Those of you who have been reading Philofaxy for awhile may remember my FFAF from April 2022 when my son started using a Filofax during a busy time in high school (and how excited I was to help him set it up!). He graduated this spring, and this month I've been helping him move to a different country to start his new phase of life!
During his last year of school he used a different planner, but recently he realised his Filofax would be perfect to help him plan for his international move so he got it out and fired it up.
He (gleefully) pulled out all the pages from when he used it before, with all his school timetables, study schedules, and exam preparation, and threw them in the fireplace.
Then he set up the Filofax from scratch with his new schedule pages (to book lunches, coffees, and going-away parties with his friends before he left), packing lists, reminders of things he needs like paperwork and documents, etc.
After we arrived in-country, things happened really fast and he was meeting new people every day in lots of different contexts. He made a list of people's names and where he'd met them, so he could keep them all straight (with reminder notes like where they are from, shared interests etc. which I thought was brilliant). He scheduled times in his planning pages to reconnect with them.
He also made lists of things he needs to do now that he's here, like set up his bank account, phone, register for a doctor etc. As a new adult in a different country he is realising there is a lot to keep up on! His Filofax is getting a lot of use.
It has been fun to see him use his Filofax again, in an entirely different context for a totally different purpose.
And now that I have an empty nest, I'm sure my Filofax will help me with my new phase of life too.
When was the last time you set up a Filofax completely from scratch? How did your Filofax help you in a new phase of life?
And as always on Fridays, feel free to ask and/ or discuss anything ring binder organiser related!
I have been doing something similar this week in my A5 organiser.
ReplyDeleteIt was time to sort through the 'other pages' I've removed some of the lesser used pages and resorted the order of others.
I've also revisited some of my archived pages and retrieved some of my information pages and bought them all together so they are easily available when I need to add them in.
I do love how some pages can sit dormant for however long, and then you can re-incorporate them into your system as needed.
DeleteI think my setups have mostly been modifications of others. For example I got a filofax clone decades ago as a teenager and while I used it there was the standard sections you get. Diary, addresses, finance, to do pages, notepaper in various colours.
ReplyDeleteMany decades later I got a metropol and used the same, standard sections. Then I took unused out. Then a finsbury A5 and I set it up with what I had previously. And a Holborn Personal in the same way. Then earlier this year it was not working so I changed it to diary, notes, projects and information. Still just a progression from what was before but with the four chapters with bottom tabs. Then side tab dividers for the subchapters. I use the two rulers as today marker in diary and latest notes page. Note that I cut the bottom tab of the rulers off so they didn't confuse the chapter tabs.
This current setup is kind of new but IMHO it is a progression from the original, box fresh filofax setup, just via a gradual progression in small step changes. I do not see how I would have a need to completely start from new. Although I do think that would be an exiting change not least because it would come from a big change in my life.
I love your FFAF Laurie, it is very heartwarming to read about your son taking on what works for you in the form of a filofax but making it his own. It sounds like he has a good inspiration from you. I have never really known a filofax user outside of the internet community before my new job. I think it is different when your inspiration is someone close to you.
Thank you for your comment Paul! It is fun for me to see how he uses his Filofax in ways that are different from how I use mine, but that work well for him.
DeleteYour note of how my use inspired his use reminded me of years ago, when he was about 10 years old, I used my purple A5 Boston Filofax (https://philofaxy.blogspot.com/2016/05/readers-favourite-organiser-laurie.html) all the time. One day as I was using it he said, "Whenever I see that Filofax I feel like everything is fine, because I know you have everything under control with that thing." How interesting that from a young age he has seen a Filofax as a comfort item that helps us keep (some form of) control of our lives. No wonder he enjoys them too!
A few months ago I changed to using a laptop to read philofaxy. For some reason recently you had to log on with google to comment on the laptop but not on the android device. For some reason my google account did not work. It is good that you can now post with the Name/URL option on a laptop too.
ReplyDeleteWas there a change in the blog setup that has been reversed? Or could it have just been at my end?
Please email me and I will explain the changes. Steve
DeleteGreat question Laurie, I did this from scratch 2 years ago, having previously set my original Winchester up in 1989 when the world was a simpler place , I think I only kept day per page diary / A-Z of contacts and lined notepaper back then.
ReplyDeleteHowever 2 years ago I was moving into a new management role after 10 years and realised that a Filofax could be a whole lot more. I gen’ed up on the GTD system and incorporated the best bits of that with my own diary inserts and find it infinitely adaptable, almost changing things on a weekly basis as the job evolves.
Yes digital is a brilliant addition but I no longer try to force digital to do things that my Filofax can do quicker and more simply.
I love this Paul. Your comment sums up well the adaptability and flexibility of a Filofax. A few years ago I started a new job and also needed to change pages in my Filofax frequently as I settled into the job and found out what worked for me, and as my duties increased.
DeleteHi Laurie. What a great and encouraging post this is for all us dedicated Filofax users - thank you. It's great to know that in this digitally driven age, new generations are discovering how useful that hand held device of the 80s (actually of decades earlier) really is.
ReplyDeleteDue to my much-trailed move back to Personal I'm basically setting up from scratch, taking the opportunity to try out all of the options and see what works, all over again. It helps that I have a pile of inserts about a foot high! Apart from the diary set I haven't had to buy anything.....yet!
It has been interesting to see his use of digital vs analog as he has grown up. When he was younger he was enamoured with everything digital. Now, as many people are, he is getting fed up with social media and the intrusive nature of digital everything. For a few years now he has really gotten into notebooks, fountain pens, Filofax, and stationery in general.
DeleteAnd the "pile of inserts a foot high," same here! I pulled out my stacks of inserts and let him mine them for page dividers, coloured paper, sticky note inserts, and more! I had everything he needed to set up his Filofax to be super functional.
I've now discovered, via Flatability, that Personal size inserts fit miraculously neatly in a standard UK shoe box. Problem solved! 🙂
DeleteJust got my secondhand mini lyndhurst. Any suggestions for being being productive in such a tiny filofax? Not really used anything smaller than personal before.
ReplyDeleteI basically need a small planner for my on site days so it will be a cutdown mirror of my A5 or personal with only what I need for organisation. This means diary (currently use day to a page for rolling 3 month with a swap out end of each month). Plus note taking section after it, a projects section and then a info section for passwords etc. This is in my personal and A% but too much for the mini.
So would you recommend using it as a bullet journal, a basic diary for appointments and passwords or some other system? I am a blank canvas with this small size.
Until I get a handle on it I have ordered a WOTP for the rest of 2024 for huge discounted price and dotted pages. I might do a basic bulletjournal fortnighly or weekly grid type appointments where I have date, time, description and then a week or fotnight with day columns that I put a circle in for which one of the listed days the appointment goes into.
I am open to ideas and inspiration from any of you people who might use such a small filofax / binder.
I'm not much help as I've never been good at using small planners, but one thing that has helped me is to use a weekly view, then on days when I need more space I use blank pages to expand plans or write notes. Then I can archive those pages between the week pages to keep them all together. Good luck!
DeleteHello Paul! Do you remember this great guest post here on philofaxy? „My Filofax: My mini is big enough“ by HP: https://philofaxy.blogspot.com/2014/01/my-filofax-mini-is-big-enough-guest-post.html?m=1
DeleteThank you for that Anonymous. I hadn't seen it and HP has a good system there. I kind of use something similar in my filofaxes in larger sizes. For me there is a diary (type depends on binder size - A5 day to a page 3 months or personal WOTP three months), then notes, then projects and finally information such as passwords/bank accounts. All divided with bottom tabs. I use two page markers with the bottom cut off (to not interfere with the 4 chapter tabs) for today in the diary and latest note page.
DeleteThe projects is my main work topics and a record of information needed and a little bit of to do lists. Mostly to dolists are in the notes section. Info also includes workbases acronyms and initialisations used as shortcuts at work. As a relative newbie I have had to learn this secret language.
I did consider using this for my mini but it is simply too small rings at 11mm. I have the last three months of 2024 in the front and dot gridded pages behind. I can only get one pack of gridded and the 3 months of WOTP diary in. I really am amazed at how HP got so much in.
I am wondering if I should just do a cut down bullet journal system without a diary section. This would have a future log and weekly pages perhaps for two weeks. I used a passport sized travellers notebook with gridded inserts in once. It had a double page spread for two weeks. The day /date on the right at the top, on the left is time key contact and description. I use a circle under the date column for appointments and a dot for a task or project deadline. I can enter new events straight after the last one no matter where in the fortnight is is as the right hand page grid gives the date. I just looked doen the current date for all the appointment circles or task dots and then look across for the relevant information of the event.
I think Mini is about managing expectations with the organiser. It will never provide the comprehensive space of A5 so you would not use a mini in the same way. It is my first truly new setup this mini as previously I took the standard new filofax setup and modified it. This one came empty.
Thanks for the post link. I would never have found it.
Happy to help, Paul. I like to re-read this post from time to time, even if I don't use a Mini. Maybe it's the way she wrote it... And I'm sorry I accidentally commented anonymously ;-)
DeleteI love this! I set up a Filofax for my son (at his request) when he got a promotion and moved to a new city. I really enjoyed setting it up for him and sent it to him with tips on how to use it, plus lots of extra pages and helpful planning accessories. When I went to visit him a few months later, he pulled the Filofax out of his kitchen cabinet and gave it back to me. He hadn't written a single thing in it! Oh well! At least I tried!
ReplyDeleteAw that's too bad! Oh well, I guess a Filofax isn't for everybody.
DeleteHello Laurie! I think it's pretty cool that a young man is using a Filofax today. Totally against the mainstream. He definitely benefited from you by finding an alternative solution to living in an over-digitalized world. There are many videos on YouTube inspiring young women to use Filofaxes, other ring planners and notebooks. But I don't think many young men could see themselves as Filofax users, either on social media or here on philofaxy, because of the lack of examples. Everything about Filofax has become very feminine over the years. Just like most of their young users are female. I imagine most of us male Filofaxers are Boomers or Gen-X like myself. I think fILOFAX as a brand should think seriously about how to regain youngsters.
ReplyDeleteKlaus that's an excellent point, Filofax (and many planner brands) have a mostly female user base these days based on images on social media. I think this is a holdover from several years ago when planner use went through its phase where it was mostly decorative with stickers and washi tape. There are still a lot of people who use planners that way, and even the functional planners often have a decorative aspect to them. I can imagine this would tend to alienate male users who might think an analog planner is not for them, which is too bad because I (of course) think they are so useful for everyone!
DeleteI couldn't agree more. I'm happy for the washi tape and planner decoration to have their place but as a businessman it's just not my focus. Maybe I should start something.......
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