My 2013 set up...

I was very smug thinking I've got my 2013 set up all sorted, just a continuation this years set up..... or so I thought....

One day last week I spent a very productive morning printing my own diary inserts, so that in 2013 I would be using my own inserts and none bought from Filofax. 

This year I've only been using one of my own printed inserts the others have been Filofax ones on their thin paper.

In my A5 I carry two diary inserts one for planning and one for my journal. Although I might consider some way of combining those two functions in to one insert in the future.  The A5 tends to sit on my desk alongside me all the time.

In my personal size Filofax I have a simple week per page just to record my appointments so when I'm out and about I have the details of where I will be and I can add to this should I need to. Yes it does mean I'm keeping two (or three if you include iCal) diaries in sync manually, but I don't find this an issue.

For 2013 I am using the same basic format, but ones of my own designs, the TM Enhanced Week per View A5 insert as I have been using for most of this year. And a week per view journal insert which is a nice and simple layout. Both A5 inserts are printed on 80gsm A5 paper which goes through my laser printer just fine.

In the personal size for 2013 I have printed my own Week Per Page insert on to Filofax Cotton Cream plain note paper. After fanning the the pages these also feed through the printer just fine. I leave them for a few minutes to cool down and then print the reverse side. The Filofax cotton cream paper is thicker than the normal white Filofax note paper.

As you can see from the pictures the finished results do look very good and I'm really looking forward to using them next year.

When I added both A5 inserts to my A5 Malden I realised I might have a problem, being that the paper is thicker, it does take up more room on the rings. So I measured the thickness of the respective inserts:

• A5 Filofax 4.25mm thick for a full 12 months
• 80gsm plain paper 6mm thick for a full 12 months

With some archiving of past pages I was able to get both 12 month inserts in to the A5 Malden, but it is still looking a little fat! So I might have to take out 6 months from each insert to reduce the number of pages and store those until we get further in to the year and then archive the first few months etc.

Then I looked at the personal size:

• Filofax white paper 2.25mm thick for a full 12 months
• Filofax cotton cream 3.5mm thick for a full 12 months

It might not seem a very big difference, but at the moment I'm using a compact Malden with 15mm rings. But it's already more or less full to capacity and I only keep a couple of months of pages in it, plus my A-Z contacts and some note pages.

So I think I will be ok with the A5 with a bit of careful management, but I thought a bit about the Personal size and decided to pull all my personal size organisers out of the cupboard and assess them as alternatives.

I narrowed it down to the existing Malden compact zip (15mm rings), a normal Malden (23mm rings) or the big Cuban Zip (30mm rings), a stepped progression!

I found the best way to assess my real needs was to gather together all the pages I need on the desk, as well as dividers and other contents and then assemble the total fill in to each organiser in turn to see how well it all fits, what problems there are etc. 

Whilst I was doing this I also consolidated all my spare personal size pages in to one box rather than across several unused organisers, so it's not been a wasted exercise! 

In the end I've decided to give the normal non-zip Malden a try and I will see how that works for me for the first month or so. Going back up in ring size will allow me to also add things like maps and other information inserts in to my organiser that I've had to leave out in the compact Malden.

I might return to the compact zip Malden if I find I'm not using all of the pages. I might also enhance the diary by using some month to a page sheets as well as the weekly sheets so I can have the rest of the year in the organiser as well. I will print these on cotton cream paper as well.

So we don't have problems.... we only have solutions to our problems!

Web Finds - 10 November 2012

Here are the latest Filofax blog posts from the internet.

1. In which I wobble - Sky Blue Pinkish
2. Filofax vs ARC notebook. 
3. In Search of "The One": A Filofax ♥ Story - Friday, I'm in Love
4. All Stars Guest Post - Vanja's Filofax Journal - Thoughts and Exploration 
5. FREE 2013 Calendar for your Filofax! - Lime Tree
6. In which I fall off - Sky Blue Pinkish
7. Filofax Competition time - Rapunzel's World 
8. Calendar 2013 – English - Bigrell Design
9. Rungs on the organizing ladder - The Crazy Suburban Mom
10. 365/30: What colours...? - Filomaniac
11. New Filofax diary layouts to download - My Life All in One Place
12. dressing like my deco/osterley - Paper Lovestory
13. Filofax and Phone: The Honeymoon Recording Dream Team - The Crazy Life of J
14. Filofax dissection. - Filofax Filosophy
15. Swirl Agenda - Cloudberry Musings
16. October Month in Review - Behind my Purpley Life
17. Planner fail, or rather planner indecision - Girl in Maths
18. Tabs and Dividers: Progressing with my Filofax setup - Planning with Printed Portal
19. Tech - Just an Essex girl 
20. A Look Inside my Fliofax Flex A5 - Matryoshka Vegan! 
21. Who’s Got a Filofax Full of Men? - From My Pantry
22. Using a Filofax to plan a website - Design in a Teacup
23. Filofax Print - MCR Print
24. What colours should they add to existing Filofax ranges? - Filofit
25. Using Embossing Powders on the Domino - Jagged Little Thoughts
26. Back to the old.. - Circus Life with Disturbed Mamacita
27. Filofax Friday – New Inserts - The Yarn Yard
28. custom to-do inserts - Paper Lovestory 
29. First Impressions: Personal Holborn in Wine - Friday, I'm in Love
30. New Filofax Dividers! - The Wonderful Life of Alice
31. List of Filofaxes i NEED! - The Wonderful Life of Alice
32. a bargain in the filofax sale! - Paperplane Thinking
33. wild ‘o fax?! - and then she read 
34. North West (Manchester) Meet Up!! - Filo Obsessed

And here are this weeks Filofax videos from the internet.








Enjoy

Free For All Friday No. 208

There's been lots of Planner Fail lately. I keep hearing about people tweaking their systems, trying new diary formats or even a different size from what they were using before.

Some people are dissatisfied with what they used this year and are looking for something better for next year. Other people have a change in circumstances (workload etc.) and are looking for an immediate solution.

Are you experiencing Planner Fail? Let us know and maybe people will have some suggestions for you.

And as always on Fridays, feel free to discuss any ring-binder related topics.

Happy Friday everyone!

Guest Post - Prachi - Paperchase Organiser

Hello everyone, I’m Prachi. I’m 15 years old and I am from the UK. Since early summer, I’ve developed an obsession with planners and Filofaxes, fuelled of course by the wonderful Philofaxy and Plannerisms. I don’t have a blog (though I’m considering starting one), so this is my first ever blog-style post, so bear with me if it isn’t as great as Steve, Laurie, Nan and Anita’s posts!

I recently experienced Planner Fail with my pay-per-page planner, so I needed a change. I wanted a Filofax, but I can’t quite afford one and it’s not my birthday any time soon, nor could I have waited until Christmas, so, I bought a mini organiser from Paperchase. It’s the same as Filofax’s pocket size. If it all works (which so far, it is), I’ll upgrade to the real deal!

So, here it is!

I fell in love with the colour, and the design is rather cute and at £11 it was a steal! In the pen loop I’ve got a mechanical pencil (also from Paperchase), and I prefer using this as I can erase things easily, and there’s no worries about bleed through or feathering.

This is what you see when it’s opened up.

The card slots are currently empty, but I’m going to put in my library card and when school starts again I expect the pockets will be brimming with bits and bobs. The insert is also Paperchase, and came with the diary. It was mid-year (July 2012 to December 2013) but I took lots out and re-arranged it all to my suiting.

There’s also a larger flap/pocket at the back.

I know that if I don’t designate a use for it, it’ll be full of junk which will just accumulate, so I’ve decided that any letters that need to be taken home will be folded in four and slotted in there so I don’t lose them.

The diary insert came with the following tabs: Information, Planner, Diary, Agenda, Addresses and Notes. I wanted to use them so much as they were multi-coloured and very pretty, but I could not for the life of me differentiate between Planner, Diary and Agenda – what would I put in all three?!

And besides, I envisaged having different tabs, so I changed it all around.

So, my current tabs setup is: Information, Planner, Homework, Money, Urgent and Notes. I’ll go through each section step-by-step and show you what I do. Below is the Information section.

It starts with a yearly overview – this is just for reference, though I’m considering circling birthdays or something on it.

Over the page are the 2013 overview and my school timetable. I’ve put in a blank one, so you don’t see the actual one…not that you’re like that but we never know who else is trawling the Internet! That’s all that’s under this tab; I’m going with the flow because I don’t want to overstuff the binder.

Next up is the Planner tab. The first picture is a weekly spread and the second is the Monday-Wednesday part closer up so you can read it.

This is an example week, because I’m on half-term right now, so my planner isn’t too exciting. I write most stuff in pencil because it’s always to hand and can be erased if things change. The majority of things that have to be done are next to a tick box, because I find it really satisfying to tick a task off when I’ve done it. I also tick it in a pretty colour! If a task isn’t done I put a cross in the box, and draw an arrow next to it and write the day it has been transferred to. It gets written in capital letters and colour on the new date because it’s a priority. If something special is happening that day, a birthday for example, then it is written in a colour and has a little bubble around it. By the way, I use Staedtler Triplus Fineliners – I love them and I’ve got the 20-pack!

After the Planner, I’ve got a tab for Homework.

This isn’t space in the daily boxes to write the details of homework, so I write it on lined notepaper, which I bought 50 sheets of for £1.50 at Paperchase. The subject, due date and tick box are all written in a bright colour, and then the details of what I have to do in pencil underneath. If a task has more than one part, I tick each part when it’s done and then the homework as a whole when all parts are completed.

I then have a tab for Money.

This is a self-drawn sheet where I track my spending by writing what I’ve bought, whether I paid by cash or card, and how much it cost.

The tab after this is labelled Urgent. I haven’t seen anyone else do it, but I find that it really helps me.

It’s quite simple really. One sheet of blue lined notepaper, and when there is an urgent task I write it on a cupcake post-it note and pop it on the paper. This makes it really, really stand out. I’ve made it a habit to check this every morning and evening, so as to remind me if there’s anything that’s super important to do.

Finally, we have the Notes tab.

Nothing special, just any notes like emails or mobile numbers that I’ve jotted down.

So, that’s my little organiser! I hoped you liked looking at her, and that maybe, just maybe, I’ve inspired you to do something with your own! J

Thank you Prachi for your Guest Post, do update us on how your set up is working out.  And we look forward to featuring your new blog too

Going vintage (and my solution)

I know I only recently posted about my filofax changes here and here, but I've already been having doubts about using a slimline as my main binder... Going through my Malden I got rid of lots of rubbish, but still had notes that wouldn't fit in my Adelphi but I still wanted to keep or go through. And that's when the craziness began! I remembered something one day and thought, "Great, that's in the back of my filofax" but then, "Oh, it's not as it doesn't fit any more". It was in my A5, but just wasn't as easy to find and now I needed to look in two separate places. The final straw came when I was arranging some paperwork for a holiday and I'm not sure if a slimline will be big enough for a week away but I don't want to take my A5 with me too. Uh-oh.

I've found (in my brief trial) that a slimline may appeal to my minimalist heart, but it's just not big enough for me to carry sufficient spare paper, inspirational quotes/notes along with all my essentials like my to-do lists and project info. I could imagine myself using it as a wallet or as a satellite filo when out and about but I want to simplify, not increase the number of binders I own.

And here is my solution, a personal Ascot purchased from the lovely Renate via the Adspot page. This is one classy binder and the perfectly aligned rings shut with a louder and more satisfying snap than on any of my newer models'. It also feels more luxurious than the two Winchesters I briefly had in my possession.

Pretty similar to the Osterleys (I think) and less puffy than the Amazonas

The only proper sign of wear is where some of the stitching has gone from by the pen loop, but I'm hoping it'll hold on OK

8 card slots, 2 full length/width gusseted pockets with ring protectors, one small pen loop and the F on the ring mechanism (rather than on the exterior spine) 

It feels much slimmer than either of my personal Maldens did, and I'll be moving to top tabs as the side ones get a bit stuck on my pen

Some extra goodies kindly included! 

I never imagined owning a black filo when there are so many colourful ones to choose from. And now I realise that it depends on the binder! After a little TLC using Nivea and shoe polish, I realised that I've found 'the one' (hallelujah). Despite singing the praises of my A5 Domino snake I've barely touched it and it's been sitting looking pretty on my bookcase, I'm afraid. For a brief moment, I considered using all sizes together but I know that three is just too many for me. So, now what? My beautiful A5 will be winging its way to Norway shortly and after several attempts now I've realised that one is perfect for me, so the others will be going too. So please remind me of this if I start talking about buying any more.

On a final note, does anyone know more info about this model, for example what leather they're made from, when they were available or why they were made in the US? I'd love to find out a little more of their history.