31 August 2016

Guest Post - My Deskfax Collection – Part II - Alan


In the first part of this post, I discussed how useful I find the Deskfax format and showed the vintage Statesman models that I have.  In this second part, I share the more recent models that I use extensively in my teaching.

I have two York Director Deskfax, one that was bought BNIB from Laywine’s, Toronto’s finest Filofax stockist and host of at least two Filofax Meetups, and one that I got well-used and slightly abused in an eBay purchase.


The well-used one is missing a ring opening tab, which means I use it a lot, as I don’t mind if it gets even more damaged in use.  However, I am still quite careful when I open and close it by gently pulling on the rings.


The layouts of the post-Statesman models are more featured.  In addition to the horizontal slit for the pad of paper at the back, the York has slit of business cards, a window pocket for one’s own business cards, the secretarial pocket and a zippered pocket and two pen loops.

30 August 2016

Web Finds - 30 August 2016

So I hope you have had a good weekend.

So now it is time to enjoy a great collection of blog posts and videos from around the internet.

So here are a selection of the latest Filofax videos for your enjoyment.
  1. How to Use the Filofax Hole Punch - The Goulet Pen Company
  2. Easy DIY Page Finder for Filofax Personal Planner Peace - Andrea Royalty
  3. Filofax Bullet Journal: Weekly Review Plan with Me - Brandy Michelle Narrates
  4. Filofax Setup { A 5 Planer } - mrs.diy. jujo
  5. 10 FILOFAX & Planer HACKS, TIPPS und DIYs 📚 Back to Work #TypischSissi - Typisch Sissi
  6. Planner Setup: Filofax Malden - the planner spot
  7. Filofax Pocket Size Butterfly as a Wallet. - Brandy Austin
  8. Planner Collection - Filofax, Kikki K and Recollections - MeowBags
  9. My FILOFAX Denim Dots Personal Planner Set-Up and Review - Micklebird and Mooch (Amanda Mischell Plans)
  10. My Pocket Filofax Setup. - Lovely maty
  11. La mia prima filofax - saphirabeauty
  12. Current Planner Setup in My Personal Filofax, September, 2016 - sweetnightingale1973
  13. Gillio Compagna style - size comparison - randompastimes
  14. Setup Filofax 2017 Union Jack A5 DEUTSCH - Printbalance
  • For tips on how to improve your videos, please see this post.  Also this video too Webfinds 
  • Your Filofax/Organiser Videos could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 
My Week Posts
  1. My week #228 - Paper Lovestory
  2. Plan My Week : #36 - Ugly Bug Does Life
  3. My Week #34 - Polkadotparadiso
  4. Planner Monthly Set Up in 30 Minutes or Less - Lori Hairston
Enjoy.


Free For All Tuesday No. 291

29 August 2016

Guest Post - My Deskfax Collection – Part I - Alan

Thank you Alan for sharing with us more insight in to the now discontinued Deskfax model. 

Several years ago, I became aware of the long-discontinued Deskfax format. To me, the Deskfax size seemed like a perfect complement to the personal format.  I have been frustrated with the lack of hole-spacing compatibility between the personal and A5, and was intrigued when I discovered that the Deskfax had compatible hole spacing, nicely demonstrated in Steve’s post about the Deskfax size from March 2014.

Shortly after Steve’s Deskfax post, Kariné Tovmassian created a Facebook group dedicated to this format, The Fraternal Order of Nine Rings, which she wrote about in this post.

One thing that impressed me was the small amount of additional difference in desk space used by the Deskfax, which is B5 size, and the A5 size. This picture compares open Kensingtons in three sizes, Deskfax, A5, and Personal.  While the Deskfax page is 21% larger than the A5, (250x176mm vs 210x148mm), the marginal desk space used seems to be less.



This picture also illustrates the hole spacing compatibility between the Personal and Deskfax sizes, and feature that I have not taken advantage of very often.

Another feature that has made the Deskfax useful to me is the overall dimension of the binder, which is almost identical to the North American letter page size.  This makes it very easy to put a Deskfax with a stack of exams or assignments into a briefcase. If I used a conventional North American letter-sized binder, it would take up more space.  This picture shows my old, well-used York on a stack of assignments.  You can just see the pages underneath, and the sizes are virtually identical.

Enough of justifying myself.  It’s time to show my collection.  In today’s post, I will show you my vintage Statesman Deskfax models.  The Statesman was designated DX1CLF5/4 for the larger 1.25” rings and DX1CLF7/8 for the smaller 7/8” rings, found in most personals.  There were other leathers, examples being the crocodile print calf leather (CCF, instead of CLF), lizard print calf leather (LCF) and iguana print calf (DX1CLF7/8I).

First, we have the one that appeared in my recent post about fixing poppers, a Black DX1CLF5/4:



I have been using a frustratingly-manual layout I created in Excel™ that I created in order to have the same style and layout in my desk organizer and the Slimline Personal that I carry with me. It is do frustrating to use that I am not sure how much longer I will continue using it!

I also have two of these in burgundy:


I love the compactness of the smaller-ringed model, which I have in both black:


and red:


If I recall correctly, Filofax called this colour “Montana Red”.

I recently acquired DX1CLF7/8 that I have never used, as it has a lot of content that I don’t have the heart to remove. It was used as a promotional item by Capital Radio in 1991.  As you can see, it is in near-perfect condition:




The layout of these models is extremely simple:  Inside the Front Cover is a secretarial pocket and the back cover has a horizontal slit to slide in a pad of paper.  There are no other pockets but there is a single pen loop on the back cover.

Now as much as I love these Vintage Statesman models, I don’t like using them in situations that required me to carry them around for one simple reason:  The rings are not riveted. While the clip-in style of ring is preferred by many, they are simply not strong enough to withstand the stresses of carrying around a kilogram or more of pages!  On several occasions I found that when I opened my briefcase, the ring mechanism had separated from the cover!  This issue is not a great with the smaller-ringed 7/8” models, which I still use for a few classes.  In my next post, I will share the rest of my collection, that all have larger, and riveted, rings.


28 August 2016

Reader Under The Spotlight - Laura

Today I would like to introduce you to Laura 

I’ve been using Filofax for quite a few years now, and in that time used different brands. I always find myself coming back to Filofax for the quality and style. I’m married and love travelling, food and crafts.

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

I bought my first organiser in 2007 - I had just got my first proper job and I wanted a diary to keep myself organised. It was a pocket Identity which I bought from Woolworths.

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

My current favourite would have to be the Lilac Originals. I have a personal and an A5 which I am in the process of moving into. The colour is perfect and cheerful, and I love the simple but classy style. Not too much faff!

3. How many Filofax or other brands of organisers do you own?

I own 6 Filofaxes at the moment - two lilac originals as mentioned above, an A5 domino in grape, a personal domino in grape and a personal domino in lavender. I also have a purple Pennybridge which is dedicated for travel.

4. What do you use your organisers for?

I only ever use one organiser at a time as I like everything to be in one place. However I quite often switch between personal and A5 size, as I still haven’t figured out which size I prefer. Both have their pros and cons!

5. How many sections do you have in your organiser and what is each section used for?

I have, wait for it, over 20 sections! I like to know exactly where to look for a particular piece of information so I use a colour coding system to sort my notes and information. Colour is how my brain works!

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

I would love a Filofax between A5 and personal size, that’s all I would really ask for. And more of a range of inserts!

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

I love using Simple Stories instal-pockets and Sn@p photo sleeves as dashboards, I also love printing my own inserts as I find it is more tailored to what I want.

8. Have you ever attended a Philofaxy meet-up? if not do you intend to one day?

No I haven’t, but I think it would be interesting!

9. What was the last movie you watched?

Deadpool on Blu-ray. Because superheroes. :D

10. What was the last book you read?

I actually don’t read much… I know, not good. So I can’t remember the last book I read, but it was probably The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold. I find it difficult to concentrate!

Thank you Laura, check out her blog Jagged Little Thoughts

As you know we are always looking for new people to appear in our 'Reader Under Spotlight feature, you don't have to be 'well known' or a long term user to be considered to appear in this 'spot'.

So please contact Steve philofaxy at gmail dot com today. Thank you.

27 August 2016

Web Finds - 27 August 2016

So I hope you have had a good week.

So now it is time to enjoy a great collection of blog posts from around the internet, so grab a drink and make yourself for our weekly round-up.

Here are some Philofaxy posts you might have missed this week:
  1. Web Finds - 20 August 2016
  2. Reader Under the Spotlight - Cathy
  3. Rapesco 6 hole organiser punch
  4. Free For All Tuesday No. 290
  5. Web Finds - 23 August 2016
  6. Guest Post - A Good, But Not Perfect, Fix for Missing Poppers - Alan
  7. The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Plannerverse - Episode 26
  8. Free For All Friday - No 406
So here are the latest Filofax and other brand blog posts from around the Internet. Don't forget to leave a comment on the posts you enjoyed reading, all bloggers enjoy getting comments.
  1. Guest Post by Erika – Filofax Compact A5 Heritage Organiser - This Bug's Life
  2. From sketch to product - Blog Vdsshop
  3. The First Page in Your Planner - Giftie Etcetera
  4. Do I decorate my Filofax? - My Filofax Blog
  5. 2017 Plannerisms planners are now ready to order! - Plannerisms
  6. TMN TIP: Block Your Calendar - Time Management Ninja
  7. GTD Update #3 - Collection and Context - PlanningWithPatty
  8. Make it Monday // DIY Planner Dashboard with Rhonna Designs App - five sixteenths blog
  9. Kalendereinlagen 2017: Valentine (W2P) - Haushalts-Survival-Blog
  10. Pink and Lotus Gillio Medium Compagna Review - Kat's life in Cali
  11. 10 Reasons You Aren’t Doing Your Todo List - Time Management Ninja
  12. ICE pet cards to keep in your wallet, TN or ring organiser - This Bug's Life
  13. Simple Stories - Carpe Diem - The Reset Girl - Filofax is my world
  14. Tickler Files - D. Wilson Planning
  15. Thoughts About GTD - PlanningWithPatty
  16. Guest post by Jae Bradford - susan williams-goebber
  17. Using up old Filofax diary pages - My Filofax Blog
  • We monitor over 400 blogs and sites, your Filofax/Organiser blog posts could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 
  • 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... 
  • Your Filofax/Organiser posts could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 
  • For some general tips on Filofax Blogging, please see this post
We are on the look out for more people to take part in Reader Under the Spotlight. If you would like to appear in this feature then please contact Steve : philofaxy at gmail dot com  Thank you.

Enjoy.

26 August 2016

Free For All Friday - No 406

Why do some people find it necessary to hide from others that they still use a paper planner?

I came across someone the other day who at first seemed ashamed to admit they still used a Filofax on a daily basis. I was quite surprised at this.

Then they asked the question.... 'So what are you doing these days...' and then I told them!

But as it is a Friday you are of course more than welcome to discuss anything related to ring bound organisers.  Have a great weekend.

25 August 2016

The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Plannerverse - Episode 26

Hobonichi's or ringed planners

Rings? RINGS?! We don’t need no stinkin’ rings! 

Gather round all ye who enjoy the Hobonichi notebook and pay heed as our lovely guest, Theresa Hall, shares with us her inspiration for art and all the advice she has for those who have been thinking about planning in a Hobonichi style planner. 

Steve is on special assignment this week.

If you have ideas for future episodes please send them to steve at philofaxy dot com

Show Notes (timings approximate)
00:00 - Introductions
02:00 - Art in ringless planers
02:30 - Why doodle?
04:00 - When did you start?
07:00 - Why a Hobonichi and not a ringed planner
09:00 - What if you are critical of your drawings
10:30 - Planning in a Hobonichi
12:00 - Stickers and washi tape
15:45 - How has your system evolved
19:00 - Digital world
22:00 - Disconnecting from the digital world
24:45 - To do list for the week
26:00 - Why should you use a Hobonichi?
26:45 - Karine's experience of using a Hobonichi

Episode 26 - Hobonichi's or ringed planners


A direct download is also available here: Episode26.mp3

Show notes: A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf

NB: A5 is in A4 format so it can be scaled to suit A5 or A6 size. Personal is for printing direct on Personal size paper.



Presenters - Theresa Hall and Karine Tovmassian
Editing and production - Steve Morton

Our Websites:
Theresa: To Far Away Places (IG)
Karine: Plannerology

Naturally we would love to hear your feedback on the podcast. If you use iTunes please gives us your rating or reviews of the podcast.

Previous Episodes:


25 - Guest interview - Ray Blake - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
24 - Defining the important things from the urgent things - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
23 - Guest interview with Rita Sedani - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
22 - Printing your own inserts - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
21 - How to derail your planning system by over thinking - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
20 - Digital devices/services and your analogue planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
19 - What To Keep In Your 'Others' Tab - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
18 - Zombie Apocalypse Preparation - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
17 - Managing Finances In Your Planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
16 - Planning for those of us who actually can't live without planning, with guest co-host Carie Harling - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
15 - Automation NirvanaA5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
14 - Work Life Balance and Your Planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
13 - GTD Productivity And Using Your Paper Planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
12 - Job Seeking and Keeping - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
11 - Planner Fail -  A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
10 - Planner Hacks - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
9 - Planner Planning - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
8 - Choosing Inserts - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
7 - How do you carry your planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
6 - Planners on the go - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
5 - Why would you pay more than the price of a Filofax? - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
4 - Using Your Planner To Create Permanent Habit Changes - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
3 - Getting on with two or more planners - A5 docx pdf Personal docx pdf
2 - Where to start your planning journey and why - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
1 - What size and why....  - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf

24 August 2016

Guest Post - A Good, But Not Perfect, Fix for Missing Poppers - Alan

For those of you that like buying some of the older Filofax organisers off Ebay and other sales sites the occasional 'missing popper' will be familiar to you all. 

Thank you to Alan for this excellent guide on how to fix them. 

I have posted about this before in various of the Facebook groups, but Facebook is not a great platform for archiving articles that could be a useful reference some time down the road.  So at the risk of being repetitive, here is how I deal with missing popper caps.

While taking pictures for another guest post about my collection of Deskfax Filofax, I noticed that the popper cap was missing from the Deskfax that stays open on my desk.


Naturally, I decided to fix it. My “fix” – or “Filofix”, as KentfromOz would say – is to use the head off of a brass fastener. These are getting harder to find these days, and I had to special order them. Since I only expected to use the caps, I ordered the smallest length, one inch, as the price goes up dramatically with longer pins.


The heads come off the fasteners fairly easily. I find that spreading the two pins, as shown below, and then pinching together near the head allows the brass head to slip off easily.


These heads are the perfect size to fit over the remaining part of the popper hardware, provided that it hasn’t become too damaged.  In my experience, most of the time they stay on well, but occasionally, I have had the odd popper head slip off. I imagine that a dab from a hot glue gun would make the fix more permanent, but I have never done this, as it is my intention to try painting the brass heads in their correct colour.


Here is a picture of some of my vintage personal size Filofaxes that I have fixed.


Earlier, I mentioned that I had bought the shortest size of these brass fasteners.  One day, I wanted to use a couple of personal Filofax that I had been using for an earlier course, and instead of finding an unused binder for the old contents, I pulled out the brass fasteners.


As you can see from the picture, the one inch fastener barely makes it through the thickness of the contents of a personal. A longer fastener would have been more useful!

Thank you Alan. 

23 August 2016

Web Finds - 23 August 2016

So I hope you have had a good weekend.

So now it is time to enjoy a great collection of blog posts and videos from around the internet.

So here are a selection of the latest Filofax videos for your enjoyment.
  1. DIY FILOFAXING - Ideen für den FILOFAX Organizer - peppermintpattyblue
  2. Domino Personal Filofax in Violet - Theil Donald
  3. RAPESCO Adjustable Diary Punch How to Punch Filofax A5 Inserts - Theil Donald
  4. Filofax Tour - Kiki Chynn
  5. FILOFAX PERSONAL 2016 SETUP GUIDE - TwinsandMe101
  6. Plan With Me in my Personal Filofax! - Kalee Ann
  7. Flip Through Pages [ ] _ Filofax Planner - Rebecca Barton
  8. Filofax Pennybridge set up - Purse and on the go planner - SarahPlans
  9. Funny Filofax Tutorial - Monique Tiffany
  10. Functional Planning + Filofax + Happy Planner - Whateverasia
  11. PlANNER HAUL: FIRST EVER FILOFAX PLANNER AND JUJUALLOVER STICKERS - Life of a little planner
  12. filofax A5 unboxing in duck egg || kailani lynn - Kailani Lynn
  13. How I Plan | A5 Filofax Original and Inkwell Press Inserts - GeorginaTheLibrarian
  14. Filofax Malden Personal Size Setup! | August 2016 - Fun & Organized
  15. Filofax Unboxing: A5 Saffiano Aquamarine - littlepaw
  16. Agenda Filofax 2017 nera - Margò artecreativa
  17. Filofax Original Setup Collection Nude Duck Egg Black Brown - myplannerheart
  18. Discover the kikki.K x Arianna Huffington Thrive Journal - kikki.K
  19. Unboxing Kikki K Pink Lavender Soft Lavender Large Medium - myplannerheart
  20. Set up Filofax Metropol A5 | WAARUUM - Waaruum
  • For tips on how to improve your videos, please see this post.  Also this video too Webfinds 
  • Your Filofax/Organiser Videos could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 
My Week Posts
  1. My week #227 - Paper Lovestory
  2. My Week #33 (two planner week) - Polkadotparadiso
Enjoy.


Free For All Tuesday No. 290

22 August 2016

Rapesco 6 hole organiser punch

Rapesco are about to release a redesigned 6 hole organiser punch and they kindly sent me a few samples to test out and evaluate.

The new Rapesco 6 hole punch in White, Candy Pink and Black 

The new model comes in five colours: Black, White, Silver, Powder Blue, Candy Pink.

Whilst the basic mechanics of the punch are similar to the old model there are several improvements over the old design. Just to remind you here are the two side by side.



The new model is much easier to set up as is has very clear size indicators on the sliding punch blocks.


There is now a slide out paper guide with stops for Personal, Timer 21 and A5 sizes. The old model didn't have this at all.

Paper Guides at A5, Timer21 and Personal settings

The upper lever is now made from metal as opposed to the older model plastic one. It also features a lock so you can press the lever down and lock it in the closed position to save space in your stationery cave! To unlock it you just press it down a little and slide the lock to the unlocked position.

Un-locked on the left and locked down on the right

The removable cover on the underneath side of the punch has also been redesigned. There is an easy to open flap, so you don't have to turn the punch over to empty it and this reduces the risk of the paper chads going everywhere! You can still remove it completely as well as before for periodic cleaning and maintenance of the punch. You can see the paper guide in more detail too.


The white rectangle on the left hand side is a small window, this has been provide so that you can put your name on a piece of card to personalise the punch.


The new punch is capable of punching the following sizes:
  • A5 (by double punching, but with the aid of the paper guide it is now much easier to do)
  • Agenda and A6 organisers
  • Planner and Timer 21 organisers 
  • Pocket and Timer 14 organisers
  • Personal, Compact, Slimline and Timer 17 organisers
  • Mini Organisers (but not Van der Spek Mini)
This covers Filofax, Van der Spek, Gillio, Quo Vadis, Mulberry, Collins and others that use the common sizes and spacings. All are detailed on a comprehensive instruction sheet which will soon be available on the Rapesco website. 

Undocumented in the instruction sheet, with a little bit of fine tuning of the paper guide it is also possible to punch Deskfax 9 hole pages too. Using a similar method to punching A5 except you set the punch to personal size and flip the page punching the middle three holes a second time. 

The packaging indicates that the punch can be used for up to 10 sheets of paper at once. The hole size is 5.5 mm.

Stocks of this new model will be appearing with all sellers as they replenish their stocks in the next couple of months.

Thank you to Rapseco for sending me the samples of their new up dated punch.


You can purchase the new 6 hole punch on Amazon USA and Amazon UK see the links below:

Amazon USA



Amazon UK


21 August 2016

Reader Under the Spotlight - Cathy

Today I would like to introduce you to Cathy 


My name is Cathleen ("Cathy") and my husband and I live in a very small town (one general store--that's it!) in the outer suburbs of Boston, MA. Neither of us are New Englanders by birth, but we've lived here so long that it feels like it's our hometown.

I'm a college professor, involved in teacher education, and I love it. I usually get to teach small or very small groups of students, and I get great pleasure seeing them develop into good teachers.  I'm an avid reader, and during time off, I'm usually hunting to find new used or independent bookshops.

My husband and I both enjoy travelling near and far, which is a good thing because our family--siblings, nieces and nephews--live scattered all over the United States. I have a weakness for anything related to planners, stationery, pens and pencils, and whenever I visit somewhere new, locating the nearest stationery shop is always at the top of my list.

A year or so ago, I found Philofaxy, and I look forward to reading the posts each morning alongside my morning coffee. 

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

I bought my first Filofax sometime in the mid or late 1990s.  It was a personal size red Windsor, and I still have it.  I had always used paper planners, notebooks, and the like, but I never had a "real" planner until that time.  

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

I have two favorite planners currently.  I had read so much about Van der Spek planners here that I saved up for them.  The first one I bought is an A5 Touch Me light brown planner. The second one is the personal size Van der Spek un-dyed planner.   

3. How many Filofax or other brands of organisers do you own?

In addition to the two Van der Spek binders, I have the following:
  1. A personal size red Windsor  (my first, from the 1990s)
  2. A personal size brown Holborn
  3. A personal size black Durham
  4. A personal size brown Portland
  5. A personal size black calf leather Filofax without any name
  6. An A5 black Domino
  7. An A5 raspberry Finsbury
  8. An A5 red Belgravia
I've been lucky because other than the red Windsor, the Van der Speks, and the raspberry Finsbury, I've been able to get the rest all used through e-bay at very low prices.

4. What do you use your organisers for?

I use the Van der Spek A5 Touch Me as my teaching/work binder.  The rings are really generous, and I can fit lots and lots of class notes, calendars, project notes, meeting notes in it.  As many people have remarked, the pocket lay out is excellent, and I really like the large full length pocket in the back.  I often stick meeting agendas or handouts there.  The only drawback is that it's quite heavy.  This academic year, I'm hoping to adjust my system so that I can leave that binder in my campus office during the week. 

My personal size Van der Spek undyed binder is my daily planner. I've had it since the spring, and I take it with me everywhere, and I'd be lost without it.



I'm not currently using the red Windsor, but I'm keeping it for sentimental reasons.

The brown Holborn is used when we travel.  It has so many pockets that I can easily keep my passport and any other tickets.  There is also a zipped pocket for currency and lots of space to take notes. 

The personal Durham is my notes binder.  I take lots of notes in my daily planner.  When my current planner starts to get filled, I file them in the Durham, using the A-Z file. 

I had been using the brown Portland as my everyday planner until I got my Van der Spek.  If/When I decide to switch out of the Van der Spek (maybe in the winter?), I'll use that again as my daily planner. 

The personal black calf leather binder is for storing inserts.

The A5 Domino is another teaching binder.  It holds notes from courses I've taught and will teach again in the 2017-18 academic year. 

The raspberry Finsbury is our home binder.  I use an A-Z file and store house information, including our passwords, family addresses, contacts for car, home repair, etc, and info on major purchases.    

I use the A5 Belgravia to store monthly and weekly calendar inserts. 

5. How many sections do you have in your organiser and what is each section used for?

For my daily planner, I have the following sections:
  • a laminated dashboard
  1. a year at a glance calendar (downloaded from www.wendaful.com)
  2. a few blank sheets of paper to capture ideas, reminders, everything until I process them in the appropriate section.
  3. a few blank sheets for grocery lists
  4. monthly pages, a year's worth
  5. a few blank sheets for recurring chores/tasks (e.g. "Get gas."  "Do laundry." "Defrost chicken.")  I put the tasks on small sticky notes so I can re-use them. 
  6. a few weekly meal planning sheets
  7. 2 weeks' worth of 2-page-per-day sheets.  I modified the grid page provided by Philofaxy to make my own undated pages.  I put them in the middle of the binder to make it easier to write on them. 
  8. a few blank sheets for weekly goals
  9. 3 months' worth of weekly pages, vertical style.
  10. Notes.  I label each note sheet by letter on the top right hand side so I can easily recognize the topic. 
6. If you could design your own Filofax what would it feature?

I really like the external snap pocket on the Durham, so I'd include that on my own Filofax.  I'd also include Krause rings and the full-length pocket that the Van der Spek has. 

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

I've gotten so many great ideas from reading Philofaxy that it's hard to pick just one.  The most important of all, though, was learning through Philofaxy that I could rearrange, create my own sections, and personalize my planner.  A few other quick ones are:
  • Use inexpensive memo pads for the quick, non-permanent lists (capture lists, grocery lists, etc.) and save the expensive paper for permanent notes.
  • Use differently colored paper in the notes section or for current projects.  I recently returned from a conference in Vancouver, Canada, and I wrote all of my travel and prep notes on lavender paper. I could find them very easily in my notes section both when I was prepping for the conference and when I was there. 
  • Cut up transparent folders to use as dividers. I had very thin, plastic folders and cut them down to use as dividers.  They divide sections without adding bulk. 
8. Have you ever attended a Philofaxy meet-up? if not do you intend to one day?

No, but if there's ever one in the Boston, MA area, I would love to attend. 

9. What was the last movie you watched?

Eye in the Sky with Alan Rickman and Helen Mirren.  It was bittersweet viewing, as Alan Rickman is my favorite actor and it was his last film. 

10. What was the last book you read?

I just finished The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant and A Question of Attraction by David Nicholls.

Thank you Cathy for such a detailed post. 

As you know we are always looking for new people to appear in our 'Reader Under Spotlight feature, you don't have to be 'well known' or a long term user to be considered to appear in this 'spot'.

So please contact Steve philofaxy at gmail dot com today. Thank you.

20 August 2016

Web Finds - 20 August 2016

So I hope you have had a good week.

So now it is time to enjoy a great collection of blog posts from around the internet, so grab a drink and make yourself for our weekly round-up.

Here are some Philofaxy posts you might have missed this week:
  1. Web Finds - 13 August 2016
  2. Readers Favourite Organiser - Elizabeth
  3. Guest Post - Yo, sound the bell. School is in, sucker. - Emma
  4. Free For All Tuesday No. 289
  5. Web Finds - 16 August 2016
  6. Philofaxy PenPals
  7. The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Plannerverse - Episode 25 - Ray Blake interview
  8. Filofax Heritage Organiser
  9. Free for All Friday No. 405 by Nan
So here are the latest Filofax and other brand blog posts from around the Internet. Don't forget to leave a comment on the posts you enjoyed reading, all bloggers enjoy getting comments.
  1. A Return to a State of Grace - Filofax Blog
  2. Tips to Get and Stay Organized - Day-Timer Blog
  3. Rejigging my filofax… - Mademoiselle
  4. DodoPad Square Ruled Paper - This Bug's Life
  5. Holiday planner for visitors - My Filofax Blog
  6. My Handbag Planner - The Stationery Geekette
  7. My Household Binder - D. Wilson Planning
  8. The Meeting Place Or: How To Create A Passive-Agressive Planning Hub in Your Home - Plannerology
  9. Planner Woes - Ready to Try Something New! - PlanningWithPatty
  10. Yo, sound the bell. School is in, sucker - A random English life
  11. Paperchase patterned vinyl organiser - The Filofaxist 
  12. Being a listmaker - This Bug's Life
  13. Comparison: Aston vs Original - Random Pastimes of a Restless Mind
  14. My new planner system for my Mulberry A6 planner - House of Lotte
  15. Philofaxy Penpals - A random English life
  16. Plan With Hannah UK Insert Review - The Stationery Geekette
  17. GTD Update #2 - PlanningWithPatty
  18. 10 things to add into your planner - http://susanwilliams-goebber.com
  19. Weekly Home & School Planner (homeschoolers) - Planner Fun Plus
  20. TMN TIP: Kick Start Your Monday - Time Management Ninja
  21. Planner planning - a ska loving geek
  22. Goal & Reward Tracker [Printable] - Planning with Printed Portal
  23. Always Give Yourself More Time Than You Think You Need - Time Management Ninja
  • We monitor over 400 blogs and sites, your Filofax/Organiser blog posts could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 
  • 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... 
  • Your Filofax/Organiser posts could appear in this list, just contact philofaxy at gmail dot com to be added to our monitoring list. 
  • For some general tips on Filofax Blogging, please see this post
We are on the look out for more people to take part in Reader Under the Spotlight. If you would like to appear in this feature then please contact Steve : philofaxy at gmail dot com  Thank you.

The videos and 'My week' posts will appear in their own post on Tuesday.

Enjoy.

19 August 2016

Free for All Friday No. 405 by Nan

How do you wrangle to-do items? Do you use Filofax's classic To Do page? Or do you write them on the diary pages?

How do you ensure that you're seeing all your to-do items when you have pages and pages of them?

Of course, since it's Friday, all discussion of ring-bound planner-type objects is welcome

18 August 2016

Filofax Heritage Organiser

Filofax UK have at last got their new Filofax Heritage Organiser on their website.

We have seen pictures of it during the last few weeks as it has been for sale through John Lewis. It has also been on Filofax Germany for a couple of weeks as well.

So this new model comes in A5 Compact, Personal and Personal Compact. I can only assume that they are using a new type of ring mechanism on these because they come in the following ring sizes:

  • A5 Compact - 16 mm
  • Personal - 25 mm
  • Personal Compact - 16 mm
Only available in brown leather at the moment. 

The design is quite different from anything that Filofax have brought out before. It doesn't have a clasp and the pen loop is on the leather fly leaf, which on the compact models is going to take up some of the limited paper capacity.  

There are no pockets in the covers either, there is a business card pocket on the front of the flyleaf. 

Go to the Filofax website for details and photos. 

The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Plannerverse - Episode 25

Guest interview - Ray Blake

In this episode we welcome Ray Blake who is a major contributor to the planner community in the form of his planner inserts which he does with Steve and the ones he does for travellers notebooks as well.

Ray describes how he uses his Travellers Notebook on a daily basis

If you have ideas for future episodes please send them to steve at philofaxy dot com

Show Notes (timings approximate)
00:00 - Introductions
01:00 - The meeting!
02:40 - Travellers Notebook sizes and their evolution.
07:40 - Cutting notebooks to size (video)
08:00 - Making your own TN inserts
09:15 - What Ray uses for planning
12:30 - The three things, Planner, Todo, Notes
13:45 - Journalling
16:30 - Ray's Journalling Book
17:00 - Pens
20:00 - Carry it, write in it and read it.
23:00 - Best time for ideas
24:00 - Last minute at night notes
26:45 - Notebook archive and database
28:00 - Tip of the week
29:00 - Midori Travellers Resources Facebook Group
30:00 - Always start with plain paper

Episode 25 - Guest Interview Ray Blake


A direct download is also available here: Episode25.mp3

Show notes: A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf

NB: A5 is in A4 format so it can be scaled to suit A5 or A6 size. Personal is for printing direct on Personal size paper.



Presenters - Ray Blake and Steve Morton
Editing and production - Steve Morton

Our Websites:
Ray: My Life All in One Place Midori Travellers Resources Facebook Group
Steve: Philofaxy, Travellers Notebook Times@MrPhilofaxy

Naturally we would love to hear your feedback on the podcast. If you use iTunes please gives us your rating or reviews of the podcast.

Previous Episodes:


24 - Defining the important things from the urgent things - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
23 - Guest interview with Rita Sedani - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
22 - Printing your own inserts - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
21 - How to derail your planning system by over thinking - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
20 - Digital devices/services and your analogue planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
19 - What To Keep In Your 'Others' Tab - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
18 - Zombie Apocalypse Preparation - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
17 - Managing Finances In Your Planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
16 - Planning for those of us who actually can't live without planning, with guest co-host Carie Harling - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
15 - Automation NirvanaA5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
14 - Work Life Balance and Your Planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
13 - GTD Productivity And Using Your Paper Planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
12 - Job Seeking and Keeping - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
11 - Planner Fail -  A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
10 - Planner Hacks - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
9 - Planner Planning - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
8 - Choosing Inserts - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
7 - How do you carry your planner - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
6 - Planners on the go - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
5 - Why would you pay more than the price of a Filofax? - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
4 - Using Your Planner To Create Permanent Habit Changes - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
3 - Getting on with two or more planners - A5 docx pdf Personal docx pdf
2 - Where to start your planning journey and why - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf
1 - What size and why....  - A5 docx pdf  Personal docx pdf