18 January 2013

Free For All Friday No 218

How far ahead do you plan things in your Filofax organiser?

However, as this is a Friday, you can of course discuss anything Filofax or Ring bound organiser related.

64 comments:

  1. I'm thinking about using the Filofax D2P and I was wondering how much of these a personal will hold if you also need plenty of lists and notepaper, creditcardpockets and use it as your wallet/purse. A week, month? More?

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  2. Happy Friday!
    Personally, I plan things as far ahead as soon as I know them. If I'm not sure I'm going to do something or go somewhere, I put a small sticky note in that date with the info so I don't have to scratch it out or erase it.

    I have a FFAF question: I'm curious how many Filofax users are religious about using Filofax inserts or whether or not they try different brands, and if so, what are the favorites. We all know that the Filofax paper isn't the greatest, but I think there are some loyal to the brand.

    I use a hybrid,,,,,cotton cream week on 2 pages in conjunction with the Franklin Covey Her Point of View monthly view (trimmed down to fit of course!)

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    1. I am using Daytimer month per view (which are tabbed), together with their DPP. I also slot in the Dodopad weekly page for menu planning. As I chose the Flavia range, it makes for a very colourful planner. So far I am thrilled with this setup.

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    2. I didn't find Daytimer paper particularly brilliant and it was a but cluttered for my taste. I actually like the FF designs - just wish the paper where better. However I have taken to using Frixions in a big way as my dairy is subject to a lot of change at the moment so the FF is OK for that. In an ideal world I'd use all cotton cream, but sadly they don't make it in all layouts!

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    3. The only Filofax brand inserts that I get along with is the plain white paper. But it is frightfully expensive in comparison to what you get. 30 pages doesn't really get me through a week of journaling, mission lists, breaking up goals in manageable pieces, outlining blog posts, vlog ideas, listing my job hunt results, character lists for my book, book lists etc. I do sometimes get the 100 pages package, when it is on sale. Mainly, actually, because I like the plastic pouches they come in. They are really handy for storing pages in. For example, it is how I store my journal right now, but also the other half of my dodo pad and some of my own inserts.

      I think I would like the weeks on 2 pages with the note section, if I could ever get my hand on that one.

      But generally, I find the Filofax inserts just don't suit me. They are bad quality for the money. They are very plain and boring, bordering on unimaginative and stiff. And well...it all combines to me not wanting to use them, rather making my own.

      Now granted, mostly, I do only need plain paper. So it isn't all hard to make my own. :)

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    4. I don't actually use any Filofax or other preprinted pages in my A5 filo. My system is based entirely on self-punched sheets of good quality paper since I'm a hardcore fountain pen user. My main system is a hybrid to-do/planning arrangement based loosely on Mark Forster's SuperFocus task management system, done on pages of Rhodia cream vellum paper. Interleaved with that are pages from a Rhodia meeting book which are for raw meeting notes and actions, weekly calendar pages printed (usually *after* the fact for reference purposes) from outlook, and various collateral materials punched and inserted in chronological order. The only FF bits I'm using are a set of cream tabs which came with one of my binders. My master calendar is in my office Outlook system, because there are policy rules in place which for reasons I've never entirely understood mean I can't publish my work calendar even in outline form to anywhere outside the company firewall, and as Outlook doesn't play particularly well with other calendaring systems I have to use it for my personal appointments too so there would be limited utility in any sort of preprinted diary sheets.

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    5. Likewise Paul, my A5 is nearly all home printed now. A few remaining FF To-Do lists in there, but once I've used up my stock of them I shall print some myself. Diary, Address pages, all printed on A5 paper now!

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    6. I'm using Franklin Covey 2 Pages Per Day and Month on 2 Pages inserts in my Filofax, and Filofax tabs and other pages. I don't mind the different size pages in my binder, but I'm generally a mess that way. I know some people can't stand the different size pages together in one binder.

      Incidentally, I have two Franklin Covey binders on their way to me, the Veronica (thanks again skhen!) with 1.125 rings and a used binder I bought off ebay with 1 3/8 inch rings. I've also ordered the Franklin Covey Starter Pack and address tabs, so I will go all-FC in the diary pages and tabs in my new FC binders. But, I have so many Filofax address pages and notes pages, I will use those up before I buy the FC equivalent.

      Anyway, I got off topic a little. I highly recommend the Franklin Covey inserts, they come in several color and theme options and I like their structured format. Be aware the pages are wider though, which like I said can bother some people!

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    7. Erin, I am not religious about using FF Inserts because I find most of them to be inferior in quality. I have just begun a new experiment in my A5 Cuban....in 2013, I am only going to use diaries and inserts that Steve and Ray have created.

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    8. Laurie, I ordered from FC uk 2 weeks ago and am still waiting. My Veronica from the US got here quicker! Can't wait to start using the FC system.

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    9. JasJan have you contacted FC? I have ordered diary inserts from them before and it didn't take that long. I hope mine get here quickly!

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    10. Yes, should be here next week, which is 3 weeks after I ordered!

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    11. Like Steve, what FF inserts I have are old stock.

      For my Personal, I print my own Diary for several reasons: (1) I print on 16 lb (60GSM) paper, so my 11mm rings are less filled (2) I also maintain my appointments/meetings in the source Excel file, typically colour coding for different types of appointments, (3) I was able to customize the layout, the way that works best for me, and (4) getting personal 3 pages per sheet of paper, I produce inserts for a small fraction of the retail price of commercial inserts. For lined writing sheets, I use Hilroy inserts: they're cheap and I go through them quickly.

      I also use a 3-ring binder size that is close to A5 - half-sheet letter (8.5"x5.5"). That format is well-supported in North America, for example Avery, including their Martha Stewart line, and Avery's line paper has a good feel without the sky-high price.

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    12. Currently I have the Filofax MO2P and WO2P in white that came with my planner. However today I received the cotton cream equivalents which I've used before and plan to use from now forward. I did receive the Day Runner D02P last week, tried them, then removed them. They are exactly like the FC D02P that I used for over 20 years (except they are narrower) so I thought I would like them. Because they are narrower, the print is very small and almost difficult for me to read. Plus the paper is thicker and while I used to like that in my FC binder, for some reason I found it annoying this time! With all the talk of the poor Filofax paper quality, I'm finding that I like it. Yes the white is flimsy and certain pens bleed through but I found the DR paper just too much like cardstock (at least the MO2P). The thicker paper also took up alot of room in the planner. I thought about looking into Day Timer but now I may just stick with the cotton cream. Of course, I love some of the formats available on Philofaxy to print but I have no patience with my printer or my lack of ability to print them 2 sided and have them line up properly.

      My biggest irk right now is that Filofax doesn't have tabbed MO2P so that you can interleave your daily' or monthly's between them. GRRRRRRRRRR!

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    13. I just moved to the FC day on two pages system and am loving it! Also in my binder are FF pages and other stationery that I've cut to size and hole punched. I like having the variety and don't mind it that my binder isn't just FF.

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  3. I usually plan out a full year in advance for work dates. Personal appointments only a month or two forward.

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  4. I plan things as soon as I know them... For things that may change, I write them on a small sticky note until it is closer to the date and the appointment is set in stone. Then I write it in pen. As for inserts, I use the FF ones, as well as my own printed ones from philofaxy :)

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  5. Like Liz Vee, I write things on sticky notes and move them around until the week they are due. Every week I write my "must-do" list and I use the daily spaces for my "achievements", crossing off them on my "must-do" list. It seems complex but it works for me! I use week at a glance on A5 :)

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    1. I like the idea of writing my achievements in the daily spaces. I also use a week on 2 pages - adapted column version, in my a5 Chameleon.

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    2. What Liz Vee and rockandpurl describe is very similar to what I do. I only print one term (4 months) of my diary at a time and use month on 2 pages for the rest of the year, adding sticky notes when the small space is inadequate. These notes get transferred into the Excel file that serves as diary source-file that is set up for printing to personal size.

      The nice thing about using Excel and printing it, is that I can make entries as soon as I know about them - I already have things entered for 2014, and will start filling in my teaching schedule for 2014 over the next few months. I have To Do lists that extend the entire term, and extract from these weekly and daily lists.

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  6. I made a section in my personal Malden where I put the different dates for running competition. I made a cross reference in my diary and in the month overview that indicates that on that date there is a competition. Also I put every appointment as soon as I know them in both the diary section and the month overview (thank you Lime Tree, loveeeeee the colorfull months). So yes, I do a lot of ahead planning in my Malden.

    And Erin in response to your question. I HATE the FF paper! I have read and see a lot of people use the Cotton Cream pages. I start using them (a week on two pages) and I must say they are great. They do not bleed trough, so very happy with that. I start using the Paper Chase paper for ‘to do’ and ‘note paper’. Nice paper nothing special. And I trim a lot of paper to fit the personal if I like the paper. I not going to buy more FF paper: too expensive for bad quality paper. If all the paper where like the CC, I would gladly pay the amount.

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  7. Morning everyone

    I am a new filofax user so just have the filofax inserts, apart from the ones I've got from here (which are brilliant by the way, Thank you), but I'm thinking of using a Dodo 2013/14 academic diary when they come out.

    As for planning, I do craft fairs and ceramic shows, and some I have to book 9 months in advance, so there are dates in my diary for the end of the year, which is why I find the summer to summer diary so useful.

    Susan

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  8. I plan as far ahead as I can. I often get dates for work which are a few months away, and like to get them in so I can plan around them. Also if I don't plan any holidays I don't get them as the time is never right!

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    1. Hi Alison,

      I'm just wondering if you got my email about the Hoborn Zip and if you're still willing to sell it. I can't find one anywhere!

      Thanks,

      Ashlene

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    2. Sorry Ashlene - just found you in my spam folder! I'll check out your email and respond shortly!

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    3. I also plan as far ahead as I can. If something is still tentative I write it in pencil.

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  9. Last year I was using 6 weeks of diary pages with a note page at the back for dates beyond that. Then I added a month on two pages insert with note sections front and back (one for current month, one for next) which worked quite well for me. I also use the sticky note method a lot.

    I'm still trying to work out my diary for this year. I was using a pocket sized hand made diary with an A4 folder for work planning and an A5 notebook for notes. I've just ended up with an A5 Finchley to try and combine all those things and so far I love it. But I can't decide on a diary format. I have year planners and monthly dates for different sections (planning much further head this year) but I still need a personal and general overview diary to keep track of things. I've considered using the pocket size for portability but I'm quite tempted by the Pennybridge compact as a combined diary/notebook that would also (hopefully) hold my phone which I'm forever losing. The pocket size is fine for noting dates and task lists but it doesn't hold much else and I hate writing anything substantial in it. I'm worried the pennybridge would be a bit much to carry with the A5 but it would be perfect when I don't need the A5 with me. Has anyone been through this dilemma? I'd love to hear what your experiences were.

    P.S. Happy Friday everyone. And squee! New Filofax!

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  10. I have two years of FC month on two pages in my Filofax, plus hand-written pages of the following two years. In my stay-at-home binder I have pages for the next 15 years.

    The Franklin Covey 2 Pages Per Day inserts I'm using (love!) come with the current year and the future year of month on two pages. I keep the full 24 months in my binder so, for example, when I do something that has to happen annually, I write it directly onto next year's month page to remind myself when it's due again. That way it's already on my calendar, I don't have to worry about forgetting.

    For future years I use just a lined page with the year written at the top, for reminders like vaccine boosters due that year, passport or visa expiration, etc. Each year when I get the monthly pages for that year, I transfer the reminders from the year page onto the appropriate month.

    I really like doing it this way because nothing slips through the cracks.

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    1. I do the same as Laurie for future planning. So I have reminders up to 2017, scary I know. Our dentist makes the appointments for next year, and I have things written through December for my own personal goals, to do's, holiday plans.

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  11. Under the files tab, the A5 Reading List document hyperlink is broken.

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    1. Steve or Ray, could you fix this, please? I really need access to the doc version.

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    2. Hi Joseph, it's at this link -> http://www.philofaxy.com/files/A5ReadingList.doc Hope that helps :)

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    3. That's some weird spacing there, sorry about that!

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  12. ha ha ha i love the new big orange "do not pin" sign, steve. hopefully it'll deter them!

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  13. I use my electronic application (for ipads) for planning past 18 months ahead. The current days up through one year are on a weekly sustem

    Just an FYI--in my morning's email, I found that FCovey is having a big sale. Binders like the "Giada" are now priced from $129 down to $79.00 for a compact size. They are having sales on their fillers as well.
    By the way, if you want to see a really nice binder, try pulling it up by its name. For example, if you try to pull up every binder you wont see many of their nicer ones. If you like Giada, you will need to search for it by name on their website to see it.

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  14. I have an FF Question: How often does Filofax come out with new styles and/or colors for the current ranges? Is there a set time frame in which Filofax lovers such as myself can expect new products to be released?

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    1. Hi Carla
      Every year... but the new models/colours are spread out through the year, generally starting in March and June, although that is for UK, USA can be later in the year than that.
      And before you ask... no we have no 'official' word as what will be coming in March... !!!
      But as soon as we have the details we will be publishing the details here on Philofaxy
      Steve

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    2. Thanks, Steve! I will definitely keep an eye out. :)

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  15. I have a new question. I have read some good books in the past (many on how to, or business orientated, or personal development) and I usually forget the main thrust of the book once there is a little water under the bridge!

    I would like to write a mini review / refresher (for my eyes only really of what where the main 'take-aways' for each book) and wondered if anyone else did this? If so what tools do you use? I'm not convinced that an A5 would be large enough (I feel A4 would be better) and I'm not sure about binders - although it would be useful so they could be categorised under A-Z or similar.

    Anyone have any ideas?

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    1. Alison, I have a "Books" section in my A5 populated with Steve and Ray's Book Review pages. There are very comprehensive.

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    2. Alison, if you mailly me on je.mccourt@virgin.net I'll send you a page outliner I use.... list of pages and you can record main points. Hope it helps??

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    3. I've got a few book review pages (mainly for fiction) in my A5 with a compact info section and scorecard at the top followed by a 2/3 page note section. I use this section to note important themes, events and page numbers then I note thoughts and more in depth info on the back. This works for me as I have reference information on the front, detail on the back and I can add note pages behind it if I need more writing space. I've not tried this for non-fiction yet but now I'm tempted :)

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    4. I think that I have quite a few Filofax Bibliography pages that I picked on a buying binge in the 1980s. Maybe these are what you are looking for?

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    5. Thanks Guys - I'll look into your suggestions.

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    6. I was also going to suggest the "Book Review" pages posted under Files, but I new see that JDQ has already done so.

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  16. New question. I've seen that quite a few people like the Franklin Covey inserts, but are these only available in America? Do they do ones that fit Filofax A5.
    I am thinking about using Dodo, but would like some options.
    Thank you

    Susan

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    1. Steve did an article last January on hole position of various brands of inserts and binders. http://philofaxy.blogspot.ca/search?q=binder+hole+spacing FC A5 pages have the holes in different positions and Steve included a picture of his repunched pages.

      BTW Steve, I just noticed your comment about the extraneous seventh hole. The reason why FC has the seventh, middle hole is that it allows their pages to be used in standard North American half-page, three ring binders.

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    2. As far as Franklin Covey; the 'compact' size FC inserts fit the personal size Filofax. Unfortunately the 'classic' size FC are about the same size as the A5 Filofax but they do not fit the A5 Filofax binders because of the hole alignment. The 'classic' FC has 7 holes whereas the Filofax A5 has 6 holes. Source of frustration for me here in the US because all of our 'A5' sized binders and inserts all have 3 or 7 rings and there alot of insert options available to me that alas do not fit my A5 Filofax binder without re punching the holes which I won't do because they look horrible! As for purchasing FC inserts I think they ship to UK but someone else can jump in who knows more about that.

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    3. Thanks Alan.

      Do you have to do any re punching with Dodo diaries?

      It's all a bit confusing.

      Susan

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    4. Steve's article didn't mention Dodo, and I have never seen them myself.

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    5. Dodo Pad are the same as Filofax.

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    6. Franklin Covey has their own UK website, but the selection is limited compared to the US:

      http://franklinplanner.fcorgp.com/uk/

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  17. Does anyone want to part with their Personal Aston in Orchid? I missed it on the 60% off sale on US Filofax website. I procrastinated and they sold out. Also on the lookout for a Personal Finsbury in Teal (retired) or Personal Baroque in Teal.

    As far as planning ahead...well, do binders count? I'm going to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in March 2014 for my nieces wedding and I must have a turquoise or teal planner for the trip! My travel accesssories and sunglasses are aqua/teal/turquoise and some jewelry and my handbag is white leather. So of course, I must have a teal/turquoise/aqua Filofax for the trip! (I do have the aqua Chameleon but...with the black flecks in it its not quite the color I had in mind.) How's that for planning ahead?

    Because my whole family is going on this trip and my daughter is in the wedding party, this event has caused me to plan ahead to March 2014 so I can monitor our plans, spending, trip deposits, etc. I might be returning to school as well so I've sort of started a 2 year 'plan' for the type of work I want to be doing for the 5 years before my retirement so that will impact the type of degree or training I will go for. Never thought I'd be returning to school or planning a career at this age but having been laid off twice in the past 6 years I have to reevaluate everything. Didn't get any type of buyout so that I can coast for the next 5-7 years until I do reach retirement. And then, just found out yesterday that I qualify for a government grant that will pay for all my schooling due to being laid off from one of the American auto companies. Wish they would have told me that 3 years ago when I was laid off from there...I'd already be retrained! So, lots of things up in the air and I need to get BETTER at future planning!













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    1. There is an Aqua Chameleon on eBay for the next 18 hours, if that is close enough!

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    2. Cheryl, are you in the UK or US? I actually bought the Personal Aston in Orchid but don't know that I'll be using it. I wrote on one or two of the 2 pages per week calendar pages, though.

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    3. Thanks Patty...I emailed you at your blog :)

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  18. I thought I had posted this before, but I cannot seem to find it. For now, I have parked my Slimline Finsbury: I got tired of it catching on my jacket pocket, it wasn't sitting as flat as I would like and the ring mechanism was far too stiff.

    I had sitting around unused an old Microfile binder with 11mm rings, like the Finsbury. However, this binder is about 1cm shorter and narrower, so it slides in and out of my jacket's interior breast pocket with ease. The flatability is quite good and the ring mechanism is great. I give up the pen loop and the slots for credit cards and business cards, but a plastic card-holder insert does the job.

    According to Kevin Hall's Chronology of Filofax, Microfile was bought out by Filofax years ago.

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  19. This just cracked me up...an old press release about some 1996 Filofax models that would make 'a good Christmas gift'.

    http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/file-under-christmas-present-156573145.html

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  20. I write down all the birthdays/anniversaries for the year, but most entries would be as far ahead as only 3 months. I like to keep a full year of diary pages though, and only purge pages if the binder gets too stuffed to close or turn the pages.

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  21. Does anyone know if The Woman's Success Planner fits in an A5 flex? Has anyone tried that? I have the first quarter spiral bound which I'm not currently using since I'm back in my personal ring bound Filofax. I really want to use the WSP as it has some features I really like and plan to use it to track health and fitness. Has anyone used the WSP solely as a fitness journal? If so would love to learn more.

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    1. It'll be touch and go! 210mm x 148mm is your ideal max. That's roughly 8.3" x 5.8". Plannerisms is 8.5" and would fit if it didn't then have an oversize cover to protect the page edges. I don't know if the WSP has an oversize cover or not.

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