World Maps

I love maps, I always have done since I was in primary school. Not sure what sparked my interest in maps, but I can spend many a happy hour looking at a map reading the details revealed by the symbols and the lines.

Maps do go out of date, the maps I bought originally for my first Filofax in 1987 still had East and West Germany on them!

So maps are essential to me in any size of organiser.

I was recently asked if I knew of a source of world maps for Pocket size organisers and could I create one. Not difficult once you have a reasonable quality map image.

So here are some for you to download and print yourself. A world physical map and a time zone map.

World Map

• A5 .docx .pdf
• A6 .docx .pdf
• Personal .docx .pdf
• Pocket .docx .pdf

Time Zone Map

• A5 .docx .pdf
• A6 .docx .pdf
• Personal .docx .pdf
• Pocket .docx .pdf

Printing the above:

• A5 Print on A4 size paper then fold in half and fold back to the edge (Z fold)
• A6 Print on A5 size paper then fold in half and fold back to the edge (Z fold)
• Personal Print on A4 size paper cut to 171 mm high then fold in half and fold back to the edge (Z fold)
• Pocket Print on A4 size paper cut to 120 mm high then fold in half and fold back to the edge (Z fold)

If you want to use the PNG images for say a dashboard or divider they are here. 

• World Map
• Time Zone Map

Filofax model locations and other key places

Have you ever plotted all the locations that are used as Filofax Organiser model names on a map?

Such as in: Eton, Finchley, Finsbury, Guildford, Kendal, Lyndhurst, Winchester etc

I've put most of the model name locations on a Google Map I've also added some other key locations to the map as well.

I know people plan pub crawls around the London Underground using Google Maps... but a Filofax tour... that would be different!!


If there are any I've missed out please mention them in the comments below.

Thank you.

Maps In Your Filofax?

I published this picture a few days ago on Flickr and one of my followers said that I had a lot of maps in my Filofax!

In fact, I normally wouldn't have this many maps in my personal Filofax organiser, but this is after a trip to UK, when I tend to add in my UK maps.

The UK road map set is 4 sheets that fold in two. I also carry a set of London street maps which are 3 sheets folded in to four, world map/time zone map, my own French road maps. So quite a few, why so many? I do have a semi-smart phone, which does have a GPS built in, but I've not found it to be that good in city centres between tall buildings, so I prefer to read and look at a paper map to work out which direction to head in.

Now I could have left a few sheets out, I was unlikely to end up in Scotland or Ireland on this trip I suppose... but you never know.

I like maps in what ever form they come in. From a young age I have always sat and gazed at them for hours on end. So I like having maps in my Filofax, they are like reading a good novel to me!

So apart from the maps sold by Filofax you can in fact quite easily create a lot of your own maps fairly easily including those for your local area without too much trouble.

If you like large maps say up to A3 size paper, well you can fold these down so that they fit in to an A5 Filofax, and here's how:


It is possible to print off maps from Google maps fairly easily for your own use. Or do a search for a particular map for your local town, or look for maps in your local tourist information office.

What maps do you carry on a regular basis? 

Using A3 paper in A5 size Filofax

I did a post about this last year, which you might remember. But when I showed people the map at one of the meet ups, the post suddenly made sense! The original post has all the dimensions etc

So I've done a quick video of how to fold your A3 map so it can fit an A5 Filofax.

I'm sure some of the owners new A5 Filofax purchased in the last few days might find this of use, I hope so...

Want to use bigger pages in your A5... it's possible

So you have an A5 Filofax Organiser (who doesn't!!), but sometimes you find the A5 format a little restrictive. OK not everyone wants to have an A4 organiser (which by the way I don't believe are available in the US anyway?) But A4 is a fairly common size for a lot of maps and pictures and text.

So taking the TfL Central London Bus Map as an example because it makes an excellent street map. You make a simple Z fold in the A4 landscape page to get it to fit your A5 organiser:

Shown opened out.

And then folded. First fold at 145 mm, then fold back again. Punch and insert.

So if you think, ok but bigger still would be better... A3 is also possible in an A5 organiser! A3 is 420mm by 210mm. So the folding is a little more tricky, but not impossible.

Again using the Transport for London (TfL) bus map. Fold up at 210 mm from the top along the whole length of the page. Then a diagonal fold in the bottom left hand corner so it doesn't fowl the rings.

Then we Z fold it at 147 mm and back again like the A4 sheet.

And here it is fully folded.

The TfL site also has Tube and Rail maps, plenty of different formats to print out and use as you wish, very good if you are visiting the Filofax shop in London... For other countries do a Google image search and look for Hi-Res images of maps, you will be surprised what is out there. 

So you have no reason not to include those standard office documents, telephone lists etc in your organiser.

Using similar folding techniques it's possible to use bigger pages in a personal size organiser as well, just look at the year planners from Filofax.

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Filofax Model Locations?

A silly idea I know, but I wonder if anyone has ever plotted all the locations that are used as Filofax Organiser model names on a map?

Such as in: Eton, Finchley, Finsbury, Guildford, Kendal, Lyndhurst, Winchester etc

To get you started I've put the above locations on a Google Map, you should be able to add other locations.

I know people plan pub crawls around the London Underground using Google Maps... but a Filofax tour... that would be different!!

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Guest Blog: Mapping and Planning

This is a return of a feature were we get a readers own thoughts and ideas in the form of an article. We are therefore very pleased to present this article by 'Kanalt' who as you know is one of our regular readers/commenter's.

Maps and Planning

My friend bought these two maps at a stationery store in New York City. I’d been there and suggested she go to look at their selection when she was first contemplating buying a Filofax to decide which size would be good for her needs. They carry a variety of inserts, maps included. But because I’d never needed maps in the past (or never used them, to be more accurate), I hadn’t paid much attention to the specifics of these maps. I’m guessing that many major cities carry maps for their own area, so this may not be a surprise to many of you. I was quite excited to learn that this stationery store carries not only maps, but also specific maps that I could actually use (although now having looked at them on the US Filofax website, you can buy them for many major cities online). When I go back to the store in the near future, I will be looking more closely at their entire selection.

The Long Island Road Map is a colorful map of the entire island – (roughly) the first third of it is on the front and the last third, referred to as the east end, is on the back. There is a grid around the entire map: on the front, letters A–I on the vertical side and numbers 1–25 on the horizontal. On the back, the numbers continue, 26–54, but the letters stay the same. Some of the areas surrounding Long Island (parts of each of New York’s five boroughs and parts of New Jersey) are included in the map, illustrating their major roads, bridges and tunnels, and airports. But the detailed information is, of course, for Long Island. All major highways are illustrated as well as other bigger roads. The map does not include many smaller and residential roads for obvious reasons – it would need to be much, much bigger. What I like about this map is that it shows the exit numbers for the major highways. For example, when looking at the Long Island Expressway (For those not familiar with this location, the LIE is a US interstate that runs the length of most of the island from Manhattan to just before the island forks) I can see that the exit for the Cross Island Expressway is number 30. Many of us living on Long Island speak in terms of the town where we live or grew up in relation to what exit it is on the LIE, so this may come in handy at some point when looking for certain areas. This map also shows ferry lines, state and county divisions and by using different colors on the map, government buildings and schools, hotels, parks, places of interest, shopping centers, and wineries - a big industry on Long Island. Also shown is the Long Island Rail Road, a necessity to many people who commute to New York for work. In addition, the back of the map lists the airports, bridges and tunnels, communities (Brooklyn, Queens, and Nassau and Suffolk Counties), government buildings and schools, hospitals, Long Island Rail Road stations, parks and beaches, places of interest, shopping malls, and wineries.

The NYC Commuter Rail Map shows the entirety of the Manhattan subway lines as well as all train lines to and from the city (LIRR, Metro-North, which goes north into New York’s Westchester County and Connecticut, and New Jersey Transit). Ferry lines are also included on this map. Each subway line is color-coded and shows were all of the stops are located. It also provides contact information for the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) who governs this type of public transportation. Contact information for the John F. Kennedy Airport air train, the Long Island Rail Road, Amtrak, and Metro-North trains are included as well. I don’t commute to NYC for work and thought I’d never have a need for subway information – when I visit NYC I usually walk to my destination. But I was recently in the city with this same friend (who does work in NYC) and she had to be my subway tour guide since I didn’t know anything about the subway lines. This map is sure to come in handy during my next trip!

I was unsure that I’d use the Long Island Road Map all that much. I generally know where most places are. However, it would have come in handy a few days ago. My husband and I were travelling back from out of state. As anyone who has visited this area or has driven here would know, traffic can be just awful. We were crawling along a parkway and thought it might be better to take an alternate route. The map in my car is for my county only and so wouldn’t cover the parkway we were on. I thought to pull out this new Filofax map. I say it “would have come in handy” because having not taken everything with me on vacation, I left this particular item at home. Guaranteed it will travel with us next time.

I look forward to using both of these maps in my future plans.

Kanalt

Filofax maps

Steve and Nicola's exchange re: maps got me thinking about how I use maps in my Filofaxes. My opinion is, the more maps the better! I always seem to find myself needing a map.

In my very first pre-Filofax planner (a personal size Cambridge) I photocopied a map of the big island of Hawaii, where I was about to move, and poked holes along the edge with a sharp pencil to put it onto the rings. This is a technique I still use, actually, for maps that Filofax doesn't carry. In my A5 Finsbury I have a map of Albania that I copied out of my guide book, for general road trips planning. Also in my A5 Fins I have an A5 Filofax world map and the A5 size British Islands maps (which I bought from the Filofax UK website), which are very useful when I grab my Filo to look up a location. My A5 lives by my computer so it's always handy.

In my Scotland Filofax I have as many maps as possible. World map (actually I keep a world map in almost every Filofax I own), British Islands. I also have the Filofax maps of London (which consists of 3 maps that together comprise most of central London, with street names on the back) because I usually spend a day in London on my way up to Scotland. I also have the London rail systems and Underground map, which is very handy. I also have a map that has Edinburgh on one side and Glasgow on the other, that I cut out of the free Letts Scotland diary that came in The Scotsman newspaper in January. I sliced the page out of the diary, put some tape on the edge, poked some holes and into the Filo it went! Very handy.

In my black Buckingham I store my US maps for when I go back to visit family and friends. I have a US road map (which in the personal size is so tiny it couldn't really get you anywhere, it really just gives you an idea of which highway would be better to get you across the state or the country) and a US times zones and area codes map. I also have a Washington DC street map, which I used all the time when I lived in DC. I usually go through DC whenever I go back to the US so it's convenient to have it in my Filo.

In my Deco, which is now my everyday notes/ lists/ addresses/ everything except my planner book, I keep a world map and my ancient Europe map (which is so old it still has Yugoslavia!). The people I know travel a lot, and to places all around the world, so usually during the course of a conversation I need to look at a map to see exactly where they are talking about. I have learned more geography this way than I ever learned in school!

The problem with Filofax maps is, there just aren't enough of them. As Nicola discovered, there aren't enough of the city maps. (And actually I'm shocked that they don't have Toronto! But sure enough, they don't.) I understand that Filofax only carries maps that they believe will sell well. And I know in this day and age it's maybe a little archaic to use paper maps at all (although after hearing some people's GPS navigation stories, I don't trust those things at all!!). But being a paper-person, and a maps-person, I do wish they had more maps available.

Do you use maps in your Filofax(es)? Which maps do you wish Filofax had available?