Free for All Friday No. 3

My previous post may give you some ideas this week.

Let's get really creative!

Think outside the ... binder?

Random musings

I don't think I've ever done a "random musings" post on this blog. Either I have a concrete idea to develop, or I don't write at all. But with the new Free-for-all Fridays, it would look really bad if I went from Friday to Friday without a post. So although I thought I had nothing to write about...I realize I do. Just nothing completely organized.

I can promise that I do have a new post coming, and when. It will be this Sunday, and it will be about makeup kits in organizer form. Something for the girls (and some of the guys).

If I'm not posting frequently, it's because I'm not currently in Filofax angst. When everything's going smoothly, there's less to write about. I'm happily keeping all the information I need on Personal and A5 pages.

And, to be honest, Filofaxes are a fairly limited subject. For a blog like, say, Notebookism, there are lots of different kinds of notebooks to write about. Filofaxes are a smaller subject, and they work so well, there's not always much to discuss.

And yet there is a lot going on. For example:

- Everybody, please check out Richard's comment about his beautiful Slimline Filofax and how much it enhances his life.

- I can post about how I label my tabs with a Brother labelmaker.

- The A5 binders from Empire Imports in the U.S., or how I might just repunch my A5 pages like standard U.S. 3-ring 5.25 x 8.5 pages.

- The running list I keep of things to look up on the Web, so I can just jot things down and get back to work.

- What's going on with Franklin Covey, Day Runner, and DayTimer, anyway? No reason not to write about these other systems.

- Should we have contests and polls on Philofaxy? Giveaways to drum up more interest?

- Should we have more guest blogs?

- More holiday-related posts? For example, in the Filofax's front matter, it states that summer is from the vernal solstice to the vernal equinox. But it doesn't say when that is. It took my husband -- a non-Filofax user -- to explain to me that the empty circle on June 18 signified a full moon, and thus the vernal solstice. Should Filofax do a better job clarifying the lunar cycles and seasons on the diary pages?

- Should we branch out more and discuss which pens, pencils, sticky notes, papers, and other accessories work with Filofaxes? Is being too purist limiting this blog's activity?

Free For All Friday No. 2

This week, a propos of my June 11 post, a reader suggested weighing in on what types of calendars are available in different countries. For instance, the vertical week format is available in the Personal size in France. In other countries, it's only available in larger sizes.

What day does the week start in your country - Sunday or Monday?

When does your Filofax indicate your workday should begin and end?

Eeny Meeny Miney

One of the wonderful things about Filofax is the variety of yearly calendars (diaries to you Brits). Everything from one day to a page, to one week to a page, to one year on one large fold-out sheet. You can see your time in as much or as little detail as you need. You can implement any time management solution with the right format.

Or if you're like me, you switch. For example, for my work Filo, this year alone I've tried using one-day-per-page, one-week-per-2-pages (vertical format, as pictured here; the one that usually comes with the A5), and one-week-per-2-pages in horizontal format, just like what comes with Personal organizers, but larger, for the A5. Since my work revolves around deadlines and tasks, not appointments, the horizontal format seemed to be the perfect solution. The vertical didn't give me enough room to write per day, and the day-per-page didn't let me see enough time at once.

Well, it seemed to be the perfect solution, until I read about time-striping on the Lifehacks blog, which should sound familiar to many of you reading this blog. Here's a link to Lifehacks' time-striping article: http://tinyurl.com/5jp2cp (complete with a really helpful illustration).

It kind of reminds me of a school schedule: First period (hour) of the day: Subject 1. Second period: Subject 2, except the "subjects" become projects. Recently, with a greater number of projects to juggle, I need a solution like time-striping to keep me from jumping from one task to another and taking 2-3 tries to complete any single task. I need a set amount of time blocked off to immerse myself in one subject and nothing else.

And I think I'm going to be switching back again to my vertical-format pages—with stripes drawn across them this time.

Free For All Friday

A recent commenter, Kerowyn (thank you!), had a suggestion that confirmed something I've been thinking about for a while: Do a weekly open post, giving our readers the chance to speak out.

With apologies to the Notebookism blog, which is perhaps the most popular implementer of this concept, I've decided to give all of you a forum for your Filofax-related thoughts and feelings.

Just leave a comment to this post. Who knows what it may grow into? ;)