30 October 2008

Free for All Friday No. 18

My Filofax helped me remember to buy Halloween candy in advance this year, as usual.

It's also time to buy our 2009 refills.

Is your Filofax part of your Halloween costume?

—Inky

26 October 2008

Agatha Ruiz de la Prada 2008

Today I made my semi-annual pilgrimage to The Container Store to pick up next year's Filofax refills and A5 Miquelrius notebooks.

I use these notebooks because they have the same size paper as an A5 Filo and are perforated, so I can punch individual sheets to carry in my Filo. They already have the standard European 2 holes punched, so they're also compatible with a 2-hole A5 lever arch binder.

Most of the time, I just write my journal in these notebooks, and don't do much transferring of pages. Having the option is important to me, though.

Every year, Miquelrius offers different colors and designs by Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, and I always buy a few at The Container Store. Last year, they looked like this. This year, they're offering butterflies and green hearts. I love it.

Unfortunately, The Container Store, at least my local one, seems to have discontinued A5 Filos and their refills, so I can't get my work Filo and kitchen counter Filo refills there. I couldn't even get Personal week-per-2-pages without lines. All they had were the lined ones, which is fine, I just wanted unlined and wonder whether they fact that they only offer one is a sign that they're cutting down on Filofax stock further still. There were a lot of 2008 week-per-2-pages calendars on sale, which leads me to believe that sales have slowed down.

Oh, well. It's time for me to place a Daily Planner order, and hope to keep the mail order end in business.

25 October 2008

An Even Better Sale

Jenni Bick Bookbinding has a colorful selection of Filofaxes (like Piazza and Finsbury) on deep discount. Check it out soon; they appear to be going fast!

24 October 2008

Free for all Friday, No. 17

First of all, thanks everybody for your great comments last week.

Good to see some of you coming back to commenting after a while away. I want to answer some of your questions, but have not yet done so.

When you comment, Blogger gives you a chance to sign up for email notification of anyone commenting on a post after you. Take advantage of it—it doesn't endanger your email address, and it ensures you don't miss out on the full discussion.

—Inky

23 October 2008

Years ahead

On a recent post, folks were talking about buying next year's refills, and how far forward it makes sense to carry. In my case, I carry as far forward as I can fit, which is usually less than I want. When I make, say, a dentist appointment 6 months into the future, I like to be able to write it down, once, on the actual day.

So it's ironic I haven't ordered my 2009 refills yet. If anyone else is in my predicament, you'll be interested to know that the The Daily Planner has all kinds of 2009 diaries in stock, including 2-pages-per day (that's right, 2 PAGES per day), and cotton cream options. There's even a horizontal week-in-view with appointment lines (in this scheme, you'd turn the book so the rings are horizontal to you to see the entire week). I don't think I've seen that one before; it's offered in Personal only, which always has the most options.

If you like to plan ahead, yearly planners through 2010 are available.

I've had good luck ordering from Daily Planner in the past. The online ordering system used to be a little glitchy on my Mac, but it's worked quite well the past couple of years.

And if you need a whole new planner, not just refills, The Daily Planner has a number of items on sale.

22 October 2008

One Page Miracle

I suppose everyone's noticed that my posting has been a little sparse—only one post in between Fridays instead of two. And I've been pretty absent from the comments.

I'm just finishing up a big deadline at work, so I'll be able to spend more time here. I have that pleasant "all the time in the world" feeling that one gets after finishing something big. (Of course, I most certainly don't have all the time in the world, especially not when it comes to Christmas shopping.)

Today's article is not about Filofaxes in the physical sense, but about something that you might do on a page in your Filofax. There's an exercise called the One Page Miracle, promoted by, among others, Dr. Daniel Amen as a way to get your life in better focus—quick. And it only takes one page (like, perhaps, an A5 or Personal Filofax page).

What you do is take a single sheet of paper and, without overthinking, write down what you want in each area of your life. Here's one possible format:

One-Page Miracle
What Do I Want for My Life?

Name:
Date:

RELATIONSHIPS
Spouse/Lover:
Children:
Extended Family:
Friends:

WORK AND EDUCATION
I want to do:
I want to be:
I want to know:

MONEY (for needs, wants, and security)
Short term:
Long term:

MYSELF
Body:
Mind:
Spirit:
Emotions:

Too simple for the folks at Franklin Covey, perhaps, but sometimes the first words that come to mind are the real truth. And it fits in your Filofax!

17 October 2008

Free for All Friday No. 16

How is your autumn going? Do you have any long weekends planned? Are the leaves changing color? Are you in the middle of a busy academic year or, like me, in the middle of a busy holiday business season?

—Inky

13 October 2008

Kickin' it old skool

This past weekend, I found that my brother stumbled upon Philofaxy by googling my name (my real name, so I guess my pseudonym isn't terribly effective). He asked me, "so do you have an unhealthy obsession with Filofaxes?" He seemed especially concerned about the number of Filofax pictures I take.

During the ensuing conversation, I learned a new (to me) phrase, "kickin' it old skool," in reference to people like us who are using paper in the digital age.

He used a DayRunner until he got an iPhone and never looked back to paper.

Just going by my family and friends, I'm noticing a combination of paper and electronics. My dad has an iPhone, but also carries Levenger cards in a leather case for writing things down. My mom has a Blackberry, and was never a big notetaker anyway; she's one of those people who can carry everything in their head. They've both used various Palm handhelds in the past. My sister-in-law has an iPhone and a Moleskine.

I used to carry my entire life in a Palm handheld, even doing email and word processing on it, in lieu of a laptop, with the help of a portable keyboard and an IR link to my cell phone. When I went back to paper, I went all the way. I will carry a Filofax and a small cellphone in my handbag, and nothing more.

Seems pretty healthy to me.

10 October 2008

Free for All Friday No. 15

We're getting deeper into a season that includes more holidays, charitable events, school obligations, and (in the U.S.) elections. A wonderful and busy time of year!

How are you using your Filofax to cope?

—Inky

08 October 2008

Pocket Fitness

For a few weeks now, I've been using a Pocket Filofax as a diet and fitness journal. For the curious, here's how I use it:

1) Week-per-2-page diary. Each day, I log exercise done (with heart rate), cups of water drunk, weight/body fat (on the days I weigh), and so on. The illustration here is a template page I made, to keep things clear by writing the same information in the same place on the page each time. The pages are cramped, so I did some planning before I started writing in ink all over them.

2) Eating journal. On yellow paper, one side of one leaf per day. I write down the day's plan the night before, and then...er...edit the next day based on what I actually ate.

3) Notes pages. Blue and pink paper for various kinds of notes and quotes from the program I'm using, The Beck Diet Solution.

03 October 2008

Free for All Friday No. 14

The Franklin Covey system I posted about earlier this week has a special plastic page bookmark. Instead of being a single panel of plastic, it's two-layered. It lets you slip in a paper bookmark on which you list weekly goals. It helps keep the important things in front of your eyes whether you use a daily or weekly diary format.

I find during busy times of my life, I can forget the most important things first. Is anyone using a Franklin Covey bookmark (I believe it's called a Weekly Compass), or a similar idea of your own invention?

—Inky