Hi everybody!
This week, I've used my Filofax for everything from recording a pasta salad recipe to planning a vacation to Las Vegas. Has your Filofax been involved in any new adventures lately?
05 November 2009
02 November 2009
What do you write with?
Another revisit of an old topic. Way back in July 2006 Nan asked the same question What do you write with?
I wonder if you have changed over time as pens have changed? I like to write with a fountain pen more than I like writing with a ball point pen. I find ball points frustrating when they don't write straight away, especially when you are signing something.
In my organiser I tend to use a mechanical pencil with a 0.5 mm lead which means I can enter my appointments in pencil and rub them our if an appointment is changed or moved.
I have a few different fountain pens some more expensive than others, I've even used some disposable ones!
Filofax themselves sell some very nice fountain pens, but I thought they were a little pricey. Although they do have a good offer on at the moment. (See below)
I wonder if you have changed over time as pens have changed? I like to write with a fountain pen more than I like writing with a ball point pen. I find ball points frustrating when they don't write straight away, especially when you are signing something.
In my organiser I tend to use a mechanical pencil with a 0.5 mm lead which means I can enter my appointments in pencil and rub them our if an appointment is changed or moved.
I have a few different fountain pens some more expensive than others, I've even used some disposable ones!
Filofax themselves sell some very nice fountain pens, but I thought they were a little pricey. Although they do have a good offer on at the moment. (See below)
Poll Result - What size Filofax Organisers do you own?
Thank you once again for an excellent response to the poll. 84 votes this time and grand total of 164 organisers, which is no surprise as our previous poll said that most people had at least 2 organisers in their collection.
No big surprise either that the personal size is the most popular, followed by the A5 (which is always being mentioned here). Then came the pocket size and an then the slimline, which is gaining more of a following I think.
No M2's and the rest scored only small numbers. It would be interesting to hear from the users of the A4 and Deskfax organisers to hear how they find those bigger sizes.
Here's a chart of the full results:
No big surprise either that the personal size is the most popular, followed by the A5 (which is always being mentioned here). Then came the pocket size and an then the slimline, which is gaining more of a following I think.
No M2's and the rest scored only small numbers. It would be interesting to hear from the users of the A4 and Deskfax organisers to hear how they find those bigger sizes.
Here's a chart of the full results:
Click on the image to see a full size picture.
And finally... if all the organisers were laid end to end they would stretch for 28 metres... aren't spreadsheets wonderful things!
Once again thank you to everyone who took part.
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Diary vs. Planner: What Do You Call It?
Recently in a conversation with a British friend, we were discussing what Americans call their diary. She had thought that we call it an engagement book. I have heard that term before, but it’s definitely not the term I use.
In the UK, “diary” seems to be the specific word for your planner calendar, whether it’s a day per page or week to view. (Steve, correct me if I’m wrong!). When someone says they will check their diary, everyone knows what they mean.
For Americans, when we hear “diary” we tend to think of a 13 year old girl writing in her journal, “Dear Diary, I have a crush on blah blah blah…” Actually the word “diary” isn’t used as frequently now, we use the word “journal” to mean the book we write in to record our thoughts.
So, what do we Americans say when we talk about the book we use to schedule our appointments, list our To-Dos, and jot our reminders? Some people call it their daily planner (and The Daily Planner website grabbed this title for easy searching of these types of books). Some say “day planner,” some say “planner.” Some call their book their “agenda” although I don’t hear that very often. Some people call their book their organizer, especially when it is a binder style such as Filofax. We don’t seem to have one word that specifically means our daily calendar book.
Americans, what do you call your diary/ planner/ whatever? I prefer “my Filofax that contains my entire life and functions as my life-reference since I have a terrible memory,” but I usually call it my planner.
(By the way, if you are in the market for a new Filofax, check HERE on The Daily Planner website (or go to TDP, click on Autumn Specials then choose On Sale Planners) for Filofaxes in various sizes including A5, Personal, Mini and Pocket that are 10 and even 20 dollars off, or more such as a mini Topaz half off!!)
In the UK, “diary” seems to be the specific word for your planner calendar, whether it’s a day per page or week to view. (Steve, correct me if I’m wrong!). When someone says they will check their diary, everyone knows what they mean.
For Americans, when we hear “diary” we tend to think of a 13 year old girl writing in her journal, “Dear Diary, I have a crush on blah blah blah…” Actually the word “diary” isn’t used as frequently now, we use the word “journal” to mean the book we write in to record our thoughts.
So, what do we Americans say when we talk about the book we use to schedule our appointments, list our To-Dos, and jot our reminders? Some people call it their daily planner (and The Daily Planner website grabbed this title for easy searching of these types of books). Some say “day planner,” some say “planner.” Some call their book their “agenda” although I don’t hear that very often. Some people call their book their organizer, especially when it is a binder style such as Filofax. We don’t seem to have one word that specifically means our daily calendar book.
Americans, what do you call your diary/ planner/ whatever? I prefer “my Filofax that contains my entire life and functions as my life-reference since I have a terrible memory,” but I usually call it my planner.
(By the way, if you are in the market for a new Filofax, check HERE on The Daily Planner website (or go to TDP, click on Autumn Specials then choose On Sale Planners) for Filofaxes in various sizes including A5, Personal, Mini and Pocket that are 10 and even 20 dollars off, or more such as a mini Topaz half off!!)
01 November 2009
Filofax Address Book Software
I decided to download the free demo of the Filofax Address Book software. I wanted to try this out before considering whether to purchase it or not. The software will only work on a Windows PC, no native Mac version is currently available, although I guess the software might work in Parallels or similar simulation software. I haven't been able to confirm this out at this time.
After loading the demo, I took a look around it, you can import your address files from a variety of sources, I chose to link in to my address book direct which was easy to do.
You then choose which size of Filofax page you which to print your addresses and contacts on. The software supports the following formats: A5, Personal and Pocket size pages in A4 size paper, and A5 with 8.5 x 11 inch paper. For Personal and Pocket it assumes you are printing on to the computer paper that can be obtained from your Filofax stockist or the on-line store. There are also settings for printing labels or envelopes (useful for Christmas cards!)
For each size there are a selection of page styles which give you a choice of how detailed to make your printed entries. The print preview mode allows you to see your contacts on a simulated page and switching between styles allows you to see how much detail is included.
You can also filter your contacts to include or exclude work, personal or a text based filters. This proves quite powerful if you are setting up your contacts exclusively for your work Filofax.
In the options you can add and control A-Z tabs and the way alphabetical ordering is handled, the number of contacts per page. You can also select which fields to print, which allows you to cram more contacts to as few a pages as possible. You have control over the field headings, font sizes etc.
Within the main body of the application, you have control over the sorting of your contacts, using the main fields or some of the sub fields.
You can also edit entries although I'm not 100% sure if the edited version of a contact is passed back to Outlook or not, I need to investigate this. Once you have imported your contacts you can maintain the file from within the application, so you can add and delete contacts, and as I just mentioned edit entries.
At present I print from within Outlook 2007 on to A4 paper in booklet mode to put in my A5 organiser, but I can see this software would make the job a lot easier, especially for personal size pages. (3 pages per A4 sheet) which are traditionally tricky to line up exactly.
I've not as yet purchased the full version of the software (the demo is more or less fully functional, except it limits printing to 20 contacts) or some of the Filofax paper. But I will be ordering some personal size paper along with the software this week.
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