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31 March 2023

Free For All Friday No 751 by Laurie

I have tried and tried over for many years to use the Bullet Journal method, and have failed every time. The same things tend to trip me up again and again.

To be fair, for a couple of years I successfully used a modified version of the BuJo method, where my notebook was my daily inbox, and I put any lists or Collections in the back of the notebook. Of course I had to use a separate planner, because the BuJo method doesn't lend itself to the type of intensive day to day and forward planning I need. As long as I used the notebook just as my daily log, it was fine.

But whenever I try to use the actual Bullet Journal method with more of the components (Monthly Log, Future Log, Reviews, etc), I can't get past thinking my Filofax functions much better.

Of course there are pros and cons to every system. One pro of the Bullet Journal method is using an A5 notebook, which is much easier to carry around than most A5 Filofax binders (depending on ring size).

But the big con, for me, is having pages mixed around with each other in the bound book. Even with intensive indexing, I don't like lists and notes mixed in with daily log pages, monthly pages, reviews, various trackers, reference info, etc. I find things much more easily when my daily pages are all together in their own section, my trackers are in a designated spot, and my lists and collections are in their own categorized tabbed sections.

The other con, which is hard for me to get past, is not being able to move pages around in a bound notebook. My Filofax feels like so much less pressure. If I put something someplace, and decide it would be more convenient to have it in a different place, I just move it there. Or if I try a new tracker, form, review page, or whatever, and don't like it, I can modify or remove it, so there aren't a bunch of dead pages mixed in with the pages I'm actually using.

Here's a real-life example: In my previous FFAF, I wrote about the pages I like to keep within my monthly section. It's easy for me to find these month to month. If I write more than one page about something, for example Good Things That Happened This Month, or my planner reviews, I just add that page in my binder next, so the pages are continuous. But in a bound notebook, if I wanted to add something days or weeks later, that page would be out of sequence, later in the book. With techniques like indexing and threading I could see which pages follow what, but the result is still that pages are mixed in with other pages. I don't like it, and I prefer being able to add and move pages to keep continuous topics together.

One definite benefit of the Bullet Journal method is never wondering where to write something; you just write it on the page, and index it to find it later. In my Filofax I have a Notes tabbed section for my Inbox, and later I can move that page to the section where it needs to go.

Something I do find intriguing about BuJo is writing everything chronologically in the bound notebook, then at the end of the month reviewing what had my attention that month. Doing this month after month would create an interesting record. But the reality of my day to day life is, it's difficult for me to work that way, no matter how nice the resulting record is.

Many of the components of the Bullet Journal method are things I already do in my Filofax: Monthly Log and Monthly lists in my Monthly section; Daily Log pages; Collections in their own sections; Future Log in my annual overview pages; Trackers etc. I also use weekly pages for my main planning, and other reference pages that stay in my Filofax month after month or even year after year.

Have you ever used the Bullet Journal method, whether in a bound notebook or Filofax? How did/ does it work for you?

And as always on Fridays, feel free to ask and/ or discuss anything ring binder organiser related!

30 March 2023

Guest post series - 'Filohax' No.4 - Paul

Thanks again to Paul for this fourth instalment of his guest post series. 
You can find all the 'Filohax' posts here.

Filohax: Time for a change

In my quest to ditch more and more 'Tech' from my life, I've stumbled upon another addition to my trusty Winchester workhorse - an analogue time piece! A little back story - I ditched wrist watches in the early 2000's and the recent craze for Apple digital watches leaves me cold. 

Probably like millions of others, I've come to reach for my 'smart' phone when I need to clock the time, which inevitably leads to a quick look at the news / Facebook / YouTube (you know the drill). 

Well, I use my Filofax to plan my day and organise on a minute to minute, hour to hour basis and recently caught myself flipping open the Winchester and simultaneously reaching for the phone to check the time. I suddenly thought, 'I need to start wearing a watch again,' so had a new battery put in an old Calvin Klein but it only stayed on my wrist for a day - which is when the light bulb moment happened - 'I wonder how I could get a watch into my Filofax?' (don't you think that three quarters of a new innovation is in asking yourself the right question first?!). 

The logical answer was then to take the wrist bands off, and use velcro to attach the face to the narrow slither of leather visible when the Filofax is open flat with inserts. 

Already I've probably cut down my smartphone consumption by 25%!

29 March 2023

Video Web Finds - Wednesday 29 March 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 New Moon Manifestation Printable - Raine Boyd
  2. March Madness aka "Planner ennui" - Thoughts Along Life's Highway
  3. Week Plan With Me || Ganchi Plans Printables - GanchiPlans
  4. A5 Rings - Planning Inserts & Process - Moniki
  5. Flatability midweek "coffee break" // some channel stats, my new data system, some Q&A, and more. - Flatability
  6. Tonya Plans Binder || Reference Planner Update || Functional Planning || Planner Chat - Life With MJB
  7. Stationery Haul - Traveler's Company Partner Shop Omoi Zakka - Stationery Shenanigans
  8. Car Planning & Flip - A5 Filofax Granite - Moniki
  9. Review - English made Golunski binder // Flatability - Flatability
  10. I Found a Vintage Franklin Covey Planner! - Desiree TV
  11. VEG TAN POCKET MOTERM - planner wallet - Dia Meraz
  12. Planning My Week #weeklyplanner #shorts - Tonya Plans
  13. Pocket Moleskine in VDS 30mm Rings - Moniki
  14. Franklin Classic Plan With Me || March 27 - April 2, 2023 || Last Week of March! - Sandra Dahl
  15. Filofax 3CL - my thoughts about this iconic binder // Flatability - Flatability
  16. Planning my week ahead: Franklin Covey, Happy Planner, Stalogy and more - Samantha Gibson- Choose_Your_Planning
  17. My Work Planner Routine | Franklin Covey 5 Choices Wire Bound Planner | Levenger Junior Softolio - My Moxie Dreams
  18. MARCH PLANNER UPDATE | Functional Planner Setup | Erin Condren Compact | Filofax A5 Rings Planner - My Something Beautiful Life
  19. NEW 2023 Filofax Eco Essential Organisers Collection - ExclusivePenEU
  20. Kolekce diářů Filofax Eco Essentials - BIBELOT
  21. Filofax Norfolk Flip Through + Pen Test | A5 6-Ring Agenda - kristina summer
  22. Mini Filofax Malden Planner in black color - organized style plan
  23. March Planner Flip Through: A Peek Inside My Filofax Planners - Mariane Cresp
  24. Mi Unboxing de Filofax A5 Original Lemon - BujoLica
  25. 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



28 March 2023

Free For All Tuesday - No. 634

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 March 2023

A Date For Your Diary - Sunday 2 April 2023

We are going to run another 'Virtual Meet Up' everyone is welcome.

When? - Sunday 2 April 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 2 April 2023.

26 March 2023

Silent Sunday

 

Personal Kensington - first taken when purchased in 2014

Photo taken in 2020 - I love how the leather has aged and softened with more use

25 March 2023

Web Finds - Saturday 25 March 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 March 2023
  2. Silent Sunday
  3. Portrait or Landscape?
  4. Free For All Tuesday - No. 633
  5. Video Web Finds - Wednesday 22 March 2023
  6. Filofax York - Revisited
  7. Free For All Friday - No. 750 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. Episode #199: Slice of GTD Life with Richard Medcalf - Getting Things Done
  2. The Mythology of a “Balanced Life” - FranklinPlanner Talk
  3. What was your best Filofax bargain? Here's mine. - reddit.com
  4. New Moon Manifestation - Lime Tree Fruits
  5. Fatty Bloom of Spue/Spew on your leather goods - This Bug's Life
  6. 10 Habits of Highly Ambitious Women - Strange & Charmed
  7. The Franklin Five: April 2023 - FranklinPlanner Talk
  8. Link Love: Can A Pen Be Gendered? - The Well-Appointed Desk
  9. Web Finds – 22 March 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



24 March 2023

Free For All Friday - No. 750 by Anita

As mentioned in a previous Free For All Friday, I extensively use time blocking in my flexible hours job, as it helps me plan my work and ensure that I'm regularly doing work for each of my clients. However, now that I've recently taken on some new companies, I've realised that I need to look again at how often I need to be working on each one to keep on top of everything. 

I came across this video and really like how goes through her process step by step:



Usually I keep a separate Google calendar for work, but I can see that it will be useful for me to sit down and create a template like this on paper to consider my current workload, goals and free time all in one place. I haven't done this yet, but I think that I will use an A4 weekly pad that I bought years ago (but have never used) and will write another post once I've had a go. I like the idea of using a larger page size for space, but I can then fold it to fit into personal size.

Do you use time blocking in your Filofax?

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

23 March 2023

Filofax York - Revisited

Looking back through Philofaxy from around about 2015 last weekend, I thought this post deserved to be revisited with a new eye to details we have learnt since then. 

1993 was a period of transition for the Filofax company, they were ending production of organisers in UK and in this case in Italy and sending production overseas to the Far East, where I suspect production costs were only a fraction of what they were in UK and Europe. 

This era was in my opinion has the best quality organisers in their range. The accuracy and closeness of the stitching on this York is a joy to look at. 

22 March 2023

Video Web Finds - Wednesday 22 March 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. Personal Moterm Rings - Moniki
  2. Plan With Me! Week of March 20th - BuySellPlan
  3. Full clip on my Instagram  Gillio Compagna - Kerri Pouliot
  4. Flatability midweek "coffee break" // "vintage" thoughts, ads, Q&A, and a public message to viewer. - Flatability
  5. Dering Filofax Malden - Moterm 30mm Rings - Moniki
  6. Planner Chats: Planner hopping, the system and so far in 2023 | LittleRachPlans - LittleRachPlans
  7. A filofax gift from a very generous viewer // Flatability - Flatability
  8. I adjusted my discbound Life Notebook, plus three kinds of motivational styles according to Ayurveda - The Unplanned Life
  9. Plan with me 6-12 March. Disney stickers - Natalia
  10. How to get through your to do list...and GET STUFF DONE - MomYePlans
  11. Franklin Classic Plan With Me || March 20th - 26th, 2023 || Calm & Quiet Work Week - Sandra Dahl
  12. Personal Rings Planner Flip / 5 Year Old Gillio // Pink Planner Girl - Nicola PinkPlannerGirl
  13. My Planner Routines | Pocket Moleskine Daily | Pocket Planner | Gillio Amica Franklin Covey Inserts - My Moxie Dreams
  14. Spring 2023 planner refresh - Switching things up just a bit! - Planning with Chloe
  15. A5 6-Ring Agenda 2023 Setup | Filofax - kristina summer
  16. Decorate with me March 2023 - Filofax and Bullet Journal - My Craft Orchard
  17. Filofax Metropol - Making a Vision Board. - The Planner Pincher
  18. Planner setup for 2023 from Filofax - organized style plan
  19. Filofax Malden Chat & Flip - 30mm Rings - Moniki
  20. Обзор моего планера в размере покет | My Filofax Pocket Croc Planner - AE | Stationary & Planning
  21. Create a Minimal Travel Altar with me! // Pocket Filofax Notebook - Goth & Paper
  22. 2023 Planner line-up UPDATED featuring Happy Planner & Filofax - Lisa Love Studio
  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



21 March 2023

Free For All Tuesday - No. 633

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 March 2023

Portrait or Landscape?

We sometimes see people comment that they don't get on with using a ring bound planner because the rings get in the way when writing.  

I can understand this issue. For right handed people, writing on the left hand page of your open organiser can be an issue, and conversely for left handed people writing on the right hand page can be an issue. 

I personally don't find it too difficult when using an A5 or bigger organiser, you tend to be writing towards the left hand margin more in those size formats. [For information, I'm right handed, my writing is bad enough without needing to make it look worse!]

Certainly in a personal size it can be an issue, especially with larger rings. 

One solution I have used was to move the sections around so the diary section (the most used section) was towards the middle of the stack of pages. This means there is less of a 'jump' over the rings from one side to the other!. 

Another solution in Personal Size would be to switch to landscape pages, like this example below.  


By rotating the organiser through 90 degrees to write in it solve the problem though? 

Does writing on the 'upper' page become just as much an issue for both left and right handed people as it does with the pages in portrait aspect? 


19 March 2023

Silent Sunday

 

Wine personal Holborn and personal Kensington

18 March 2023

Web Finds - Saturday 18 March 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 March 2023
  2. Silent Sunday
  3. Different Calendars
  4. Free For All Tuesday - No. 632
  5. Video Web Finds - Wednesday 15 March 2023
  6. Rare
  7. Free For All Friday - No. 749 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. 5 of the Best Planner Supplies to Invest In - MAY PAPER CO. - Blog
  2. Mastering Your To-Do List: 5 Effective Ways to Prioritize Tasks in Your Planner - Planner Fun Plus
  3. Failing Forward - FranklinPlanner Talk
  4. Episode #198: Slice of GTD Life with Josiah Ronco - Getting Things Done
  5. From the Archives Series: Using Your Planner to Remember Things - Planner Fun Plus
  6. Link Love: Moving Right Along - The Well-Appointed Desk
  7. Web Finds – 15 March 2023 - Travellers Notebook Times
  8. 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 March 2023

Free For All Friday - No. 749 by Steve

I try to keep my email inboxes under control with no more than 20-30 emails in each one at any one time. About once a week I go through them and delete and archive emails I've already actioned/read. 

Therefore imagine my horror when I woke on Thursday morning to discover 272 emails from Google informing me of Philofaxy posts that contravened their community guidelines on Blogger!!!

Most were Web Finds posts, all of them had been reverted to Draft. I was able to take a look at them to see what could be upsetting the Google AI. I was able to narrow it down to one or two sites that it wasn't happy with. 

I've been gradually working through them editing them and resubmitting them for checking and hopefully being republished. 

It will keep me busy for a few days!! 

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

16 March 2023

Rare

You will often see the words 'Vintage' and 'Rare' attached to the descriptions of various Filofax organisers in adverts. Whether that is a correct word to use in each case it debatable. 

We have covered what is 'Vintage' before and it recently resurfaced on one of the Facebook groups after Neil published his recent video on the topic: What exactly is a vintage Filofax? // Flatability 

There is no definitive definition of Vintage and how it applies to Filofax, people have their own opinions I know, is it a particular age or before a particular year or whatever. 

However, what about 'Rare' what defines that? 


In the case of a Filofax (a thing) 'not found in large numbers and so of interest or value. 

The one problem I have with that definition is who decides how many have to be made before it is no longer 'rare' ?? 

Some adverts seem to declare something as 'rare' if you don't often see them up for sale. To give an example, the Filofax Eton doesn't often pop up for sale on Ebay these days, so is it rare? I guess not hundreds of them would have been made in an overseas factory somewhere in the world in the early 2000's so not vintage either!

Do I have any 'Rare' Filofax organisers?  I do have an Eton Compact, which I consider to be 'rare' because it never made it in to full production and what I have is a production sample/prototype that escaped in to the open market. 


I suspect it didn't make it in to production because the PDA organisers that it was intended to carry were changing in design so fast. I'm just lucky that I still have a Psion 5MX that this design was intended to carry!. 

Read about the Eton Compact here. After doing some further research it turns out that there would have been no more than 10 of these made and they were sent to the different Filofax distributors to assess their sales potential. 

The other model I have in my collection that is considered by some people is the Journey Travel Companion Organiser. 


This model is from 2013 and I was told by someone at Filofax UK that they only made sixty of these. 

So rare or made in limited numbers? 

There have been other limited production runs by Filofax through out the years. Some didn't sell as well as others. 

What do you consider to be 'Rare' when it comes to Filofax organisers? And do you own any rare ones? 

15 March 2023

Video Web Finds - Wednesday 15 March 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. Filofax Eco Essential Collection - Filofax
  2. Half Letter & Mini Discbound - Moniki
  3. Planner Chat - A Life by Angi M
  4. VDS review and hello! // Vanderspek planners - crystalplans
  5. Van Der Spek A5 Accacia Nappa - Nekolassa
  6. Gillio Croco Mat Blush vs VDS Sakura Velvet Matte Croco | Plus Gillio Vintage Grey vs VDS Stardust - Just Scribble
  7. Planners I am currently using! Featuring VDS Janet Leather Black - Mod Plans
  8. Planner Play - A Life by Angi M
  9. B6 & PW: What do you choose? Tips for Ring Planners - Guide to Personal Wide and B6. - Sort Stuff Out
  10. My entire 2023 on one page in my discbound planner (Functional planning) - The Unplanned Life
  11. Personal rings in an A5 binder? This works for me! // Flatability midweek coffee break - Flatability
  12. Franklin Covey Compact Setup - Moterm Luxe - Moniki
  13. March 13th Plan With Me! Personal Wide inserts in my Franklin Covey Compact - BuySellPlan
  14. Franklin Classic Plan With Me || March 13-19th, 2023 || Pale Pink Anna || St. Patty's Date Night - Sandra Dahl
  15. Plan with me || Junior Discbound || Catch all planner || Functional Planning || Plum Paper Planner - Life With MJB
  16. What exactly is a vintage Filofax? // Flatability - Flatability
  17. Gillio Mia Cara Flip / Daily Planner - Christina Lovesplanning !!
  18. Daily Planning Routine | 2023 Planner Insert Mini-Series PART 4 | MadyPlans - MadyPlans
  19. Set up filofax personal: come gestisco l’agenda per il 2023 - Chiara Fibbi
  20. Design Filofax - What is Filofax? Organized through the month with Filofax - Kati ́s Küche
  21. Filofax Metropol - Transfer of Monthly Spread. - The Planner Pincher
  22. Мой планер: планировщик/планирование, рабочие записи, дневник памяти. Листаем в Filofax Finsbury - Love to plan
  23. My Functional Planner System | how I preplan to weekly and daily planning + referencing! - MomYePlans
  24. 10 Easy Functional Planning Tips | Beginner Planner - Plan Your One Life
  25. 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 March 2023

Free For All Tuesday - No. 632

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 March 2023

Different Calendars

I came across an article on the BBC website that went in to the different calendars that are in use worldwide. 

We can often take the calendar for granted, 1 Jan 2023 apart from different time zones is the same worldwide? Apparently not. Some countries are using multiple calendars! 

Take a read for your self: 

The people who live in multiple timelines - BBC Future

The Wikipedia page on Calendars also explains the differences. 



12 March 2023

Silent Sunday

 

DIY binder with dashboard from a lovely card from my husband (and it's true as I'm not frightened of spiders!)

11 March 2023

Web Finds - Saturday 11 March 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 March 2023
  2. Silent Sunday
  3. Men and planners...
  4. Free For All Tuesday - No. 631
  5. Video Web Finds - Wednesday 8 March 2023
  6. Paper..
  7. Free for All Friday No. 748 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. Update on Filofax Belmont in pocket size - This Bug's Life
  2. Live mindfully with the Eco Essential Collection - Filofax UK - BLOG
  3. Episode #197: Slice of GTD Life with Tamara McLendon - Getting Things Done
  4. Ruled paper for an A5 Filofax - Pam Alison Knits
  5. Personal size Ff models - recommendations and insights - reddit.com
  6. Be PRO-Active (Habit 1) - FranklinPlanner Talk
  7. Ruled paper for an A5 Filofax - Pam Alison Knits
  8. 5 Tips on How To Improve Your Handwriting - The Fabulous Planner - News
  9. Link Love: On Wednesdays, We Wear Ink - The Well-Appointed Desk
  10. Web Finds – 8 March 2023 - Travellers Notebook Times
  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. 
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Enjoy

10 March 2023

Free for All Friday No. 748 by Nan

Business or pleasure? Well, business or personal is really what I'm talking about. For work, last year I used letter-size* month-on-two-page tabs, with my meeting notes (printed out from a Google doc) and other printed documents stored behind each month. I don't take handwritten notes for work, but use my own organizational system using Google Sheets and Google Docs. For personal (basically, everything that's not my paying job), I've been using a half-letter** two-pages-per-day Franklin Covey planner. I use the right-hand page for journaling, appointment notes, and so on. This year, with the prospect of getting a new job, I ordered week-on-two-pages for work, figuring that I'd need more room to write down the details of my new schedule and responsibilities. With all that extra room, I'm tempted to start using the big weekly pages for my personal appointments and events as well, which means I could downsize my personal planner to one-page-per-day, or even go from Classic to FC Compact or Filofax Personal. We shall see! *Letter-size is 8.5x11 inches/216x280 millimeters; the U.S. equivalent of A4. **Half-letter is 5.5x8.5 inches/140x216 millimeters; the U.S. equivalent of A5. See Steve's 2021 post on page sizes for the full story!

09 March 2023

Paper..

Last Sunday we had another excellent discussion on the Philofaxy 'Round Table' Skype call. It included this topic.

One of the essential ingredients for successfully using any size or type of organiser is your choice of paper combined with what writing instrument you use. When it comes to those there are various types that we will cover in their own post one day. 

Without paper your pen or pencil isn't of much use and vice-versa!!

You can take the easy route and buy pre-printed inserts, but you are going to be confined to what ever paper is supplied married together with the design of the layout in the size of your choice. If you can find the perfect layout on the best paper for your pens/ink you are on to a winner. Stick with it and hope that the company supplying it stays in business and continues to supply that paper in that layout. 

Printing your own inserts does give you more of a choice of what paper you use. Yes you will have the hassle of printing them, cutting and punching too. But diary insert printing is just an annual task for me so it is not too much of a task to do. 

Sourcing the right paper is critical, a ream of paper (500 sheets) can last a few years if you are only using it for your diary inserts. It therefore pays to spend some time testing and researching different paper types/brands to find the right one for you. 

If you have an office supply store in your local town/city then you might be in luck. They might be able to supply a 'sample pack' of different paper types/weights etc. This will save you from the expense of buying several packs of paper that you might not end up using. 

Alternatively buy a small pack of paper of the same brand/type you are considering if they sell them. Use your samples to test the papers suitability in your printer, and more importantly with a variety of pens and fountain pens to check for feathering and bleed through of the ink. 

If you use a Personal Size or A5/A6 size organiser, buying A4 size paper is often easier and then have the pack cut down to the correct size. You can get three Personal Size sheets from one A4 sheet for instance with some small amount of waste. Talk to your office supplier to see if they offer a cutting service behind the scenes or may be a local printer might be able to cut the paper for you for a small fee. 

Cutting services are possibly services they don't usually advertise, but if you ask they might do it for a small 'per cut' fee. 

I'm still using a stack of A6 paper I had cut from some good quality A5 paper a few years ago! 

It is difficult to recommend specific brands because with a world wide audience anything I mention might not be available in your area. I prefer to try and buy from my local office supply store rather than on-line. 

Paper costs quite a lot to ship, the price per pack is often quite low, but it can weigh more than your usual letter post rates so often the shipping cost will be more than the pack of paper itself. 

Naturally you will fine a lot of shops selling the usual weight copier/printer paper, but other weights are often available. They might not keep them in stock but ask if they can source lower or higher weight papers depending on your needs. 

During our discussion on Sunday we were looking at Raymay Davinci this is 52 gsm but to prove the point the paper would have cost 3-4 times as much to buy in Europe due to shipping taxes and other fees! As a straight comparison Clairefontaine a French paper maker can also supply similar light weight paper. from as low as 50 gsm upwards. 

Whilst thin paper is very desirable, check that your printer can handle it, unless you are only using it as blank paper to write on. 

Do you have a favourite brand of paper?  

08 March 2023

Video Web Finds - Wednesday 8 March 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. Filofax Lifestyle Refills - Filofax
  2. Switching Planners A few Tips - Sort Stuff Out
  3. Plan with me for 20-26 of February - Natalia
  4. Get Back on Track with Your Goals  How to Recalibrate your Year - month, week or even your day! - Raine Boyd
  5. Gillio Slim Compagna, B6Slim, Pocket/Large Moleskine - Moniki
  6. How I've just missed the bargain of the freakin' century!! // Flatability Midweek "coffee break". - Flatability
  7. Setting up my Personal Moterm Planner with Cloth and Paper Inserts - MyLifeReBranded
  8. Recap February & Set my March Goals with Me! - BuySellPlan
  9. Stone Filofax Malden - 30mm Rings #personalfilofax #filofax #personalrings - Moniki
  10. Plan With Me || Junior Discbound || Plum Paper Planner || Functional Planning - Life With MJB
  11. Updated Planning Sections - Stone Malden Reference Planner - Moniki
  12. Personal Rings Flip Through | February 2023 Set-up - Tiffany’s Plans
  13. Regular Pocket Moterm - 25mm Rings - Moniki
  14. Franklin Classic Plan WIth Me || March 6th - 121th, 2023 || Surprise Binder Switch! - Sandra Dahl
  15. Filofax security - a worrying trend // Flatability - Flatability
  16. Franklin Covey Surprise! Planning this week - Samantha Gibson- Choose_Your_Planning
  17. Plan With Me! Week of March 6th, - BuySellPlan
  18. Planning System 2023 | Hobonichi A6 | Franklin Covey | Stalogy B6 - lovewifey
  19. Franklin Covey Portable 7-Hole Punch for Classic Style Day Planner Pages- Plastic, 5mm Hole D Review - Knowledge Base
  20. Filofax binder collection - Tuxedoplans
  21. Es ist alles durcheinander, HILFE!! #filofax - Isafinanzt
  22. drawing on a filofax divider - KC DoodleArt
  23. Filofax chatty flip: what's new for the first half of 2023 - Kiss My A's
  24. Filofax Wochendeko Gorjuss- Alice in Wonderland /deutsch - Pinky Rose Bianca
  25. March 2023 Plan with Me - A5 Filofax Norfolk - My Craft Orchard
  26. La mia collezione di agende A5 - christine.diary
  27. Planner Setup: Setting Up My Filofax Pocket Planner For March - One Crafty Dolo
  28. My Catch All Planner I March 2023 Personal Ring flip through and new inserts - Tess Pillarina Congreve
  29. 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 March 2023

Free For All Tuesday - No. 631

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.

06 March 2023

Men and planners...

In a recent FFAT (Free for all Tuesday) reference was made to the 'Best Laid Plans' podcast, specifically their February Q&A episode.

The question that was asked was a familiar one 'Is there a gender bias in the use of planners?' it comes up at about 20 minutes 45 seconds in to the episode. 

Is there a gender bias in planning? Yes there appears to be, but men do use planners! 

Some basic facts about the make up of the Filofax planner community. 

Looking at the Facebook Group 'Filofax for Philofaxy Fans' that was initially established with about 35 people I knew in 2011, it has grown steadily to 12,400 members. In the last six months the numbers have been steadily increasing each month. 

Taking a snap shot of the current membership it looks like this: 


5% of 12,400 equates to about 620 men in the group. Their age range seems to peak in the 45-64 years old range, higher than the female peak age range. 

Another telling part of these basic statistics the low numbers in the 13-17 and 18-24 age ranges. May be Facebook is no longer 'cool' for teenagers and twenty somethings? Both sexes are zero percent in the 13-17 age group with 1% female and 0% male in the 18-24 age range.

The male/female imbalance seems to confirm the figures given to me a few years ago by Filofax that stated their sales were 80% female, 20% male on Filofax UK. 

However, on Filofax Japan the figures were reversed 80% male 20% female. This explains while Filofax Japan has had some exclusive models sold there that have not been sold on other Filofax sites around the world. 

Is it the products that are offered that has created this gender bias over recent years? 

From a personal perspective a question aimed at me. Would I still be a Filofax user if I had not become part of the Philofaxy team back in 2009? 

Possibly not, I could have resigned from my job in 2010 that had 'forced' me to return to using a Filofax back in 2005 and resumed using my Psion PDA and then subsequently an iPod Touch in late 2010 and the more recent Apple devices that I now own and use and abandoned paper completely.  That reads like a nightmare!

Go back to 1986 when I first started using a Filofax and I don't know what the balance was back then, but we didn't have an easy way of knowing who other planner/organiser users were then, other than seeing them in offices, or public places or whilst travelling to work or in the specialist stores that stocked Filofax Organisers and the multitude of inserts. 

If I can remember that far back... I had the impression back then that it was dominated by male users, although in my own family and circle of friends it was a close balance. 

What changed? Technology got better I guess and for some, more convenient to use (in some circumstances) 

I know from my 'gadget stash' of old tech that I used from the early 1990's through to the mid 2000's there was a steady improvement and the ease to store your data and back it up and keep it in sync etc. 

In the early days it was quite a painful and hit and miss process. I'm sure we have all had instances of complete loss of our stored calendar/contacts in those early days.  Bad enough for people to return to a Filofax or use one in parallel with a digital device.

I know of several instances within my circle of friends and acquaintances that will claim to have been a Filofax user or they are still a long term Filofax user. However, they don't follow their 'interest' in being a Filofax user on any of the social media platforms.  

I would imagine that to a lot of users treat their Filofax as a 'tool' rather than something they consider to investigate further. 

When I returned to using a Filofax back in 2005 after a gap of a few years I was interested to investigated what the current range of organisers looked like and could I still buy some of the inserts I still owned that I had bought back in the 1980's. It was quite a surprise how much had changed!. My Google searches eventually lead me to finding this blog Philofaxy in about 2008.. the rest is history! 

In contrast, in my volunteer role for the Radio Society of Great Britain the bias is opposite! Some 'Interests/hobbies' have less of a bias I'm sure.  

On our Philofaxy Virtual Meet Up on Skype this afternoon we had an interesting discussion about the podcast episode. I've covered most of the points we came up with in this post.