29 May 2009

Free for All Friday No. 34

Time for you readers to contribute your own comments and questions!

Inky

20 comments:

  1. I blogged...
    http://stevemorton.blogspot.com/2009/05/filofax-my-own-story.html

    Steve

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  2. Steve, I enjoyed your blog entries. The photos are indeed lovely eye candy!

    Earlier this year I bought several used Personal Filos on Ebay. And a used A5 to get my daughter started off right in her career. Unfortunately she's encountering the problem that if she doesn't look at it every day she doesn't get the benefit of it--she just missed a doctor's appointment. They charge $50 for missed appointments after the first, so perhaps she will be more motivated to check it from now on.

    Thanks for the templates you've posted. I've downloaded them all and am gradually adapting them to my own purposes. The Travel Checklist is really great--I enjoy looking over it so much.

    --Glenda

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  3. Silver_Elixir, are you there? I have decided to use some of your suggestions and get back into using my Personal size Filofax as my planner again. In the past I have found that the personal size weekly pages are not big enough for my weekly lists etc. But I have decided to try your ideas of 1) putting a notes page in the middle of that week's spread for lists and notes, and 2) keeping some of the lists behind a tab (which I have labeled To Do). I found that I tended to re-write some of my lists each week (such as personal things I wanted to accomplish like exercise 4x/ week, or things to do in the house, etc). I realized I can have categorized lists like Personal, Home, etc. behind my To Do tab, then everything that really needs to get done that particular week can go on the week page or notes page between.

    One thing I want to avoid is opening my rings all the time, because I think that will cause them to break eventually. I might rip out the notes page and use the tattered edge to put into the rings, so it will more or less stay in place without me opening the rings.

    Any other suggestions for making a Personal size calendar work for a busy person are much appreciated!

    I decided to try it again with my Personal size because I really need the portability of the smaller size. I will be traveling a lot over the next year, and I like the idea of being able to add in maps and information pages that I need for the trip, and then when I get home take them out and put them in my storage binder. Also, my planner/ information needs change all the time, and I’m beginning to think that only a ring binder like Filofax has the flexibility to adapt to my needs throughout the year(s). I have used a Filofax-style system for 13 years now, and for the past 4 years or so (since I became a parent) I have been looking for something that can handle more. But, I’m starting to think that if I just adapt my techniques and use it smarter, it can handle what I need.

    Thoughts anyone?

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  4. Laurie, I don't like to open my rings either, mostly because they are so noisy and it's so fussy to put a page in one place and maybe later find that it should have gone somewhere else. So I "circa-fy" lots of my pages by snipping through the margin to the holes in the paper. With a six-hole binder that's a lot of snipping but it works well and gives me more flexibility. I can move a to-do list from one week to the next so easily.

    Plus this keeps the pages neat. Sometimes I get distracted by something like the tattered holes and start fussing with them instead of doing what I need to do.

    If you snip the holes at an angle, rather than straight out at a 90-degree angle to the side of the page, they will tend to stay in better, especially in a three-ring binder.

    --Glenda

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  5. Glenda
    I will admit to keeping important reminders/appointments on my cellphone calendar so at least it beeps at me in advance of a something I need to do.

    I have a terrible short term memory so even if I've written it down I'm not likely to remember it later!

    Steve

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  6. gg thanks so much for that tip! It hadn't occurred to me to cut through the edges so I could slide the page onto the rings. Perfect!

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  7. Hi Laurie, I am here. I am glad my ideas may be of some use to you. I also really like Glenda's idea of snipping the pages to make them stay in place but easy to remove - I will be using that idea!
    I suggested this idea to a friend who needed to get more space out of a personal size planner when she wanted to change from an A5. Why not try using two diary sections in her planner? In her situation it was a way to keep appointments and list of things to do but ALSO as a day to day record of her life - food diary, exercise, weather etc - in the second diary. I thought that it could be done with 2 tabs and 2 page finders.
    I sometimes use smaller Filofax pages for a notes/reminder page through the week. If you wanted too, you could trim the holes off a note page to make it a bit narrower and tape it to the top of your diary page so it would flip up, still allowing you to view your week.
    Laurie, what sections/info must you have and what would you like to have if you could?

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  8. Hi SE! I use a lot of calendar formats simultaneously, for different purposes. I use the fold-out annual calendars for long-range planning of trips, holidays, etc. Month view calendars for payments, upcoming events, and things I have to plan ahead for. Weekly (I have tried many of the formats over the years and prefer the cotton cream week, because the daily spaces have enough room for my needs and I love having the This Week box for to dos) for the details. Then if I have a particularly busy day I can stick a page between the week pages for that day, extra lists, etc. I keep a Today marker in the month calendar and another one in the week. Also I have a Birthdays/ Anniversaries section, with a page per month. This is really useful year after year to not have to re-write everyone’s birthdays all the time.

    After my diaries/ calendars I have a sticky notes page, which I use all the time to jot notes. Sometimes I use a sticky note on my weekly page, or use them for traveling lists that I can use that week then move to a different section later. I use the colored sticky tabs as labels for my tabbed dividers, so if I need to move the tabs around I can just remove and re-label tabs easily. Saves me a lot of money by not writing directly on the tabs, because I can use the tabs over and over for different purposes. Also lets me keep the tabs all in a row down the edge, which looks neater and makes things easier to find.

    Then I have a tabbed section for Emergency information and Medical, with brief medical summaries for each of us like when we are due for vaccines, etc. Then I have pages for dosage charts for children's meds like ibuprofen and acetominophen. As my kids' weights go up, I like having a ready-made chart as a reference to see what the correct dose is. Because we travel so often, I like having these charts in my Filo as opposed to at home somewhere.

    Next tab is Insurance with our info for all our policies: medical, prescription, cars, household, life.

    Next tab is To Do with categorized lists. I have long-term projects, personal things to work on, household things to get done, etc. These are things that I don’t need cluttering up my weekly page, but I still need to keep together.

    Next tab is Goals, with my personal goals for the year, and also my kids’ learning goals and activities. They don’t go to preschool yet and I am home all day with them, so it helps me to have some direction as to learning activities we can do at home.

    Next is Notes, where I can jot something quickly. My Filo doesn’t have a notepad in the back, so this is where I turn for a quick note or piece of paper. I also keep my calculator in this section if I need to do any calculations. Love my calculator!

    Next is Lists where I keep all my random lists: to buy, things to save money for, packing lists for upcoming trips, etc.

    Next is international. On a daily basis I keep a world map, a Europe map (which is so old it still has Yugoslavia, I am waiting for them to produce an updated map!), airline numbers. When I travel I put in maps and info pages for the place I’m going, then when I get back home I take them out and put them into my storage binder. I really like this method of having what I need at all times, but not carrying extraneous things.

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  9. My post was too long! Here is the second half of it:

    Then are my A-Z tabs with addresses, lists of doctors and dentists, and whatever other contact info I have. Behind that are my business card holders, very useful. I recently added Filofax Organizer Stickers which I found on Filofax UK, which are my new favorite thing. The stickers are little round icons, for example a plane to indicate travel, birthday cake for a bday, etc. Really helps to quickly see on my weekly pages when there are special days.

    Sorry so long! There is the rundown of my Filo contents! Like I said, I have been using a Filo for such a long time and have found it to be very adaptable, and especially great when traveling to have everything I need in one portable book. In the past the small page size for the weekly planner has been the weakest link, let’s see if I can make it work this time!

    Let me also say that I use my A5 Filo as my household book for things I only need at home like my Christmas card lists, record of online purchases, financial info, etc. This helps me keep my Personal size book a reasonable size. That was my downfall in the past, trying to keep everything in my life in the Personal size. But now that I have divided and conquered, my book isn’t so packed full.

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  10. Some very individual Filofax's are being auctioned off by Filofax in UK. More details here:
    http://www.filofax.co.uk/aboutus/news.asp?newsId=85

    Steve

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  11. WOW - thx Steve!!!

    (Won't be bidding probably - but drooling? Oh yes, I will be doing that!)

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  12. Laurie it sounds like you are amazingly organized. Do you have any pitures of your filo you could share? I thought that maybe you could make a weekly overview page that could hold anything that is fixed each week - things that re-occur like swimming lessons or playgroup. You could rule up a blank page into 5 or 7sections one for the week with or without the weekend. Or if you don't want to rule up a page you could use the week on one page with notes facing to do this.
    Do you use the front/back of your dividers to hold information? Not written directly onto, but a page with info - like your medicine dosage - that could be stuck there with removable tape or on a sticky note?
    From your post you sound like you are very organized!

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  13. Hi SE,

    I have sort of learned the hard way that I have to be very organized with my Filo. A couple of years ago I took a long trip back to the US without it, and for the entire month I was there I kept needing addresses, contacts, or other info that I keep in my Filo but did not have in the spiral bound planner I was using at the time.

    After 13 years of Filo use I have discovered what kinds of tabs and systems work for me, although I have to constantly rework it because my needs change frequently. I am pretty optimistic that I can get the weekly view to work for me now. The rest of the book works so well for me, that if I can just make the weekly planning work then I will have everything I need with me all the time.

    Sometimes I do use a sticky note on my tabbed dividers for quick-reference things, which I find very handy.

    I don't have any pics of my Filo at the moment. I don't have a blog or anything like that for showing pics online. To be honest I don't think I want to post pics of it, too personal. It would be like letting someone read my journal!

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  14. Has anyone seen in person/ held a Filofax Urban? I'm looking at the personal size in Olive. There's nowhere near me that sells Filofax so I've been looking at it online. I wonder what it feels like, how sturdy it seems, etc.

    If I do stay with my current Filofax as my planner, I will need a new Filo to use as my UK guide book. I had been using my Personal size Filo as a self-made guidebook for Scotland/ UK, where I travel 2-3 times each year. But now if my Filo becomes my planner again, I'll need another book for my UK book. I like the Urban in particular because I like that pocket inside the front cover for holding tickets, and the zip pocket on the back for storing currency and coins. Has anyone seen one in person? Can you tell me about it?

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  15. Hey everybody, let's have a discussion. WHY do you Filofax? Why Filofax in particular? Why not Franklin Covey or some other binder system? Why not a bound book planner, whether weekly or daily? What is it about Filofax that you prefer?

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  16. Hey, hello Laurie,

    i don´t know Franklin Covey. I come from Germany and never heard of it.
    I like Filofax becouse of its quality and its bright colours. I like to have o lot of different inserts for everything, but there could be more...
    I use an Personal soft jade Finchley, but i like to switch from time to time.
    I haven´t found my perfect-dream-Filo yet :-)
    I also have some in Size Mini, and an Personal Barock in hot pink.
    I use it only for personal things, and only a bit for business...
    Do you know where i can get some special inserts for the Personal size?

    Greetings
    Jenny

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  17. http://www.bibledesignblog.com/2009/04/how-i-roll-for-the-moment.html

    A rather unusual use of a Filofax. A real nice old "Real Calf - Made in England" Filofax. Enjoy.

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  18. Hi Laurie,

    I use filofax because I like the idea of having a 'fixed' book that I keep my life in more than getting a new diary each year. I found that my diary's were always full to bursting with other 'stuff' and had no way of organsing this stuff properly... names, addresses, cards, papers etc etc etc.
    I like the way that my filofax holds everything I need in one, and that as it ages, it gets more and more personal.
    In the UK there are other planners, but none are as nice as the filofax range, and there are really only filofax inserts (or cheaper WHSmith ones).
    the only think I DON'T like about filofaxes is that once the year is over, the whole diary has to go - I used to save all my old diaries. I know I could store them, but it doesn't feel the same that way.

    I like their sturdiness as well and the fact that the personal size can fit into most of my handbags.

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  19. Why I use a Filofax:
    - I've been using a binder-type organiser since I was 12 and I really like using it. Moving to a Filofax was a long, slow process.
    - There were no Filofaxes where I came from (the Philippines). Most organisers were either made in China or the Philippines. I bought my first Filofax when my family and I moved to Canada in 2006.
    - I discovered the Franklin-Covey format after reading "First Things First" so I set out to make my own planner using that format in classic size. I used that format for a few years but I decided that I really liked the personal size better. I did this when I was still in the Philippines. BTW, in the Philippines carrying an authentic, leather Franklin Covey planner is considered a status symbol. I'll reserve my comments on that for later posts.
    - After purchasing my first Filofax (a brown personal Sport) I found that it really is a better binder than the ones I'm used to. Now, my wife and I have 9 Filofaxes :-)

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  20. To add to the "what kind of Filo do you have" discussion:

    I use the Personal size, which is perfect for my personal information. At work, I use something else, although not a Filo. I don't have a lot of meetings at work, nor do I have clients - I am a public librarian, so mostly all I need is a place to write down what needs to be done. The only work-related items that go in my personal Filo are my hours (they change based on the day and week) and any meetings and/or programs I do have.

    As for my Filo - I use the following breakdown:
    Notes - here is where I keep shopping lists and long-term household/personal to-dos.
    Projects - any current items that need a bit of planning or multiple steps that would occur over a longer period of time than a week.
    Information - Various info that I might need at work. Extra paper and stickies.
    Financial - breakdown of finances for a particular project as well as how much money I put on my credit cards each month. I do keep my receipts, but it's nice to see it laid out on a monthly basis to control my spending.
    Diary - both a monthly view and a weekly view (2 pages per week, lined - can't live without my lines!). The monthly is for quick glances (appointments mostly). The weekly holds appointments, daily/weekly to-dos, due dates (bills, library book, etc). I also use the FF jot pad paper for any additional info I may need for a specific appointment - this comes in handy since the 2-page-per-week doesn't offer that much writing space). Birthdays/anniversaries I keep on my Google calendar and set up email reminders for those that I need to buy cards for.
    Addresses - I don't keep addresses here - I keep those in a separate place, as well as phone numbers for all of my contacts. Instead, I use this section for phone numbers only, for only those people I might need at work - close relatives and friends, doctors and household contacts (plumbers, etc).

    As we were quickly coming up to July, I have been researching next year's refills (I buy them in July and do a 1-year rotation of pages every July and January). Currently I'm using Filo pages, but I think I might switch to DayTimer pages for next year. I have been splitting up my weekly Filo pages into 2 sections - one for appointments and one for to-dos. DayTimer has pages where this is already done. Their "portable" pages are the same size as Filo's Personal. Now I just need to choose which theme I like the best - that is another decision altogether.

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