28 December 2012

Free For All Friday No. 215

I hope you had a lovely Christmas!
Presents unwrapped, turkey eaten and some of you may have already visited the sales.
I wrote this post in advance, just in case the world didn't end...

So, did Santa bring you any Filofaxes? I am very grateful for my gifts, but I really wouldn't want someone to buy me one without discussing it with me first ("An Apex? Really, you shouldn't have"). My Mum-in-law very kindly gave me some money towards my A5 zipped Holborn.

Here's to a wonderful 2013 for you all, and please feel free to discuss anything Filofax or ring bound organiser related.

43 comments:

  1. I hope everyone has had an exciting and relaxing Christmas in equal amounts!

    Santa brought me a nice Waterman fountain pen, which fits in to the smaller right hand pen loop of my A5 Malden. I'm going to be using it for my journal writing next year. Still using Frixion pens for my planners etc.

    Just before Christmas a present to myself arrived from Holland, a KW Trio hole punch. I will be doing a write up about this in the next few days so you can see the differences between this punch and the Filofax punch.

    Alison (the hand of Philofaxy!) now has a Plannerisms planner.. I'm gradually converting her back to paper! She has been using her old Filofax recently... a Guest post about that soon too.

    What have you been up to this week then?

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    1. Happy New Year everyone. DW and I had an agreement that we wouldn't exchange presents this year as we're moving (again....) in February, so we contented ourselves with eating our body weights in ham and chicken and watching rubbish (and sport in my case) on television. Off to our friends in Penybanc tomorrow, and G and I will go to Parc Y Scarlets to watch Llanelli vs Swansea (the local game having already been called off due to the industrial quantity of rain which has fallen here), while S. and DW talk sewing patterns.

      Today is Filofax Day! The final day of the Annual Review, which is a bit like the Weekly review, only deals with all the various GTD 'levels of perspective'. I've been mulling this over since last weekend, because I don't find goal-setting to be something I can do in five minutes, but today it all gets committed to paper, all the lists get re-done, and we are ready to start again afresh and anew, next Wednesday (if we don't get carried away before that and start back on Monday).

      Here's hoping all your goals are achieved in 2013 - with the aid of proper planning, of course!

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    2. We've had a hectic week, various stresses and illing children, but a lovely time nonetheless. Not a single Filofax related present, but then my husband knows how particular I am. :-D
      I did however get the Lamy Safari pen I've been lusting after.
      I do have a Week on 2 pages insert for my Personal Development A5 filo winging its way to me, in which I will be logging food, exercise, and other things like weather and accomplishments.
      I got my new 2013 set up sorted before Christmas and I'm loving it so far - Personal Dodopad, and then plain lined pages which I write the date on the top and then list my to dos and plan out the day.

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  2. I have a franklin covey ring binder where the bottom 'rivet' appears to have gone missing. It sits on a protrusion but nothing on top to keep it in place. Can anyone tell me if I can repair this please and if so how I go about it? Thanks!

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    1. I've brout leather problems like this to my shoemaker several times.
      He's solved every problem so far. He's got the right ideas, not only concerning shoes, but also wallets, organisers etc.
      Regards, Renate from Filo-Manie :-)

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    2. brout = brought
      sorry :-o

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    3. I am lucky enough to have a Franklin Covey store nearby, and some of the planners can be modified with different rings. It sounds like that's the case with yours. You could take the binder to a hardware store and see if they can find a replacement screw for you. That's probably all it needs. And I think an allen wrench will be your tool of choice. If you lived near me, my husband could most likely fix it for you. But I'm guessing it's an easy fix for the right person.

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    4. Thanks - ill probably try my local hardware store that does repairs, cuts keys etc. they may be able to help.

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  3. Having printed off my A5 TM diary,I am contemplating a TM modification, to slim down my diary contents already!!!! It's not even January yet and I want to make diary adjustmentsNot a planner fail though, just a tweak.Heee Heee!! Had a lovely Christmas.....especially lovely to have been spoilt with delicious meals and treats and gorgeous gifts,which I can't normally afford, just now.So it all seems just awesome and extra special.I'll certainly have to get going on a diet section for my planner!! Love to one and all at Philofaxy. xxxx

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  4. No filofax products for me. Husband said he wouldn't know what to get. That's despite me wandering around the house for three weeks in December saying, "Whats for tea? Is it a Crimson Malden?" and 'Shall we go out for the day? We might see a Crimson Malden from France." Ah well. Thats why I have my own bank account should I decide to treat myself in the New Year. I dodn't suppose anyone wants to sell one?! And I did get lots of other goodies. But the weekend is set aside for Filofax rejigging and new set ups (and online ordering of essential sticky notes and pens and paper!)and New Years day itself for goal setting.

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    1. The same here! I have been talking about the Holborn Wine for several weeks. We went after Christmas to the city, just 'to see' the Holborn. Nothing! Ah, well, I do have the Malden, which I am still very happy about. And maybe I will give myself a treat and buy the Holborn.

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    2. Men don't always pick up on those clues, Helen. Several years ago my wedding ring bit the dust. It was an inexpensive one to start with and I had repaired it several times. In the meantime, I was wearing a plain band and I hated it. I didn't realize how much I looked at my old ring. Anyway, I hinted and hinted and hinted about a new ring and my husband just didn't get it. Finally my daughter took him aside and said, "Dad. You need to buy her a new ring." We went out within a few days and he bought me a new ring. Sometimes hints just don't cut it! :)

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    3. Hi Helen, I have a Crimson Malden in Personal size that I'm considering selling. You can email me at egypt1920@blueyonder.co.uk to discuss.

      Sometimes husbands just don't pick up our subtle hints, do they? lol

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    4. Helen,
      there's one on sale on Ebay.de

      http://www.ebay.de/itm/FILOFAX-Personal-Malden-Organizer-rot-167-/350678800755?pt=Zeitplaner_einlagen&hash=item51a615d973#ht_500wt_1055

      Shipping worldwide!

      Good luck!!! :-)

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  5. As part of my 'slimming down' exercise prior to moving, I have a quantity of TMI size paper to dispose of. This is *not* the same as FF Personal size, it is 180mm x 110mm, although the punched holes will match FF Personal configuration. This may or may not be the same size as FC inserts, I don't know.

    I have a good quantity of pre-printed TMI forms across all sections, plus around 200 sheets of single sheet plain white laser/inkjet quality paper, and I'm happy to let the whole lot got for around £20 + postage.

    I also have a beautiful TMI binder in black leather, with a wrap-around clasp fixing. You can see a picture at http://shop.timemanager.com/shop/uk/executive-black-originalformat-731p.html

    The retail new at a very reasonable £77.50 + VAT (£93 in total), plus a few pounds for p&p, and are light years better in quality than anything made by Filofax. If anyone's interested I'd be prepared to let the binder go for around £50, or come to an arrangement for binder, plus all the refills, plus the TMI hard copy manual.

    I'd really like this stuff to go to a good home.....if anyone's interested drop me an email via davidpopely (at) googlemail (dot) com

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  6. Had a great Christmas day with my family - 18 for lunch! We considered a non-traditional meal this year, since we'd already had the traditional one at Thanksgiving, but in the end I couldn't do it. So I spent hours cooking! But it was worth it. Heck - we only do it twice a year.

    I did purchase a Filofax for my daughter. She was using my Holborn but she really liked the blue Apex. I don't know why - I think leather is always the way to go. But I got it for her and she loved it. She gave me back the Holborn after she loaded the Apex.

    She used to use Franklin Covey classic size but never really used it properly. She loves Filofax and says it makes her feel more creative. She never made any modifications to the FC but she's doing all kinds of cool things to her Filofax. It's fun to see her using her planner better. She has a busy life & she needs it! She's like her mother - her life falls apart if she doesn't use her planner.

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  7. Three wonderful days of Christmas celebrations are done and I managed not to do damage to my waistline. Now we prepare for New Years, which in our family, is probably bigger than Christmas.

    No new Filofaxen, unless you count the early gift to myself of the Slimline Finsbury. It's flatability is improving, but it does not slide in and out of some of my jacket pockets easily, and the rings are FAR to stiff and have not shown signs of loosening. (Besides, the way I see it is that the rings should stay consistent. If they loosened with use, then it stands to reason that they will eventually become too loose, n'est pas?)

    I was successful chasing down some 16lb/60gsm paper, which I have yet to open. The ream is proportionately slimmer, and I look forward to slimming down my inserts over time. Its too late for my 2013 diary, which is printed and well-populated with appointments.

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    1. I wanted to mention, that we did not have a "White Christmas", but were blessed with 15 cm of powdery snow overnight Dec. 26/27. The neighborhood was so beautiful with the lights glimmering under the layer of snow.

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  8. Hello all! I've lurked for quite a while on this site and been a paper planner and office supply freak for years... this fall I got my first Filofax, a pocket purple Domino. Very nice, lightweight, big pen loop. Then on sale I got a pocket Chameleon. Then on sale I got a pocket Aston... now I have just ordered a purple pocket Malden. I confess all this to you here since I know you will understand!

    I have a couple of questions that I hope someone can answer for me:

    1) What diameter pen can fit into the pen loop of a pocket Malden?

    2) Do the Filofax ball pens (the ones less than $50) take a standard D1 refill (widely available in multiple colors) or is it a proprietary refill only available from FF?

    3) There are two styles of month pages - I currently have the tabbed vertical kind which are thicker, more of a card-stock paper. Are the squared style a thick paper also, or are they made of the regular FF paper? Are they a back to back style, or can they be interleaved with daily or weekly pages?

    4) Does anyone know of a guide for printing A4 sized templates on US Letter sized paper?

    Thanks!

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  9. A5 Luxe in black, personal Amazona in black, personal Deco in Ruby. Rings on Amazona are ever so slightly 'gappy,' still considering my options........ It really is beautiful though! Sounds like we all got some good stuff!

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  10. I found out by accident really that my brother had got one of my nieces a pink domino. I bought her sister the bronze snake some time ago and she has not really taken to it, but my other niece is apparently smitten. She was a little put out because hers didn't come with some inserts she wanted (eg world map and printed dividers - she only got the ones numbered 1-6). Anyhow I have made up a little package with said lacking inserts and a few extras to post to her. She is only 11 but I thing she is the sort to really take to it! Not sure why this pleases me so much!

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    1. Aww Alison, what a lovely thing to do. How thoughtful! I am sure that your niece will love that!!


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    2. Thanks Jane - just so pleased to see the next generation showing an interest - she loves pens too - I got her a children's fountain pen a couple of years ago which she still uses.

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  11. As a recent convert (matter of days lol) I have treated myself to a black personal Identity as they were half price in a closing-down Staples. I was tempted by the pink Metropol but it had some damage and the store were unwilling to knock any more off. I was also chuffed to see that the personal Lyndhurst I had ordered from Ebay was supposed to be £65 - I paid 7.99 including postage!

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    1. Welcome to the Dark Side, Oberon De Monet.

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    2. Thanks! Already my other half has labelled me as weird. Until I pulled out my new baby in the soft-play whilst the kids ran about and proceeded to plan the next few week. Think he wants one now...

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  12. I've had a lovely christmas but one of my twins has been ill, he spent last christmas in hospital bless him, so far we've managed to stay away but if there is no improvement tomorrow i'm afraid we'll be going back again :-(

    As for Filofax, I treated myself just before christmas to a Personal Holborn and a Compact because you just never know ............. lol.

    I hinted to my husband all the way round the Trafford Centre today for a new Fossil bag but he completely ignored me :-(

    I'm more or less set up for next year, just need to do some goal planning.

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    1. Sorry to hear one of your children is not well - I hope he improves overnight.

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    2. Hope your wee one is better soon!!xx

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    3. Thanks, he's still not right yet but is much better than he was.

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    4. I've sent an email to you asking about the family, hope everything is alright now.

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  13. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. I've got a Pens & Leather order on its way to me; apparently it left Miami on 19 December. Can anyone give me a rough idea as to how long it should take to reach Wellington, New Zealand? And yes, ordering less than ten days before Christmas was probably a stupid idea...

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    2. Cancel that - according to my flatmate, it arrived today! Eleven days from Hallandale, FL to New Zealand's capital, in the Christmas rush - not bad!

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  14. After years of Filofax, I have migrated in favour of Arc which is being sold in Staples. I am impressed, as it is a clever and innovative design. The Arc range is a customisable Notebook (paper kind not PC laptop). Arc make a varierty of re-fills including todo lists, but they don't do a diary re-fill.

    Their design is clever, it is not a ring binder, but a set of 12 discs, where you can insert or remove pages with ease. You can keep turning pages, just like a 'spiral' notebook. So you have the benefits of a 'spiral' notebook, combined with the benefits of a ring binder, where you can remove and insert pages.

    I dislike the A4 Filofax binders, because they are heavy like bricks. The Arc is a very simple lightweight notebook.

    It works for me, as I wanted a combined NOTEBOOK and DIARY. For the Diary, I will need to print off from a PC, as Filofax still don't make an A4 in week-per-page. Their A4 filofax are still designed to be 'deskbound' rather then some people like myself want a diary/notebook based on the de facto A4 standard.

    There are some nice demos on Staple's web site.....


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    1. I too purchased an ARC to suit my A4 needs at work...having experienced the mobility and flexibility of FFs I can't imagine using a bound book. I'd been looking at the A4 holborn with handle as an all-purpose office-in-a-bag solution but the price turned me away. I have yet to set up the ARC but so far I love it...the number of disks make the pages far more sturdy than I was imagining, and the poly cover is very light weight. Superb paper quality also.

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  15. I bought my 17 yob the junior arc and everything to go with it and got his sister to buy him a mini black chameleon while they were on sale. Of all 6 of us, he was busy enjoying his gifts all day.
    For myself I had ordered a personal Holborn, but it arrived with gapping rings and I sent it right back. I ordered a FC compact Lucca--very nice! One inch rings has 2 pen loops and 1 full length pocket on each side same as the Holborn, but it had two gapping rings so I returned it also. Then Sunday I ordered a personal orchid Aston, it is supposed to be here tomorrow--priority mail claims 2 days, but they always take a full week. So what will I do with 3 when they all finally arrive???? I currently use a FC classic, my daughter took over my A5 raspberry Finsbury that I bought in October and I have a red pocket chameleon that I love! My new obsession started 2 months ago and I still want a ochre malden, sooooooo-I tell only you because everybody else is sure I'm cracked!!!!!! Happy New Year!

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  16. Purchased yesterday personal size Holborn in wine from local retailer. Beautiful binder, classy looking with the cream colored stitching. Will use my pink Apex for storing extra sheets I guess. Still contemplating
    purchasing an A5 size Filo in February that will be used for work. Time will tell as I'm smitten by the Filofax bug.

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  17. My wife bought me a purple pennybridge I bought her a lyndhurst

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  18. My husband wouldn't dare buy me anything to do with planners. He doesn't use them (and boy does it show!) and keeps lists on scraps of paper. How we have managed to stay married for 20 years is beyond me! However, it might have something to do with the fact that he is otherwise a brilliant present shopper and another little Mulberry handbag joined it's cousins this Christmas. Every single one purchased on Ebay and every single one just quite delicious :) The really wierd coincidences were that we both bought each other saltpetre and smoked salt as foodie stocking presents!

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  19. I didn't get the beloved a ffax as she is still stuck using a slim diary and can't see beyond that BUT hope upon hope is on the horizon. My daughter purloined my Slimline (in a rare beautiful light tan colour) but now she wants a bigger one as she's recently qualified as a doctor so if I can move her to a personal or even an A5 her conversion from the iPhone will be well on its way. I can then get back the Slimline, load it with a 2013 inserts and to do lists so that my wife can start the journey to the light...
    I myself have had mine for a few years, well more than a few - it's a Deskfax which isn't as heavy as the A4 but better for me to scribe in than the A5. It maybe out of date but then I'm in the 'best before' stage of my life :-)

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    1. Sound like you're well on your way to the ranks of 'Filofax evangelists' to me!

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