Guest Post: I have a Frankenfax - by Matthew

Thank you Matthew for your guest post 

I have a Frankenfax, and I love it.

Starting a few years ago, I was in Paris travelling and popped into a FNAC to grab a something I couldn’t find on-island where I live. Whilst there, I had a look at books and stationary, as one does and picked up a Moleskine Weekly Notebook with a week on one page and opposite a lined notes page. I’d been using digital tools to organise my work and personal life for years, if not a couple of decades, and I’d found that they hadn’t helped me enough to organise my chaotic brain and working life —I’d started a new company and lived through the shitshow that was COVID-19. So a physical diary was an attempt at an antidote.

I’d owned a real Filofax in the late 80s early 90s, and I remember it being useful and practical, but no more than that. As the Moleskine was to hand and reasonably priced, I took a shot at using it daily for planning, replicating to digital systems. This dual-entry was actually helpful to anchor the things I needed to track, plan and execute. And so, I’ve stuck to it ever since. The next couple of years or, rather than getting a replacement, I opted for LEUCHTTURM1917 diaries. Again, week on one page + lined notes on the other. This disposition seems to work for me as I can plan appointments on the left, write tasks on the right, but also add notes and other thoughts quickly on the open pages, so they are visible for me during the day. At the back of the LEUCHTTURM1917 there are a few notes pages for longer notes and other stuff I might want to jot down. Having two ribbon page markers was also an upgrade over the Moleskine.

And then I started to get interested in ring binders, à la Filofax. I liked the flexibility that I could add only the things I need as attractive. Additionally, I’d started to see numerous opportunities to print inserts, allowing me to create my own personal setup, without being beholden to the printing schedules of ‘Big Diary’. I stumbled on Philofaxy and thought I’d try out the free-to-use inserts available there. But firstly, I required a ring binder. I hopped on Leboncoin (a French sell your old crap site) and found a sale locally, on island, for an A5 Metropol in faux leather. For 10 € it was a no-brainer. So after a little organisation, I had it in my hands in near perfect condition.

So my experiment began. I printed out the inserts I wanted after modifying the Word template to my tastes, and added the (kindly) supplied-in-the-sale note paper and started using it alongside the LEUCHTTURM1917 (together with the digital tools). Slowly, I noticed that I gravitated more towards the Filofax, seemingly to confirm the experiment, eventually ditching the LEUCHTTURM1917.

I tried tabbed dividers, both commercial and self-printed downloads on 120 gsm paper, but I just couldn’t get used to them. I don’t need to separate the binder into topics, only types (diary, notes, annual planner). So I decided to make my own page markers, again, out of 120 gsm paper. I cut them to about an inch wide and ensured they were taller than A5 and wrote “Today”, “Notes”, “Planning” at the top and was happy with that setup. For a few weeks. Unfortunately, unprotected paper does take a battering, and they started to look a little too rag-tag, even for my tastes. So I ordered three official Filofax A5 black ruler / page marker (343609) to fulfil the same role.

At the same time, I felt that the physical size of the Metropol was a little like putting an XXL jumper on a body of an S. Additionally, the pockets and business card holder slots were superfluous to my requirements and so wasted. Looking on Etsy, at a shop I’d already used to order some leather notebook holders (DM Leather Studio), I wanted to get a leather binder rather than the cheap-feeling faux leather. I ended up ordering a green leather A5 binder and received it a couple of weeks later.

Transferring all the inserts, the page markers, and adding a Parker Jotter fountain pen in stainless steel into the pen loop felt like I reached the goal that I was hoping for. Even though the binder is A5, it is more proportionately sized for A5 inserts and looks better than the Filofax. It feels so much nicer to use daily. If I have one complaint, it is that the binder’s rings are a little tight at 15 mm, but it’s enough for what I need and helps ensure I don’t stuff the thing with too much crap. Given the ring mechanism is easily replaceable, I’ll be looking into replacing them with some slightly wider ones in the future. That’s another project and not urgent.

So there it is. My Frankenfax cobbled together from a handmade Chinese leather binder, self-printed diary inserts, official Filofax note paper and Filofax page markers, and I’m loving it!

Thank you again Matthew.