26 January 2024

Free For All Friday - No. 794 by Anita

Whilst clearing out some emails the other day, I came across one from my mobile provider thanking me for being a customer for three years. I used to have a very basic Nokia on a pay as you go contract until I changed jobs, so only purchased my first ever smartphone three years ago, as reminded by this email.

So, it's made me consider if having a smartphone has affected my use of my Filofax... and the answer is not really! As time has gone by, I suppose I do use my phone for more things, like looking at my Fitbit data, listening to guided meditations or logging work hours for my timesheet. However, on purpose I have decided not to go down the rabbit hole of trying out any to do apps on my phone, as I remember some years ago that I did this on my Mac and ultimately realised that my Filofax just works best for me. I did download a free note app though and only use this to jot down the odd to do or thought, if on the rare occasion that I'm out and about without my Filofax. 

A family member commented recently that I don't need a Filofax now that I've got my smartphone, but I suppose they just don't understand that my organiser is my external brain, plus there is something both comforting and relaxing for me about still using paper, especially now that my work is mostly paperless.

Have you found that using a smartphone has changed how you use your organiser? (or not, like me)

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

7 comments:

  1. I've had an iPhone since about October 2013, I had to delve back through my photos to work out exactly when I got my first one! It was an iPhone 4! I got an iPhone 6 in 2014 about a year later.

    Yes I use my SmartPhones for a lot of things, but I wouldn't say that my planner use has decreased at all.

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  2. My job requires me to keep an often-shocking number of balls in the air, and I'm a big-picture gal, so there's no way a teeny little phone could take the place of an A5. I need too much real estate.

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  3. My planner usage hasn't changed much at all. I was reviewing my old Philofaxy posts after last Sunday's Skype chat and now that I'm in the process of moving back down to Personal after years in A5, and I was struck by how little my system has changed. "If it isn't broken......" etc.

    In other news, the Cuban Personal in chestnut arrived today as mentioned on Skype last Sunday and it is a thing of beauty! Instant elevation to the status of EDC! Now to clear out some (not all) A5s......

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    1. I'll keep an eye out on the adspot for your old A5 planner then. I've two personal but only a finsbury in A5. I think I might look at something in A5 that's not as bulky as my Finsbury.

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    2. Will be going up towards the end of next week if Steve will have them :) I'd definitely like them to stay in the community if possible

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  4. The only time I replaced paper planning by digital was when I had a Pilot PDA, and it wasn't all that great. Digital options can do many things, but they are not as flexible as paper. No matter if you can write tons of details in a calendar and switch from monthly to weekly to daily with a click, it doesn't give you the same view as paper. I have a smartphone, but my filofax is my official, my trusted and my main planner.

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  5. Regarding planning I find jotting ideas into my android tasks app works better for me...when I'm outside and it's raining and or low light or if I've only got a thumb free! Everything else - Filofax

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