I'm surprised -- and overjoyed -- to note that guests have begun returning to Philofaxy after just one new blog post after a 3-month absence. So as not to torture you (especially those of you that don't use an RSS feed), I'll let you know that I'm planning to update the blog about twice a week -- once during the weekend (Saturday or Sunday), and once around the middle of the week (Tuesday or Wednesday). I have a few topics up my sleeve, and am always open to suggestions!
In between, you can visit (and hopefully add to) the Flickr Philofaxy pool. The group has been wonderfully active, with folks displaying some amazingly creative Filo configurations.
14 January 2008
13 January 2008
Happy 2008!
It's been so long since I've posted to Philofaxy, it feels a little strange. I want to thank all of the readers who've been commenting on recent posts. Thank you for your input, and for inspiring me to keep the blog alive. My absence has been due in part to getting burned out at work last year (and it feels really good to use the word "last" here), to a temporary addiction to something called Facebook, and to, frankly, a lack of news. It's easy to write about Filofax angst when you're choosing between sizes and formats. I had settled into a stable Filofax system in 2007, and eventually there wasn't much to write about.
I spent the time between Christmas and New Year's setting up new refills in my 3 Filos -- A5 for work, A5 for household, and Personal for personal. The biggest change was in Personal, when I went from week-per-2-pages to 2-days per page. As you can see in this picture, the new, white diary pages (bottom) take up a much bigger portion of the book. I had to cull quite a few other pages to make room.
But I'm enjoying the extra room on each page. Now I have room to write down more than "pay electric bill." I have room to write down the confirmation number when I pay the bill online. I have time to note addresses and directions. There's also a 1/2 page each week called Notes, which I've used so far for to-dos that don't have to be done on a specific day, and notes that go beyond a confirmation number.
I've also changed my tabs in the Personal: They're now Projects, Maybe, Ideas, Lists, Life, and Tel. The Projects section is for truly personal projects, like get-togethers with friends, holidays, and vacations. Maybe stands for "maybe do" and holds to-do pages. It's for Web sites I want to look up, people I want to get back in touch with, products I might want to order, and so on. Ideas may not sound very different from Maybe, but it is. It's for ideas that go beyond a single to-do. Cities I want to visit each have a page under ideas, as do Web sites I want to develop and articles I want to write. It's actually a pretty fallow section at the moment. Lists is an alphabetical collection of lists; mostly shopping/gift lists alphabetized by venue. Life is an oddball name, I know. It's actually a euphemism for diet and exercise records. It makes sense to me.
Has anyone else done any tweaking for the new year?
19 October 2007
A5 Access
In a comment on a recent guest post, a reader asked about the availability of A5 binders to store archived Filofax pages. The Filofax post storage binders make it hard to read or photocopy completed pages.
In Europe, there's not much of a problem. A5 2-ring binders and hole punches are everywhere. (You need a separate hole punch, because none of the 6 holes in Filo paper line up with the 2 holes in an A5 binder. Funny, that.)
But in the U.S., A5 paper and accessories are very hard to find. You can possibly find items in the Japantowns of major cities, as I did in New York last year.
Recently, I found another source, located in Massachusetts, that will ship anywhere in the U.S. It's Empire Imports. The #1075 binder on this page is A5 size. There's only one color (dark), and only one spine size (3"), but it's available in the U.S., it holds tons of paper, and Empire Imports is increasing its selection all the time. For example, the company recently added reams of A5 paper, so you can print your own Filo forms. You can also get hole punches from them.
(By the way, if you need A4 or A3 paper and accessories in the U.S., Empire Imports has an even bigger selection.)
In Europe, there's not much of a problem. A5 2-ring binders and hole punches are everywhere. (You need a separate hole punch, because none of the 6 holes in Filo paper line up with the 2 holes in an A5 binder. Funny, that.)
But in the U.S., A5 paper and accessories are very hard to find. You can possibly find items in the Japantowns of major cities, as I did in New York last year.
Recently, I found another source, located in Massachusetts, that will ship anywhere in the U.S. It's Empire Imports. The #1075 binder on this page is A5 size. There's only one color (dark), and only one spine size (3"), but it's available in the U.S., it holds tons of paper, and Empire Imports is increasing its selection all the time. For example, the company recently added reams of A5 paper, so you can print your own Filo forms. You can also get hole punches from them.
(By the way, if you need A4 or A3 paper and accessories in the U.S., Empire Imports has an even bigger selection.)
17 October 2007
Thanks for the comments!
I just wanted to thank everyone who's been commenting on new (and not-so-new) entries. I don't always respond, but I do read them, and so do our regular readers and those who come to this blog via search engines.
Thanks for contributing to the discussion! It feels good that this blog gets so many visitors, and I'll try to come up with more posts to gratify all of you!
Thanks for contributing to the discussion! It feels good that this blog gets so many visitors, and I'll try to come up with more posts to gratify all of you!
16 October 2007
Guest Blog: Laurie Huff
Today's guest blog touches on points that are near and dear to all of our hearts. I know they are to mine. Especially since I've solved my own constant "should I switch" dilemma by making a simple rule: Only switch at the change of a calendar year. (OK, at the change of an academic year if I'm really desperate.) Well, the change of a calendar year is coming. What's in store for us Philofaxers?
The 2008 Itch
As 2007 starts to wind down, my thoughts turn to 2008. Specifically, what calendar will I use next year? My lust for the new and exciting has me reeling with the possibilities. Will I stick with the Filofax week on 2 pages? Should I go for that nifty week plus notes? This of course runs into my classic problem: My Personal size Filofax just doesn't give me enough room to write each day with a week at a view. So now I wonder, should I branch out? Should I switch to a page per day? I tried this one year and, though I had more space to expand my thoughts and plans on a daily basis, I tended to do a poor job of planning ahead without the whole week spread in front of me and the next whole week just a page-turn away. I was lost in a sea of individual days.
So then this begs the question: Should I upgrade my Filofax? Is it time to move up to the A5 size? Will sacrificing portability be worth the gains of writing space and future planning?
Which begs another question: Why do I think about it so much? Is my life really so complicated that I need to find a system that works absolutely flawlessly for me? What about the fact that my needs change every few months and suddenly what worked before is now woefully inadequate?
Questions, questions. Maybe I feel this way because of testimonials from people about how the "perfect" planner system changed their life. Covey, GTD, Uncalendar—the list of systems is endless. People seem to find their perfect system, and suddenly their life is easier, more efficient, and they accomplish their goals! Why can't I do that??
Every year I continue my quest for the Filofax Holy Grail. Would I accomplish just as much with a spiral bound notebook and some Post-Its?
(By the way, Laurie, here's how I settle the A5/Personal conundrum: I use an A5 for business and a Personal for personal. In both cases, I use a week-per-2-pages...vertical for the A5 and horizontal for Personal. I used a day-per-page A5 for work for quite a while, though. In that case, I need to supplement it with a month-per-2-pages or a fold-out year. Since my daily activities are ratcheting up these days...more appointments, workouts, events, and errands to record, I'm seriously considering a day-per-page Personal for 2008. Just thinking about it is delicious. -- Inky)
The 2008 Itch
As 2007 starts to wind down, my thoughts turn to 2008. Specifically, what calendar will I use next year? My lust for the new and exciting has me reeling with the possibilities. Will I stick with the Filofax week on 2 pages? Should I go for that nifty week plus notes? This of course runs into my classic problem: My Personal size Filofax just doesn't give me enough room to write each day with a week at a view. So now I wonder, should I branch out? Should I switch to a page per day? I tried this one year and, though I had more space to expand my thoughts and plans on a daily basis, I tended to do a poor job of planning ahead without the whole week spread in front of me and the next whole week just a page-turn away. I was lost in a sea of individual days.
So then this begs the question: Should I upgrade my Filofax? Is it time to move up to the A5 size? Will sacrificing portability be worth the gains of writing space and future planning?
Which begs another question: Why do I think about it so much? Is my life really so complicated that I need to find a system that works absolutely flawlessly for me? What about the fact that my needs change every few months and suddenly what worked before is now woefully inadequate?
Questions, questions. Maybe I feel this way because of testimonials from people about how the "perfect" planner system changed their life. Covey, GTD, Uncalendar—the list of systems is endless. People seem to find their perfect system, and suddenly their life is easier, more efficient, and they accomplish their goals! Why can't I do that??
Every year I continue my quest for the Filofax Holy Grail. Would I accomplish just as much with a spiral bound notebook and some Post-Its?
(By the way, Laurie, here's how I settle the A5/Personal conundrum: I use an A5 for business and a Personal for personal. In both cases, I use a week-per-2-pages...vertical for the A5 and horizontal for Personal. I used a day-per-page A5 for work for quite a while, though. In that case, I need to supplement it with a month-per-2-pages or a fold-out year. Since my daily activities are ratcheting up these days...more appointments, workouts, events, and errands to record, I'm seriously considering a day-per-page Personal for 2008. Just thinking about it is delicious. -- Inky)
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