Cordwain Higgler organiser review

Following on from my previous introduction to the company, Cordwain Higgler (run by Guy and Pat) kindly loaned me both a pocket and a personal organiser to review. On opening the packaging, the first thing that I noticed was the wonderful smell which reminded me of horse riding tack. The organisers were nicely packaged in white tissue paper in a hand made velveteen pouch. These are made by Pat and can be either plain or with an embroidered flower sewn on.

Each organiser comes with a starter pack of papers (40 sheets printed on 100 gsm recycled paper) which includes address, name and number, to do, notes, lined and plain inserts.

Other specialist inserts are available to purchase separately for the gardener or wine taster and cost £4.00 each.

First up is the personal size organiser with a Napoleonic bee design in cordovan colour. The colour is a rich dark brown with burgundy and red in it as well.

The main body of the binder is made of one piece of 2 1/2 to 3mm leather, with no padding or cardboard, as you can see from the plain inside.

There are no pockets in the interior, but as the leather is quite substantial I think that they would probably add too much bulk. The finish inside is fairly smooth and this one had some slightly rougher areas, which I would guess come from the grain of the leather. The ring mechanism, pen holder and front loop are attached with brass rivets. The ring mechanism, made by Bensons, has a nice loud snap on closing with no gaps or misalignment. The personal ring size width is 22.5 mm.

The pen loop is again made from one piece of leather and has quite an interesting design.

The leather has a slot cut out of it and then it feeds through itself to loop round to allow a pen to be inserted. This means it's not fixed and can be adjusted in size, so that my chunky Lamy Safari will fit. The end of the strap feeds through the loop on the front and the nicely snug fit would do a good job at keeping the organiser closed. I think due to the size of the loop you'd probably need to use top tabs as it sits closer to the inserts.

I was also sent a pocket organiser with a dandelion design in the buckskin colour.

Out of two colours, this is definitely my favourite. It's a warm golden brown which is a little less orangey in real life. Again the pocket mechanism is perfect with 18mm ring size width. The leather on the pocket is less lined than on the personal.

I really like the rustic simplicity of these organisers, and it's possible to personalise your binder or pick another colour or design from their different items on the website. Due to the amount of interest they have been receiving, any organiser requiring personalisation will be made to order with a wait time of 4-5 days for shipping. Neither of the organisers lay flat out of the packaging and I asked the owners if they knew if they would over time. The answer was that the leather will soften over time, but unfortunately they couldn't give a definite answer on that. However, I like them so much that I think I'd be willing to find out.

Here are some other examples of their binders.

As a special offer valid until 31st December 2013, enter the promo code PR1 at the checkout to get 10% off your order (postage not included in discount).

Readers Tip - Routine Task Sheet

We often get ideas sent in to us for diary inserts or new pages for Philofaxy, some of them are very specific to the person who has sent them in. A few of the ideas get included to our extensive range of diary inserts. The emails arrive at all times of the day, it is not like the post which is a 6 day a week service with one delivery a day, these arrive at all times of day or night...

When 'Melbourne Mom' sent this one in she described it in great detail and I was still half asleep.. thankfully she then sent me some photos and it then made perfect sense!

We have mentioned task related page markers before, I've even used them myself. This is a reusable task page though, but quite clever in it's design.

I thought the Philofaxers might be interested in the routine template which I have come up with for WO2P Personal. It helps keep my WO2P entries neat and tidy, and makes for an efficient use of space.  

Maybe it's been done elsewhere by other people on other websites (it's so simple, surely someone has done it)

a. Choose a note-page (for my black Apex diary, the orange ruled note-page is perfect as it is easy to find the page in the diary and the colour feels dynamic and energising to me).

b. Draw a line margin to make a column for the pre-existing punched binder holes – the line should be about 1cm from the left-hand edge of the note-paper.

c. Fold the page over so the right hand edge of the note-paper joins this line.

d. Measure 1cm (or whatever mm to suit you) from the right hand edge of the folded paper, and draw a line down that side.  Do the same on the other side of the fold.

e. Using both the Wo2P diary paper and the preexisting feint horizontal rules on the notepaper as a guide, divide the note-page into 4 sections from top to bottom corresponding to the standard sized Thursday and Friday entry spaces and the half-sized Saturday and Sunday entry spaces on the standard WO2P. (On the reverse page, you will need to rule only 3 equally sized sections for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.)

f. To recap what the format should now look like from left to right when unfolded, the front page of your template note-page has a 1cm wide margin "binder" column for the pre-existing punched binder holes, a 3.3cm wide column for "morning routines", 2@1cm wide "central columns" (with the fold in the middle between them) and a 3.3cm column for "evening routines". Repeat this format on the reverse of the page, except the binder-hole column here comes last, because it should obviously be on the right hand side, not the left side of the page.

g. When the front page of the paper is folded again, hole-punch the central 1cm column with six entries per day for the Thursday and Friday sections and 3 each for Saturday and Sunday, so there is a total of 18 punched holes all the way down the column pre-ruled notepaper.

h. Open up the folded page. You now have two central 1cm columns, each with 18 hole-punches  all the way down the centre of the paper.

i.  In the  “morning routines” column on the notepaper, using a pencil, I like to record six critical stages / deadlines of my morning routine which helps me to leave the house on time every working day. Eg h:mm make tea, +6min shower, +13min Breakfast, +6min Dishwasher / Washing out, +11min Feed toddler, +11min Leave house [to catch train].  In the “evening routines” column, I add six critical components of my evening routine to help me and my children get to bed at a reasonable time.

j. Turn the template note page over, and put in the routine entries for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday in their respective columns and sections.

k. (Note: the daily routine can be adapted to suit your own circumstances and doesn't need to be just morning and evening routines, the routine if [not is] planned well can allow for daily variation eg morning gym every second day).

l. There are only three hole-punches for each of Saturday and Sunday.  I am not at work on these days, but as a night-owl who is trying to make a habit of an early morning routine, I add the first three morning routine tasks to make sure I get up and dressed at the usual time anyway.  Ditto on the evening side for my three routine tasks for getting my kids fed, bathed and read to in bed every night.

m. Having prepared my template, I then spend 5-10 minutes ruling to divide all my my standard WO2P diary pages for the year with an identical format, except instead of a “morning routines” column I have my “appointments” column, and instead of an “evening routine” column I have my “To do’s” column for each daily entry, and the two 1cm columns in the middle are for ticking off routines.

n. For my routines, all I have to do is cover the page with the orange template page (I keep this routines template page between my week on two pages view as a kind of “today” tab), and tick inside each hole-punch onto the WO2P page central columns for each day.

o. As an alternative to ticking off the routine tasks, I can add a number representing the number of minutes delayed for whatever reason, or minutes faster than the allotted time, so that I can fine-tune my routine on review).

[My daily “to do’s” column is for what must be done today, as distinct from my “weekly to do’s” which are kept in a separate tabbed section in my Filofax, using the “Daily Planner”  sheets which I think I got in an old Firenze planner, with date for week beginning and with three columns for priority, task and completed box.  That way I don’t feel like a failure for not ticking off wish-list tasks every day.]

Thank you 'Melbourne Mom' for your tip

Reader Under The Spotlight - Nicole

I’m Nicole and I have just finished my BA in English Literature and History at University of Huddersfield. My ultimate ambition is taking my PhD and becoming a lecturer in medieval history. I also would like to be more active in blogging about my organisational habits and my Filofax.

1. When did you buy your first Filofax and what was it? 

My first Filofax was a raspberry personal Metropol, given to me for Christmas two years ago by my parents. It now has some very sad scuffs and chipped off pieces but I can’t bear to part with it! It’s been everywhere with me and has kept me organised while I’ve been at university.

2. What other brands have you used or considered using?

I’ve never used any other binder brand but I’ve always loved diaries and journals so I’ve tried most UK high street branded stationary. It was a revelation to try my own Filofax and have only the things I wanted in it.

3. Out of the organisers you own which is your current favourite (Style and Size)?

During term-time I use a black A5 Finsbury every day which is so classy and smells amazing! However, since I’m between my BA and my MA and I’m not very busy I’m using a personal Kent with a week per page and just plain notepaper which I have found quite freeing, compared to the detail of my A5 planner. The Kent is a little softer too.

4. How many Filofax organisers do you own?

I currently own three: the raspberry personal Metropol, a black personal Kent and my black A5 Finsbury.

5. What is the oldest Filofax in your collection?

The Kent is the oldest; it came with a blank 2003 diary in! I don’t know how long the person before me had it but it came in the original box, so I’m guessing it could be a fair bit older than 2003? Leave a comment below if you know!!

6. What do you use your Filofax for?  

My A5 Finsbury is the centre of my life while I’m at university as I have to be organised from minute to minute and the extra page space for the A5 is so helpful. I use it during term time to keep track of classes, deadlines and ‘homework’, as well as the hours I was working and my general to-dos like laundry! It also acts as a notebook for now while I start my research for my MA dissertation.

My Kent is my ‘throw in the bag’ Filofax so I put shopping lists and meal plans in it and general notes I find myself making whilst I’m out and about, as well as my little diary which was so difficult to get used to after a day per page!

My Metropol holds my spare personal inserts and is mainly just to be looked at for the moment. Maybe soon I’ll feel less upset at the thought that she will wear out and just carry on using her until that happens.

7. What was the feature about Filofax you like most?

I love the fact that Filofaxes are so flexible. At the moment my life is in flux so being able to switch diaries as often as I need to helps me stay on top of things without lugging around a huge amount of paper! I also like the option to customise and add different inserts. I haven’t yet, but will get round to, making my own dividers and sheets. Philofaxy, and all of the other Filofax blogs, are so inspiring!

8. If you could design your own Filofax what would it feature? 

I don’t use the card slots in any of my Filofaxes so I would just have one full side-loading zip pocket and one general side pocket in the front and a full-sized top loading pocket in the back with two pen loops. I also need something quite hardy with the fact that I quickly throw my Filofaxes in my bag, forgetting the crumbs, the uncapped pens and everything else in my bag. Bad Nicole! Oh and I would probably have quite small rings since I only have one diary and notepaper in my Filofax usually, but as I said I like having the opportunity to put whatever I want in so maybe I would have large rings!

9. How do you carry your Filofax?

In my hand, constantly! It even comes from room to room in my (tiny) house because I love having it around that much. I need to have it within easy reference distance. As I said, I do have a bad habit of throwing my Filofaxes carelessly in my bag so I should really stop doing that!

10. Which Filofax in the current range do you like the most? Are you going to buy it?

If I had the money I would buy a grey or ochre Malden because they are so beautiful. On the other hand, I do want a really brightly coloured Filofax again so I might have to go for a Calipso. I won’t be buying any for a while as the MA is quite expensive and I doubt I will be able to afford a new Filofax, sadly. I will have to be satisfied with looking at other people’s Filofaxes on the internet!

11. What is the most you have ever spent on a Filofax? Which model?

I spent about £25 on my A5 Finsbury from eBay so not very much!! I was extremely happy with that as I’m sure you can all imagine!

12. What's your favourite Filofax tip or hack?

Buy a decent hole punch!! I bought the plastic Filofax one for personal and it drove me crazy. Also be critical of the way you use your Filofax. At first I carried around a very full, heavy Filofax but only used a tiny percentage of the pages. If I had carried on I would have stopped using it, but I took loads of paper out and suddenly my Filofax was magical again.

13. Turning to Philofaxy, what do you like the most?

I love the sense of community. It’s nice to feel part of a group of people where you can ask questions, support each other and share everything. I also like the fact that the writing is black on cream because I work with a lot of dyslexics and this is a lot easier to read for them, so I appreciate it now more than black writing on a white background.

14. And what do you not like about Philofaxy?

I would like more user-generated content, like a guest blogger spot.

15. What was the last music track you downloaded or bought?

None of the above! I have Spotify so I stream my music. I’m obsessed with Emeli Sandé’s Wonder at the moment.

16.  Mark Darcy or Daniel Cleaver? 

Mark Darcy. I love a Christmas jumper!

Thank you Nicole for appearing under our spotlight. If you would like to appear in this feature please contact philofaxy at gmail dot com

When do you plan?

I'm always looking for ideas on how I can improve how I use my Filofax, how I can make it help me manage my time better.

Yes even though I'm officially retired I still have to manage my time, otherwise I would most probably sit around looking at Facebook all day!

So today's thought or question. Do you plan your week at the beginning of the week or do you plan each day at the start of the day or a combination of both or something else all together?

Please share your tips in the comments below.

Web Finds - 14 September 2013

Here are the latest Filofax blog posts from around the Internet:

1. Post No. 1 for The Career Project - This Bugs Life
2. Custom checklist / to-do inserts - Paper Lovestory
3. Filofax pros and cons: personal size - Paper Pens Ink
4. Post No. 1 for The Spiritual Project  - This Bugs Life
5. Planner Peace - Giftie Etcetera
6. Tracking Health – Filofax & Fitbit or Filofax & Pulse? - Jar FM
7. My first Filofax: Personal Original - Patent Black - Notebooks and Nail Polish
8. Time management Mondays: Know thy limits - Quo Vadis Blog
9. Post No. 1 for The Book Project - This Bugs Life
10. Thrifty Filofaxing- Neon Brights Paper - Incarnations of Organisation
11. When did you last ask, "What's on my plate?" - My Life All in One Place
12. Handy Task Tabs for your A5 Filofax - My Life All in One Place
13. Bullet Journal Time - The Pen Addict Podcast 
14. Planner Art Decoration-week 37 - My Summer Touch
15. Mission: Personal Saffiano into a Work Planner - Part One - Miss Mai's Adventures
16. Crap cakes... - The Crazy Suburban Mom
17. Five Ways to Use Your Planner’s Schedule Page - Home Makers Daily
18. Customer Speak: A Malibu Planner Review - Day-Timer Blog
19. A New Insert - Roses in December
20. Filofax Friday: Goals Master List [Free Download] - Planning with Printed Portal
21. Filofax Purge-Fest - The Storage Studio
22. 4 Healthy Lessons of Time Management for Kids -  Day-Timer Blog
23. What’s on your plate? - Lime Tree
24. A Blank Slate - Thinking Versus Doing
25. Planner Art Decoration (Filofax) -week 38 - My Summer Touch
26. Songbird Filofax - Two Nine Three
27. Filofax pros and cons: pocket size and smaller - Paper Pens Ink
28. OOTD: Polka Dot Midi Dress & Pink Filofax - Georgina

• Your blog post could appear here next week if we missed you this time around. Email us the details and we will include it if we can. 
• 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. Do not forget to give your posts a title... 
• For some general tips on Filofax Blogging, please see this post

Do not forget if you want to attend the meet up in Manchester in October, you can still apply for a place.

And here are a selection of the latest Filofax videos for your enjoyment.

1. 2013 Video Series: How to Choose Inserts/Refills for a FILOFAX - mypurpleylife
2. Designs available on my Etsy Shop - maryannemoll
3. Filofax 'The Purse' Black - TotallyOrganized
4. FILOFAX POCKET CHAMELEON SET UP - Pink Turtle Images
5. Filofax Initial Set Up what's in my Filofax? - Maria Villafana
6. Decorating My Filofax Personal Organiser - Week #38 - mypurpleylife

• For tips on how to improve your videos, please see this post. 

Enjoy