reviewing My Favourite Filofax | Malden | Iris & Fuschia - Shirley Joss
  22. Dekochaos bei der ersten Wochendeko Nach Ewigkeiten.. | KW 06 im Filofax A5 - dekoRIAt
  23. Your YouTube video could appear here. If you have a YT channel that features Filofax organisers or similar, please let us know. (steve at philofaxy dot com)
  • 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




14 February 2023

Free For All Tuesday - No. 628

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.

13 February 2023

Which Filofax Organisers Have Krause Style Rings?

Which Filofax organisers are fitted with Krause style rings? Ones that can removed and replaced? 

This question came up recently. I'm not aware of a listing of which models have Krause style rings. Therefore I think we should create one. 

I will add a further qualification to the question though, whilst some of the recent models such as the Classic Croc have non-riveted ring mechanisms they instead use the PXR style mechanism which are very securely mounted on the backing plate. This makes them difficult to remove and also to replace them because finding replacements is not easy, unless you know different. 

To create this list we need your help. Please comment below with the name of the model and the approximate year and include if the ring mechanism is riveted in or it has a plain top cover which would suggest a Krause style mechanism is used. 

To get us started here are some popular models:

  • Malden - Riveted
  • Finsbury - Riveted
  • Winchester - Krause Style
  • Chameleon - Riveted
  • Domino - Riveted through the spine
  • Fusion - Riveted
  • Belmont - Krause Style
  • Holborn - Riveted
  • Sandhurst - Krause Style
  • Cavendish - Krause Style
  • Kensington - Krause Style
  • Eton - Krause Style
  • Cuban - Riveted
  • York - Krause Style
Thank you for your help. 

11 February 2023

Web Finds - Saturday 11 February 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:
  1. Web Finds - Saturday 4 February 2023
  2. Silent Sunday
  3. William Hannah A6 Notebook/Planner - Long Term Review
  4. Free For All Tuesday - No. 627
  5. Video Web Finds - Wednesday 8 February 2023
  6. Cracking the QC codes - Clarification.
  7. Free for All Friday No. 744 by Nan

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.
  1. Mental Wellness - FranklinPlanner Talk
  2. The Productivity Assessment: Get to the Core of Your Productivity Issues and Learn the Skills You Need to Get More Done! - Strange & Charmed
  3. Plotter Narrow Notebook Review - The Pen Addict
  4. Episode #193: Slice of GTD Life with Jim Small - Getting Things Done
  5. The Art of Planning: Creative Ideas for Customizing Your Planner - The Fabulous Planner - News
  6. From Big Plans to the Big Game – An Interview with Britain Covey - FranklinPlanner Talk
  7. Rainbow weekly spread with Happy Planner Half Sheet Inserts & Fun Brights Sticker Book - All About Planners
  8. Link Love: Moon Pie on my Mind - The Well-Appointed Desk
  9. Web Finds – 8 February 2023 - Travellers Notebook Times
  10. 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




10 February 2023

Free for All Friday No. 744 by Nan

How do you organize projects? 

Do you do everything on your daily diary pages? Or do you use divider tabs to store individual project or topic notes? Or do keep project materials outside of your organizer entirely? 

There are so many options! Currently, I have tabs devoted to the major areas of my life, and each project in that area gets its own page(s). 

And as always on Fridays, feel free to ask or discuss anything related to ring-bound organizers!

09 February 2023

Cracking the QC codes - Clarification.

There has been a few posts on Facebook recently about the Quality Control codes on the clasps and inside of zip Filofax organisers. These are a three letter code, which as far as we know indicate the year, month and location of manufacture of each item. 


Last year I provided this post to update people: Decoding Quality Control Letters

However following on from that post I think we need to clarify how we reached our original conclusions about the codes. 

For that we need to go back just over 10 years to 2012. Back then Filofax were using an external third party company called Slam PR to handle their public relations and press contracts. A Slam PR representative had made a statement about Filofax users that was not appreciated by the Philofaxy readers and multiple bloggers at the time. 

You can read about that here. The original article is not longer available but it can be found using the Web Archive linked here. You will also see that this resulted in an Open Letter to Slam PR by a lot of bloggers, Web Finds - 18 September 2012 is full of links to each blog, not all of them still work. The original letter by David is here again recovered using the Web Archive. 

That flurry of posts did get a reaction from Filofax! I got a phone call from the Head of Marketing at Filofax UK. The phone call was about an hour in length and it was like two long lost friends catching up. At last we had made a connection with someone in the company that understood the passion of the Philofaxy community. 

I was invited to a meeting with people from Filofax to discuss our concerns as well as other issues that had been building up. 

Notes of that meeting are here. Filofax/Philofaxy Meeting - 26 November 2012 - Meeting Notes

As a sidebar to that meeting I got talking to Julia, the Product Development Manager for Filofax. I had lots of questions about curious aspects of the design of Filofax organisers over the years. It is just the sort of person I am!! Julia found it quite amusing that I was asking her all these questions. 

One of my questions was 'Are the three letters on the clasps some form of QC code that dates the organiser?' to which she responded "Yes but you will never work it out"... 'Challenge accepted' !!!

Once I was back in France, I then posted about the outcomes of the meeting and in one of the Facebook groups I posted about the QC letters, we then started to gather together codes from as many organisers as possible to look to see if we could establish the pattern. We were about like the Bletchley Park Code Breakers! If you have enough raw data you can crack any fixed code!

For the next 3-4 years after that meeting we had a very good and close working relationship. I met up with the marketing team at Burgess Hill on a few occasions. They lent me their catalogue archive and that formed the basis of our catalogues page here on Philofaxy, although we have doubled it in size since then.  

Sadly things came to a bit of an abrupt halt after the company was taken over by a US company in 2013 and by 2015 they had made a lot of their staff in the marketing department redundant. 

Julia has since left the company in March 2020, therefore a lot of our links back in to the company are no longer there. 

As many of you have realised the original codes would have only been valid for 26 years, short compared to the life cycle of a lot of organisers. We believe Z would have been 2016. What has happened since then? 

Given that it was no longer secret i.e. we were confident that we had worked out the code. Filofax could have either:

  • Restarted the code at A in 2017
  • Gone for a random code, as long as they knew what the code was it didn't matter. 
From the codes I've seen shared on line since 2016 it appears to me as that is what they have gone for the random option. 

Additionally it has also been suggested that the codes were only used for Non-Made in UK products. However, on investigating this possibility I came across the Sherwood model that is stamped 'Made in England' and it had the QC codes stamped on the clasp! 

The $64,000,000 question I'm sure you have all been asking, "What is the code?"

A1991AJanuary
B1992BFebruary
C1993CMarch
D1994DApril
E1995EMay
F1996FJune
G1997GJuly
H1998HAugust
I1999ISeptember
J2000JOctober
K2001KNovember
L2002LDecember
M2003
N2004
O2005
P2006
Q2007
R2008
S2009
T2010
U2011
V2012
W2013
X2014
Y2015
Z2016

Using my Malden as an example:


It has the code of SIV, if you work on S equalling 2009 which is the year before the Malden was introduced. I indicates the month of September, with V being the location. 

Some people have suggested that the first letter is the location and the third letter is the year. Doing that on the above example V would be 2012, a year after I bought this particular item. 

In a few cases including one item I own reversing the code does make more sense. The Journey Travel Companion with the code KLX that came out in mid-2013 and my review was published in July 2013. K would put it in 2001 where as X puts it as 2014 a year after I receive it. Whilst it is a closer match it's not a perfect one. 

The rest of my code collection seem to follow closely the first letter being the year, although in some cases the first letter and the third letter are very close to each other in the alphabet, if not the same!

In conclusion the code they have used isn't cast in stone it seems that different locations may have reversed the code, may be to give the code a longer life, may be not. 

From the point of view of decoding the codes on your own organisers you have to look at the code and assuming the item was purchased/made before 2016 then you have to consider either the first or third letter as being the year, so knowledge of when the item was purchased is almost essential, if you are the first owner then you have a better chance of a more solid date compared to a previously owned item. 

Unfortunately after 2016 things have gone fairly random, as yet we are still trying to make sense of the codes after 2016. 

Happy Code hunting

08 February 2023

Video Web Finds - Wednesday 8 February 2023

I hope you have had a good weekend.

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.
  1. Planner Flip Through | January 2023 | Before The Pen - Vienna Ortiz
  2. Jane's Agenda B6 Dividers for my Franklin Covey! - BuySellPlan
  3. Trying a New Way of Listing Tasks - Olding Plans
  4. Filofax set up - Recurring tasks // Flatability - Flatability
  5. Half Letter vs A5 - GanchiPlans
  6. Plan With Me | Month Of February - Vienna Ortiz
  7. February Setup | Gillio Amica with Franklin Covey Compact Inserts | Every Day Carry Flip Through - My Moxie Dreams
  8. Daily & Weekly Section - Filofax Personal Malden - Moniki
  9. Planner and Journal System Review | Did I make any changes? - Tiffany’s Plans
  10. Switching up my Dashboards for February! - BuySellPlan
  11. DIY A6 Disc Planner || February PWM - GanchiPlans
  12. Vintage Filofax with an amazing ring mechanism. - Flatability
  13. A5 Moterm Catch All Refreshed Setup ft @cloth_and_paper inserts - MyLifeReBranded
  14. Plan your finances in style with Filofax Saffiano Personal Compact Zip - Filofax
  15. Plan With Me! Week of February 6th - BuySellPlan
  16. HOW I Use My Quarterly Planner Inserts | 2023 Big-Picture Planning PART 1 | MadyPlans - MadyPlans
  17. Plan With Me | Week Of Jan 30 - Feb 5th - Vienna Ortiz
  18. PLAN WITH ME | Week of February 6 - 12, 2023 | Personal Rings - Tiffany’s Plans
  19. Franklin Classic Plan With Me || February 6th - 12th, 2023 - Sandra Dahl
  20. Planner Flip Through | Medium Gillio Compagna - Fairley
  21. SIMPLE & PRODUCTIVE weekly planning routine! A system that actually works! - MomYePlans
  22. Updated 2023 Planners: Hobonichi and Filofax - Jen’s Crafts and Journals
  23. Обзор моей коллекции ! Filofax original personal size - Lisenok Li
  24. Planner Setup: Setting Up My Filofax Pocket Planner For February - One Crafty Dolo
  25. |* FEBRUARY 2023 SETUP *| - A5 Filofax Finsbury - LIVE LOVE PLAN
  26. February 2023 Planner Flip - Playing With Paper
  27. What I am currently working on (What’s on my Workspace) - Jen’s Crafts and Journals
  28. Filofax Domino- making a Page for A Daily Routine. - The Planner Pincher
  29. PLAN WITH ME | 6-12 Feb 2023 | Moterm Personal sized Veg Tan Honey Ring Planner - Sandy Plans
  30. 2023 Planner Flip-Through (3-Ring Binder Technique) - MILK AND HONEY LIFE
  31. Your YouTube video could appear here. If you have a YT channel that features Filofax organisers or similar, please let us know. (steve at philofaxy dot com)
  • 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




07 February 2023

Free For All Tuesday - No. 627

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.