30 April 2014

DiY Dynamic Templates

The DiY planner website has been around for ages. It is where I first started to share my Filofax Templates, before I knew about Philofaxy even!

They have had their Dynamic Templates for years too, these are generated by an application which will run on a Windows PC or a Mac. I noticed recently they had come out with an Beta for an updated Mac version of the software, I've downloaded this and it works on the latest version of the Mac OS X operating system.

This is the main screen:


From this screen you can edit and select the following:
  • Type of page including, Calendars, note pages etc
  • For Calendars what day of the week you want to start on, and you can choose any of the 7 days in a week
  • The date of the first week, so you can try these out for different weeks as you wish. 
  • The date of the last week, to specify the range of dates
  • Time of the first appointment
  • 12 or 24 hour clock
  • Ruled or Unruled 
  • Layout and there are many to choose from including daily, weekly, monthly, yearly. 
In the Page Size tab you can alter and set:
  • Landscape or Portrait formats
  • Imperial or Metric measurement
  • Paper Type - European (ISO) or US sizes or Custom. 
  • Margins, essential for Filofax layouts to allow for the rings on the inside of the pages 
In the Line Spacing and Thickness tab you can set the line spacing on entries to a selection of different styles and adjust the line thickness used in the templates.

As you change any of the parameters though the results are shown on the screen as you can see above, so you don't have to print it out each time you make an adjustment.

The scale adjustment in the top left hand corner allows you to tailor it to fit your own screen.

To output the final result you can save the template as a pdf file, then you just print your pdf file in the normal way. However take care that your pdf doesn't get rescaled, always print it at 100% other wise your margins will be different.

These pages are great for trying out ideas, or may be just to try a different page size format before you commit to using it full time.

To try this software out for yourself, go to the page on DiY planner

29 April 2014

Web Finds - 29 April 2014

So here are the latest Filofax blog posts from around the Internet:
  1. Filofax Inspiration Comes From Everywhere - Kel & Filofax
  2. Oops...Planner Mistakes (And Solutions) - Giftie Etcetera
  3. W is for… Websites - Planning with Printed Portal
  4. Filofax Monthly View - Cloudberry Musings
  5. {Filofax Friday} – How to Get It Done - Renew Your Space
  6. Ooh-La-La Parisian Filofax - Kel & Filofax
  7. Printing calendar inserts using Efficient Lady’s Organiser - Gills Place
  8. W2P Diary Inserts: Keep it Simple (Personal) - Haushalts - Survival - Blog
  9. Bookmarks for Filofaxes - Billie's Craft Room
  10. OS MALDITOS PLANNERS DE LUXO - Filofax da DeprĂȘ
  11. X is for… xenodocheionology - Planning with Printed Portal
  12. Personal Zipped Holborn - Filosophical
  13. Stay tuned! New printable the 1st of May - My Last Eureka
  14. "My Week" Links from Around the Web 4/28/14 - The Contemplative Belle
  15. Another Movie with a Filofax in it -"Meet Joe Black" #blog - My Summer Touch
  16. IKEA Sells Washi Tape! - Cuteek
  17. Easy Filofax Dividers Video + a Winner! - Lori Hairston
  18. Kalendereinlagen mit ToDo-Liste (DPP) - Haushalts - Survival - Blog
  19. Show And Tell - Personal Willow - Pretty Filo
  20. #filophotofriday - April round up and May's prompt... - She's Eclectic
  21. Filofax Focus - Steve Morton
  • We monitor over 500 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... 
  • For some general tips on Filofax Blogging, please see this post
And here are a selection of the latest Filofax videos for your enjoyment.
  1. Compact size comparison: Gillio, VDS & Filofax - KatLeNoir
  2. Filofax Dividers - Lori Hairston
  3. Filofax Compact Osterley Set-Up (Spring 2014) - The Glossette
  4. How to Choose Tab Titles for your Planner. - Jessica Bella
  5. Compact classic botanic in lilac- planner update - KatLeNoir
  6. Filofax A5 Finsbury Setup (update) - OATTblog
  • 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. 
Enjoy

Free For All Tuesday No. 169

28 April 2014

A date for your diary - 4 May 2014

We are going to run another conference round-table voice chat using Skype. And the 'morning' session returns so our friends in the Far East and Asia can join in again.

I'm sure we are gradually getting to know each other's voices, but I will make a point of going 'around the table' to get everyone to introduce themselves this time.

So...When, Where, What, Who and How?

When? - Sunday 4 May from 9am London time, 10am Paris time, 6pm Sydney time and 8pm Wellington time.

Additionally I will be on line at 8am Anchorage, 9am San Francisco 11am Chicago, 12noon New York, 5pm London time, 6pm Paris time etc.  See the World Clock to make sure you have the right time.

The timing of these two sessions have been chosen to hopefully allow as many people to join in compared to previous round-tables. The timing of future ones will be varied to suit everyone if need be.

Where? - an on-line chat using Skype.

What do I need? - just a micro-phone and some head phones(in ear phones work fine) and a free Skype account. Using headphones or earphone reduces 'echo' on the call.

Who - All of you... connect up with Philofaxy and we will attempt to get as many of us linked in to the audio conference as possible. Come and listen if you don't want to chat.  What do we talk about? Filofax stuff... but anything else as well. It's like long lost friends meeting up for coffee and a catch up.. but don't worry if you have never joined in before... you are an old friend too!

If you have any questions you want to ask then please let us know in the group or before we start.

How -
  1. Connect to Philofaxy by firstly searching for Philofaxy in Skype, I will then add you as a contact.
  2. Then  'Send Contact Request',  I will then add you in to the chat room. 
  3. Then if you request it, I can add you to the audio conference as well. But if you just want to chat via keyboard that's fine. That way it's slightly less hectic for me! 
Come and join in the fun, even if you only pop in to say hello... but don't be afraid to join in the discussion.

As with previous round-tables there will also be a parallel text chat room going at the same time as the voice conference, so you can listen to the voice chat and type if you wish.

If you need any assistance setting up Skype, please pop a comment in this post and I will try and help you get one line. Skype is free for computer to computer calls....

Here is my post on how to improve your Skype audio with headphones or a headset.

Hope to be chatting with you on Sunday 4 May 2014.

27 April 2014

Reader Under the Spotlight - Jacqueline

Hello, my name is Jacqueline. I am a married Mum of one and owner of the world’s stupidest dog.  I work full time in the UK Civil Service and, when I get time to myself, I  like to crochet, cross stitch and knit, with the occasional foray into felt work.  I am also a Plannerholic.  I have enjoyed a good planner since my school days, however having to be frugal with pocket money meant that they mostly took the form of timetables glued into exercise books.  I discovered the world of beautiful leather-bound planners in 1986 and have never looked back!  My digital-by-default work colleagues think I have ‘issues’, but here I am among fellow plannerholics, so I now bare my soul to you in the sure knowledge that you will all understand ...

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

My first Filofax ‘proper’ was a personal Hampshire in brown leather, bought in 1999. My Husband actually spotted it in ‘Macro’ (a trade warehouse for non-UK readers) and I snapped it up together with an A5 Kent, in black, for him. It stayed on my desk in work where I used it every day, it travelled with me as I moved from job to job and I only stopped using it in November 2013, when I scaled up to an A5 Filo.

2. What other brands have you used or considered using?

My very first planner was a pocket-sized Regent Microfile in tan leather, which I received as a gift in 1986 and so started my all too frequent trips to the stationers to stock up on inserts! I used it daily and it was only usurped when I bought the Hampshire.  At this point thirteen years have passed and I am only two planners in! Since then I have added a couple more to my collection, being content to remain (mostly) with the Filofax brand.  I feel quite the opposite about inserts though and will happily use any brand that fits.  At the moment I enjoy using Paperchase to-do lists and notepaper, the quality is good and I like the splash of colour on the outside edges.  Having discovered the beautiful Gillio’s and Van der Spek range via Philofaxy, I am very tempted to jump ship.

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

I am still very much attached to the Hampshire, which I adore for its’ rich colour and pocket layout plus the size makes it big enough to hold lots of things but still be very portable.  But the A5 is working well for me and has become my new favourite for work.  There are plenty of pockets for all the bits and bobs I collect throughout the working week and the size makes it easier to write in. I have quite large handwriting and the personal size can be quite prohibitive in this respect.

4. How many Filofax organisers do you own?

I have six: a pocket Microfile, a personal Domino, personal Identity, personal Hampshire, A5 Finsbury and finally an out-of-character purchase for me - a Paperchase ‘Budgerigaga’, which is pink and covered with budgies. HOWEVER ... I am awaiting the arrival of my 7th planner, a personal Microfile which was an impulse Ebay purchase. Oh dear!

5. What is the oldest Filofax in your collection?

The Hampshire is the oldest Filofax in all senses of the question. While I do like some of the newer planners I really do love the vintage ones, although they weren’t considered to be so, at the time of purchase.

6. What do you use your Filofax for?

The pocket Microfile is my ‘go everywhere’ planner. It’s small and light enough to throw in my bag and I use it to jot down things that occur to me that I want to follow up later.  It is also useful to have a small diary on hand to record future appointments. My personal Domino, in violet, is my holiday planner.  I like to research the places we visit and collect information on local attractions, markets, good places to eat and I have separate sections for local maps and travel details.  It comes with me on holiday and, owing to the elastic band, I can throw in the many leaflets I collect while out and about and I know I won’t lose any, or have them littering the bottom of my bag. I have to say that I really disliked the colour of the elastic band, until I read on Philofaxy how someone had coloured theirs with a Sharpie.  So I did that and it looks a LOT better in black.  My personal Identity, in black, is my household planner which contains my cleaning schedules and reminders for jobs round the house.  If this sounds like a ‘Fly Lady control journal’ to you, you’re almost right!  Her whole system wasn’t a perfect fit for me, so I adapted it to suit.  My A5 Finsbury, in black, is my work planner and it doesn’t move from my desk.  I use it daily and while I am very flexible on inserts, I absolutely couldn’t do without the ‘week to view with notes’ diary layout – it’s the only one that really works for me.  My personal Hampshire is a ‘satellite’ to the Finsbury. I use it at meetings and conferences and transfer the useful information and scheduled appointments to the Finsbury when I get back to my desk. The Paperchase Budgerigaga is my garden planner that holds scheduled tasks, planting notes etc. I have absolutely no idea what I am going to use the personal Micro for! Suggestions please?

7. What was the feature about Filofax you like most?

Flexibility and portability.  I have always disliked bound diaries as you are limited by what someone else thinks you need to have.  My first actions when I buy any planner, is to throw away the information on European clothes sizing and weights and measures etc. I simply don’t need them!  So I like that my Filo is totally customised to my needs.  The A5 aside, they are small enough to fit in most bags and unlike electronic devices, are not reliant on battery life and/or wifi connections for me to be able to make notes and schedule appointments on the hoof.

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

I would like to combine the stylings from the Domino with good quality leather.  Dark brown on the outside, light tan on the inside with a wide striped elastic band, 30mm gold rings and an elastic pen loop.  I sometimes use ‘fat’ pens owing to my arthritic hands and the fixed loops don’t accommodate them well.

9. How do you carry your Filofax?

The Micro is carried in whatever bag I happen to be using and I’m not precious about it at all.  I’ve done this since 1986 and apart from a small tear in one of the card slots (my own carelessness in trying to wedge two cards in one slot), and some wear and tear on the pen loop, it is in excellent condition.  The Identity and the Budgerigaga live on my kitchen dresser and the Domino stays on the bedroom bookshelf between holidays, but it gets carted around in my tote bag when I’m on my travels.  Both the Finsbury and Hampshire remain in work, the Finsbury on my desk and I just carry the Hampshire.  I have finally stopped getting strange looks when I arrive at meetings with my old-school Filo. I guess they are used to me by now!

10. Which Filofax in the current range do you like the most? Are you going to buy it?

I considered a Malden for a very long time, visiting the display at Lewis’ on several occasions to examine them.  I love its layout and the detail on the closure, however I finally realised that I prefer a stiffer cover.  I also discounted the Baroque for the same reason – far too squashy for me! I do like the Osterley range however and I think I will push the boat out and treat myself on my next birthday (a ‘significant number’ celebration!).

11. What is the most you have ever spent on a Filofax? Which model?

I have been very lucky so far, or thrifty depending on how you look at it, because one was a gift, one was from a trade warehouse and so considerably cheaper than retail, three were bought in mid-year sales and two were Ebay bargains.   The A5 Finsbury turns out to be my  most expensive purchase at just £20.

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

I don’t know if this counts as a ‘hack’ but since I relocated my diary pages to the back of my Filo I have found it far easier to enter information on them as the rings don’t get in the way when writing on the left hand side.   I also have the clear flimsy plastic flyleaf over the weekly diary page and use it for temporary post-it note reminders.

13. Turning to Philofaxy, what do you like the most?

There is always something interesting to read about Filo use or history. I like to understand how other people use their planners although the ones adorned with washi tape, stickers and all the colours of the rainbow are totally alien to me.  The ‘web finds’ posts are brilliant for discovering interesting blogs and I have found several that I go back to on a regular basis.

14. And what do you not like about Philofaxy?

I wasn’t over fond of the old background colour, but that has been changed now so it’s all good.

15. What was the last music track you downloaded or bought?

My last single download was ‘I Just Can’t Rely on You’ by Paloma Faith.  My last album download was ‘Disco Defenders’ by Alcazar. I am an unashamed lover of the disco genre and I discovered this Swedish group as a result of random clicking on You Tube.  It makes tedious gym sessions go with more of a swing.

16.  Mark Darcy or Daniel Cleaver? 

Mark Darcy – he bought Bridget a new leather journal; he obviously ‘gets it’!

Thank you Jacqueline for your contribution. 

If you would like to be put under our spotlight, then please contact philofaxy at gmail dot com  

26 April 2014

Web Finds - 26 April 2014

So here are the latest Filofax blog posts from around the Internet:
  1. New colour Originals in stock - Filofax USA
  2. Gillio Medium Amica Review! - OATTblog
  3. S is for.. Subscriptions - Planning with Printed Portal
  4. Penny in the Making - Filosophical
  5. Two Pockets - Roses in December
  6. T is for… Travel Budget - Planning with Printed Portal
  7. Feng Shui Your Filofax - fĂŒr Nicht-Esoteriker - Haushalts Survival Blog
  8. Free printable per Filofax in ITALIANO! - My last Eureka
  9. Zipped Holborn's Purchase - Filosophical
  10. Planner Chores: So The Kids Take Chores Seriously - Giftie Etcetera
  11. Keep it simple (Personal, W2P, ohne Notizfeld) - Haushalts Survival Blog
  12. Daily Planner Organizational Tips - Mole in a Hole
  13. April Filofax photo-a-day challenge, week three - She's Eclectic
  14. Three Shades of Grey - This Bugs Life
  15. Free weekly on page two / week on two pages printable for Filofax - My Last Eureka
  16. If you Can’t Decide on a Planner . . . - Homemakers Daily
  17. Back to my Smythson! - Paper Lovestory
  18. A Mood Board In My Filofax - Roses in December
  19. Pink Domino - Sweet & Calm
  20. U is for… Utilities and Accounts to Close - Planning with Printed Portal
  21. Let’s rock this together! - Lime Tree Fruits
  22. Routines Versus Schedules In A Planner - Giftie Etcetera
  23. "Renovierungsplaner" Update 2014 - Seelen Zucker
  24. To-Do Lists- Happy Froggies - Incarnations of Organization
  25. Managing the day in chunks - Filofax Friday - Week 16 - Mrs Brimbles
  26. Get Organised - Blog Planning - My Re-organised
  27. In love with Fudge - Cloudberry Musings
  28. Personalising My Filofax Or Planner - Roses in December
  29. Il "Daydex" un nuovo modo per pianificare la giornata! - My Last Eureka
  30. Filofax Friday: WARNING: photo heavy post! - En Vogue Pogue
  31. V is for… Vaccination Record - Planning with Printed Portal
  32. Filofax Focus - Steve Morton
  • We monitor over 500 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... 
  • For some general tips on Filofax Blogging, please see this post
And here are a selection of the latest Filofax videos for your enjoyment.
  1. Ring change on my Gillio skorpio - Debbie Hockedy
  2. Managing the day in chunks - Filofax Friday - Week 16 - Mrs Brimbles
  3. Filofax Week 17 Decoration Tutorial - Sugarpandax3
  4. Filofax Decoration Week 18 - Tipa Childers
  • 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. 
Enjoy

25 April 2014

Free For All Friday No 284

Spring has sprung here in the Northern Hemisphere, and it's spring cleaning time! It might be time to rotate out your old pages, freshen up your tabbed sections or give your leather binder some treatment. With big summer plans on the way, now is a good time to get your planning system ready! Friends in the Southern Hemisphere have winter on the way with busy times for work and school. Now may be a good time to jettison old pages and prepare.

Do you do a seasonal clear-out or spring cleaning for your binder?

And as always on Fridays, feel free to discuss anything ring-binder related!

24 April 2014

Filofax Tip No. 11

So today's tip.

If like me you swap from one organiser to another during the year. Instead of just taking all the pages out and moving them across in to the other organiser.

Take 5-10 minutes to see if there are any pages you can remove, discard or archive. It is very easy for your organiser to grow through the year.

I try to remember to do this every couple of months, it helps if you have a variety of different ring sizes in your organisers.

Until the next tip happy organising.  Check out other tips here.

Lefax Radio Log

You might recall Paul did a guest post on the Lefax Radio Log back in August 2012, well recently he offered to donate it to me for safe keeping and also because of my radio engineering background, which was very generous and kind of Paul.

We agreed the best way to get it to me and it arrived when Alison was at the London Book Fair a couple of weeks ago.

It arrived safely, but seeing it close up the leather organiser is rather delicate. But Paul had managed to remove the pages from the rings successfully without doing any further damage to the organiser.

I've been doing some research and I'm making contact with The Leather Conservation Centre in England, so hopefully I will have some better answers on how to preserve this leather artefact for many years to come! The ring mechanism is a little bit rusty, but they still work. I will be hoping to attend to the rust soon as well.

I have also scanned in all of the pages at a reasonably high resolution and I will be making these scans available for research purposes as well.

So although I read Paul's description a couple of years ago there was one small detail I sort of over looked. This 1920's Lefax organiser has a very different set of rings in it compared to the type we see these days.

The difference is how they work. No tabs on these, but the two sets of three operate independently of each other, watch:

Both sets closed

Open the bottom set

Open the top set

Close the bottom set
Because there are no tabs you have to use the rings themselves to open them. And as you know we strongly advise against doing this with any ring bound organiser these days. Simply because pulling apart one set of rings can twist the internals of the mechanism and you end up with the well known gaps in the rings issue.

However, if the rings are independent of each other, like on this one the problem is greatly reduced. I am not sure when the ring mechanism makers around the world stopped making rings like this, but there are definitely some positives about this type of design!

Having scanned in the pages I was able to read the pages much easier on my big iMac screen as my eyesight isn't so good with small print and trying to read things close up, old age sadly. But on the screen I am able to read the pages with ease.

Some of the following images you will have seen as photos in Paul's original post.










A huge range of inserts, some I can only guess what they are about.





This is just the first page of the radio log, I'm sure you don't want to see all 32 pages of it. But in case you do, hop over to my blog and you can see it in full.


As a comparison, come forward 60 years to the late 1980's and these are the sheets from the Filofax International Data Set that included the BBC World Service frequencies and broken down in to regions served. 


And the list of programmes for the BBC World Service from 1987.



Admiralty Handbook of Wireless Telegraphy 1938 edition which cost £0, 6s, 9d in 1940.. I have the receipt! an old Morse key, and the pages from the Lefax Radio Log! I like to keep up to date with technology!

When I got my first Filofax back in 1986 I was working for the UK radio regulator in the section that assigned frequencies for sound broadcasting transmitters in UK. I mainly dealt with the ones on VHF FM, but my colleague that I sat next to dealt with the MF (Medium Frequency - 526.5 kHz to 1606.5 kHz) assignments. So it was interesting to see the equivalent lists for the USA back in the 1920's.

Back in the 1980's BBC and IBA (Independent Broadcasting Authority as was) used to produce their own Engineering Information Guides. These were small pocket books that listed all the radio and TV transmitters, the size of the books where about Filofax personal size, which for me at the time was very convenient.

I will enjoy doing more research in to how spectrum management was carried out in the 1920's compared today. I've already spotted something in the details that might be worth exploring in more detail, but I will tell you about that at another time!

Again thank you for Paul's generous offer to donate this radio log to me.

23 April 2014

Looking Back: If You Like It Buy It...

I was looking back through the archives the other evening trying to decide what to write about today... but I spotted that it is just a few days more than 4 years since Laurie and I met for the first time in 2010 in London.

We discussed a lot of things that day, even with my poor memory I can still recall how we didn't stop talking about organisers whilst we walked along the London South Bank in the sunshine.

One thing we both agreed on 'If you like it... buy it' and it still holds true today.

More so now I guess, although the number of people that visit Philofaxy every day has increased since 2010, there are still people that we are attracting from our audience on Facebook and elsewhere. So there's even more people hunting around for those models from the past.

Time and time again I see messages on Philofaxy, in my inbox, on Facebook. They normally start with 'I'm looking for an x in y size and in z colour' and you don't even to look most of them up, because you know they were phased out a couple of years ago or more!

Sometimes we get lucky. I often suggest placing an advert on Ad-spot, that can often turn things up that people have hunted for on Ebay, Amazon, every possible FF site in the world and one can turn up on Adspot.

So is there a Filofax or another brand of organiser that you regret not buying at the time they were sold or being sold off?  I have a few, but I will share those with you in the comments...

22 April 2014

Web Finds - 22 April 2014

So here are the latest Filofax blog posts from around the Internet:
  1. P is for… Password Tracker - Planning with Printed Portal
  2. Patent Red Compact Filofax Review - Spread the Giggles 
  3. What’s In My Bag? - OATTblog
  4. Ultimate FiloHack! DIY Dollar Planner Refills! - InsMOMniac
  5. Filofax Photo-a-Day Challenge Day 15-18 - The Pit Bull Mama
  6. Blogger Challenge (Filofax Faces) Competition Result! - Filofax Love
  7. Bullet Journal Record - Clarifilo
  8. Q is for… Quick List - Planning with Printed Portal 
  9. Simplified life starting with a pocket Chameleon - It's Bluetiger
  10. Gillio Comparison: Mia Cara vs Amica - OATTblog
  11. Mini To Do List - Roses in December
  12. Planning My Cruise Packing List: What To Wear - Giftie Etcetera
  13. Filo Photo Friday Wk16 - Fi-Lily, Fi-Lo
  14. Converting currencies and who pays VAT where - This Bugs Life
  15. R is for… Running Log - Planning with Printed Portal
  16. To Do’s, Tasks and Projects - Heather Holistics
  17. The Five Minute Filo Pocket - Recycling for Earth Day - The Contemplative Belle
  18. Pen-loop Hack - Mole in a Hole
  19. Gillio Comparison: Amica vs Compagna - OATTblog
  20. Blogging 101: Photography Basics - Strange & Charmed
  21. Tutorial No. 13 – To-Do Board for Filofax - DiYfish
  22. My Filofax set up - Bella Coco
  23. A5 Aston overhaul and Filoflex iPad Mini Combo - It's Bluetiger
  24. Do You Really Need to Take a Filofax when Travelling? - The University Project
  25. Another Page Marker - Roses in December
  26. "My Week" Links from Around the Web 4/22/14 - The Contemplative Belle
  27. Filofax Focus - Steve Morton
  • We monitor over 500 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... 
  • For some general tips on Filofax Blogging, please see this post
And here are a selection of the latest Filofax videos for your enjoyment.
  1. My Filofax set up - Bella Coco
  2. Van der Spek A5 Touch Me - Gidget Loves
  3. Gillio Comparison Amica vs Mia Cara - OATTblog
  4. Filofax Week 16 Decoration Tutorial - Sugarpandax3
  5. Unboxing of the KiddyQualia inserts for my Filofax - MadeWithLoveCrafter
  6. Gillio Comparison Amica vs Compagna - OATTblog
  7. Filofax 2 days per page inserts - palestblue 
  8. Week 17 Filofax Decoration - Filofascination
  9. Mein Filofax A5 Setup - Tabbitapse
  10. agenda filofax Malden pocket - Il mondo Di Luna
  • 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. 
Enjoy

Free For All Tuesday No. 168

21 April 2014

No more A5 Maldens for me

I was using my new ochre A5 Malden the other week and noticed that some of the stitching was starting to come undone. Sadly as time went on it just seemed to be getting worse, so I returned it for a refund. However, I was quite interested to find that I actually felt more relieved than disappointed once it was gone! I suppose that I assumed that I would adore the A5 and want to rush out and find another one. It's a bit weird really as I love Maldens and the ochre leather is yummy, but I don't know as something wasn't quite right...

I still haven't gotten round to selling my A5 Mulberry or Amazona, so maybe I felt it would make more sense to use what I already had, rather than having something else new? I have moved the Malden's contents back into the Mulberry and will definitely find a new home for the Amazona.

On consideration, maybe I haven't been feeling the A5 Malden love as much as I thought because I'm so content with my personal size one?


I'm going to hang onto my Mulberry for the time being for when I want more space and for planning projects, but I think I'll set a time to review how it's going.

Have you finally got your hands on a binder you'd assume you would adore, but just didn't bond with it?

20 April 2014

Reader Under The Spotlight - Anne-Marie

Hi everyone! My name is Ann-Marie and I blog at addicted to stationery. I'm a 23-year-old Nursery Nurse who is looking at training to be a Primary School Teacher in the future! I spend most of my time at work, but I also enjoy running and baking.

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

My first organiser was a Paperchase own-brand organiser, which I bought at some time in September 2012. It was Pocket-sized, which was fine for me at the time - but once I upgraded to Personal I've never been able to downsize again!

2. What other brands have you used or considered using?

I've only really looked at either Paperchase's own binders, or real Filofax ones. Other ones are a bit out of my price range. I was once gifted a Ferrari organiser, which doesn't have any branding on it but is red - as you'd expect!

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

My beautiful, beloved Personal Springboard is by far my favourite.

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

I o3. Out of the organisers you own which is your current favourite (Style and Size)?
wn 8 in total - that's including Flexes. 4 Filofax organisers, and 4 other organisers.

5. What is the oldest organiser in your collection?

My Pocket Paperchase organiser, which I've had since 2012.

6. What do you use your organisers for?

I carry my Personal Springboard and A5 Flex with me all the time, as I am mid-way through the process of seeing which one works better for me! I use them as a diary and for taking notes on the go. I have a Pocket Metropol which I use as a financial tracker for noting down all my spends. I'm using one of my Paperchase binders as an address book, and my other binders are used as storage binders - I seem to have accumulated an awful lot of spare inserts!

7. What was the feature about Filofax you like most?

It has to be the fact you can just add or take away any paper from it to make it what you want to be, which just isn't possible in a bound planner. Even though the Flex doesn't have rings, you can add or take books and notepads from it to completely change its purpose!

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

Larger rings! You can never have enough ring capacity! Although if they produced an A5 Flex in Springboard colours, that would also be amazing...

9. How do you carry your Filofax?

I carry my main Filofax in my bag, without a protective cover. The Springboard cover seems to be able to handle whatever abuse I throw at it! My A5 Flex also currently resides in my bag. My other Filofaxes stay at home.

10. Which Filofax in the current range do you like the most? Are you going to buy it?

I like the look of the new Floral Burst Cover Story, and I'm hankering after a purple Songbird, both in Personal size. I think my partner would go mad if I bought any more Filofaxes though!

11. What is the most you have ever spent on a Filofax? Which model?

I'm a bit of a cheapskate. The most I've spent is £28 on my Springboard, which was originally £35 but then had a 20% discount applied!

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

I don't really know of many hacks, to be honest... the only one that springs to mind is chopping down and punching an A5 Flex pen holder to use as an extra pen holder in a Filofax. I thought I was really clever for coming up with it, but then I went online and found loads of other people had already had the same idea!

13. Turning to Philofaxy, what do you like the most?

I love the fact that there's such a huge international community here, with such different people who all have various planners, in various sizes, with various uses - and yet everyone bonds over their love of planning and organisation!

14. And what do you not like about Philofaxy?

Nothing! As cheesy as that sounds, I can't really think of any negative aspects of Philofaxy.

15. What was the last music track you downloaded or bought?

I just bought the Teenage Dirtbags compilation CD, and it's pretty awesome!

16. George Clooney or Brad Pitt?

Neither really - I'm not a fan! I can't actually think of any celebrity crush at the moment.

Thank you Ann-Marie for going under our spotlight.

If any of our other readers would like to appear in this feature then please contact steve at philofaxy dot com

19 April 2014

Web Finds - 19 April 2014

So here are the latest Filofax blog posts from around the Internet:
  1. Me and My Filofaxes - Just Eclectically
  2. M is for… Moving House - Planning with Printed Portal
  3. Milky Way - Filo-Manie
  4. Filofax: Personal Aqua Malden - What? that pink Filo!
  5. Mulberry warns of lower profits - BBC News
  6. My Filofax - The Filofax Blog
  7. Gillio Medium Mia Cara: April 2014 - OATTblog
  8. Home Management Planner in a5 Van der Spek - My Life Re-Organized 
  9. Use Your Planner: Tips for Making it Easier - Homemakers Daily
  10. N is for… Neighbours - Planning with Printed Portal
  11. April Filofax photo-a-day challenge, week two - She's Eclectic
  12. A Project Unplanned - Giftie Etcetera
  13. Looking Back - Sweet and Calm
  14. How do I start using my Filofax? - What? that pink Filo!
  15. Moving into my Personal Swift - The Kentish Kitchen
  16. Filofax Photo-a-Day Catch Up - The Pit Bull Mama
  17. Blogger Challenge - The Filofax Blog
  18. Free For All Friday No. 31: What type(s) of planner could you not ever use? - Plannerisms
  19. Filofax Faces Blogger Challenge Winner is? - My Purpley Life
  20. O is for… Online Auction Sales - Planning with Printed Portal
  21. Slim - Gillio Compagna Black - Filo-Manie
  22. Travel & Filofax- Orla Kieley Orange Zip Pouch - Incarnations of Organization
  23. Quelle est votre marque prĂ©fĂ©rĂ©e d'organizer? - Le monde de Mzelle
  24. My Current Set Up! Filofax Flex Slim - Magenta - Pretty Filo
  25. Gorjuss travel journal _review - Lucy Wonderland
  26. Filofax Dashboard - How to make & What with! - Filofax Friday - Week 15 - Mrs Brimbles
  27. Filofaxes and Handbags - This Bugs Life
  28. Filofax Friday - En Vogue Pogue
  29. Filofax Focus - Steve Morton
  • We monitor over 500 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... 
  • For some general tips on Filofax Blogging, please see this post
And here are a selection of the latest Filofax videos for your enjoyment.
  1. Introduction to my filofax planners (re-upload) - Sophie Hurden
  2. Back into one planner, in my Van der Spek binder - Joshua LePorte
  3. Filofax: Keeping it light. Compact saffiano - SandraJohn27
  4. Decorating my Filofax: Week 16 [HD] mits t
  5. A closer look at my Bullet Journal/Chronodex daily planning - Sophie Hurden
  6. Gillio Compagna in Dark Brown and Gold - Ramblin' Mom
  7. Gillio Mia Cara April Update - OATTblog
  8. Kate Spade Agenda - Lola Karwowski
  9. Filofax decor week 3 - Stampingsongbird
  10. Arya - Ambient Diary
  11. Shoe addict design in personal and A5 - Maryannemoll
  12. Gillio set ups - Alice Photis
  • 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. 
Enjoy

18 April 2014

The Gillio Bellezza are cleared for take-off

The limited edition Gillio medium Compagna "Bellezza" organisers have been shipped.

Only 25 of these organisers have been made or 26 if you include the original one that was given to Mella as big thank you gift from the company back in November at the Gillio meet up in Brussels.




After the packages were loaded on to the special plane the Captain came on the PA system:
'Welcome on board Flight Bellezza 25 to all points of the globe. Our aircraft is under the command of Captain Ben Van Haelen. He has informed me that our flying time will be approximately 4-5 days.
While we are here to ensure that you do have a comfortable trip with us today, we are also concerned about your safety. With that in mind, we ask that you take the Safety Information Card out of the seat pocket in front of you and follow along as we perform our safety demonstration.
Cabin crew doors to automatic and cross check'
So 25 people will be looking at their tracking numbers on their phones at every waking hour watching for the progress of these very special organisers.

The Gillio group on Facebook is ready and prepared for 25 unboxing videos... and an album for the first pictures has been set up ready for the avalanche of photographs.

Thank you to Ben and the team at Gillio for keeping us on tender hooks waiting for these to be despatched, I know the buyers are all keen to receive them.

Free For All Friday No. 283

My brother-in-law recently got married, so I've had some time catching up with my husband's family which was very nice. With some of the relatives that don't know me quite so well, the conversation inevitably came round to, "So, where do you work?" I am employed and self-employed, and some time ago I started buying and selling Filofaxes as part of my business. It was quite interesting hearing people's opinions and overall they were very positive, with only one mention of it being considered geeky. I don't think that any of them will be rushing out to buy a binder any time soon, but I'm glad that I brought it up as it is something different to talk about.
Do you think that you would've talked about Filofaxes in a similar situation?

And as always on Fridays, please feel free to ask or discuss anything ring-bound organiser related.

17 April 2014

Filofax Tip No. 10

So today's tip.

'I've lost my Filofax'

A heart stopping moment for anyone wouldn't you agree? But it's a statement I've seen very often on Twitter.

However, Filofax offer a simple personal organiser registration scheme, you register your name and address and contact details on their website. Then you are given a unique number, you write this number on the form in the diary insert (see below) and if found the person rings one of the numbers on the form and they are given details about where to send the organiser and they get sent a Freepost envelope. In return they receive a free gift.

If you aren't using a Filofax diary refill, why not print out the forms below and put them in the front of your Filofax...

Now after reading this you will go and register won't you...... now.... please...


And before you ask... no I haven't lost any of my Filofax organisers... that was just to grab your attention....

Until the next tip happy organising.  Check out other tips here.

Should weeks start on a Sunday or a Monday?

For various reasons I didn't have a very good week last week. So this week I was determined to put last week behind me and start this week with a clean sheet... or in my case a new week per view set of pages in my A5 Filofax organiser.

So in the right frame of mind I sat down this morning to plan what I needed to do and on which particular days they needed to be done one etc.

It got me thinking... always a worrying sign... Why do some people prefer diary inserts or calendars that start on Monday and other people prefer ones that start on Sunday?

What is your preference and why....

16 April 2014

Then and Now....

It was sometime in late 1986 I think that I bought my first Filofax. I was thinking this morning how much things have changed in 28 or so years.

Back in 1986 I used to commute in to London on the 8:03 from Tunbridge Wells every morning, smartly dressed in my pin stripe suit, carrying a brief case and a copy of The Times.

I had seen an article in The Times about Filofax organisers and how they had become a popular 'must have'. Straight away I wanted one!

There was no internet back in 1986 to go on line and search around on, only local shops. I didn't find any in the local shops in Tunbridge Wells at the time. So I put the idea of this new organiser thing to the back of my mind.

Every month I had to pay a visit to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) office in Kingsway, London. It was a short walk across Waterloo Bridge and it was always a pleasant walk if it wasn't raining! At the time there was a shop called Chisolm's Office Supplies, it wasn't a very big shop, but the front part of the shop was dominated by an island display of various Filofax organisers and inserts. I had found somewhere at last!

The display had a sloping top with drawers underneath containing the stock, all made in polished wood. You could open each organiser and look at the different layouts and admire the different leathers. Sadly this shop is no longer in Kingsway, replaced with a building society or a coffee shop I guess.

I collected a catalogue and took it home on the train to study and to try and work out which Filofax organiser to buy. The list of inserts was baffling, no pictures to show you what 'Week per view, Monday start' actually looked like. It was a bit hit and miss as I recall. I had made a list of what to look at next time I was over there.

Eventually I bought my Winchester in Personal size and started adding many different types of inserts to it and started using it.

Of course there was no internet or Facebook to share pictures of my latest purchase with.. in fact I don't think I would have thought to take a photograph of it, remember this was in the days of 35mm film.

Come forward 25 or more years and we now have access to the internet (on our phones too if we wish). We can search from a huge range of sources for things, ask questions in specialist groups or on Philofaxy even. Everything seems to have speeded up or has it?

We have all got used to placing an order on line and expecting it to arrive within a few days and the item is exactly as it was shown on the website, there's no surprises about how you visualised the layout from the description or what shade of purple did they mean!

We can shop around so much easier too without wearing down countless pairs of shoes. With a few mouse clicks you can compare prices and the cost of delivery from a variety of sources.

There's one problem with high speed shopping, the time it takes for goods to reach you in another country hasn't got that much faster unless you pay for air freight shipping.

I can order something off the Filofax UK website and if it comes by courier then it normally arrives within 48 hours. But that is just one package. Scale this up to large shipments say to the USA from UK and things will still be sent by ship in a container. And unless someone can tell me differently... ships haven't increased in speed in the last 25 years? Increased in size and efficiency most definitely...

Filofax USA I hear you say.... is there any news? Yes there is... I had an interesting exchange of emails with our friends over in Filofax USA on your behalf. I know some of you have been getting quite frustrated at the low stock levels on the Filofax USA website, I think the staff possibly share your frustration too!

The low levels of stock at present have been mainly down to the move of stock from one warehouse to a new one in Texas, they put a message up on the front page of their website a few weeks ago.

The good news is that they are hoping to return to normal stock levels by the middle of June with shipments arriving at intervals over the next few weeks until they get back to the full range again.

Even better news is that they will be stocking the new 2014 range of organisers and new colours in the 2014 range much earlier than in previous years.

This page seems a lot more 'colourful' than it did a few weeks ago, with new items appearing each week on the site.

Obviously it will take a week or two for the USA stockists to get their stock on the shelves, but I'm sure you will all be pleased to be able to buy 'locally' again rather than having to pay for shipping from UK or Europe.

Thank you to our friends at Filofax USA for sharing this information with us here at Philofaxy.